Synagogue Kiddush
The term kiddush also refers to refreshments served either at home or at the synagogue following prayer services on Shabbat or Yom Tov, which begin with the recitation of kiddush. Cake, crackers, and gefilte fish are traditionally served. On Shavuot morning, the custom is to serve dairy foods such as cheesecake and cheese blintzes for the kiddush.
According to the Shulchan Aruch, kiddush should be recited preceding the Shabbat meal. Eating mezonot such as cake or cookies or drinking an additional revi'it of wine, was also deemed sufficient. Nevertheless, some Jews recite kiddush only when about to partake of a full meal.
Often a kiddush is hosted by a family celebrating the birth of a daughter, a bar mitzvah, a wedding, an engagement, a birthday, or other happy occasion. Some people also host a kiddush on the yahrtzeit of a parent or other relative. In some synagogues the celebrant is honored with reciting the Shabbat morning kiddush on behalf of all the attendees. In other synagogues the rabbi or gabbai recites the kiddush. Some Jews make kiddush on Shabbat morning over liquor instead of wine. When this is done, the blessing recited is she-hakol nihyeh bid'varo instead of borei p'ri ha-gafen. The Mishnah Berurah (an authoritative Ashkenazi halakhic text) allows liquor to be substituted for wine on the grounds that it is Hamar Medina, a drink one would serve to a respected guest.
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