Every year at Passover, we welcome a guest no one sees - the Prophet Elijah. We pour a cup of wine for him at the beginning of our Seder. Now we open the door and invite him in.

Tradition says that the return of Elijah will begin the messianic era, which is supposed to be a time of utopia that will one day come to the world. When we invite Elijah in for our Seder, we also invite in a new era of peace, prosperity, and hope. One of us stands up, opens the door, and shows that we're ready to make the effort to usher that era in.

While we wait for Elijah, we can do our part to make a world that is ready for better things. We can commit ourselves to act with kindness and respect, and encourage each other to commit to those same things as well. We can work to make the world a better place right now, in the belief that our guest does come, in some small, silent way, to join us for our celebration.

Open the door for Elijah.


haggadah Section: Hallel
Source: Tanenhaus Haggadah