~Sanctification~

(Recite silently: Vaihi erev vaihi voker)
(And there was evening and there was morning)

Yom ha-shishi. Vaichulu hashamayim v'ha-aretz v'chol tz'va-am
The sixth day. Thus the heavens and earth were finished, and all their array.

Vaichol Elokim bayom hash'vi-i m'lachto asher asah, vayishbot bayom hash'vi-i mikal m'lachto asher asah
On the seventh day G-d completed His work which He had done, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Vaivarech Elokim et yom hash'vi-i vaikadesh oto, ki vo shavat mika'l m'lachto asher bara Elokim la-asot
G-d blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it He abstained from all His work which G-d created to make.

Savri maranan v'rabanan v'rabotai
By your leave, my masters, rabbis and teachers:

Baruch atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech ha-olam bore' peri hagafen Amein
Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine. Amein.

Baruch atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech ha-olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'ratzah vanu, v'Shabbat kadsho b'ahavah uvratzon hinchilanu zikaron l'ma-aseh v'reishit
Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, took pleasure in us, and with love and favor gave us His holy Shabbat as a heritage, as remembrance of creation.

Ki hu yom t'chilah l'mikra-ei kodesh zecher litzi-at Mitzrayim
For that day is the prologue to the holy convocations, a memorial of the Exodus from Egypt.

Ki vanu vacharta v'otanu kidashta mikol ha-amim v'Shabbat kadsh'cha b'ahavah uvratzon hinchaltanu
For us did You choose and us did You sanctify from all the nations. And Your holy Shabbat, with love and favor did You give us as a heritage.

Baruch atah Hashem m'kadesh haShabbat Amein
Blessed are You, Hashem, Who sanctifies the Shabbat. Amein.

The seventh day is consecrated to G-d. With wine, our symbol of joy, we celebrate this day and its holiness. We give thanks for all our blessings, for life and health, for work and rest, for home and love and friendship. On Shabbat, eternal sign of creation, we remember that we are created in the Divine image. We therefore raise the cup in thanksgiving.

The first paragraph of Kiddush is in the nature of testimony to the fact that G-d completed the labor of creation in six days and rested on the seventh. Thus by observing the Shabbat, we bear weekly testimony to G-d's creation of the universe. Although this paragraph has already been recited as part of the evening service [and for that reason it is not repeated as part of the Kiddush which is recited at the synagogue], it was included in the Kiddush for the benefit of women and children who did not recite the evening service (Pesachim 106a).

The use of wine in connection with the Kiddush is spoken of in the Talmud, where the biblical command "remember the Shabbat" is interpreted to mean "remember it over wine" (Pesachim 106a). Wine is metaphorically represented as the essence of goodness. Yisrael is likened to a vine brought from Egypt and planted in Eretz Yisrael, where it took deep root and prospered (Tehillim 80:9-11). When wine is not available, the Kiddush is recited over two loaves of bread (lechem mishneh) that commemorate the double portion of manna that was gathered on Fridays.

The origin of the Kiddush is traced back to the early period of the Second Temple, and is attributed to the Men of the Great Assembly, who flourished at that time.

The morning Kiddush for Shabbat and festivals is called Kiddushah Rabbah (the great Kiddush) by way of inversion, since it is of later origin and of less importance than the Kiddush that is recited in the evening (Pesachim 106a).