Elijah

=== Elijah's cup ===
{{See also|Passover Seder}}
In the [[Talmud|Talmudic literature]], Elijah would visit [[rabbis]] to help solve particularly difficult legal problems. Malachi had cited Elijah as the harbinger of the [[Jewish eschatology|eschaton]]. Thus, when confronted with reconciling impossibly conflicting laws or rituals, the rabbis would set aside any decision "until Elijah comes".<ref>"Elijah, Cup of." ''Encyclopaedia Judaica''. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1971.</ref>

One such decision was whether the [[Passover Seder]] required four or five cups of wine. Each serving of wine corresponds to one of the "four expressions of redemption" in the [[Book of Exodus]]:
<blockquote>I am the Lord, and ''I will bring you out'' from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and ''I will deliver you'' from their bondage, and ''I will redeem you'' with an out-stretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and ''I will take you'' for my people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians."<ref>{{Bibleverse||Exodus|6:6–7|HE}}</ref></blockquote>

The next verse, "And ''I will bring you'' into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord."<ref>{{Bibleverse||Exodus|6:8|HE}}</ref> was not fulfilled until the generation following the Passover story, and the rabbis could not decide whether this verse counted as part of the Passover celebration (thus deserving of another serving of wine). Thus, a cup was left for the arrival of Elijah.

In practice the fifth cup has come to be seen as a celebration of future redemption. Today, a place is reserved at the seder table and a cup of wine is placed there for Elijah. During the seder, the door of the house is opened and Elijah is invited in. Traditionally, the cup is viewed as Elijah's and is used for no other purpose.<ref name=" Temple">Telushkin, Joseph. ''Jewish Literacy.'' New York: William Morrow, 2001.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rabbi Ario S. and Tess Hyams Judaica Museum |publisher=Temple Beth Sholom |year=2007 |url=http://www.bethsholom.com/about_us/museum.shtml |access-date=23 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070723083113/http://www.bethsholom.com/about_us/museum.shtml |archive-date=23 July 2007 }}</ref>