Eliyahu Hanavi

 

The role of Eliyahu Hanavi and the lore surrounding his appearance at the Seder has grown over the generations. Rabbis as diverse as the Nodeh B’Yehuda, Chasam Sofer on one hand, and Chassidic Rebbes on the other have reported or had stories told about seeing or greeting Eliyahu Hanavi Seder night. So strong was his belief that the prophet makes a visit to everybody’s Seder, that Rabbi Shalom Ber Schneersohn, the 5^th Lubavitcher Rebbe, would not pour Kos Shel Eliyahu back into the wine bottle until he first added some wine to the cup, in keeping with the halachic requirements of a kos pagum- a cup from which someone else has drunk. Why is Eliyahu Hanavi an important mascot for our Pesach Seder?

There are many similarities between the character and persona of Eliyahu Hanavi and the essence of the Seder in particular and the entire Pesach holiday more generally. All of these similarities can be distilled into one: Eliyahu is our symbol of the ultimate connector. And Pesach is the holiday of connections. We see this in at least three ways.

Eliyahu Hanavi connects Heaven and Earth. He was a man, yet according to Chazal, he did not die in the classical sense. There is a famous Halachic question: what is the status of Mrs. Eliyahu Hanavi? Is she a widow, a divorcée or still married? Eliyahu went up to Heaven and comes back to earth for specific occasions. Eliyahu Hanavi reminds us that the chasm between heaven and Earth- though vast- can be bridged by adhering to the advice prescribed to us by God and His Torah. This was one of the great challenges that the Jews encountered as they prepared to leave Egypt: how can we serve a God that is supposed to be everywhere yet can be seen nowhere? This is one of the main reasons that Pharaoh did not, and could not, know Hashem. Pesach teaches us that Hashem is part of our world (burning bush, ten plagues, splitting of the Sea). He is not only the God of Creation, but the God of History. He is constantly coming down to us; we just need to be more like Eliyahu and recognize it. Just as we must appreciate when God comes down to us, we must also realize - being inspired by Eliyahu Hanavi - that we can reach God; both through rituals such as prayer and in our interpersonal relationships by emulating Hashem in His love and concern for humankind.

By existing in both Heaven and Earth, Eliyahu Hanavi symbolizes the possibility of connecting the physical with the spiritual. We can live lives of physical experiences and enjoyment and yet constantly be attached to the Divine. Rav Kook notes that we eat matzah twice at the Seder: once when we are hungry and once when we are full (Afikomen) - the purpose being to teach us that eating can be done to fill a basic desire or to be elevated as a service to God - and both are possible at the same Seder, in the same life.