Pouring off?

Hi,

The person who recites kiddush may pour from the Kiddush cup and drink from that other cup, so long as more than a reviit (about 4 ounces) is poured into that other cup.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:194)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Kiddush with a paper cup, expanded

Hi,

[Adding to an earlier post, here]

May I recite kiddush or havdalah using a disposable cup?

Three halachic considerations are relevant here:
• We require that the cup be "chai", which means that it must be whole. Some authorities rule that a disposable cup is inherently flawed; others argue that we only require that the cup be complete.
• We require that the cup be a "kli", an implement meeting certain halachic criteria, and some contend that a disposable cup does not meet those standards.
• We try to perform mitzvos in a beautiful manner. Disposable items, by definition, are inexpensive, and they are often unattractive.

Because of these considerations, we avoid using a disposable cup for these mitzvos. However, one who has no other option may rely on the authorities who accept disposables.

(Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:39; Minchat Yitzchak 10:23; Tzitz Eliezer 12:23; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 47:11; Beer Moshe 5:55; Contemporary Halachic Problems II 12; Rivivot Ephraim 1:150:2; Az Nidbiru 6:49; Yalkut Yosef 271:42)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Kiddush with a paper cup

Hi,

The cup used for kiddush must be whole and something people would admire. Therefore, a paper cup is not acceptable; it is disposable and not something people admire.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:39)

[I don't know how Rav Moshe would have addressed an ornate paper cup, protected by some form of laminate such that it could be used multiple times.]

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

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

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 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

Kiddush Cup: Whole and Clean

Hi,

Cups of wine which are associated with Mitzvot, like Kiddush and Havdalah, are treated with special honor. Two associated practices are:

1. Rinsing the cup, inside and outside, before using it, to ensure cleanliness;
2. Using a cup which is neither chipped nor cracked.

These are appropriate practices, but the lack thereof does not invalidate the Mitzvah. Therefore, one who realizes he forgot to rinse out the cup before filling it should not pour out the Kiddush wine.

One whose only cup is chipped may use that cup, assuming that the cup has enough uncracked height to hold the minimum of 3.8 ounces.

A guest certainly should not embarrass his host by “educating him” on these issues in public at Kiddush-time; far better to have Kiddush without these good practices.

(Code of Jewish Law, Orach Chaim 271:10; Mishneh Berurah 271:44)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Overflowing the cup for kiddush and havdalah

Hi,

The practice of overflowing the cup should be unique to Havdalah, and should not be borrowed for Kiddush.

The practice of overflowing comes from a Talmudic statement that “A house in which wine is not spilled like water will never see blessings.” [The idea is that one is showing he is not stingy, and particularly with what he spends on a mitzvah.] Thus at the start of the week we look for a blessing to help us through the week, and this applies only by Havdalah.

Even for Havdalah some authorities are uncomfortable with wasting wine for the sake of a “good sign,” and so they advise that one overflow minimally. Certainly, one should not borrow this for other cups of wine which are not “at the start of the week,” such as Kiddush.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 296:1; Mishneh Berurah 296:5; Aruch haShulchan 296 at length)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Kos Pagum - A flawed cup

Hi,

As we discussed here, one should not use a "flawed" cup for any mitzvah which involves a berachah upon a cup of wine, grape juice, etc.

The definition of a “flaw” ['Pigam' in Hebrew] is that someone else has already partaken of that liquid. Such liquid does not befit the honor the mitzvah. Therefore, one should not pour the remnants of Kiddush back into the bottle, to use another time.

There is a way to remove the “flaw,” though. If the remnants of Kiddush are currently in a cup, one may first add to the cup, rendering it “whole” (even without filling it to the top), and then pour the contents back into the bottle.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 182, 271:10; Mishneh Berurah 271:43)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Kiddush with a full cup

Hi,

We recite Kiddush with a full cup. “Full” is defined as whatever appears “full” to a human eye; the fact that the lip of the cup may be bent in a spot so that there is a tiny gap, or that there is a millimeter of air between the top and the liquid, is not relevant.

We require a full cup for all occasions when a cup is used to celebrate a Mitzvah, such as Kiddush, Havdalah, weddings and cirumcisions. One who does not have enough liquid to fill the cup, and who does not have another cup to use, may use a less-than-full cup so long as it contains at least a Reviit-measure (just under 4 ounces) of wine.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 271:10; Mishneh Berurah 271:42)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A Flawed Cup

Hi,

For the Havdalah cup (as well as for any other cup used with a mitzvah, such as at kiddush or at a wedding), one may not use a cup if someone else already drank therefrom. Such a cup is said to be pagum, flawed.

One may re-complete a flawed cup by adding beverage to it, and then it may be used.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 182, 271:10-11, 296:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai