Why do we drink four cups of wine at the Seder....

The most famous answer to this question revolves around two verses in Sh’mos/Exodus (6:6-7):

“Therefore, say to the children of Israel ‘I am Hashem, and I SHALL TAKE YOU OUT from under the burdens of Egypt; I SHALL RESCUE YOU from their service; I SHALL REDEEM YOU with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I SHALL TAKE YOU TO ME for a people and I shall be a G-d to you….”

In these two verses, we find what are termed “The Four Expressions of Redemption.” G-d said to the nation of Israel using four different expressions that they would be taken out of slavery in Egypt. We therefore drink a cup of wine, on this night that we commemorate our redemption, for each expression of redemption that G-d uttered.


haggadah Section: Kadesh