Is drinking water before Kiddush permitted? Is there any difference between the evening and morning Kiddush? What can be consumed before davening, and what is prohibited? Is there a particular reason to opt for gluten-free foods before davening? What are the guidelines for an ill person who needs to eat before davening? How do these rules apply to women, and is there a distinction between married and single women? What are the halachos for children? Should parents encourage them to wait for Kiddush as a means of getting them accustomed to keeping the mitzva? Why is there a difference between drinking water before Kiddush and before Havdalah? Which Kiddush is more important — the evening Kiddush or the morning Kiddush? These questions and others are explored in our article this week.
Eating Before Kiddush
Last week, we began studying the prohibition against eating or drinking before Kiddush and Havdalah. We focused primarily on the prohibition of eating before Havdalah. This week, we will conclude the discussion by examining the prohibition of eating before Kiddush.
Last week, we mentioned several reasons for the prohibition of eating before Havdalah and various halachos that result: 1) The first taste of Shabbos must be dedicated to honoring the sanctity of the day through Kiddush, which marks the distinction between Shabbos and the weekdays. Similarly, the end of Shabbos must be marked by Havdalah, underscoring Shabbos’s sanctity. 2. The general prohibition against eating before any mitzvah. 3. The mystical prohibition, related to the danger of “stealing from the souls of the deceased”, as well as other esoteric concepts.
In our discussion of the mitzva of Kiddush, our primary concern is the first reason: that the first taste of Shabbos be through honoring the day. Here, the prohibition is stricter than the general prohibition against eating before a mitzva, where light tasting or drinking water might be permitted. In contrast, before Kiddush, even drinking water is forbidden.
There is those who maintain that the prohibition against drinking water during bein hashmashos applies both before and after Shabbos. However, most authorities agree that this prohibition applies only to the twilight zone at the end of Shabbos, when souls still needing rectification return to Gehenom. Halacha follows the majority opinion, and this prohibition does not apply during the twilight zone before the start of Shabbos.
Kiddush vs. Havdalah: the Differences
Although both Kiddush and Havdalah are based on the same commandment – zachor and shamor, there is a notable difference between the two. Before Kiddush, even tasting water is forbidden (Shulchan Aruch, OC 271:4), while before Havdalah, one is permitted to drink water (Shulchan Aruch, OC 299:1). [For more on eating or drinking before Havdalah, see last week’s article.]
Another difference is what to do if someone is in the middle of a meal when the time for Kiddush or Havdalah arrives. If it’s time for Kiddush, one must stop eating and make Kiddush immediately. However, if the time for Havdalah arrives while one is still in the middle of eating Seudah Shlishis, he may finish his meal before making Havdalah.
This distinction arises from a general halachic principle that any eating on Shabbos is considered a proper meal because of the mitzvah to “call the Shabbos a delight” (Yeshayahu 58:13). Thus, even light tasting or drinking on Shabbos is significant and considered a proper meal. This halacha, dubbed “Shabbat establishes,” applies in other areas as well. For instance, casual eating from produce before ma’aser has been separated is permitted under certain conditions, but on Shabbos, even tasting is forbidden, because it is considered a proper meal.
The Gemara (Pesachim 105b) states that ‘Shabbos establishes’ the obligation for Kiddush, which is why the above halachos apply. However, there is a dispute regarding Havdalah. The halachic ruling is that Shabbos does not ‘establish’ the obligation for Havdalah. As a result, it is forbidden to drink even water before Kiddush, though it is permitted to rinse one’s mouth with water (Mishnah Brura 271:13).
Eating Before Kiddush on Shabbos Morning
Eating before Kiddush is prohibited, both before the evening and morning Kiddush. What is the nature of the morning Kiddush obligation?
Unlike the evening Kiddush, whose obligation is from the Torah, the obligation to recite Kiddush in the morning is rabbinic. Since Shabbos day proper is holier than the night before, Chazal established that Kiddush should be recited before the morning meal in honor of the day.
Unlike the evening Kiddush, there is no specific text for the daytime Kiddush. The mitzvah of Kiddush in the morning is to begin the daytime meal by drinking a cup of wine and reciting the proper blessing on it. The Mishnah Brura (OC 289:2) mentions a custom of reciting a pasuk that references Shabbos, making it clear that the following blessing on wine is intended as Kiddush for Shabbos. However, the choice of which pasuk to recite is a custom, and any pasuk related to Shabbos may be recited.
Some are particularly careful not to recite psukim and focus only on reciting the blessing “Borei Pri Hagafen,” as was the custom of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk (Teshuvos Vehanhagos Vol. 4:72) and the Chazon Ish (Orchos Rabbenu Vol. 2, p. 109). Their concern was that people might mistakenly believe that the psukim are Kiddush, and not the blessing on wine. Therefore, they were careful to only recite the blessing on wine.
Since the daytime Kiddush is rabbinic it is called “Kiddusha Rabba”—the great, important Kiddush. This expression is intended to convey the opposite meaning (Mishnah Brura 289:3).
Drinking Before Davening
In general, although eating before davening is forbidden drinking water is permitted. The poskim also permit drinking coffee or tea before davening, but drinking something substantial, like an important drink, is forbidden. [For this reason, the Mishnah Brura (OC 89:22) forbids adding sugar and milk to coffee drunk before davening. However nowadays, contemporary authorities have ruled that even with sugar and milk, coffee is still considered a rousing beverage, not an important one. Beverages like Coca Cola, however, are forbidden by many authorities.] Only weak or ill individuals who will not be able to concentrate during davening without eating are permitted to taste something. The ill are even permitted to eat something substantial before prayer. [The topic of eating before prayer calls for further discussion, but these are the main points of discussion.]
This raises the question: since drinking water before Kiddush is prohibited, what can coffee drinkers do to keep their eyes open during davening? Drinking wine before davening is certainly forbidden, as it is considered an important drink, and Kiddush needs to be recited before a meal, which is certainly forbidden before davening.
The Shulchan Aruch (OC 289:1) rules that it is permissible to drink water before davening, because before davening it is not the time for a meal, since eating is forbidden. Therefore, the obligation of Kiddush has not yet gone in effect, and only after davening does the obligation of Kiddush begin, at which point eating beforehand is forbidden. Thus, it is permitted to drink water as long as one has not yet davened Shachris. However, after praying, it is forbidden to drink water before making Kiddush.
Eating Before Davening For The Ill and Weak
An ill person who needs to eat a full meal as soon as he wakes up, including bread or cake, presents a unique situation. Since it is generally not permissible to eat before davening, and only because of their illness are they permitted to eat, should they make Kiddush before their meal, or is Kiddush not required in such a situation?
The Mishnah Brura (Biur Halacha, OC 289:1) rules that an ill person must make Kiddush before eating a meal even before davening, even though this would require them to drink wine in addition to eating bread or cake. However, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, OC Vol. 2:28) leans towards the opinion that such a person is exempted from Kiddush, because the obligation of Kiddush before prayer hasn’t yet taken effect, and was not instituted for this situation. However, since the Chofetz Chaim ruled that Kiddush should be made, one should follow the Mishna Brura, and make Kiddush.
Nevertheless, the question remains: What is the halacha when the sick person needs to eat porridge, pasta, or another dish made of the five grain species [wheat, barley, spelt, rye, oats]? Here, the question is more complex, because according to many halachic authorities (except the Magen Avraham) one does not fulfill the obligation of Kiddush before a meal by eating a dish made of grain, only by eating bread or another baked item (Yerushalmi kugel has the form of a baked item).
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, OC Vol. 2, footnote 26) rules that in this case, it is preferable to eat without Kiddush, rather than drink wine and eat cake for Kiddush. On the other hand, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchaso 52:37) instructs people that in this case, one should make Kiddush, eat a piece of cake, and only afterward eat the porridge or dish.
Eating Fruits or Vegretables
An ill person who needs to eat before davening but can get by with fruits or vegetables should eat these foods without making Kiddush (Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchaso, 52:93; Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Shabbos LeYisrael, p. 476).
The same rule applies to one who is not sick, but is weak and cannot concentrate during davening without eating something small – a piece of fruit, for example. In this case, one should eat what he needs before davening, without make Kiddush.
Prohibition For Women
Does the same prohibition apply to women? This question divides into two parts: What do women do before Kiddush?
The prohibition of eating before Kiddush applies to women, and they are obligated to make Kiddush just like men. [The Gemara explicitly states that women are obligated to make Kiddush, despite it being a positive time-bound commandment. This is derived from the fact that zachor and shamor were said in the same utterance, teaching us that whoever is required to keep shamor, is also obligated to keep shamor.] Most authorities maintain that women are also obligated to make Kiddush in the morning, because Chazal instituted all Shabbos laws for men and women alike.
However, there is a distinction between men and women in what constitutes “after davening”.
Women’s Prayer Obligation
Drinking water before davening is only permitted because of the prohibition to eat before davening. Therefore, the obligation to recite Kiddush only goes into effect once mealtime arrives. Consequently, eating or drinking before this time is not considered eating before Kiddush. However, the situation is more nuanced for women, primarily due to the question of whether they are obligated to pray and, thus, when their Kiddush obligation begins. Since women might not be obligated to pray in the same way, they could theoretically eat as soon as they wake up, making their obligation to make Kiddush begin immediately upon rising.
According to the Shulchan Aruch (OC 106:2), women are obligated to daven. The Mishnah Brura (106:4) clarifies that females are required to fulfill the mitzvah of prayer just like males, and they are obligated to pray twice daily, just like men. Only Ma’ariv, which was initially optional but later accepted as obligatory by men, remains optional for women.
The Magen Avraham (106:2) notes that although women are obligated to pray, the formal text of prayers was established for men. Therefore, women can fulfill their obligation with one daily request to G-d, and do not need to recite the full text of Shemoneh Esrei). However, it is preferred for them to recite the full text of Shemoneh Esrei and practically speaking, it is accepted for women to pray the full prayer, twice a day.
Women’s Kiddush Obligation
Given the above, halachic authorities (see Pri Megadim OC 271:4; Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchaso, 52:13; Minchas Yitzchak, Volume 4, 28:3; and others) have concluded that since women are obligated to pray, they are also prohibited from eating a meal before prayer. Therefore, if they wish to consume something to drink water or coffee, the halachos are the same as outlined above for men. On the other hand, if they fulfill their prayer obligation with just one request, the mealtime is immediately upon waking in the morning, and they are prohibited from tasting or drinking anything even before prayer.
The Pri Megadim further explains that a woman who consistently prays, even if she could technically rely on the opinion that one request is sufficient, may still follow the view that she is fully obligated to pray. As a result, she may eat or drink something before Kiddush as long as she has not yet prayed.
Married Women
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, OC Volume 4, 101:2) introduces an additional leniency for married women: before her husband’s minyan is over, her mealtime has not yet arrived. Since a married couple is obligated to eat together, the wife’s mealtime only begins when her husband comes home. Therefore, even if she has already prayed, or suffices with only one request each morning, she is allowed to eat and drink before Kiddush. This leniency is limited only until davening in the husband’s shul is over. Once the husband has finished davening, even if he is delayed for a good reason, the obligation to make Kiddush takes effect, and the wife may not eat beforehand.
Rabbi Feinstein limits this leniency strictly to married women. Although singles are expected to eat with the family, their obligation to honor their parents does not constitute the same obligation as the one between spouses.
Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (Dror Yikra, p. 363), despite agreeing with this reasoning on principle, notes that the prevailing custom is for married women to recite Kiddush before eating, just like single ones.
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchaso, 52:46; and elsewhere) disagrees with this leniency even on principle, maintaining that even married women are not permitted to eat before Kiddush.
Children
Children under Bar or Bas Mitzvah are not obligated to wait and eat only after making Kiddush (Chayei Adam, Volume 1, 66:10), not even for chinuch reasons.
Similarly, the Mishnah Brura (269:1) rules that feeding children on Shabbos without Kiddush is permitted, even if they have reached the age of chinuch. The Mishnah Berura adds that it is forbidden to cause them distress by withholding food and drink from them until after Kiddush when they are hungry and thirsty.
