Lead Tidbit
Eight Cups of Wine?
No, not really a serious suggestion for the Pesach Seder, but a closer look at the p'sukim that are linked to the Four Cups, will reveal more facets of the Redemption that give us a deeper understanding of what is involved.

Too cryptic? Let's take it again. The Mishna in Pesachim says that everyone should have (no less than) four cups of wine... Rashi explains that the cups of wine correspond to the "four terms of redemption" - "I will take you out...", "I will save you...", "I will redeem you...", "I will take you unto Me...". Then there is the well-known fifth term, "I will bring you...", which is represented by the Cup of Eliyahu, which makes the statement that bringing us into Eretz Yisrael is as yet incomplete. The prophecy of Redemption is contained within the three p'sukim, Shmot 6:6-8. The first one contains the three terms of Y'tzi'at Mitzrayim, as mentioned above. V'HOTZEITI, V'HI- TZALTI, V'GA'ALTI. Commentaries explain that being free of Egypt involves a combination of an actual end to slavery and imprisonment in the land and a psychological freedom from the feelings of subservience to Egypt.

In the second pasuk, we find a crucial factor in that psychological freedom - namely, that G-d makes us His nation, we accept Him as our G-d, AND that we KNOW - with complete clarity and certainty - that it was G-d Who took us out of Egypt. Without that knowledge, acquired during Maamad Har Sinai, we would still be slaves to Par'o in Egypt, regardless of where we are. VIDA'TEM - and you shall know - is an important aspect of the redemption.

And the Redemption is incomplete without the elements of the third pasuk. "I will bring you to the Land I promised your ancestors..." Yes, that's part of the process. That's the fifth term, as mentioned before. But there is another part of that phase of redemption: "And I will GIVE the Land to you as a MORASHA, a Heritage.

Knowing that G-d took us out of Egypt, knowing that our relationship with Him is two-sided, knowing that He gave us the Land, not just to honor His promises, but to give it to us - all this combines to the appreciation of the Redemption and the Nationhood of Bnei Yisrael, the Jewish People.

There are reasons the number of cups of wine required at the Seder remains four, but the prophecy/promise at the beginning of this week's sedra have 8 elements for us to ponder and appreciate.