Silver Kiddush Cup and Saucer
with Golden Highlights - Old Jerusalem
This gorgeous kiddush cup will add a touch of splendor to your table on the Sabbath and holidays, and to your mantel or display case the rest of the time!
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Kiddush
Sanctifying Sabbath and holidays, with special blessings over wine.
Published by Oxford University Press.
Kiddush is the sanctification of the Sabbath.
On Friday night, when the Sabbath begins, the Kiddush ceremony is carried out before sitting down to the Sabbath meal. A cup of wine is filled and held in the hand by the person presiding, usually but not necessarily the father of the house, and the benediction over wine recited.
Then the Kiddush proper is recited: 'Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hath hallowed us by Thy commandments and hast taken pleasure in us, and in love and favor hast given us Thy holy Sabbath as an inheritance, a memorial of the creation--that day being also the first day of the holy convocations, in remembrance of the departure from Egypt. For Thou hast chosen us and hallowed us above all nations, and in love and favor hast given us Thy holy Sabbath as an inheritance. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who hallowest the Sabbath.'
Kiddush in Aramaic means "Holy".
Significance
The Torah refers to two requirements concerning Shabbat - to "keep it" and to "remember it" (
shamor and
zakhor).
Jewish law therefore requires that Shabbat be observed in two respects. One must "keep it" by refraining from
thirty-nine forbidden activities, and one must "remember it" by making special arrangements for the day, and specifically through the
kiddush ceremony.
Reciting
kiddush before the meal on the eve of
Shabbat and
Jewish holidays is thus a commandment from the Torah (as it is explained by the
Oral Torah). Reciting
kiddush before the morning meal on Shabbat and holidays is a requirement of rabbinic origin. Kiddush is not usually recited at the
third meal on Shabbat, although
Maimonides was of the opinion that wine should be drunk at this meal as well.
Rituals
Engraved sterling silver kiddush cup
To honor the
mitzvah of reciting
kiddush, a silver goblet is often used, although any cup can suffice. The cup must hold a
revi'it of liquid. A
revi'it is between 5.46
fluid ounces (161.5
ml) (Rabbi
Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz) and 3.07
fluid ounces (90.7
ml) (Rabbi
Avraham Chaim Naeh). After the person reciting the kiddush drinks from the wine, the rest of it is passed around the table or poured out into small cups for the other participants. Alternatively, wine is poured for each of the participants before kiddush.
Before reciting
kiddush, the
challah, which will be the next food item eaten in honor of the Shabbat or holiday, is first covered with a cloth. According to
Halakha, the blessing over bread takes precedence to the blessing over wine. 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.
Synagogue kiddush
According to the
Shulchan Aruch, kiddush should be recited preceding the Shabbat meal. Eating
mezonot such as cake or cookies or drinking an additional revi'it of wine, was also deemed sufficient. Nevertheless, some Jews recite kiddush only when about to partake of a full meal.
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. 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
Ashkenazi halakhic text) allows liquor to be substituted for wine on the grounds that it is
Hamar Medina, a drink one would serve to a respected guest.
Kiddush customs
In the absence of wine or grape juice, Friday night
kiddush may 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.
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
In many synagogues,
kiddush is recited on Friday night at the end of services. This
kiddush 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 begins with a passage from
Genesis 2:1-3, as a testimony to God's creation of the world and cessation of work on the seventh day. Some people stand during the recital of these
Biblical verses (even if they sit for kiddush), since according to Jewish law testimony must be given standing.
There are different customs regarding sitting or standing while reciting kiddush depending on communal and family tradition.
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.
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