Beverages for Kiddush: Order of Priority

Beverages for Kiddush: Order of Preference

According to the Ramban, one may only use red wine for the mitzvah of Kiddush. According to many poskim, including the Rambam, one may not make Kiddush on yayin mevushal (wine that has been cooked), or wine that had a sweetening agent added to it. Some poskim say that flash-heated wine is also considered mevushal. The actual halachah is not in accordance with the above opinions; however, we do take their opinions into account. For practical purposes, this means that if we have two wines of equal quality, we should choose the red wine, the non-mevushal one, and the one with no sugar or sweetener added. However, if one wine is more meshubach (of superior quality) than the other, we should choose the wine that is of superior quality, even if it is mevushal. There are many opinions that maintain that the white wine we have these days is also considered red wine for the purpose of making Kiddush, provided that it is gold-colored and not very white. The order of preference for Kiddush on Friday evening is as follows: first—wine; second—grape juice; third—lechem mishneh (two complete challos or rolls of bread); and fourth—chamar medinah (the local popular beverage halachically considered a substitute for wine). However, the order of preference for daytime Kiddush is as follows: first—wine; second—grape juice; third—chamar medinah; and fourth—bread. #372

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Practical Halacha: One minute a day. By Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, Mara D'asra and member of the Badatz of Crown Heights.