[Avodah] Why remove drops from Cup; Ought the cup be topped up?

[Zev Sero]

On 20/3/23 21:10, Rabbi Meir G. Rabi via Avodah wrote:
> Where is the source for removing a drop of blood whilst listing the plagues?

The earliest written source is the Rokeach, who attributes it to Rabbi 
Eliezer Hagadol, which puts it in the 11th century.


> Why?

The Rokeach's own explanation is that it somehow symbolizes Hashem's 
16-sides sword.   But see the Alter Rebbe's siddur for a more accessible 
explanation, based on kabala but easily understood. Since it is not his 
way to give kavanos, it seems that this one is intended for all, shaveh 
lechol nefesh.

As I interpret it, the explanation is that wine is essentially a 
blessing, but contains an admixture of "anger and wrath", i.e. it has a 
potential for misuse and the opposite of blessing.  The cup represents 
Malchus, which is the faculty of expression, so the negative aspect of 
alcohol can ch"v also be expressed. How does one handle this? One uses 
the power of Binah to distinguish the bad from the good; as one recites 
the makkos one spills out all the negative side of the wine, into a 
broken vessel which symbolizes the Kelipa.  In other words, one must 
handle alcohol with intelligence, consciously rejecting the potential 
for anger, and choosing to concentrate only on the positive aspects. 
What is left over after this exercise is the pure "Wine that gladdens 
the heart of man", i.e. if one drinks intelligently one can be sure of a 
positive experience.



> Is the Koss filled before being raised for its Berachah?

In my experience, yes, it is.   And this makes sense to me, since a 
bracha should be on a full cup.   But I'm sure there are people who 
don't, and it would be easy to explain that too.  E.g., according to the 
interpretation I gave above, after having gone to all the effort of 
removing the anger from the wine, why would you add "unseparated" wine 
and thus symbolically adulterate it with fresh anger?

-- 
Zev Sero            “Were we directed from Washington when to sow
zev at sero.name       and when to reap, we should soon want bread.”
		    –Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821.