Elijah, what are you doing here?

“The Hagaddah was written by Eliyahu HaNavi” - R. Simcha Bunim

Running away from Izevel the queen, Eliyahu (in Melachim 1 19) makes his way to Har Sinai. Hashem interrogates him:

(ט) וַיָּבֹא שָׁם אֶל הַמְּעָרָה וַיָּלֶן שָׁם וְהִנֵּה דְבַר יְדֹוָד אֵלָיו וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַה לְּךָ פֹה אֵלִיָּהוּ: (י) וַיֹּאמֶר קַנֹּא קִנֵּאתִי לַידֹוָד אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת כִּי עָזְבוּ בְרִיתְךָ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת מִזְבְּחֹתֶיךָ הָרָסוּ וְאֶת נְבִיאֶיךָ הָרְגוּ בֶחָרֶב וָאִוָּתֵר אֲנִי לְבַדִּי וַיְבַקְשׁוּ אֶת נַפְשִׁי לְקַחְתָּהּ:

And he came there, to the cave, and he rested there, and behold! The word of God came to him, and said to him, “What are you doing here, Eliyahu?” And he said, “I have ben zealous for Hashem the God of Legions, for they have abandoned your covenant, the children of Israel, your altars they have smashed, and they have killed your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they have sought to take my life.”

Hashem shows him a vision:

(יא) וַיֹּאמֶר צֵא וְעָמַדְתָּ בָהָר לִפְנֵי יְדֹוָד וְהִנֵּה יְדֹוָד עֹבֵר וְרוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה וְחָזָק מְפָרֵק הָרִים וּמְשַׁבֵּר סְלָעִים לִפְנֵי יְדֹוָד לֹא בָרוּחַ יְדֹוָד וְאַחַר הָרוּחַ רַעַשׁ לֹא בָרַעַשׁ יְדֹוָד: (יב) וְאַחַר הָרַעַשׁ אֵשׁ לֹא בָאֵשׁ יְדֹוָד וְאַחַר הָאֵשׁ קוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה:

And He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before Hashem, and behold! Hashem will make a great, strong mountain-splitting and rock-shattering wind pass before Hashem. Hashem is not in the wind. And after the win, a quake – Hashem is not in the quake. And after the quake, fire. Hashem is not in the fire. And after the fire, a voice that is quiet and subtle.”

Malbim explains Hashem's message in showing him this vision:

וממנו ילמדו שלוחיו ונביאיו בל יסערו סער בל ירעישו רעש ובל יבעירו אש, כמו שעשה אליהו בקנאתו לה' צבאות שעצר את השמים ושחט את נביאי הבעל, כי ה' ישלח את נביאיו שיבואו אליהם בקול דממה, וימשכו את העם בעבותות אהבה ובדברים רכים:

And from this His messengers and prophets will learn not to kick up a storm, not make excessive noise and not to burn [like?] fire, as Eliyahu did in his zeal for Hashem Master of Legions, for he stopped the rain and slaughtered the prophets of Ba'al, for Hashem sends his prophets to come in a quiet voice, and will draw the people toward them with cords of love and with gentle words.

But Eliyahu can't hear it.

(יג) וַיְהִי כִּשְׁמֹעַ אֵלִיָּהוּ וַיָּלֶט פָּנָיו בְּאַדַּרְתּוֹ וַיֵּצֵא וַיַּעֲמֹד פֶּתַח הַמְּעָרָה וְהִנֵּה אֵלָיו קוֹל וַיֹּאמֶר מַה לְּךָ פֹה אֵלִיָּהוּ: (יד) וַיֹּאמֶר קַנֹּא קִנֵּאתִי לַידֹוָד אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת כִּי עָזְבוּ בְרִיתְךָ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת מִזְבְּחֹתֶיךָ הָרָסוּ וְאֶת נְבִיאֶיךָ הָרְגוּ בֶחָרֶב וָאִוָּתֵר אֲנִי לְבַדִּי וַיְבַקְשׁוּ אֶת נַפְשִׁי לְקַחְתָּהּ:

And it was, when Eliyahu heard this, he covered his face with his cloak, and went out and stood at the opening of the cave, and behold there was a voice directed at him, and He said, “What are you doing here, Eliyahu?” And he said, “I have ben zealous for Hashem the God of Legions, for they have abandoned your covenant, the children of Israel, your altars they have smashed, and they have killed your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they have sought to take my life.”

It seems that Hashem has a different role in mind for Eliyahu than Eliyahu does for himself. And it seems that Hashem sees something in His people that Eliyahu does not. Hashem wants Eliyahu to be someone who brings Him and His people closer together, while Eliyahu maintains his conviction that they are not worthy of that, and so he ends up driving Hashem and His people apart from each other. Hashem insists that Eliyahu get it right, and Hashem will not let him off the hook.

From the very last lines of the last chapter of the last prophet, Malachi (3):

(כג) הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ לָכֶם אֵת אֵלִיָּה הַנָּבִיא לִפְנֵי בּוֹא יוֹם יְדֹוָד הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא: (כד) וְהֵשִׁיב לֵב אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וְלֵב בָּנִים עַל אֲבוֹתָם פֶּן אָבוֹא וְהִכֵּיתִי אֶת הָאָרֶץ חֵרֶם:

Behold, I am sending you Eliyah HaNavi, before the coming of the day of Hashem, great and awesome. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers upon the children, and the hearts of children upon their fathers, lest I come and strike the land desolate.

Rashi:

(כד) והשיב לב אבות – להקב"ה.

“And he will restore the hearts of the fathers” - to the Holy One Blessed is He.

Eliyahu's (now Eliyah's) task is to restore the hearts of Hashem's people to Hashem. And this will be accomplished for fathers through children and for children through fathers, as Rashi continues:

על בנים - ע"י בנים יאמר לבנים דרך אהבה ורצון לכו ודברו אל אבותיכם לאחוז בדרכי המקום וכן ולב בנים על אבותם

Upon this children – by means of the children. [Eliyah] will say to the children, by way of love and placation, 'Go and speak to your fathers to hold on to the ways of the Omnipresent.And so, too, the hearts of the children are upon the fathers

This passage is from the Haftarah of Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat before Pesach. It seems relevant to Pesach because Pesach is a time of a unique intergenerational conversation. We hope that the questions and answers of Pesach night will help parents see that their children care, and have a lot to offer, and that they are so worth investing in. And the children will see their parents with their ancestral stories as invaluable resources and support in their own journey toward embracing the covenant.

Elihayu comes at the end of the Seder. Maybe he comes to make sure we are succeeding. The other occasion that Eliyahu always attends is a circumcision. This could be seen as a sort of punishment, or a demonstration by God that Eliyahu is in fact not the only Jew who cares about the covenant.

It is intriguing to think of Eliyahu as the person perpetually charged with the task of bringing Hashem and the Jewish people closer together, specifically at times when we invoke his memory – brit milah, Pesach, and at the end of Shabbat. Kitzur Shulchan Aruch:

וְעוֹד אִיתָא בַּמִּדְרָשׁ דִּבְכָל מוֹצָאֵי שַׁבָּת אֵלִיָּהוּ נִכְנָס לְגַן עֵדֶן, וְיוֹשֵׁב תַּחַת עֵץ הַחַיִּים וְכוֹתֵב זְכוּתָן שֶׁל יִשְֹרָאֵל הַמְשַׁמְּרִים אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת, וְלָכֵן מַזְכִּירִין אוֹתוֹ אָז לְטוֹבָה:

And it is also brought in the Midrash that, every motza'ei Shabbat, Eliyahu goes into the Garden of Eden, and he sits under the Tree of Life and writes the merits of the Jews who keep Shabbat, and therefore we mention him for good.

The original source is from Midrash Rut, and is not specific to having kept Shabbat:

ר' כהן ור' יהושע דסכנין בשם ר' לוי לשעבר היה אדם עושה מצוה והנביא כותבה ועכשיו כשאדם עושה מצוה מי כותבה אליהו כותבה ומלך המשיח והקדוש ב"ה חותם על ידיהם הה"ד (מלאכי ג') אז נדברו יראי ה' איש אל רעהו וגו'

R' Kohen and R' Yehoshua of Sichnin, in the name of R' Levi: In the past, a person would do a mitzvah and the prophet would write it. Now, when a person does a mitzvah, who writes it? Eliyau writes it, and Moshiach and the Holy One Blessed is He sign it. Thus it is written: “Then the ones who fear Hashem speak one to his friend.

Rav Kook expands the range of this story so beautifully:

אליהו יושב בכל מוצאי ש"ק תחת עץ החיים וכותב זכויותיהם של ישראל. על כן ראוי לכל מי שיש לו שייכות של תשוקה לרזי תורה, שהיא מדת גילוי אליהו, באיזה דרגא, אפילו אם היא רק בדרך דמיון, או הרגשה, או השגת השכל האנושי, וק"ו אם עלה בחסד עליון למדרגות יותר גבוהות, שבכל מוצאי ש"ק יעשה גם הוא כמעשיו של אליהו, ויעסוק בזכויותיהם של ישראל. ויכיר בהכרה שכלית ובהשגה בהירה וברורה את קדושת ישראל, ויקרת מעלתו, וידבק עצמו בכללות עם קדוש, עם ד' וסגולת נחלתו, שאין קץ ותכלית להופעת אור קדשו של כל יחיד ויחיד שבהם, שגם הריקים שבישראל כל העולם משותת עליהם .ויש להתרעד ביראה קדושה, מקדושת הנשמה האלהית העליונה של כל נפש מישראל ולהיות מלא שוקקות וחמדת עולמים לקדושת רוממות קרן ישראל בכלל, ולהצלחתו של כל יחיד מישראל, בכל מעשי ידיו, בחומריות וברוחניות, ובכל טוב. ומתוך מעמקי נשמתו ירנן ויקרא, אשריכם ישראל, אשריך ישראל מי כמוך עם נושע בד'. אהבתיך עמי ולאומי, איויתיך בכל לבי, ובכל נפשי, אחמדך בכל חום לב, בכל אש עצמותי, אשתוקק לראות כבודך, יפיך, והדרך, עת תרומם ותנשא, עת תגדל ביפי צביוניך, ויצאו כל סגולותיך, והנפלאות הכמוסות בך, מן הכח אל הפועל, עת תנטע ותתאזרח בארץ צביונך, בארץ פארך, ויגלו לצפון ולים, לקדם ולמערב, תפארת עוזך וגובה קרנך. וראו גוים צדקך וכל מלכים כבודך, וקורא לך שם חדש אשר פי ד' יקבנו, והיית עטרת תפארת ביד ד' וצניף מלוכה בכף אלהיך.

Eliyahu sits every motza'ei Shabbat under the tree of life and writes the merits of Israel. Therefore it is fitting for anyone who has some relationship to longing for secrets of Torah, which is what is meant by 'an appearance of Eliyahu',' on whatever level, even if it is only by way of imagination, or feeling, or something grasped by human intelligence, and all the more so if a person ascended, by God's kindness, to higher levels, that on every motza'ei Shabbat he, also, should mimic Eliyahu's actions, and involve himself with the merits of Israel. And he should recognize the holiness of Israel with intellectual recognition and clear understanding, and the preciousness of Israel's high level and he should attach himself to the entirety of the holy nation, the nation of Hashem, the treasure that flows from Him, and that there is no limit or end to the display of the holy light of each individual among them, and even the 'empty' people of Israel – the whole world is founded upon them. And one should tremble with holy awe from the holiness of the Divine Supernal soul of every Jewish person, and to be full of avidity and delight in the holiness of the loftiness of the pride of the Israelite people in general, and the success of every individual Jew, in everything he does, physically and spiritually, and in all good. And from the depths of his soul, he should sing out and cry out, “Fortunate are you, Israel, fortunate are you, Israel, who is like you, nation saved by Hashem/ I love you, my people, my nation, I long for you with all my heart, with all my soul, I delight in you with a warm heart, with all the fire in my bones, I wish to see your glory, your beauty, your splendor, at such times that you rise up, at the times when the beauty of your pride is expanded, and all your capacities, and the wonders that are hidden in you will emerge, form potential to actual, at such time that you are planted in and become native to the land of your pride, in the land of your splendor, and the splendor of your power and the height of your pride will be revealed to the north, to the south, to the east and the west. And nations will see your righteousness, and all the kings will see your glory, and you will be called by a new name that the mouth of God will determine, and you will be a crown of splendor in the hand of God, and a mitre of kingship in the palm of your God.