The number four is a central feature of the Passover Seder. We have the 4 cups of wine, the 4 Biblical expressions of redemption (Exodus 6:6-7), the 4 questions, and the 4 sons. Is there a connection between Passover and the number 4?
The number 4 is represented by the letter Dalet – 4th letter in the Hebrew Alphabet. This letter can resemble a person bent over in humble submission. This was the posture of the people of Israel who followed God into a barren desert with pure faith (Jeremiah 2:2). Their total trust allowed them to go on this journey into the unknown without taking any provisions along (Exodus 12:39).
The Shem MiShmuel suggests that this is also a reason for drinking four cups of wine, which tends to diminish the sharpness of our minds. At the Seder we demonstrate our willingness to relinquish total reliance on our intellect and humbly walk with trust and faith in the Almighty as our ancestors did. (Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Finkel, “The Essence of the Holy Days”)
By Rabbi Michael Skobac
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