Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

April 19, 2019

Drops of Wine Poured Out at the Seder Mean the Opposite of What Most People Think

A desire to see wicked nations punished is bound up in the belief in a just and providential God.

As the ten plagues are recited as part of the Passover seder, participants customarily pour a single drop of wine out of their glasses—or remove it with a finger—for each plague. According to the most widespread explanation, the drops of wine are an expression of sympathy at the Egyptians’ suffering, and meant to subtract from the joy of the salvation being commemorated. The real reason for this venerable custom is quite different, however, as Meir Soloveichik explains:

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