Kiddush
Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after the prayer services and before the meal.
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.
[3] 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.
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.
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.
There are different customs regarding sitting or standing while reciting kiddush depending on communal and family tradition.
Some Hasidic and Sephardic Jews pour small amounts of water into the wine before kiddush on Friday night.
כִּי בָנוּ בָחַרְתָּ וְאוֹתָנוּ קִדַּשְׁתָּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים, וְשַׁבַּת קָדְשְׁךָ בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחַלְתָּנוּ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ מְקַדֵּשׁ הַשַׁבָּת. Permit me, distinguished ones, rabbis, guests and colleagues: Blessed are You, the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
(Amen) Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments, and hoped for us, and with love and intent invested us with His sacred Sabbath, as a memorial to the deed of Creation.
(Amen) (When the holiday coincides with Shabbat (Friday night), the verses from Genesis (Evening became... had performed) precede this kiddush, and the sections in brackets are added.)
(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.
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.
(An example is the concluding formula "Blessed are You, the LORD, King over the entire world, Who sanctifies [the Sabbath,] Israel, and the Day of Remembrance.")
During the day, the verses Psalms 81:4–5 (Ashkenazi) or Numbers 10:10 (Sephardic) are recited prior to the blessing over wine.
While on a year-round Motzai Shabbat one can extinguish the candle used for Havdalah, this is not permitted when the evening coincides with a Holiday date (Yom Tov).
[15][16] In many Ashkenazic communities, Kiddush is recited at the end of Friday night services even though nobody eats there.
[17] This was instituted in ancient times on behalf of guests who slept in the synagogue and did not have a place to eat, and Halachic authorities debate whether it is proper to continue this practice.
On Shavuot morning, the custom is to serve dairy foods such as cheesecake and cheese blintzes for the kiddush.
Eating mezonot such as cake or cookies or drinking an additional revi'it of wine is also sufficient according to the opinion of most Rishonim.
[20] 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.
The Mishnah Berurah (an authoritative Ashkenazi halakhic text) rules that under extenuating circumstances, liquor may be substituted for wine on the grounds that it is Hamar Medina, a drink one would serve to a respected guest; nevertheless, many rely on this even without extenuating circumstances.
