# Why do Jews set a place/open the door for Elijah at the Passover seder?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-set-a-place-open-the-door-for-elijah-at-the-passover-seder/367809>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 8, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-set-a-place-open-the-door-for-elijah-at-the-passover-seder/367809 "2006-08-08T03:34:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-set-a-place-open-the-door-for-elijah-at-the-passover-seder/367809/21 "2006-08-09T02:10:30Z")

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[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold]  
“What’s that boy? The Messiah is here? He’s trapped down the old well?”  
[/QUOTE]

😃

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**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-set-a-place-open-the-door-for-elijah-at-the-passover-seder/367809/22 "2006-08-09T02:11:21Z")

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[QUOTE=Eve]  
Well, everything bad that’s happened to the Jews since the early '70s I blame on my father . . .  
[/QUOTE]

_Including_ Jackie Mason ??

I feel for your father.

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**Author:** ![Zahava424](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/76d3ee/32.png) [@Zahava424](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zahava424)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-set-a-place-open-the-door-for-elijah-at-the-passover-seder/367809/23 "2006-08-09T04:11:33Z")

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[QUOTE=Anne Neville]  
If you can get Jews, Christians, and Muslims to peacefully share the Temple site (along with the other stuff the Messiah is supposed to do), getting a cat or dog to talk should be pretty easy for you.  
[/QUOTE]

Who said he would do that?

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**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-set-a-place-open-the-door-for-elijah-at-the-passover-seder/367809/24 "2006-08-09T04:38:41Z")

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[QUOTE=Zahava424]  
Who said he would do that?  
[/QUOTE]

Well, there will be world peace (weapons of war will be destroyed: Ezekiel 39:9), the Temple will be rebuilt (Ezekiel 40), and God’s House shall be called a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:3-7) which I think implies that.

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