The Seder 2025: Barech
“Eliyahu, come on in!” What’s the origin of the idea that Eliyahu the Prophet shows up at every Seder around the time of Barech? And is that really why we pour an extra cup of wine and open the door? Join Rabbi Uri Cohen in exploring the development of a popular tradition.
The Seder 2025: Barech: Eliyahu, Come On In!
Rabbi Uri Cohen has been teaching at Midreshet Moriah since 2005. He learned at Yeshivat Shaalvim and Yeshivat Hamivtar, and received Semikhah from RIETS (YU) and Yeshivat Hamivtar. He also holds Masters degrees in Medieval Jewish History and Jewish Education from Yeshiva University. For two years, he was an ATID Fellow. Through Torah MiTzion, he and his wife Dr. Yocheved Engelberg Cohen served as the first members of the Syracuse Kollel, and later as the first couple of the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) at Princeton University. They now live in Ramat Beit Shemesh. His eclectic lecture topics have included Talmudic Misogyny in Context, Harry Potter and the Value of Fantasy, Contemporary Orthodox Responses to Homosexuality, and How Not to Do Outreach.