When the Pesach Seder took shape almost two thousand years ago, it made no mention of Elijah the prophet. How did the biblical zealot find his way into the haggadah? Medieval Ashkenazic traditions may hold the key

The bare bones of the Seder are outlined in the Mishna, in the tenth chapter of tractate Pesahim, dating from roughly the third century. There’s not a trace of Elijah the prophet anywhere in that description. The first time he appears as the guest of honor at these proceedings is in haggadot from 15th-century Germany. 

Three customs announce the prophet’s arrival at the Seder, each of which developed separately: pouring him a cup of wine (in addition to the four drunk by all participants); opening the door; and reciting a series of biblical verses beginning with “Pour out Your wrath upon the nations” (Psalms 79:6). In the late Middle Ages, these three independent practices coalesced around Elijah as the herald of the Messiah, emphasizing the evening’s heightened expectation of redemption. All three were performed immediately following the grace after meals, before continuing the reading of Hallel (more psalms) and the conclusion of the Seder. The meal essentially divides the Seder in two. Before dinner we focus on the exodus from Egypt, i.e., on the past, while afterward we allude to the future redemption. Elijah is integral to that salvation, as the biblical book of Malachi tasks him with announcing the Messiah’s arrival: 

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Malachi 3:23– 24) 

Since the Middle Ages, Ashkenazic communities have chanted this chapter of Malachi as the weekly selection from the prophets on the Sabbath before Pesach. That Sabbath was known as the “Great Sabbath” well before the custom of reading about the “great and dreadful day of Lord” became entrenched. Nevertheless, the two traditions together likely reinforced the connection between Elijah and Passover. 

 

Night of Watching

The practice of opening the door midway through the Seder apparently dates from the Geonic period (circa 600–1000). The most common medieval explanation ties the custom to the protective nature of this night:

It is a night of watching for the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:42)

The Talmud attributes special qualities to the anniversary of Israel’s exodus throughout history: 

R. Joshua says: In Nisan they were delivered, in Nisan they will be delivered in the time to come. Whence do we know this? Scripture calls [the first night of Passover] ‘a night of watchings’ [shimurim, plural], [meaning] a night continuously watched for from the six days of creation [and] a night under constant protection against evil spirits. (Rosh Ha-shana 11b, Soncino translation)

The month of Nisan, and Seder night in particular, is thus seen as an auspicious time for redemption. Talmudic homilies and liturgical hymns feature other examples of deliverance occurring on this night, sometimes followed by expectations of impending salvation. In fact, an entire genre of liturgical poetry is dedicated to this “night of watching,” with two of these compositions included in the Ashkenazic version of the haggadah: “And So It Came to Pass at Midnight” (Va-yehi Ba-hatzi Ha-laila) by the poet Yanai, who lived in the sixth century in the land of Israel, and “And You Shall Say: This Is the Passover Sacrifice” (Ve-amartem Zevah Pesah) by his pupil Rabbi Eleazar Ha-kalir. 

In his 13th-century work Or Zarua, Rabbi Yitzhak ben Moshe of Vienna links the custom of opening the door to the idea of Seder night as a time of enhanced protection:

Rabbi Nissim Gaon [11th century, Kairouan, Tunisia] wrote in his father’s name that house doors are not to be locked on the [first two] nights of Passover [to demonstrate our] belief in God’s word and promise, that in recompense for that faith we might merit deliverance […]. Thus you find that our forefathers in Egypt were redeemed only as a reward for their faith. As it says, “And the people believed” (Exodus 4:31). So too, in the future the exiles will be gathered in as a reward for [our] faith. (Or Zarua [Mekhon Yerushalayim], vol. 2, p. 298)

Opening the door therefore expresses faith in God’s protection and willingness to act in order to merit His deliverance. It also recalls the biblical command to the Israelites in Egypt to eat the Paschal lamb with their loins girded and their bags packed, ready to depart:

And thus you shall eat it: with a belt around your waist, sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. (Exodus 12:11)