There are four cups of wine that we drink at our Pesach Seder that can represent a journey through the four worlds of Kabbalistic mysticism (Assiah, Yetzirah, B’riah, and Atziluth). This is a progressive movement from a state of contraction to a state of expansion - mirroring both the experience of transitioning from Winter to Spring, the process of Liberation from Bondage AND the experience of opening after the constraints of quarantine/ social distancing. 

First Cup of Wine - Assiah (Physical)

To be a physical entity, to be in a body, is to be in the experience of the infinite surrendered to finite in order to allow for our form.  As we speak the blessing on this first cup and drink, we fully arrive in our bodies, in order to begin this journey. We notice the tangible experience: The weight of the cup in the hand, the vibrations in the throat as we sing the blessing, the flavor of the drink

Lift up your glass.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן

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

A toast: in the Presence of the Infinite, we savor the blessing of transformation: vine to wine.

If anyone would like to share their own toast, please unmute and do so. Otherwise, go ahead and drink the first glass of wine/grape juice/etc.!


haggadah Section: Kadesh
Source: Four Cups: Seder for Hatching/English translation from Lab/Shul