Silver kiddush cup, FJ Knoll, Breslau, Poland, 19th century

Height: 5.5 cm. Diameter: 4.3 cm.

Weight: 30.6 grams.

Provenance: From the Devotionalia collection.

What is Kiddush?

Kiddush ("sanctification") is a short ceremony in which a prayer is said over a cup of wine in the evening, at the beginning of the Sabbath and other holidays. The prayer is said by the head of the house in the presence of the entire family, immediately after returning from the synagogue, before dinner, and is repeated the following morning. The prayer consists of two blessings: one over the wine and one over the Sabbath or other holiday. The father uses the Kiddush cup with the appropriate capacity, and each family member has their own, smaller Kiddush cup. This is considered healthier than drinking directly from the same large, communal Kiddush cup.

The Aish Rabbi answers: The reason for sharing the wine (or grape juice) is that the Sages recommend partaking of a "cup of blessing" (kos shel bracha)—that is, a cup used for a mitzvah ("commandment"). In this way, the "blessing" is shared with the other attendees. Therefore, after reciting the Kiddush, a person typically pours some wine from their own cup, which is then poured into smaller cups for the attendees.

It is important to share the wine properly. The host should pour some wine from their own cup before drinking. Not only is drinking from someone else's cup considered offensive by many, but only pure wine should be shared. Once someone has drunk from it, the wine is considered pagum (literally, "defective") and is no longer valid for the Kiddush—and only valid wine confers a blessing when shared. Alternatively, the person saying the Kiddush can pass their own cup after drinking. Even though that wine has already been drunk, because it is still in the original cup, it is not pagum and may be shared.

If the host pours wine from their own cup before drinking, they should be careful to pour only a small amount—so that even after pouring, they still have the full required amount of revi'it in their cup. (See this previous answer regarding the required amount of wine.) If their cup is small and there are many guests, a common solution is to pour a portion of wine from the bottle into a separate cup beforehand, and then pour a little kiddush wine into that cup before sharing it with others.

Finally, those present must wait to drink the wine they have been given until the host begins drinking. In fact, after the host pours some wine from their cup into a second cup, they must drink it immediately before sharing the poured wine with others.