Elijah Drinks

Just in time for Pesach! Make it appear that Eliyahu HaNavi is drinking from the kos shel Eliyahu with this trick goblet.

Someone on a private mailing list posted this site, which sells that trick goblet for only $29.95 (though they will be raising the price by five bucks soon). The way it works is as follows:

Together they came up with the Elijah Cup, a vessel that drains a ¼ cup of wine when properly manipulated.

...

At that point, while the cup is lifted in prayer, a plunger button at the bottom of the cup is depressed. Once the cup is returned to the table, the wine slowly disappears.

Here is a video of it in action:


Cute, and perhaps a way to keep kids up until the end of the seder. But I have my objections to it. Adults shaking the table and joking that Eliyahu sipped is one thing. But having the wine mysteriously drain as the child watches is another. This might, in some circumstances, constitute fooling our children in matters of faith.

I have already encountered at least two adult who believes Eliyahu comes to every seder and drinks the wine, and that such as a concrete practical fact is a matter of established Jewish belief. See what I write about it here, where I try to debunk this. (Though there is a source that claims this -- see the comment on that post, and follow the link to the updated article.)

As such, I am not so sure it is a good idea to use this glass, if it will promote a false belief in our children.

{Update: wow, oops! corrected. I meant to say "having them come back from the door and having it mysteriously drain," or something of that nature. I must have typed when the focus was in the wrong place, or must have been really tired. At any rate, now corrected.}