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Rethinking the Fifth Cup of Wine

BACKGROUND

There are those who add a fifth cup of wine to the obligatory four cups of the seder, but opinions differ as to whether one should drink from this cup. Many have simply come to acknowledge Elijah’s cup as the fifth cup. The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) mentions that one might pour a fifth cup while reciting Hallel, but does not address whether one should drink of this wine.

Leader:
Peace is what we each make of it. Your peace may not be like my peace, but one thing we have in common is our desire for peace.

(Leader lifts cup)

This cup should be as a symbol of peace on earth.

(Each guest pours a bit of wine in the cup while the leader reads on)

Just as we all add our own bit of wine, may it be as if we are adding a drop of peace on this earth. As we end our seder and scatter to the four corners of our dear earth and move on with our own lives, may we send this message of peace to all.

All guests sing:

עוֹש ה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו, הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ, וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן

Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu, v’al kol yisrael, v’imru: amen

Leader:
May we leave this Seder in peace and return in peace.
May this Seder officially end according to custom and law and the traditions of our ancestors.
Next year in Jerusalem.

Used by permission of author

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