The Hebrew word “Kiddush” means sanctification, but it is not the wine we sanctify. Instead, the wine is a symbol of the sanctity, the preciousness, and the sweetness of this moment. Held together by bonds of family, friendship, and peoplehood, we share this table tonight with one another and with all the generations who have come before us.

Tonight we drink four cups of wine. Why four? Some say the cups represent our matriarchs—Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah—whose virtue caused God to liberate us from slavery. Another interpretation is that the cups represent the Four Worlds: physicality, emotions, thought, and essence. The most common is that the cups represent the four promises of liberation God makes in the Torah: I will bring you out, I will deliver you, I will redeem you, I will take you to be my people (Exodus 6:6-7). 

The four promises, in turn, have been interpreted as four stages on the path of liberation: becoming aware of oppression, opposing oppression, imagining alternatives, and accepting responsibility to act. And so, let our first cup represent the promise of awareness. When we are numb to the pain of bondage we do not know that we are enslaved. When we acknowledge and address that pain, we become partners in liberation.

With the first cup of wine we recall the first promise:

הֽוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֨חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם

Hotzeiti etchem mitachat sivlot mitzrayim.

I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians

We now raise our glasses and bless the first glass of wine

(Read together)

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam, borei p’ri hagafen.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

The Shehechiyanu prayer is recited for all Jewish holidays and special moments, as a way of acknowledging our privilege to have been able to reach this moment in time and being grateful for everything that has enabled us to do so. 

We now sing together Shehechiyanu

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה.

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam, sh'hechiyanu v'kiyemanu v'higeyanu le zman hazeh.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life and sustenance and permitted us to reach this season.


haggadah Section: Kadesh