Analysis of Halachic Requirements for Kiddush on Liquor

However, the Mishnah Berurah continues: “In our lands, where wine is expensive and most social drinking is with other beverages, even the Gedolim do not customarily use wine for the daytime kiddush and rely on the lenient opinions. Kiddush during the day is only a rabbinic obligation.”

He adds that one who nevertheless uses wine fulfills the mitzvah in the most ideal manner. In the following paragraph, the Mishnah Berurah extends this leniency further, ruling that if one prefers liquor to wine, they may use liquor l’chatchilah for the daytime kiddush. This forms the halachic basis for the custom of using liquor.

Yet another question arises. The Chazon Ish and Ketzos HaShulchan held that no beverage today truly qualifies as chamar medina. Nevertheless, Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, ruled that beer and liquor in America do indeed have the status of chamar medina. The classification of other drinks—such as orange juice, coffee, milk, or soda—remains uncertain and should be determined in consultation with a rav.

Thus, one who makes kiddush on liquor on Shabbos morning, even where wine is available, may rely on the Mishnah Berurah together with Rav Moshe’s ruling.

The Volume Requirement

This leniency depends on a second critical condition: the required volume. The Mishnah Berurah stipulates that when using liquor, “one must be careful to use a cup that holds a revi’is and to drink from it a malei lugmav (a cheekfull – most of a revi’is).”

The exact volume of a revi’is is disputed, ranging from 2.9 to 3.3 fluid ounces, though for Friday night kiddush, a stricter standard of about 4.5 ounces is often used. The cup must hold a full revi’is, and the one reciting kiddush must drink at least a malei lugmav (approximately 1.6-2 oz). This is a firm requirement according to the Mishnah Berurah.

If the person reciting kiddush does not wish to drink that much, the Mishnah Berurah allows the beverage to be distributed among participants. If the combined amount consumed equals a malei lugmav, the obligation is fulfilled b’dieved. Ideally the one making kiddush should personally drink the required amount.

The Mishnah Berurah adds another condition: the malei lugmav must be consumed within the time of k’dei achilas pras (the time it takes to eat a small loaf of bread), estimated between two and nine minutes. Even when multiple participants combine to drink the required amount, all must finish within one k’dei achilas pras.

The Afikei Yam questions this requirement. He argues that k’dei achilas pras defines the continuity of a single act of consumption; when several people drink separately, their actions are already distinct, and the timeframe should be irrelevant.

The Mishnah Berurah, however, in Biur Halacha, cites a proof from Zevachim 31b. The Gemara rules that if a Kohen intends for two people each to consume half a k’zayis of sacrificial meat after its permitted time, the offering becomes invalid. Although two individuals are involved, their acts combine into one halachic unit. Similarly, the Mishnah Berurah concludes that all participants sharing in the malei lugmav must finish within one k’dei achilas pras period.

Size of the Kiddush Cup

While the Mishnah Berurah requires a cup holding a full revi’is, the Taz presents a dissenting view. He contends that the revi’is standard applies only to wine or beer; for strong liquors, the requisite measure is what is locally considered a normal serving—often a single shot (about one ounce). Accordingly, the Taz permits reciting kiddush on a one-ounce cup of liquor.

This opinion was followed by numerous Chassidic Rebbes. Therefore, those whose family or community tradition, based on their rebbeim, follows the Taz may continue to do so. Others should adhere to the Mishnah Berurah’s requirement of using a cup that holds at least a revi’is.

The Material of the Cup

A final issue concerns the kiddush cup itself. When Chassidic Rebbes used a one-ounce cup, it was typically made of silver or another durable material. Modern practice sometimes involves disposable plastic shot glasses, raising a separate question of whether such cups possess sufficient “importance” for kiddush. Since a plastic shot cup is usually single-use, some authorities consider it less valid than a reusable disposable cup. Nonetheless, the prevailing custom is to be lenient and permit their use, especially for daytime kiddush.