Last week's issue discussed the mitzvah of zechirat Shabbat and its relationship with the Ma'ariv prayer. One of the issues addressed was the question of whether the requirement to use wine at Kiddush is a biblical requirement or a rabbinic requirement. This article will focus on the mitzvah of reciting Kiddush.

The proper time to recite Kiddush
Beit Yosef, Orach Chaim 271, rules that Kiddush should be recited immediately following the Ma'ariv prayer. The reason he gives is that the mitzvah of zechirat Shabbat should be performed at the beginning of Shabbat or as close to it as possible. Therefore, Kiddush, which serves to fulfill the mitzvah of zechirat Shabbat, should be recited as close to the beginning of Shabbat as possible. R. Menachem Azariah of Fano in his responsa, no. 2, notes that many people do not necessarily rush to recite Kiddush immediately after the Ma'ariv prayer. He justifies this practice by noting that the mitzvah of zechirat Shabbat is fulfilled by reciting the Ma'ariv prayer. Therefore, there is no need to fulfill the rabbinic mitzvah of Kiddush immediately after the commencement of Shabbat. Mishna Berurah 271:1, rules that if one is not hungry, one may delay the recitation of Kiddush. However, he adds that one should be sensitive to the needs of other family members and guests and if there is someone who is waiting to eat, the Shabbat meal should not be delayed.

If one was unable to recite Kiddush immediately, is there a final time when can no longer recite Kiddush? The Gemara, Pesachim 107a, states that if one failed to recite Kiddush at the beginning of Shabbat, he may recite Kiddush until the end of Shabbat. R. Amram Gaon, Seder Rav Amram Gaon Vol. II no. 15, rules that this only applies if the neglect to recite Kiddush was due to drunkenness, sleep or similar causes. If someone intentionally omitted Kiddush, he does not have the right to recite Kiddush until the end of Shabbat. R. Amram Gaon clearly rules that even if one intentionally omits Kiddush, he may recite Kiddush the entire night. Implicit in R. Amram Gaon's ruling is that the actual time to recite Kiddush is the nighttime. The reason why one may recite a full Kiddush during the daytime (if he didn't recite it at night) is based on the concept of tashlumin (the ability to make-up an event after its time has passed). The Gemara, Berachot 26b, states that tashlumin does not apply to someone who intentionally neglected to perform a mitzvah. What emerges from R. Amram Gaon's opinion is that the timeframe for Kiddush is the nighttime and its tashlumin is until the end of Shabbat.

Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat 29:4, explicitly permits someone who intentionally omitted Kiddush to recite the full Kiddush until the end of Shabbat. Bach, Orach Chaim 271, explains that Rambam is of the opinion that the timeframe to recite Kiddush is the entire Shabbat. The ability to recite Kiddush during the daytime hours does not operate based on the tashlumin principle.

Minchat Chinuch no. 31, without directly addressing the dispute between Rav Amram Gaon and Rambam, questions whether the timeframe of the mitzvah of Kiddush is the entire Shabbat or whether it is limited to the nighttime, with the ability to perform tashlumin once the night passes. He notes that the practical difference is with regards to someone who was exempt from the mitzvah at night and can now fulfill the mitzvah during the day. [Some examples include a physician who had to attend to an emergency the entire night, or a minor who became bar-mitzvah in the morning.] If the mitzvah is actually the entire Shabbat, then someone who was exempt at night can recite Kiddush in the morning. If however, the primary obligation only exists at night and the daytime recitation is only permissible as a form of tashlumin, one could not recite Kiddush once the night passes because tashlumin is only warranted to make up for a missed obligation. If there was no obligation from the outset, there is no tashlumin; the individual is and always was totally exempt from the mitzvah.

Kiddusha Rabbah: The Daytime Kiddush
The previous discussion about the proper time for Kiddush is limited to the main Kiddush that is normally recited on Friday night. There is an additional Kiddush that is recited prior to the second meal that is known as Kiddusha Rabbah. Kiddusha Rabbah is translated as "the grand Kiddush." Ran, Pesachim 22a, s.v. Zochreihu, explains that it is called Kiddusha Rabbah euphemistically because it is not the primary Kiddush of the day.

The source for reciting Kiddusha Rabbah is the Gemara, Pesachim 106a, which states that the mitzvah of zechirat Shabbat applies both at night and during the day. The Gemara notes that the only beracha recited at Kiddusha Rabbah is Borei P'ri HaGafen. Ran, op. cit., explains that Kiddusha Rabbah is not a biblical requirement. It is a rabbinic fulfillment of the mitzvah of zechirat Shabbat. The reason for its institution is the concept of k'vod yom adif, the concept that the daytime meal should be more elaborate than the nighttime meal (see Pesachim 105a). If the nighttime meal is introduced with Kiddush and the daytime meal lacks Kiddush, the nighttime meal would be considered more elaborate. Therefore, the rabbis instituted Kiddush during the daytime meal as well. Although the nighttime Kiddush contains an additional beracha of kedushat hayom (the second beracha that mentions the sanctity of the day), the rabbis felt that the one beracha of Borei P'ri HaGafen is sufficient to satisfy the requirement of k'vod yom adif.

Ran notes that due to the rabbinic nature of Kiddusha Rabbah, there is a dispute between Rambam and Ra'avad regarding the laws of Kiddusha Rabbah. Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat 29:10, rules that just as one may not eat prior to the nighttime Kiddush, so too one may not eat prior to Kiddusha Rabbah. Ra'avad disagrees and maintains that one is permitted to eat before the daytime Kiddush. Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 289:1, rules in accordance with the opinion of Rambam. Rabbeinu Asher (cited by Tur, Orach Chaim 289) also rules in accordance with the opinion of Rambam and adds that the prohibition to eat before Kiddush only applies when it is possible to recite Kiddush. Therefore, if someone wants to drink water before the morning prayers, since one cannot recite Kiddush before the morning prayers, it is permitted to do so. Although R. Shimshon Ben Tzadok, Tashbetz Katan no. 203, disagrees with Rabbeinu Asher and prohibits drinking water before the Shabbat morning prayers, Shulchan Aruch, op. cit., rules in accordance with the opinion of Rabbeinu Asher. [Mishna Berurah, Bi'ur Halacha 289:1 s.v. Chovat, notes that the reason why there is no obligation to recite Kiddush prior to the morning prayers is because there is a prohibition to eat the Shabbat meal before the morning prayers. Therefore, an ill person who is permitted to eat prior to the morning prayers should recite Kiddush before eating. R. Moshe Feinstein, Orach Chaim 2:28 questions whether the obligation of Kiddush for an ill individual sets in immediately, but is reluctant to overrule the precedent set by Mishna Berurah.]

R. Yitzchak Z. Soloveitchik (cited in Likutei HaGriz Vol. II pg. 16) adds a stringency to Kiddusha Rabbah that is not apparent in the nighttime Kiddush. At the nighttime Kiddush, only one person is required to drink the wine (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 271:14) and everyone who listens to the recitation of Kiddush fulfills the mitzvah. Regarding Kiddusha Rabbah, R. Soloveitchik claims that since the only component of Kiddusha Rabbah is the beracha of Borei P'ri HaGafen, the obligation of Kiddusha Rabbah is to recite the beracha in a manner that allows one to drink wine subsequently. This can only be accomplished if those listening also partake of the wine. R. Shlomo Z. Auerbach (cited in Shemirat Shabbat KeHilchata ch. 50, note 18) notes that R. Soloveitchik's novel idea was not accepted as common practice.