A Place for Elijah

Gr 1–3—Sarah sets an extra place at the Passover table for Elijah; according to legend, this prophet invisibly visits every seder. When the power goes out across the street, neighbors start arriving and Sarah keeps adding chairs to the table, always making sure there is an empty seat for Elijah. Finally, the last chair in the house is pressed into service for "the boy who sells magazines and chews bubble gum," who turns out to be named Elijah. While the concept of the story is entertaining, there are a number of anomalies in the way the family observes the holiday. "Every year at Passover, Sarah sets a place and leaves the door ajar so Elijah the Prophet can come in and visit the seder." The normal practice is to open the door briefly near the end of the seder, not to leave the door open the entire time. In describing the afikomen, the text says, "The youngest child will find the hidden piece of matzah and get a prize." This is not a job for the youngest alone—all children present may seek the afikomen. The youngest child's special honor is to recite the four questions. Another oddity is that the order of events has been disrupted: the meal is begun (with soup and gefilte fish) before the recitation of the 10 plagues, half a dozen steps early according to the Haggadah, the book that guides the actions of the seder. This strangeness extends to the illustrations as well. A broader issue is that there is very little explanation of the significance of Elijah's presence at the seder. The endnote says, "According to legend, Elijah arrives on the first night of Passover to announce the coming of the Messiah," but the story itself never makes that clear.