Arriving by airplane on Shabbat

Hi,

Today we begin a new, summer-appropriate set of laws: Laws related to travel.

'Techum' refers to the boundary beyond which one may not travel on Shabbat. The boundary is 2000 amot, about 1 kilometer, outside of the community where one starts Shabbat.

One who travels by airplane with enough time to arrive before Shabbat, and then arrives on Shabbat only due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances, may disembark on Shabbat despite considerations of having passed beyond his techum, so long as he does not break any non-techum laws of Shabbat in disembarking. He may then travel up to 2000 amot in any direction, on foot, and if this brings him into a community then he may travel the entire area of that community.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 248:14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tzedakah on a Fast Day

Hi,

We are taught that the major reward for fasting comes from giving tzedakah, and so some people give tzedakah on fast days based on the amount they would have spent on food for that day.

(Mishneh Berurah 566:12)

Have an easy and meaningful fast,
Mordechai

The 17th of Tammuz

Hi,

Tuesday June 28th is the fast of the 17th day of the month of Tammuz, and it begins a three-week national Jewish mourning period.

On the 17th of Tammuz one neither eats nor drinks, but - unlike the fasts of Tisha b'Av and Yom Kippur - one may wear leather shoes and wash normally.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 550:2)

For more on the fast, click here; for more on the Three Weeks of mourning, click here.

Be well,
Mordechai

Text of the daytime kiddush

Hi,

The Friday night Kiddush fulfills a biblical obligation to verbally commemorate the entrance of Shabbat. The daytime Kiddush, on the other hand, is a rabbinic enactment intended to increase the honor of the day.

Technically, the daytime Kiddush is simply the "Borei Pri haGafen" blessing recited over wine. We add verses before that blessing ("Im Tashiv," "veShamru," "Zachor," and/or "Al Ken,") in order to give the Kiddush more substance. Technically, though, one who simply makes the appropriate blessing for the beverage and drinks it on the day of Shabbat, with a meal, has fulfilled his obligation.

(Mishneh Berurah 289:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Kiddush and Candles

Hi,

We have already mentioned that one should look at the Shabbat candles before reciting Kiddush on Friday night. According to one school, one must recite Kiddush in the room containing the Shabbat candles. This is a minority view.

In practice, it is preferable to eat in the room with the candles. Since the candles are there to provide enjoyment rather than pain, one may eat elsewhere if eating in that room would be difficult.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 273:7; Mishneh Berurah 273:32)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Multiple Kiddushes?

Hi,

Eating a small meal with kiddush fulfills one's obligation.

Therefore, if a person recites Kiddush, eats some food and then chooses to eat another meal in another room or another house, he does not recite Kiddush again. (One may recite the daytime Kiddush at as many meals as one wishes, but the nighttime Kiddush should not be repeated.)

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 273:2; Mishneh Berurah 273:9-10)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Defining a 'meal' for Kiddush

Hi,

We have said that Kiddush must be recited where one will eat a meal.

For this purpose, 'meal' includes an olive-sized quantity of bread, or grain-based mezonot - pasta, cake or cookies, for example.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 273:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Eating soon after kiddush

Hi,

As we have discussed, Kiddush is supposed to eaten with a meal. "With a meal" is understood both spatially and - temporally. One should eat something right after Kiddush, without a major gap in time.

One who does end up waiting some time between Kiddush and eating need not recite Kiddush again.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 273:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Reciting kiddush at the site of one's meal

Hi,

Kiddush is supposed to be recited with a meal, for Tanach (Isaiah 58:13) links the "declaration of Shabbat" with "enjoyment of Shabbat." Therefore, one should recite Kiddush in the specific location where one will eat the meal.

We define "location" as any site from which one can see the place where one will eat the meal. One should be in the same room.

If one recites Kiddush in the Succah and then rain begins, one may move the meal indoors into a room which could be seen from the Succah. This is a leniency due to great need.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 273:1; Mishneh Berurah 273:1,3,5,7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Kiddush over liquor

Hi,

People often use liquor for Kiddush on Shabbat day. One question arises, though: What do we do with the minimum volume measures which we have discussed?

The ideal is for the person reciting Kiddush to use a cup which holds a minimum of 3.8 ounces, and to drink a cheekful (about two ounces) in one or two swallows. If that is impossible, and one only has liquor available for Kiddush, then one should still use a cup holding a minimum of 3.8 ounces in the cup, and combine the drinking of all who hear kiddush, toward the total two ounces.

(Mishneh Berurah 272:30)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Alternatives to wine for the nighttime kiddush

Hi,

We have been learning about reciting Kiddush on Friday night.

What does one do for the Friday night Kiddush if wine is not an option, for health reasons or because it is not available?

There is some debate as to whether one may substitute other alcoholic beverages for the nighttime Kiddush, and so these should be avoided. There is some debate as to whether one may use grape juice, and varying customs have developed regarding its use.

If one does not have wine as an option, and one does not use grape juice for Kiddush, then one may recite Kiddush over bread. One washes as we do for bread regularly, then one says the regular Kiddush while holding the bread, and one substitutes the blessing over bread in place of the blessing over wine.

It should be noted that if the normal reciter of Kiddush cannot drink wine but another adult present is able to drink wine, the optimal solution is for that other adult to recite Kiddush for him.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 272:9; Mishneh Berurah ibid.)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Heated wines and Sweetened wines for kiddush

Hi,

We have been learning about the beverage used for Kiddush.

One may use heated wine, and one may use specially-sweetened wine.

In truth, these beverages are not preferred. The preference for non-heated wine comes from the belief that heating causes a deterioration of taste. The preference for non-sweetened wine is because sweetened wine has non-wine tastes mixed in.

Certainly, if these wines taste better (subject to the drinker's tastes) than non-sweetened or non-heated wines, one may use the better-tasting wines.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 272:8; Mishneh Berurah 272:19-21,23)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Kiddush: Red Wine or White Wine?

Hi,

There is a preference for using red wine rather than white wine for kiddush, assuming one is using wine at all, because a sentence in Tehillim refers to the redness of wine as a key characteristic defining wine. Nonetheless, one who does not have red wine, or one who has a dislike for red wines, may use white wine.

Note that “white” and “red” here refer only to the visible color of the wine, and not to the color of the grapes.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 272:4; Mishneh Berurah 272:9,10,12)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

When kiddush goes bad

Hi,

One must make sure that the beverage to be used for Kiddush has not gone bad. In the case of wine, for example, “going bad” refers to developing a taste, or even a smell, which indicates the wine has become vinegary, sour or in any way repulsive.

One who recites Kiddush and then realizes the beverage has gone bad should locate a new beverage and recite Kiddush again.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 272:1; Mishneh Berurah 272:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Drinking at kiddush

Hi,

As we have mentioned, there is no obligation for each person at the table to drink from the actual “Kiddush cup.”

In fact, there is no obligation for attendees to drink at all, so long as the person reciting Kiddush drinks the minimum volume. All things being equal, though, it is good and appropriate for people to drink after the person reciting Kiddush drinks.

(Mishneh Berurah 271:83)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Passing the kiddush cup around

Hi,

There is a widespread practice of having the host pass around the Kiddush cup, or at least add to the individual cups from the Kiddush cup. This is a nice practice. In fact, though, this is not obligatory; each guest may have his/her own cup with some appropriate beverage in it, and may drink from it without any addition of the Kiddush beverage.

The only time the host need add is if someone has already partaken from one of the guest-cups, so that this cup is rendered flawed. Adding some of the Kiddush beverage corrects that flaw. Otherwise, though, there is no need to add from the Kiddush cup.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 271:17; Mishneh Berurah 271:81)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Interruptions between kiddush and drinking

Hi,

In the last few days we have discussed volume and time requirements for drinking the Kiddush beverage.

As with every berachah (blessing), there should be no interruption between concluding Kiddush and drinking.

One who recites Kiddush and then interrupts verbally before drinking should simply repeat the one-line blessing for the beverage itself - and not the whole Kiddush - and then drink. Please note that speech which directly relates to the meal is not considered an interruption.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 271:15; Mishneh Berurah 271:75-76)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Cumulative kiddush consumption

Hi,

We have stated that fulfilling the mitzvah of Kiddush involves drinking a two-ounce measure in a brief period of time. Ideally, the one who recites Kiddush should drink this measure. If someone else would drink the measure, though, that would suffice.

According to one view, collective drinking to reach the required total may be sufficient, if the listeners consumed a cumulative two ounces right after Kiddush. However, one should not rely upon this view unlesss no other option is available.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 271:14; Mishneh Berurah 271:72-73)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

How long should kiddush take?

Hi,

Yesterday we learned that the person reciting Kiddush should drink a minimum of two ounces, a measure which is roughly that of a cheekful for a normal person.

There is a time component to this act of drinking, too - one should drink Kiddush at a normal pace. It is generally assumed that two ounces are normally consumed in one or two swallows, in a span of 10 to 20 seconds.

(Mishneh Berurah 271:68)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

How much must one drink for kiddush?

Hi,

To fulfill the Mitzvah of Kiddush, one must drink a cheekful. The standard measure for a “cheekful” is that it is the majority of a “Revi'it.” A Revi'it is about 3.8 ounces, making a cheekful approximately 2 ounces.

One whose frame is so large that his “cheekful” is significantly larger than 2 ounces should drink whatever amount is a cheekful for him.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 271:13; Mishneh Berurah 271:68)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Simultaneous kiddushes

Hi,

Sometimes two families eat together and a member of each family recites Kiddush for that family.

Should they choose to do this, the two should not recite Kiddush simultaneously, as it would be hard for the individual family members to distinguish between the two voices reciting Kiddush. One should recite Kiddush, and then the other.

(Mishneh Berurah 271:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Savri

Hi,

When Reuven fulfills the Kiddush obligation on behalf of Shimon, both must concentrate on the fact that Reuven is reciting Kiddush for Shimon. Therefore, it is appropriate for the person reciting Kiddush to remind everyone present of this fact.

This is what we do when say “Savri Maranan veRabbanan viRabotai (Pay attention, my masters and teachers)” before reciting the blessing.

(Mishneh Berurah 271:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Who recites kiddush?

Hi,

Kiddush is a mitzvah for both men and women. Therefore, either a man or a woman may recite Kiddush for the household.

A man who recites Kiddush and drinks in the synagogue should not be the one to recite Kiddush for the family at home; he should have another adult household member recite Kiddush.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chayyim 271:2; Mishneh Berurah 271:4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Standing or Sitting for Kiddush, Part II

Hi,

We have mentioned that there is merit in sitting for Kiddush, as this establishes one's location for the meal and Kiddush is supposed to be “on the site” of the meal.

There is another reason to sit, and this is specifically where one is reciting Kiddush for other people. Sitting down together establishes that they are all in the same group. As such, it is appropriate for all involved to be seated.

Standing does not invalidate the Kiddush for the group, though(and especially if one must stand in order to be audible). The only practice which would invalidate the Kiddush would be to have everyone milling about in different directions.

(Mishneh Berurah 271:46)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Standing or Sitting for Kiddush

Hi,

We stand when reciting Kiddush, at least for the first paragraph, because that paragraph serves as testimony to Gd's creation of the world and because the initials of the opening words spell out Gd's unpronounceable name, Yud-Hei-Vav and Hei (Yom Hashishi Vayechulu Hashamayim).

Some sit even for the first paragraph, because Kiddush is supposed to be established in the location of one's meal; in halachah, one establishes a location by sitting down.

Either custom is appropriate.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 271:10; Mishneh Berurah 271:45-46)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Looking at the candles during kiddush

Hi,

There is a practice of looking at the Shabbat candles just before reciting Kiddush, and then looking at the actual cup of wine during Kiddush.

Looking at the Shabbat candles reminds us of the day, and it also enables us to enjoy the light we created for Shabbat. Further, the Talmud indicates that there is healing power in the light of the Shabbat candles.

We turn our eyes back to the Kiddush cup during Kiddush to avoid distraction from the blessing.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 271:10; Mishneh Berurah 271:48)

Have a great day,
Mordechai