In November 1974, Yassir Arafat, placed a pistol on the lectern of the UN podium and stated: "We have entered the world through its widest gate. Now Zionism will get out of this world- and from Palestine in particular- under the blow of the people’s struggle. We shall never stop until we can go back home and Israel is destroyed. The goal of our struggle is the end of Israel, and there can be no compromise or meditations. We don’t want peace, we want victory. Peace for us means Israel’s destruction, and nothing else."
    Anti-Semitism is a baseless hatred that has caused Klal Yisroel to suffer throughout time. The initial campaign of Anti Semitism with all its propaganda and lies surfaced in Egypt soon after the death of Yosef. The strategies and plans that Pharaoh utilized to lure the successful and burgeoning Jewish population would repeat itself many times in our long and painful history. In Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum in Israel, there is a quote hanging on the wall from Jakob Wasserman, a noted author. In 1921 he wrote, "I am both- and equally- a German and a Jew and one must not separate one from the other." History would quickly prove him wrong- very wrong!
    After 210 years of unimaginable slavery and inhumane oppression, G-d called upon Moshe to begin the process of Klal Yisroel’s redemption. G-d promised Klal Yisroel redemption with four different expressions. (6:6-7) "Lachen emor liVnei Yisroel ani Hashem v’hotzaysi eschem mitachas sivlos Mitzrayim v’heetzalti eschem mayavodasam v’ga’alti eschem b’zroah netuyah uvishfotim gedolim. V’lakachti eschem li la’am v’hayisi lachem laylokim"- Therefore, say to the Children of Israel: ‘I am Hashem, and I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt; I shall rescue you from their service; I shall redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I shall take you to me for a people and I shall be a G-d to you."
    The S’forno explains that each of the four expressions of redemption represented another step of the exodus. "I shall take you out" was accomplished with the commencement of the plagues and the abatement of the servitude. "I shall rescue you" was accomplished when Klal Yisroel physically marched forth from Egypt. "I shall redeem you" was accomplished at the splitting of the Red Sea when the army of Egypt was eradicated. The climactic point of, "I shall take you" was accomplished at Har Sinai when Klal Yisroel accepted the Torah and became the Chosen Nation.
    At the Seder on the night of Pesach we symbolize and commemorate those four expressions of redemption by drinking four cups of wine. Why was wine, of all foods and beverages, chosen as the commodity to commemorate these expressions?
    The Meshech Chochmah explains that wine possesses an inherent uniqueness, more so than any other food or drink. Wine possesses a wide and vast array of strict laws. The wine and its bottle may not be handled by a Non-Jew and therefore must be strictly watched from the time of its creation until it is drunk. Chazal explain (Megillah 13b) that when Haman was trying to convince Achashvayrosh of the evils of Klal Yisroel he said, "They eat, drink, and mock the throne. Even if a fly would fall into one of their glasses, they would cast away the fly and drink the wine. But if my master, the king, would touch one of their glasses of wine, they would throw it on the ground and not drink it."
    G-d took the battered and beaten nation of Israel out of Egypt for one reason and one reason only. When G-d originally commanded Moshe to appear before Pharaoh and command him to free the Jews, Moshe questioned Klal Yisroel’s merit to redemption. G-d replied, (3:12) "This is the sign that I have sent you: When you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship G-d on this mountain (i.e. Har Sinai)." All the miracles and vengeance cast down on Egypt with all the wondrous miracles of the exodus were only performed so that Klal Yisroel could stand at the foot of Har Sinai and graciously accept the Torah and become a unique nation, "a rose among thorns" (Shir Hashirim 2:1), and "a kingdom of ministers and a holy nation" (Shemos 19:6).
    Wine, more than any other food or drink, innately symbolizes the uniqueness of Klal Yisroel. Its vast laws and inherent ability to bring out the greatest levels of holiness (or impurity when utilized improperly) represents the notion that Klal Yisroel is different than every other nation. Since the purpose of the exodus was only to elevate Klal Yisroel to that level of holiness and uniqueness, it is appropriate to commemorate it on wine.
    My Rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchok Heimowitz shlita, crowned this thought with a beautiful insight. During the Seder, we recite the paragraph, ‘V’hee sheamdah’ ("It is this that has stood by our fathers and us. For not only one has risen against us to annihilate us, but in every generation they rise against us to annihilate us. But the Holy One, Blessed is He, rescues us from their hand.") While reciting this paragraph, it is customary to raise the cup of wine and to keep it elevated for the duration of the paragraph’s recital. This custom seems very unorthodox. Generally we only lift the cup of wine when we recite a blessing on it. Why now, in the middle of our recounting of the exodus, do we lift the cup of wine?
    When we recite, "It is THIS that has stood by our fathers and us," it is simply understood as a reference to G-d and His salvation. However there is a deeper explanation. "THIS" refers to what is symbolized by the cup of wine. Why have we stood the test of time and endured despite the endless torment of our oppressors? Why do we continue to thrive and add continuing chains to our tradition despite a two thousand year exile? It is only because we have tenaciously held onto the lesson of the wine. We never forgot whom we are and that we are elevated and unique from the rest of the nations. In fact the opposite is sadly true. It is only when we have forgotten who we are and our lofty role that the exile has wrapped its nefarious hands around our necks. Sadly the last 2500 people gassed in Auschwitz were people whose great grandparents converted to Christianity. We may try to forget who we are, but G-d has ways to remind us.
    In 1897, Mark Twain wrote the following timeless article in Harpers’ magazine: "If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought never be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. "His contribution to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor; then faded to dream stuff and passed away; the Greeks and the Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now or have vanished. "The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?" The answer to Twain’s question is clear to us. The reason we endure is because we cling to the Torah and all it demands of us. We remain steadfast to its high expectations and demands to be a nation like no other. We raise our cup on Seder night and proudly proclaim, "It is THIS cup of wine that has ensured our survival."
    We have faced many Yassir Arafats before and they have failed and faded. We will strengthen ourselves and continue to persevere undeterred until G-d once again delivers us from the hands of our wicked enemies.