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Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: If Not Enough Wine
If there is not enough wine (or grape juice) for Jewish festival (or Shabbat) kiddush and havdala:
- Set aside the first cup for havdala. Then, if there is one more cup,
- Use it for the morning kiddush.
Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: Diluting Wine
There is no need to dilute wine before drinking it.
Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: How High To Fill the Cup
Ideally, fill your kiddush cup to just above the rim, even if the cup is larger than 4 fl. oz. (119 ml). Don't make the cup overflow.
Note If you did not fill the kiddush cup to the rim, it is still OK.
Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: Pour Revi'it
As on Shabbat, the minimum volume of kiddush beverage on which you may say Jewish festival kiddush (or havdala) is a revi'it:
- 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) for d'oraita cases such as the first night of Jewish festivals (or Shabbat evening) kiddush, and
- 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) for d'rabanan cases such Jewish festival lunch and evening/daytime meals on the second Jewish festival day (as well as kiddush for Shabbat lunch).
Jewish Festivals: Earliest Mincha
The earliest permissible time to say mincha before a Jewish festival is one-half hour after halachic midday, as with all mincha prayers including before Shabbat.
Note You may begin the second day of any Jewish festival as early as plag ha'mincha. You should ideally say mincha before plag and then say ma'ariv after plag; but if you are praying with a minyan, you may say mincha anytime after plag and then say ma'ariv immediately afterward, just as on Shabbat.
Note However, there is nothing gained by saying mincha early before a Jewish festival:
Note However, there is nothing gained by saying mincha early before a Jewish festival:
- We don't want to start Rosh Hashana (Yom HaDin) early and no one wants to start Yom Kippur early.
- You may not start either seder until after dark on Passover.
- You could eat in a sukka before dark on either of the first two days of Sukkot, but you would not fulfill the requirement of eating in a sukka since it was not dark.
- Likewise, the first day of Shavuot does not begin until after dark.
- Since you may not say the blessing on eating in a sukka on Shmini Atzeret (which you would have to do if you eat before dark), there is nothing gained by saying mincha and ma'ariv early on that day, either.
Jewish Festivals: Yahrzeit Candle
Some people have the custom of lighting a yahrzeit candle for a deceased parent on days when yizkor is said: Yom Kippur, last day of Passover; second day of Shavuot; and on Shmini Atzeret.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: Lighting before Blessing
On the first day of Jewish festivals, both women and men may say the blessing before lighting the candles, but it is customary for women to light before they say the blessing, as they do on Shabbat.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: How Long Candles Must Burn
As on Shabbat, Jewish festivals candles must burn at least until you have eaten the bread of ha'motzi.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: Adding a Candle
Unlike on Shabbat, on Jewish festivals you do not add an extra candle to the number you normally light for the rest of your life if you miss lighting Jewish festival candles.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: How Many To Light when Eating Elsewhere
A wife lighting Jewish festival candles in a place other than her own home lights only two candles, even if she normally lights more than two candles in her own home. This is a non-binding custom, not a halacha.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: How Many Required To Light
As on Shabbat, wives should light two candles for Jewish festivals, even though we say the blessing over “ner” (“candle” in the singular). Lighting any more than two candles is a universal custom.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: Dinner Location
As on Shabbat, light Jewish festival candles wherever you will eat dinner that night.
Note If you will be eating away from home, do not light the candles at home unless you will be home for some period of time after dark (in which case you must see the candles burning for at least one minute after dark/tzeit ha'kochavim; otherwise you will have made a bracha l'vatala). This is not the ideal situation, as the ideal is to light where you will eat.
Note You do not need to light candles at all if you are not eating at your own home on the Jewish festival (this applies to men and women, even wives and mothers who normally light at their own home) as long as someone else is lighting candles where you will eat. While the basic halacha is that the hostess lights for everyone, it is a widespread custom for any woman who is--or was--married to light at the hostess's home.
Note You do not need to light candles at all if you are not eating at your own home on the Jewish festival (this applies to men and women, even wives and mothers who normally light at their own home) as long as someone else is lighting candles where you will eat. While the basic halacha is that the hostess lights for everyone, it is a widespread custom for any woman who is--or was--married to light at the hostess's home.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: Lighting with Delay until Sunset
As on Shabbat, you may say “I am lighting Jewish festival candles but not starting the Jewish festival until sunset” to delay observing the Jewish festival until sunset, but this in only b'diavad.
Note As for Shabbat, women should not routinely start Jewish festivals at sunset since the proper time for women to begin Jewish festivals is at candle lighting (typically 18 minutes before sunset).
Jewish Festivals: Candles: Lighting after Sunset
Men and women may light candles after sunset on Jewish festivals, with these conditions:
- You may light only from an already-burning flame.
- You may not light Jewish festival candles after sunset on Friday nor on the evening before Yom Kippur begins.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: Lighting Two Days
The custom is to light candles:
- Before sunset on the first day of a Jewish festival, and
- After dark on the Jewish festival's second day (except when the second day coincides with Shabbat!).