It is written in the Talmud that when Moshiach comes, King David will drink wine out of a huge goblet. What is the spiritual significance of this goblet?

The original wording of the Talmud is as follows: “The goblet of David, King Moshiach, in the future will hold 221 Lug.” (A lug is a unit of measurement equivalent to 344 milliliters.   It follows, then, that his cup will hold over seventy five liters!)

With regard to the number 221, the Talmud finds a relationship to David’s own words in Psalms (23:5): “My cup is overflowing.” The numerical value of the Hebrew word for “overflowing,” revaya, is 221. The Hebrew word erech, one of G-d’s attributes (slow to anger), is also 221. With the Redemption, this attribute of G-d will be revealed in this world and bring with it an overflow of genuine spiritual feeling. This, perhaps, was David’s intention when he sang “my cup is overflowing.” When the level of G-dliness represented by the number 221 will be revealed in this world, we will reach spiritual “overflow.”

As described in the Talmud, King David will hold this cup during the great feast of Moshiach, at which Leviathan, wild ox and preserved wine will be served. He will say: “I will bless, and it is appropriate for me to give a blessing, since it is written, “A cup of salvation I shall lift, and in the name of G-d I shall call.” What is the meaning of this blessing?

Chassidic teachings explain that the effect of a blessing is similar to grafting a branch in the ground. (The Hebrew word for blessing, bracha, has the same root as the word for grafting, havracha.) When grafting, we draw the branch into the ground. When saying a blessing, we draw down divine inspiration into the world. When King David will bless his huge goblet, he will “draw down” the attribute of G-d represented by the number 221, and elevate the goblet to a higher spiritual level: “A cup of salvation I shall lift.”