Kiddush is the blessing recited over a cup of wine or grape juice to sanctify the Sabbath or a festival at its start, fulfilling the biblical command to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Recited at the start of the Friday evening meal and again, in shorter form, before the Sabbath midday meal, it is repeated with variant wording for each of the pilgrimage festivals and the New Year, the person reciting it discharging the obligation for everyone present who answers Amen.
Facts
Practice
Who Performs ItHouseholders, those living in the world 1 Though custom assigns leadership to the head of the household, halakhah holds that any adult Jew obligated in the commandment may recite kiddush for the whole table, and someone who has already fulfilled the obligation may still recite it aloud to discharge it for others present who answer amen, the vicarious-fulfillment principle known as shomea k'oneh. Practitioner DetailRecited by the head of the household or by any adult Jew present over a cup that is then shared with everyone at the table 2 FrequencyBeyond the two required recitations each Sabbath, kiddush is also recited to sanctify each of the three pilgrimage festivals and Rosh Hashanah with festival specific wording; in colloquial American Jewish usage the word has separately come to denote the light communal reception held after Sabbath morning services, an informal extension distinct from the blessing itself. Origins
Place of OriginKiddush's obligation and fixed wording were substantially developed through Talmudic exegesis, particularly in tractate Pesachim, of the biblical command to remember the Sabbath day, work carried out by the rabbis of Roman era Judea and Sasanian era Babylonia, the same centers that produced most of standard rabbinic liturgy. 1 Historical OriginIts recitation over wine at the Sabbath's start fulfills the biblical command in Exodus to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, and it is already assumed as established practice, with the order of its blessings set out, in the Mishnah. 1 Use
OccasionThe onset of the Sabbath on Friday evening and again the following morning, and the onset of each of the biblical pilgrimage festivals and the New Year 1 Attestation
Earliest AttestationThe Mishnah's tractate Berakhot, redacted around 200 CE, already assumes Kiddush as an established obligation and records a dispute between the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel over the order of its blessings 2 Attributions
TraditionJudaism, observed across its major streams with variation chiefly in melody and custom 1 PurposeFulfills the biblical instruction to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, marking the transition from the ordinary week into sacred time over a cup shared by the household 1 Meaning
Literal MeaningHebrew kiddush, literally sanctification, naming the blessing's function of declaring the Sabbath or festival day set apart and holy. 1 Form
Implements and MaterialsA silver goblet is often used, although any cup can suffice 3 What Is Offered Status
Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 3 Current StatusA living, near-universal practice across observant Jewish households worldwide 2 Standing as a Comparative CategoryA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2 Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd editionMichael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.)
Originates in Language
Source Kiddush (Wikipedia)
Related To
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition
Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.), Macmillan Reference USA, 2007View the Source 2. Jewish Liturgy: A Comprehensive History
Ismar Elbogen, translated by Raymond P. Scheindlin, Jewish Publication Society and Jewish Theological Seminary, 1993View the Source 3. Kiddush (Wikipedia)
Rituals, paragraph 1
a silver goblet is often used, although any cup can suffice
Rituals, paragraph 3
Wine or grape juice may be used for kiddush.
Lead section
is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify Shabbat and Jewish holidays
In Group: Jewish Sabbath and Festival Rites, Introduction, sentences 1-2
Kiddush (Hebrew: קִידּוּשׁ, lit. 'sanctification', modern: [ki'duʃ], biblical: [qid'duːʃ]; also English: ) is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
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