643 - תרמג סדר הקידוש ובו ה' סעיפים

The Order of Kiddush

1. The order of Kiddush on the first night of Sukkos is as follows:

First, one recites the blessing over the wine.

Afterwards, one recites Kiddush for the day (the sanctification of the festival).

After that, one recites the blessing “to dwell in the sukkah.”

This is because, necessarily, the day must first be sanctified before one becomes obligated in the mitzvah of sukkah.

Afterwards, one recites the Shehechiyanu blessing, at the end.

This is because this blessing applies both to the sanctification of the day and to the mitzvah of sukkah, as explained in siman 781. See there.

2. The custom is not to be particular about standing during Kiddush; rather, Kiddush is recited even while seated.

Even the blessing “to dwell in the sukkah” is recited while seated.

Although for all mitzvos, the blessing is recited before performing them,

and it would be proper to recite “to dwell in the sukkah” before sitting down to eat,

since sitting is the mitzvah,

as it is written, “You shall dwell in sukkos,”

and even though there is no mitzvah at all to literally sit,

for “you shall dwell” means “you shall remain,”

as it is written, “and you remained in Kadesh many days,”

nevertheless, the blessing should only be recited at the time when the remaining and establishing oneself is apparent, that is, when actually sitting,

for in this way one shows that he intends to remain there.

But as long as one is standing, it is not apparent at all that he is remaining and establishing himself, for he might immediately turn and leave.

And since the essence of the mitzvah is the remaining and establishing oneself, it would be proper to recite the blessing before this remaining and establishing oneself,

that is, before sitting.

However, since the main mitzvah for which we recite the blessing is eating,

for if one sits in the sukkah and does not eat, he does not recite the blessing, as explained in siman 639,

therefore, we are only concerned to recite the blessing before eating, which is the main mitzvah for which the blessing is recited,

but not to recite it before sitting and establishing oneself,

since sitting alone, without eating, is not the main mitzvah for which the blessing is recited.

3. All of this applies on the night of Yom Tov or on Shabbos night, when Kiddush for the day is recited. Therefore, the blessing for sukkah is placed adjacent to Kiddush for the day.

But for the other meals of the festival, even for the Shabbos or Yom Tov morning meal, when one recites a blessing over a cup, since Kiddush for the day is not recited, one does not say “to dwell in the sukkah” before drinking from the cup.

This is because this blessing must be placed adjacent to the eating, which is the main mitzvah for which the blessing is recited.

4. According to the strict law, it would be proper to recite this blessing before the blessing of hamotzi,

since the obligation of this blessing applies to him from the outset, as soon as he sits to eat, and it would be proper to recite it before the blessing of hamotzi, which is not obligatory until he wishes to taste food.

Nevertheless, the common custom is to recite this blessing after the blessing of hamotzi,

since the blessing of hamotzi is the beginning of the meal, and people have seen fit to begin the meal before reciting the blessing for sukkah,

since the blessing for sukkah is only recited at the time of the meal.

And the blessing for sukkah is not considered an interruption between the blessing of hamotzi and the eating, since this blessing is for the needs of the meal, and anything that is for the needs of the meal is not considered an interruption, as explained in siman 167.

5. If one did not recite Shehechiyanu on the first night, and remembers the next day, he recites it when he remembers, even if not over a cup.

If he did not remember the next day, and also forgot to recite Shehechiyanu on the second night, and remembers on one of the other days of the festival, he should recite it whenever he remembers,

for the Shehechiyanu blessing can be made up throughout all seven days, as explained in siman 473 regarding Pesach.

However, on Sukkos, when reciting Shehechiyanu, one must recite it inside the sukkah, in order to also include the sukkah in the blessing, as explained in siman 781.