passover
LuVo / E+ / istock / gettyimages.com
“Do you think
Elijah the prophet
enters through
the door?
He enters through
the heart.”
24 MARCH 16, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
comes, the doubt will be clarifi ed.

Therefore, based on this doubt, the
cup is poured but not drunk, and it
is called the Cup of Elijah, for when
he comes, all doubts will be clarifi ed,
including this doubt.

Eventually, Elijah will indicate
whether drinking a fi fth cup is
required. For now, that cup is poured
for him alone!
On Passover, Elijah is expected to
appear on the threshold. Anticipated
at the doorway, he mediates between
home and community, between private
space and the wider world. He links the
ancient liberation from Egyptian slavery
with messianic deliverance, bridging
the chasm between this unredeemed
earth and the fi nal redemption.

But memories of Elijah
and the seder can be
bittersweet, because of
the annual disappoint-
ment of not fi nding him
at the door. Once, before
Passover, according to a Chasidic tale,
the disciples of Menahem Mendel
(the Kotsker Rebbe) complained to
him about this. He promised them
that Elijah would be revealed to them
at the upcoming seder.

On the fi rst night of the festival,
the room was full, the atmosphere
charged, with Elijah’s cup waiting
on the table. The seder proceeded
and, fi nally, the door was opened.

What happened next left the disci-
ples astonished. Nothing; no one
appeared. Crushed, they turned to their
Rebbe, whose face was beaming.

Seeing their distress, he asked,
“What’s troubling you?” They told him.

“Fools!” he thundered. “Do you think
Elijah the prophet enters through the
door? He enters through the heart.”
This piece is drawn from Daniel
Matt’s new book, “Becoming Elijah:
Prophet of Transformation,” published
by Yale University Press. 1



social announcements
WEDDING EISMAN-STEIN
Robin Eisman and David Stein were married
on Aug. 21, 2022 at the Schuylkill Center for
Environmental Education in Philadelphia, and the
wedding was conducted by Rabbi Josh Minkin.

The bride and groom were escorted to the
huppah by, respectively, her sons, Ben and
Jake Weilerstein, and his sister and brother-
in-law, Harriette and David Coddington.

Huppah-bearers and other ceremony
participants were Robin’s daughter-in-law,
Shira Rascoe, her parents, Beatrice and
Sylvan Eisman, her sister and brother-in-law
Sherrie Eisman and Michael Freeman, and
David’s cousins, Janis Risch and George
Longbottom. START HAVING YOUR BEST SUMMER,
EVERY SUMMER!
Photo by James Guild, courtesy of Barnyard Photography
BIRTH RACHEL LIORA HIRSCH
Alan and Sheila Snyder of Bensalem and
Mitch Hirsch and Sylvia Lifschitz of Lower
Gwynedd announce the birth of their grand-
daughter, Rachel Liora Hirsch, son of Josh
and Stacey Hirsch, and sister of Aaron Eli, of
Meadowbrook. Rachel Liora was born on March 1. She
is named in loving memory of paternal
great-grandparents Rose Lifschitz and Robert
Hirsch, and maternal great-great-uncle Louis
Snyder. Sharing in the joy are aunt and uncle
Allison and Scott Snyder and cousins Sophia
and Maya Snyder.

Photo by Stacey Hirsch
ENGAGEMENT RUCKENSTEIN-MATZ
Debbie and Michael Ruckenstein of Wynnewood
and Ellen Horowitz Matz and Michael Matz of
Elkins Park announce the engagement of their
children, Jen Ruckenstein and Zach Matz.

Jen has a BS in kinesiology from Penn
State University and a doctorate in physical
therapy from Arcadia University. She is a
pediatric physical therapist with Ivy Rehab for
Kids in Montgomery County.

Zach graduated with a BS in kinesiology
from the University of Maryland and is certi-
fi ed as a paramedic through Jeff Stat/Thomas
Jeff erson University Hospital. He works as a
paramedic with the Philadelphia Fire Department. Zach also has his real estate
license and works for Keller Williams Philadelphia/Venture Philly Group.

The couple were engaged in Cabo, Mexico, and are planning a June 2024
wedding. 1
Photo by Ellen Horowitz Matz
Reach out to Linz Haf t at
Linz@pinemere.com or call 215-487-2267, ext. 4
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JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 25