One of the foundations of the Seder are the four Idioms of Redemption (לשונות של גאולה): “I will free you... I will save you... I will redeem you... I will take you” (יִּתְחַקָלְי וִּתְלַאֲגְי וִּתְלַּצִהְי וִּאתֵצֹהוְו). These four idioms are all verbs and are represented by the four cups of wine we drink during the Seder. There is an opinion in the Talmud that there is a fifth idiom, “I will bring you to the land” (יֵבֵהוְו), which was reason for the Maharal (and others) to drink a fifth cup of wine at the Seder.
When only 4 or 5 Idioms of Redemption are identified (we will soon see that there are actually a couple more), they are corresponded to the letters of Havayah from below to above, as follows:
letter of HavayahIdiom of RedemptionWorldtip of yud“I will bring” (יֵבֵהוְו)Primordial Man (ןֹמוְדַם קָדָא)ל יֶׁ שֹצוֹקוyud“I will take” (יִּתְחַקָלְו)Emanation (תּילוִצֲא)יhei“I will redeem” (יִּתְלַאֲגְו)Creation (הָיאִרְּב)הvav“I will save” (יִּתְלַּצִהְו )Formation (הָירִצְי)וhei“I will free” (יֵצֹהוְו)Action (הָּיִׂשֲע)הOne way of explaining this correspondence is to note that the first three idioms appear together in the same verse (v. 6), while the fourth and the fifth idioms are in two separate verses (7 and 8). This exactly parallels the structure of the Worlds as described in the Kabbalah.
But in the fourth idiom’s verse, there appear two additional verbs related to the goal of the Exodus: “I will be your God” (יםִהֹא-לֵם לֶכָי לִיתִיָהְו) and “You shall know that I am Havayah your God” (י הוי'נֲי אִם כֶּּתְעַידִו).
