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However, in the interests of beginning the meal with kiddush, the challah is covered to "remove"
it from the table (some do not have the challah on the table at
all during kiddush). Some interpret the covering of the challah
allegorically, explaining that just as we go out of our way to protect
an inanimate object (the bread) from being "insulted"
(by the blessing over wine taking precedence), we should display
the same sensitivity toward the feelings of other people [1]. After prayer
services on the Shabbat or holiday morning, kiddush is often recited
in the synagogue's social hall, although the participants do not
intend to sit down to a full meal. Instead, cake or other light
refreshments are served. Some only recite kiddush when they are
about the partake of the full morning meal.
In the absence
of wine or grape juice, the Friday night kiddush may also be recited
over the challah; the blessing over bread is substituted for the
blessing over wine. In that case, the ritual hand-washing normally
performed prior to consuming the challah is done before the recitation
of kiddush. Some groups, including German Jews, follow this procedure
even if wine is present. If there is only sufficient wine or grape
juice for one kiddush, it should be used for the Friday night kiddush.[1]
In many synagogues,
kiddush is recited on Friday night at the end of services. This
kiddush is normally drunk by children under the age of Bar Mitzvah/Bat
Mitzvah and does not take the place of the obligation to recite
kiddush at the Friday night meal. When recited in a synagogue, the
first paragraph (Genesis 2:1-3) is omitted.
The text of
the Friday night kiddush at the meal begins with a passage from
Genesis 2:1-3, as a kind of testimony to God's creation of the world,
and His cessation of work on the seventh day. Many people stand
during the recital of these Biblical verses (even if they sit for
kiddush, see below), since according to Jewish law testimony must
be given standing.
There are different
customs regarding the position assumed while reciting kiddush. The
original practice was probably to recite the kiddush sitting (or
reclining), and this is followed by most Ashkenazic Jews. Sephardic
and Hasidic Jews have adopted the kabbalistic custom to stand during
the kiddush.
Text of Friday Night Kiddush in English
[And it was evening and it was morning], the sixth day. And the
heavens and the earth and all their hosts were completed. And God
finished by the seventh day His work which He had done, and He rested
on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. And God
blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He rested from
all His work which God created to function.
Attention, gentlemen,
[rabbis, and my teachers]!
Blessed are
You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of
the vine. (Amen)
Blessed are
You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with
His commandments, has desired us, and has given us, in love and
good will, His holy Shabbat as a heritage, in remembrance of the
work of Creation; the first of the holy festivals, commemorating
the Exodus from Egypt. For You have chosen us and sanctified us
from among all the nations, and with love and good will given us
Your holy Shabbat as a heritage. Blessed are You, Lord, who sanctifies
the Shabbat. (Amen)
Shabbat morning kiddush
Since the Shabbat morning kiddush is rabbinically rather than biblically
mandated, it has a lesser status than the Friday night kiddush.
In order to elevate its importance, it is euphemistically referred
to as "Kiddusha Rabba"—?????? ???—"The Great Kiddush."
There are different versions for the kiddush on Sabbath morning,
and it is generally shorter than the Friday night kiddush. Originally,
this kiddush consisted only of the blessing over the wine.
Text of Shabbat Morning Kiddush in English
(And the Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbat, by establishing
the Shabbat for their generations as an eternal covenant. Between
Me and the Children of Israel it is an eternal sign, that [in] six
days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh
day He ceased from work and rested. (Exodus 31:16-17)
(Remember the
Shabbat day to sanctify it. Six days you shall labor and do all
your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat for the LORD your God;
you shall not do any work — you, your son and your daughter, your
manservant and your maidservant, and your cattle, and the stranger
who is in your gates. For [in] six days the LORD made the heavens,
the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh
day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Shabbat day and made it holy.
(Exodus 20:8-11))
Attention, gentlemen,
[rabbis, and my teachers]!
Blessed are
You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of
the vine. (Amen)
After the kiddush
(as for any other blessing) those present say "amen,"
which means "truly." Those who say "amen" are
considered to have said the kiddush by proxy.
Holiday night kiddush
This version of kiddush is said on the festival nights of Passover,
Shavuot, Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. The sections
in brackets are added when the holiday coincides with Shabbat (Friday
night).
Text of Holiday Kiddush in English
Attention, gentlemen, [rabbis, and my teachers]! Blessed are You,
Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the
vine. (Amen)
Blessed are
You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the
nations, and elevated us above all tongues, and sanctified us with
His commandments. And You gave us, Lord our God, with love, [Sabbaths
for rest and] festivals for happiness, holidays and times for joy,
this day [of Shabbat and this day of]
(on Passover):
the Festival of Matzos, the time of our freedom
(on Shavuot): the Festival of Weeks, the time of the giving of our
Torah
(on Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah): the eighth day, the Festival
of Assembly, the time of our happiness
[With love], a holy convocation, a remembrance of the Exodus from
Egypt. Because You chose us, and sanctified us from all the nations,
[and Shabbat] and Your holy festivals [in love and in avor] in happiness
and in joy You have given us as a heritage. Blessed are You, God,
Who sanctifies [the Shabbat] and Israel and the holiday seasons.
(Amen)
On Sukkot, the
following blessing is added immediately after kiddush when the meal
takes place in a kosher sukkah:
Blessed are
You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with
His commandments and commanded us to dwell in the sukkah. (Amen)
On all the holidays, this blessing is recited after the nighttime
kiddush (except on the last two nights of Passover, when it is omitted):
Blessed are
You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has kept us alive and
sustained us and brought us to this season. (Amen)
Holiday morning kiddush
When the festival coincides with Shabbat, first the Biblical verses
(above, Shabbat morning kiddush) are recited, followed by two additional
verses and the blessing over wine. When the holiday falls on a weekday,
the morning kiddush begins with the two verses:
Holiday Morning Kiddush in English
(These are the festivals of God, holy convocations, that you should
announce at their appointed times (Leviticus 23:4).
(And Moses declared
the festivals of the Lord to the Children of Israel (Leviticus 23:44).)
Attention, Gentlemen!
Blessed are
You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of
the vine. (Amen)
Kiddush reception
By extension, the term "kiddush" may also refer to a reception
of wine, cake, soft drinks, and buffet items such as herring, kugel,
salads and cholent following Shabbat morning services at the synagogue
or home. Often a kiddush is hosted by a family celebrating the birth
of a daughter, a bar mitzvah, a wedding, an engagement, a birthday,
or other happy occasion. Some people also host a kiddush on the
yahrtzeit of a parent or other relative. In some synagogues the
celebrant is honored with reciting the Shabbat morning kiddush on
behalf of all the attendees. In other synagogues the Rabbi or gabbai
recites the kiddush.
Variants
Some Hasidic and Sephardic Jews dilute the wine with water before
kiddush on Friday night to commemorate the old custom of "mixing
of the wine" in the days when wine was too strong to be drunk
without dilution.
Some Jews make kiddush on Shabbat morning over liquor instead of
wine. When this is done, the blessing recited is she-hakol nihyeh
bid'varo instead of borei p'ri ha-gafen. The Mishnah Berurah (an
authoritative Ashkenazic halakhic text) allows liquor to be substituted
for wine on the grounds that it is Hamar Medina, generally interpreted
to mean a drink one would serve to a respected guest. Most people
consider non-wine alcoholic beverages to be Hamar Medina, but there
is some disagreement on the status of soft drinks and other non-alcoholic
beverages. There is also a question as to whether kiddush requires
a revi'it when recited over hard liquor when the typical serving
is less than a revi'it.
Many Conservative Jews who do not otherwise follow the laws of kosher
wine will take care to use it for kiddush.
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