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29 ‎[1] It is a positive commandment from the Torah to sanctify the Sabbath day with a verbal statement, as [implied by Exodus 20:8]: "Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it" - i.e., remember it with [words of] praise [that reflect its] holiness.
This remembrance must be made at the Sabbath's entrance and at its departure: at the [day's] entrance with the *kiddush* that sanctifies the day, and at its departure with *havdalah*. ‎[2] This is the text of the *kiddush*, sanctifying the day:
Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and has desired us. He has given us the holy Sabbath with love and with favor as an inheritance and a commemoration of the work of creation.
It is the first of the convocations of holiness, a commemoration of the exodus from Egypt. For You have chosen us and sanctified us from among all the nations. With love and favor You have granted us Your holy Sabbath as an inheritance. Blessed are You, God, who sanctifies the Sabbath.
‎[3] This is the text of the *havdalah* prayer:
Blessed are You God, our Lord, King of the universe, who distinguishes between the holy and the mundane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, and between the seventh day and the six days of activity. Blessed are You, God, who distinguishes between the holy and the mundane.
‎[4] The essence [of the mitzvah] of sanctifying the Sabbath [is to do so] at night. If a person does not recite *kiddush* at night - whether consciously or inadvertently - he may recite *kiddush* throughout the entire [Sabbath] day.
A person who does not recite *havdalah* at night may recite [this blessing] on the following day, and [indeed] may recite [this blessing] until [nightfall] on Tuesday [if he does not fulfill his obligation beforehand].
[Although the *havdalah* blessing may be recited at a later time,] one should recite the blessing on a flame only on Saturday night. ‎[5] A person is forbidden to eat or to drink wine from the commencement of the Sabbath onward until he recites *kiddush*. Similarly, after the conclusion of the day, a person is forbidden to begin to eat, drink, perform labor, or taste anything until he recites *havdalah*. Drinking water is, however, permitted.
Should a person forget or transgress and eat or drink before reciting *kiddush* or *havdalah*, he may nevertheless recite *kiddush* or *havdalah* afterwards. ‎[6] It is a mitzvah [instituted by] our Sages to recite *kiddush* over [a cup of] wine and to recite *havdalah* over [a cup of] wine.
Although one recites *havdalah* in one's [evening] prayers, one is required to recite [this blessing] over a cup [of wine]. [Nevertheless,] once a person has said "[Blessed is He] who distinguishes between the holy and the mundane," he is permitted to perform labor even though he has not recited *havdalah* over a cup [of wine].
One should recite the blessing over the wine first, and then recite the *kiddush*. One should not wash one's hands until after the recitation of *kiddush*. ‎[7] What is the procedure he should follow: He should take a cup that contains a *revi'it* or more, wash it thoroughly inside, and rinse its outside. He should fill it with wine, hold it in his right hand, lifting it above the ground more than a handbreadth, without supporting it with his left hand.
One recites the blessing [*borey pri] hagefen* and then the *kiddush*. It is, however, common custom among the Jewish people first to recite the passage *Vayechulu*, then the blessing [*borey pri] hagefen* and then the *kiddush*
One should drink [at least] a cheekful of wine and give all those joining in the meal to drink. Afterwards, one washes one's hands, recites the blessing *hamotzi*, and [begins] eating. ‎[8] [The mitzvah of] *kiddush* [may be fulfilled] only in the place of one's meal. What is implied? A person should not recite the *kiddush* in one house and eat his meal in another. One may, however, recite *kiddush* in one corner and eat one's meal in another.
[One might ask:] Why is *kiddush* recited in the synagogue? Because of the guests who eat and drink there. ‎[9] A person who desires to partake of bread more than of wine, and similarly, a person who has no wine, should wash his hands, recite the blessing *hamotzi*, and then recite *kiddush*. Afterwards, he should break bread and eat.
It is a mitzvah to recite a blessing over wine on the Sabbath day before partaking of the second [Sabbath] meal. This is called "the great *kiddush*." One recites only the blessing *borey pri hagefen*, partakes of the wine, washes one's hands, and begins the meal.
[On the Sabbath day as well,] a person is forbidden to taste any food before he recites *kiddush*. This *kiddush* may also be recited only in the place where one eats one's meal. ‎[11] A person may recite *kiddush* over a cup [of wine] on Friday before sunset, even though the Sabbath has not commenced. Similarly, he may recite *havdalah* over a cup [of wine] before sunset, even though it is still Sabbath. For the mitzvah of remembering the Sabbath involves making [a statement to this effect] at the entrance and the departure of the Sabbath, or slightly before these times. ‎[12] A person who is in the midst of eating [a meal] on Friday when the Sabbath commences should spread a cloth over the table, recite *kiddush*, complete his meal, and recite grace.
A person who is in the midst of eating [a meal] on the Sabbath when the Sabbath departs should complete his meal, wash his hands, recite grace over a cup of wine, and afterwards recite *havdalah* over [this cup]. If he is sitting and drinking, he should interrupt his drinking,recite *havdalah*, and begin drinking again. ‎[13] A person who is eating and completes his meal at the commencement of the Sabbath should recite grace first and then recite *kiddush* on a second cup of wine. He should not recite grace and *kiddush* on the same cup [of wine], because two mitzvot should not be performed with the same cup [of wine]. For both the mitzvah of *kiddush* and the mitzvah of grace are mitzvot that emanate from the Torah itself. ‎[14] *Kiddush* may be recited only on wine that is fit to be offered as a libation on the altar. Therefore, if one mixed even a drop of honey or yeast the size of a mustard seed in a large barrel [of wine], *kiddush* may not be recited upon it.
This is the ruling that we follow universally in the west. There is, however, an opinion that allows *kiddush* to be recited on such wine. [This view] explains that the term "wine that is fit to be offered as a libation on the altar" excludes only wine with an unpleasant fragrance, wine that was left uncovered,or wine that was cooked. *Kiddush* may not be recited on any of these wines. ‎[15] Wine that tastes like vinegar may not be used for *kiddush* although its fragrance is that of wine. Similarly, we may not recite *kiddush* over [the beverage produced from] pouring water over the dregs of wine, although it tastes like wine.
When does the above apply? When the ratio between the water poured over the dregs and the beverage produced is less than three parts to four parts. If, however, the ratio is more than three parts to four parts, [the beverage produced is considered to be] diluted wine, and *kiddush* may be recited over it. ‎[16] When a person drinks from a vessel containing wine, even if he drinks only a small amount from a vessel that contains many *revi'iot* [of wine], he has blemished the wine and invalidated it. We may not recite *kiddush* over the remainder, because it is regarded like the remnants left over in a cup. ‎[17] Although the fragrance of wine resembles vinegar, if its flavor resembles wine, *kiddush* may be recited over it. Similarly, [*kiddush* may be recited over] diluted wine.
We may recite *kiddush* over raisin wine, provided it is made from raisins that [are not entirely dried out] - i.e., if one presses them, they will release a concentrated syrup.
Similarly, a person may recite *kiddush* over wine fresh from the wine press, [i.e., grape juice]. Indeed, a person may squeeze a cluster of grapes and recite *kiddush* over the juice immediately thereafter.
Although the majority of a country uses beer instead of wine, [the beer] is not acceptable for *kiddush*. It may, nevertheless, be used for *havdalah*, for in that country it serves as a substitute for wine. ‎[18] Just as we recite *kiddush* on Friday night and *havdalah* on Saturday night, so too, we recite *kiddush* on the night of a holiday's commencement and *havdalah* on the night following a holiday and on the night following Yom Kippur, for they are all "Sabbaths of God."
We recite *havdalah* on the night leading from a holiday to *chol hamo'ed*, and on the night leading from the Sabbath to a holiday, but not on the night leading from a holiday to the Sabbath. ‎[19] [The following is] the text of the *kiddush* recited on festivals:
Blessed are You, God our Lord, King of the universe, who has chosen us from all the nations, and raised us above people of all tongues. He chose us and made us great; he showed us favor and glorified us.
And God our Lord gave us with love festivals for rejoicing, holidays and [unique] seasons for gladness, [including] this festive day of holy convocation, this festival of
- Matzot, Shavuot, [or] Sukkot -
the season of - our freedom, the giving of our Torah, [or] our happiness -
in love, as a commemoration of the exodus from Egypt.
For You have chosen us and sanctified us from all the nations and given us as an inheritance Your holy seasons for rejoicing and gladness. Blessed are You, God, who sanctifies Israel and the seasons.
When [a holiday] occurs on the Sabbath, one should mention the Sabbath [in the midst of the passage], and conclude in the same manner as one concludes in prayer, "[Blessed...] who sanctifies the Sabbath, Israel and the seasons." ‎[20] On Rosh HaShanah, one should say:
...And God our Lord gave us with love this day of holy convocation for remembrance, recalling the sounding [of the shofar], a holy convocation in love, as a commemoration of the exodus from Egypt.
For You have chosen us and sanctified us from all the nations, and Your words are true and everlasting. Blessed are You God, the King of the entire earth, who sanctifies Israel and the Day of Remembrance.
When [Rosh HaShanah] occurs on the Sabbath, one should conclude "[Blessed...] who sanctifies the Sabbath, Israel and the Day of Remembrance," as one concludes in prayer. ‎[21] On the night of a holiday, one recites *kiddush* over wine as on the Sabbath. Should one lack wine or should one desire bread, one may recite *kiddush* over bread. Similarly, on [the day of a] holiday, one should recite "the great *kiddush*" as one does on the Sabbath. ‎[22] What blessings should be recited on the night of a holiday that falls on a Sunday? At the outset, one recites the blessing [*borey pri] hagefen*. Afterwards, one should recite the *kiddush* for the holiday. Then one should recite the blessing over fire, and after that *havdalah*. One should conclude *havdalah*, "...who distinguishes between the holy and the holy." [In conclusion,] one recites the blessing *Shehecheyanu*. ‎[23] On the night of every holiday and on the night of Yom Kippur, we recite the blessing *Shehecheyanu*. We do not recite the blessing *Shehecheyanu* on the seventh day of Pesach, because it is not a holiday in its own right, and we have already recited the blessing *Shehecheyanu* at the beginning of the Pesach festival. ‎[24] This is the order of *havdalah* on Saturday night: [First,] one recites the blessing over the wine; afterwards, one recites the blessing over the spices, and then over the flame.
Which blessing is recited over the flame? "[Blessed... King of the universe,] who creates the lights of fire." Afterwards, one recites *havdalah*. ‎[25] We do not recite the blessing over the flame until we derive benefit from its light to the extent that one could differentiate between the coin of one country and that of another.
We may not recite the blessing over a flame belonging to gentiles, for it may be assumed that their gatherings are associated with the worship of false divinities. We may not recite the blessing on a flame [kindled for] the worship of false divinities or on a flame [kindled for the sake of] the deceased. ‎[26] When a Jew lights a flame from a gentile's [flame], or a gentile from a Jew's [flame], we may recite a blessing upon it. [If, however,] a gentile [lights a flame] from another gentile's [flame], we may not recite a blessing upon it.
[The following rules apply when a person] is walking outside a large city and sees light: If most of the city's inhabitants are gentiles, he may not recite this blessing. If most are Jewish, he may.
At the outset, one should not recite this blessing over the fire of a furnace, an oven, or a range. If coals [are glowing to the extent that] were one to put a sliver of wood between them, they would catch fire of their own accord, we may recite a blessing over them.
We may recite this blessing over the light of the House of Study if there is an important person there for whom the light is kindled. We may recite a blessing over the light of a synagogue if there is a *chazan* who lives there.
The most choice way of performing the mitzvah is to use a torch for the *havdalah* [light]. There is no need to seek light [for *havdalah*] as one seeks to fulfill all the other mitzvot. Instead, [the law is that] if one has a light, one should recite the blessing over it. ‎[27] We may recite the blessing over a fire that is kindled on the Sabbath for the sake of a sick person or for a woman after childbirth.
On Saturday night, we may recite the blessing over light produced from wood or stone, for this was the manner in which fire was first created by man. We may not, by contrast, recite a blessing over such a flame on the night following Yom Kippur. For on the night following Yom Kippur, we recite the blessing only on a light that has rested. When, however, a fire is kindled on Yom Kippur for the sake of a sick person or for a woman after childbirth, we may recite the blessing upon it, for it "rested from sin." ‎[28] When a holiday falls in the middle of the week, one recites [the following passage] as *havdalah*:
[Blessed are You...] who distinguishes between the holy and the mundane, between darkness and light, between Israel and the gentiles, between the Sabbath and the six days of activity....
One uses the same text as one uses on Saturday night. [The fact that it is not the Sabbath does not present a difficulty, for] one is merely listing the types of distinctions [that God has created within our world].
[On the night following a holiday,] one need not recite the blessing over spices, nor the blessing over light. Similarly, we are not required to recite the blessing over spices on the night following Yom Kippur. ‎[29] Why is the blessing recited over spices on Saturday night? Because the soul is forlorn by reason of the departure of the Sabbath. Therefore, we gladden it and settle it with a pleasant fragrance.
Version: Mishneh Torah, trans. by Eliyahu Touger. Jerusalem, Moznaim Pub. c1986-c2007
Source: https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH001020101/NLI
License: CC-BY-NC