< Lesson 14: Friday Night Kiddush and Beyond – Laws and Customs
Lesson 15: Friday Night Kiddush – Translation & Commentary
In the previous lesson, we welcomed you into my home for the beginning of Shabbos (Shabbat): coming home from shul, getting the meal going, blessing the children, the laws of the Kiddush; the importance of bringing Hashem into the home with you, the angels that escort you into the house, the importance of saying words of Torah, and I should add, singing Zemiros, the Shabbos songs, so that the atmosphere at the Friday night table is one of Shabbos, of kedushah, of warmth, so that this Shabbos will be a legacy that you’re able to give over to your children. I thought it would enhance the Shabbos experience if we could translate the Kiddush and give some background to it.
So in this lesson, I’d like to translate the Friday Night Kiddush paragraph by paragraph and elaborate on some of the phrases that are in the Kiddush. The Kiddush Friday night is a fulfillment of the Torah mitzvah that’s mentioned in the Aseres HaDibros, in the Decalogue (Shemot 20:7): “Zachor es Yom HaShabbos l’kadsho, remember the day of Shabbos to sanctify him.”
We sanctify Shabbos, at the beginning of Shabbos. We mentioned that Shabbos is a holy day. We usher the holiness in, we accept that holiness upon ourselves with love and with joy, and we separate ourselves from the six days of work, the six days of the week.
The First Paragraph of Kiddush Translated
We say “(in an undertone) Vayehi erev vayehi boker, (aloud) Yom HaShishi!”
Vayehi erev vayehi boker, Yoim HaShishi is the last phrase of the first chapter of Bereishis (Genesis), where God creates the world.
Vayehi erev vayehi boker
And it was evening, and it was morning,Yom HaShishi
of the sixth day.
Vayechulu Hashamayim – The Second Paragraph
The next paragraph begins “Vayechulu hashamayim,” and this is really the first paragraph of the Kiddush.
Vayechulu Hashamayim
We discussed last lesson that the first letters of the words “Yom Hashishi vayechulu hashamayim” are yud (Yom), heh (HaShishi), vav (Vayechulu), and heh (Hashamayim).
We begin the Kiddush with these letters, which are the four letters of G-d’s name, Yud Kei Vav Kei. We have this at the beginning of Kiddush, because we want to stress that this is a meal when we’re bringing God into our home. This day of Shabbos, on which we’re declaring its holiness when we say the Kiddush, is a day on which we’re focusing on Hashem, on our belief that Hashem created the world, and our belief that Hashem is the Melech HaOlam, the king of the world.
Now let’s translate the second paragraph of Kiddush:
Vayechulu Hashamayim V’haaretz V’chol Tzva’am
HaShem finished creating heavens and earth, and all the hosts of things He created.Vayichal Elokim bayom hash’vii, milachto asher asah
And God finished on the seventh day, (as the seventh day began,) the work that He had done.Vayishbos bayom HaShvii
and He rested (ceased to work) on the seventh daymikol melachto
from all of the workasher asah
that He had done
Vayishbos
Note, the root of “vayishbos“, the letters shin beis tav, spell “Shabbos,” the day of rest.
Va’y’varech Elokim bayom Hash’vii
and G-d blessed the seventh dayvay’kadesh oso
and He sanctified Himki vo
because on that seventh dayshovas mikol milachto
HaShem rested from all of the workasher bara Elokim
that God createdla’asos
to do.
Asher Bara Elokim La’asos
The last words of this phrase, “asher bara Elokim la’asos,” means that in six days, Hashem created a world, la’asos, to create. He gave it over to us. He gave us nature as it is, the world in its full creation, for us to create, use our creativity to build, to grow the world, and to settle it, and that’s the mission that man has on the six days of the week.
The seventh day of the week, Hashem gave us, Klal Yisrael, the Jewish People, this mitzvah to separate from being creative in using the nature that Hashem gave us, and rather to focus on Hashem, and to bring Hashem into our lives; to elevate our lives on the seventh day of creation.
The Significance of Vayechulu
The Talmud in Shabbos tells us that “Vayechulu” is not really part of Kiddush. There are two quotes of the Gemara (Talmud) in Maseches Shabbos (Tractate Shabbos) page 119, that go as follows:
אָמַר רַב הַמְנוּנָא כׇּל הַמִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת וְאוֹמֵר וַיְכוּלּוּ מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִילּוּ נַעֲשָׂה שׁוּתָּף לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית
Amar Rav Hamnuna, kol hamispallel b’Erev Shabbos v’omer “Vayechulu,” ma’aleh alav hakasuv k’ilu na’asah shutaf l’Hakadosh Baruch Hu b’ma’aseh bereishis.
Rav Hamnuna said, “Anyone who prays on Friday night, and says this paragraph ‘Vayechulu,’ the Torah considers it as if he became a partner to Hashem in creation.”
Talmud Bavli, Shabbos 119
The Gemara continues:
אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא אָמַר מָר עוּקְבָא כׇּל הַמִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת וְאוֹמֵר וַיְכוּלּוּ שְׁנֵי מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת הַמְלַוִּין לוֹ לָאָדָם מַנִּיחִין יְדֵיהֶן עַל רֹאשׁוֹ וְאוֹמְרִים לוֹ {ישעיהו ו׳:ז׳} וְסָר עֲוֹנֶךָ וְחַטָּאתְךָ תְּכוּפָּר
Amar Rav Chista amar Mar Ukva, kol hamispallel b’Erev Shabbos v’omer “Vayechulu,” shnei malachei hashareis hmilavin lo la’adam manichin yideihen al rosho v’omrim lo, v’sar avonecha v’chatascha tichupar.
Rav Chisda says, in the name of Mar Ukva, “If someone prays on Erev Shabbos, and says ‘Vayechulu’ (testifying that Hashem created the world in six days), two angels, (we spoke about the angels that accompany a person home, and we serenade them Friday night with the Shalom Aleichem,) that accompany the person so to speak put their hands on his head, and they say the verse, ‘and your sins will be removed, and your sins will be forgiven’.”
ibid
So, the angels respond to our saying Vayechulu.
The Talmud says, Vayechulu is really something that we say in prayer – it’s part of the evening services on Friday night. However, since the Rabbis look at this as such an important thing to say, they don’t leave it at just saying it in synagogue, in shul, when we daven (pray), because when we come home, there might be members of the household who didn’t daven Maariv, didn’t say the evening service. We therefore say it again at the beginning of the Kiddush, so everyone could have this mitzvah of saying Vayechulu on Friday night, and can be ones that are testifying that HaShem created the world in six days, and become like a partner with Hashem in creation. And that – because it’s testimony – is the reason we stand when we say Vayechulu.
Vayivarech Elokim es Yom Hash’vii
One phrase I want to focus on is “vayivarech Elokim es yom hash’vii, God blessed the seventh day, vayikadesh oso, and He sanctified him.”
The seventh day of Shabbos is sanctified; it’s different than the days of the week. The days of the week have one purpose the mission that we have, to settle the world and to grow and to create.
Shabbos is different. Shabbos is a day of spending with Hashem. There’s a sanctity to Shabbos, it’s infused with this kedushah. “Vayivarech Elokim es yom hash’vii,” – Hashem blessed Shabbos; Shabbos in a Jewish home is special. The atmosphere of Shabbos is impossible to recreate during the week. The foods that we make on Shabbos taste special on Shabbos. You eat a cholent on Shabbos, it’s a delicacy – it’s as they say, mei’ein olam haba, it’s like an otherworldly experience. Eat the same thing on Sunday night and Monday night, it’s okay, it’s a stew, but it’s not Shabbos. Vayivarech Elokim, Hashem blessed Shabbos to have that ability to feel the oneg, the delicacy, the delights of Shabbos.
The holy Zohar says that Shabbos is more than just a blessed day, it is the mekor habrachah, the source of blessings. People think we work six days a week, and our energies that we put into our businesses and our endeavors during the week are the things that feed our success. The Zohar tells us it’s the other way around. Observance of Shabbos is what feeds your success, Ki hi mekor habrachah, because Shabbos is the source of blessings.
Don’t think that when you close your business and you turn off your laptop on Friday afternoon, you’re missing emails and you’re not going to be able to be as productive. No, it’s the other way around. Observance of Shabbos is not sacrificing your business; it’s adding to your success, it’s the source of blessing.
That’s the first paragraph.
The Blessing Over Wine – The Third Paragraph
We then say the blessing on the cup of wine:
Baruch Atah Hashem, Elokeinu Melech haolam
blessed are you Hashem, our God, the king of the worldBorei pri hagafen
who has created the fruit of the vine, of the grape vine
– as we say every time we drink wine – the blessing of Borei pri hagafen.
The Brachah of Kiddush – The Fourth Paragraph
And here’s the brachah (blessing) of the Kiddush, translated.
Baruch Atah Hashem, Elokeinu Melech Haolam
blessed are You Hashem, our God, the king of the worldasher kidishanu b’mitzvosav
that you sanctified us with your commandmentsv’ratzah vanu
you found favor in us/you wanted us
We take pride and happiness in the fact that Hashem chose us as his nation and he chose us to give his special gift of Shabbos to. It’s for us! This is the gift that was given to the Jewish people to observe. To take that day of Shabbos and spend it with Hashem is something that’s uniquely given to the Jewish people.
v’Shabbas Kodsho
and His holy Shabbosb’ahavah
with loveuv’ratzon
and with favorhinchilanu
He gave us as an inheritancezikaron l’ma’aseh bereishis
as a remembrance to the days of creationki hu yom techilah l’Mikraei Kodesh
It is the first of the holy days that are mentioned in the Torahzecher l’yetzias mitzrayim
which are a remembrance to the Exodus from Egyptki vanu vacharta
because You’ve chosen usv’osanu kidashta
and we, You have consecratedmikol ha’amim
from all of the nationsv’shabbas kodshicha
and Your holy Shabbosb’ahavah uv’ratzon
with love and with favorhinchaltanu,
You gave us as an inheritanceBaruch Atah Hashem
Blessed are You HashemMikadesh haShabbos.
Who has consecrated the Shabbos.
This is the end of the formal reciting of the Kiddush. At this point, you sit down and you drink (as elaborated on in the previous lesson).
Zikaron L’maaseh Bereishis, Ki Hu Yom Techilah L’Mikraei Kodesh
I just want to explain one phrase in this blessing.
We mentioned two things:
- “Zikaron l’maaseh bereishis,” that Shabbos is a remembrance of the days of creation. As we said, in six days, Hashem created the world and he gave us the world as a finished product, and we celebrate Shabbos to remember that and to spend time with God.
- But we also say, “ki hu yom techilah l’mikraei kodesh” – it is the first of the holy days, of the holy convocations, which really means the Yomim Tovim (Jewish holidays). What are these days that we as Jews celebrate? Pesach (Passover), Shavuos (the giving of the Torah), Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos, (the Festival of Booths).
If you open up the Chumash (the Bible) to Vayikra (Leviticus), at the beginning of chapter 23, in Parshas Emor, where the Torah tells us the holidays of the year, the Pasuk says:
Speak to the Bnei Yisrael (the children of Israel), and tell them, these are the festivals… six days of the week you should work, and on the seventh day is Shabbos… these are the festivals…
Vayikra 23
And then it goes on to expound on each of the festivals.
The Question
So, the rabbis wonder, why put Shabbos in, when you’re talking about the festivals? The festivals are zecher l’yitzias mitzrayim, we observe them to commemorate the miracles that God did with us as a people: Pesach – he took us out of Egypt, the ten plagues, the splitting of the Yam Suf (the Sea of Reeds); Shavuos – the revelation at Sinai; Sukkos – the miracles that Hashem did with us throughout our stay in the desert… The Yamim Tovim, the holidays, we celebrate to remember that Hashem controls nature, and he intervenes on our behalf as a people, as a nation – he has guided us in forming us as a nation. Shabbos, on the other hand, as the Gemara says, is a day on the calendar. It’s not something to do with anything other than that God created the world, it’s the God of creation.
Yom Tov represents the God of miracles, the God who, post-creation, is involved and intervenes to change nature when necessary. Shabbos represents the God of nature.
The Explanation
So, to answer our question: As we say in Kiddush, “ki hu yom techilah l’mikraei kodesh,” – Shabbos is mentioned in the Torah first, when the Torah mentions the holidays – to show there’s some connection between the belief that Shabbos teaches us, and the belief that the holidays teach us.
If a person were to believe that God created the world in six days and that’s it – he then gave the world over to nature and he never changes nature, never intervenes, then there would be no Godliness in the world, it would be like God left the world, so to speak.
We have to believe not only that God created the world, but that God changes nature when necessary. There’s a living God, Melech HaOlam, Hashem is the king of the world. He still is actively the king of the world. On the holidays we see that on a national level, for us as a nation, and day to day we could see that in our own lives, when we look in nature and we see how there is what we call Hashgacha Pratis, Divine Intervention; how things seemingly are coincidences, but so often point to Hashem being good to us in our lives.
Hashem is not just the God who created the world five thousand years ago, but He’s relevant to the life of the Jewish people and to every person’s life throughout their lifetime. These two things, the belief of the God of Shabbos, who created the world, and the God of the festivals, these two parts of our belief are necessary in order to have a total belief system of a Jewish person.
We take delight in Shabbos, to be able to celebrate Shabbos, enjoy Shabbos, and bring into our homes the beliefs of the God of Shabbos, and the sameGod of the Yamim Tovim, of the festivals.
We should have an uplifting Shabbos!
The Kiddush Experience
I’ll take this opportunity just to relive the Kiddush experience. When you make Kiddush, as we said, you pick up the Kiddush cup from the table with two hands, and you hold it in the palm of your right hand. The cup should be filled to the top, and clean inside and out. (See Lesson 14)
And you say (full Kiddush transliteration):
(Ed. note) Due to the fact that we do not say the name of God without reason, Rabbi Rappaport uses the accepted practice of substituting “Hashem” for God’s name, and the letter “heh” with the letter “kuf” for his mock Kiddush, as in “Elokim”. Please use a siddur (prayer book) or a Zemiros booklet when actually reciting Kiddush on Shabbos.
(In an undertone – Vayehi erev vayihi boker,) Yom hashishi.
Vayechulu hashamayim v’haaretz v’chol tva’am, vayechal Elokim bayom hash’vii melachto asher asah. Vayishbos bayom hash’vii mikol melachto asher asah. Vayivarech Elokim es yom hash’vii vayikadesh oso, ki vo shavas mikol milachto asher bara Elokim las’asos.
Savri, Baruch Atah Hashem, Elokeinu Melech haolam, Borei pri hagafen.
Baruch Atah Hashem, Elokeinu Melech haolam, Asher kidishanu b’mitzvosav, v’ratzah vanu, v’Shabbas Kodsho, b’ahavah uv’ratzon hinchilanu, zikaron, l’maasei bereishis. Ki hu yom t’chilah l’Mikraei Kodesh, zecher l’yetzias mitzrayim. Ki vanu vacharta, v’osanu kidashta mikol ha’amim, v’Shabbas Kodshicha, b’ahavah uv’ratzon hinchaltanu. Baruch Atah Hashem, Mikadesh HaShabbos.
We hope this Kiddush translation and transliteration is beneficial to you! Please note that Good Shabbos!
Lesson 16: Common Mishaps at the Shabbos Table >
Rabbi Pinchus Rappaport is a respected rabbi who received his Rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva of Staten Island, under the tutelage of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. He currently serves as a rabbi in Brooklyn, NY.
Since halachic opinions vary among the rabbis of different communities, Oorah and Rabbi Rappaport encourage you to direct any questions to, and get halachic guidance from, your local Orthodox rabbi. You may, however, rely on this video and email Rabbi Rappaport with questions in the interim, at askrpr2@gmail.com.
Shared as a zechus l’iluy nishmas Moshe Zeev ben Aryeh Leib
