Wine At Seder

Four glasses of wine are poured during the Seder to symbolize the four main stages of Exodus that led Hebrew slaves to the promised land of freedom. These stages were:

Besides these, there is a fifth cup of wine, which is poured and placed on the Seder table known as the Cup of Elijah. It is so known as it is an offering for the Prophet Elijah and thus, the door to the home is opened at this time to invite him in. Some people also say that originally the doors were opened because there were rumors in the air at one time that Jews used to mix blood of Christian babies in their wines during Seder. To remove any such doubts, the doors were opened to let the non-Jew neighbors see that the ceremony involves no such objectionable thing.

A new addition to the Passover Seder Jewish rituals is the Miriam's Cup to honor the contributions of women and the role of Miriam, the sister of Moses sister and the Prophetess in the Exodus. However unlike the Elijah's Cup, it is filled with water to commemorate the miraculous Miriam's well that saved the Israelites from dying of thirst during their long journey in the hot desert sun.