House of Study

"You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Exodus 22:20

He is the beggar on the side of the road, the servant, and the harlot. He is also the Roman official, the Persian, and the Arab. He is above all, the stranger.

Elijah the Prophet appears in all of these guises as he wanders the world according to Jewish tradition. In most of the tales devoted to him - and revealingly, more Jewish folktales are told about Elijah than any other figure - he shows up where we least expect him, often becoming the object of our insults before his true identity is revealed.

Thus, the Babylonian Talmud tells the story of Rabbi Shimon son of Eleazar, who was once returning from his teacher, full of pride at the amount of Torah that he had learned. On the way, Rabbi Shimon encountered Elijah, disguised as an exceptionally ugly man. "Peace be upon you, Rabbi," Elijah greeted the sage. "Empty one," the sage responded, "how ugly you are. Is everyone in your town so ugly?" "I do not know," said the man. "Why don't you go and tell the craftsman who made me how ugly is the vessel that he has created?"

Realizing his sin, Rabbi Shimon dismounted the donkey he was riding and followed Elijah, begging his forgiveness.

For Rabbi Shimon, his encounter with Elijah revealed a different stranger - the ultimate stranger - God. Tonight, who is the stranger Elijah reveals to us?


haggadah Section: Hallel
Source: New American Haggadah