Fourth Cup of Wine

Let the fourth cup of wine symbolize orienting ourselves towards life. The Exodus story is one of choosing life over death; of leaving a place of enslavement, a place whose religion focuses mainly on the afterlife, towards a place of freedom and a religion that is very worldly. As queer people, we also a story of choosing life over death by refusing to kill the true parts of us and choosing to live as we are.  Both an escape from enslavement and an escape from opressive norms shows a vlue of "life as opposed to death: expression over repression, love over fear, the flowering of human potential over the trampling of it in the name of something else"

As we leave the Seder table tonight, remember that both our Jewish and our queer ancestors have fought very hard for us to be able to live more joyfully than they have, and think about how you can honor the life they've given you.  

Baruch atach adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam borei pri hagafen.

Blessed is the Eternal, determiner of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. 


haggadah Section: Hallel
Source: Theory from "Into Life: the Humanism of the Exodus" by Jay Michaelson in "Torah Queeries". Art from: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-young-queer-artists-trading-anguish-joy