Wrath, Pride and Prejudice

One of the Hagaddah’s more controversial passages falls after the meal, just between the Benching and the Hallel. The cup of Elijah is poured, the door is opened and everyone stands. We read the following passage (three verses from the book of Psalms, and one from Lamentations).
“Pour out Your wrath on the nations who do not know you and on the kingdoms that have not called on Your Name.
For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his dwelling.
Pour out Your indignation upon them and let Your fierce anger overtake them.
Pursue them in wrath and destroy them under the heavens of the world.”
The door is then closed and we sit for the joyous singing of Hallel.
In their original context, the verses anticipated God’s retribution on Babylon after the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem. Lamentations is read on Tisha B’Av. The combined verses first appeared in the Seder service after the First Crusade in 1096. Its introduction was a response to the massacres of European Jewish communities in Worms and Mainz (amongst others) by the crusading knights on their way to “liberate” the holy places in Jerusalem and then the subsequent blood libels, which fell around the Pesach/Easter period.
Pesach represented God’s liberation of his people from the Egyptians. Pharaoh had asked “who is this God of yours” and was then shown His power; also that He would honour His promise to protect His people. Additionally, Egypt as a whole was then punished for their oppression of Israel and for allowing their leadership to continue to deny them freedom even though by the seventh of the plagues, they had all seen and Pharaoh had acknowledged, the might of God.
So, as the crusader massacres began with the persecution of Jews in the name of religion, combined with the taunting that the God of Israel had abandoned His people, the Jews celebrating their medieval sedarim stood and opened their doors with pride in their identity and with hope that the redemptive God would end their oppression and restore our people “leshana haba” to Jerusalem.
In Worms itself, where 800 were slaughtered, there is a 1521 manuscript with an additional companion passage.
“Pour out Your love on the nations who have known You,
and on the kingdoms that call upon Your name.
For they have shown loving-kindness to the seed of Jacob,
And they defended Your people Israel from those who would devour them alive.
May they live to see the sukkah of peace spread over Your chosen ones,
And to participate in the joy of Your nations.”
The association with the Cup of Elijah is twofold.
It is Elijah, according to tradition, who will herald the Messianic Era, with true accountability and divine justice spread throughout the world. It will be in that era, where the nations will have had the chance to see God’s truth and those who reject His ways will be cast out. Just as many families have a symbolic case packed and by their front door ready for the trip to Jerusalem on Seder night (though I’ve not met anyone who has had airline tickets booked on the offchance!), we open the door to Elijah to welcome him in. If he sees our fidelity and our passion, maybe he will call for an end of our exile.
The second link is more personal to Elijah, but also touches on the theme of prejudice, that discomforts readers of “Shfoch Chamatcha”.

Much of Elijah’s prophetic life was spent with him at odds with the idol endorsing and evil king Ahab. Ahab reigned for 22 years. “He did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who came before him.” It was a life of confrontation and chastisement. Each berated the other as a troubler of Israel.
In his most decisive test, Elijah confounded the prophets of Baal upon Mount Carmel, demonstrating that their god was silent to their prayers whereas the God of Israel responded to his. Ahab recognised “Hashem hu ha-elokim”, The Lord is God. At that moment of Tshuva, we are told that Elijah girded his loins and ran before the king. He treated him with deference and respect for his majesty. For a couple of verses, entreaties to pour out divine wrath are supplanted with the love for the returning penitent. If Elijah’s earlier berating of Ahab had been harsh it was not through personal enmity but through a passion for truth.
Similarly, as we complete our sedarim, we recall the persecution of our people “bechol dor ve-dor”, through the generations. We stand proud of God’s protection. We open the door to show we are not afraid or ashamed to further our faith and to continue our celebrations. We hope to welcome Elijah and the dawn of a new age, where all peoples of our world will know God, see His sukkah of peace and participate together in the joy of His nations.