Kiddush at the seventh hour
[1] (halacha 118)
In honor of the winter days, with God's help I will write on the coming Fridays about our minhag not to make Kiddush during the seventh hour (from 17:40 until 18:40 in Eretz Yisrael).
Question: Is there a concern not to make Kiddush on Friday night during the seventh hour, and why?
Answer: A. The Alter Rebbe wrote1: There are those who are careful not to make Kiddush during the first hour of the night (that is, the seventh hour after midday), but rather either before nightfall, or one hour into the night, because during the first hour the mazal of Maadim (Mars) reigns, and Samael rules over it'.
B. What is meant by Maadim reigning? Rashi wrote in Maseches Shabbos2 that the first hour in which the luminaries, the stars, and the mazalos were hung was during the first hour of Wednesday night of the creation of the world, and from then the seven mazalos began: Shabsai (Saturn), Tzedek (Jupiter), Maadim (Mars), Chamah (Sun), Nogah (Venus), Kochav (Mercury), Levanah (Moon) by their order, each mazal serving for the span of an hour, and so every seven hours it begins anew. And according to this order, always at the beginning of Friday night - during the sixth hour, the mazal of Maadim serves.
The characteristic of the mazal of Maadim, Rashi writes there, 'and the mazal of Maadim is appointed over the sword and over pestilence and over calamity'.
C. We further find that the dominion over the mazal of Maadim is through the evil angel 'Samael'. And so wrote the Sefer Abudraham3: 'And when a person comes to his home he should find candles lit and the table set, as we say in the chapter Kol Kisvei HaKodesh4: R. Yosi b'R. Yehudah says, two ministering angels accompany a person on the eve of Shabbos from the synagogue to his home, one good and one evil. When he comes to the home and finds a lit candle and a set table and a made bed, the good angel says, may it be His will that it be so for another Shabbos, and the evil angel answers amen against his will. If he did not find a lit candle and a set table and a made bed, the evil angel says, may it be His will that it be so for another Shabbos, and the good angel answers amen against his will. And HaRav Meir Kochav explained that this is according to the order of the mazalos, for the mazal of Tzedek serves during the last hour of Shabbos eve, and its angel is named Tzadkiel, and this is a good mazal, and Maadim serves during the first hour of Friday night, and its angel is named Samael, and this is an evil angel. And it turns out that the two of them meet one another, this one enters with the arrival of Shabbos and this one departs, and the two of them accompany the person until his home'.
D. If so, there is an ancient minhag that is brought also in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, and so is the Chabad minhag in practice, to be careful not to make Kiddush on Friday night during the seventh hour because of the dominion of the mazal of Maadim which is under the angel Samael, who is also appointed over calamity. Therefore there are those who had the minhag5 to make Kiddush early during the time of the dominion of the good angel Tzadkiel in order to receive the bracha and not the calamity. And in any case, to delay the time of Kiddush until the dominion of Maadim ends.
E. And so in practice the minhag in Chabad is to delay the time of Kiddush and to learn in the interim, and so the Rebbe writes in a letter6: 'In the home of my father and master, and afterward what I saw in the home of my revered father-in-law and master, the Rebbe, they would in any case make Kiddush a long time after the seventh hour'. And so the secretaries testify regarding the Rebbe's minhag7.
And to note also from what the gaon and chassid Rabbi Chaim Naeh wrote8 that in Lubavitch they had the minhag to daven and make Kiddush very late, only after the recitation of the maamar on Friday night by the Rebbe Rashab, and he found support for this from the Talmud Yerushalmi in Maseches Brachos.
Notes:
1 סי' רעא ס"ג ↩
2 דף קכט, ב ↩
3 דיני הקידוש ד"ה וכשיבוא אדם ↩
4 שבת קיט, ב ↩
5 כמבואר בס' תקוני שבת. מהרש"א בח"א תענית דף ח, ב ד"ה שמש בשבת ↩
6 לקו"ש חט"ז ע' 576 ↩
7 מעשה מלך ע' 131 ↩
8 קצות השלחן סי' עז בבדי השלחן אות טו ↩
[2] (halacha 123)
Question: In Eretz Yisrael as well, must one be careful not to make Kiddush during the seventh hour?
Answer: There are those who wrote1 that in Eretz Yisrael one need not be careful regarding this caution, since Eretz Yisrael is a land which 'ארץ אשר עיני ה' אלוקיך בה ("a land upon which the eyes of Hashem your God are")' and it is a place guarded from the harmful forces2, and therefore one may make Kiddush at any hour.
But the Rebbe rejects this argument, and writes3: 'The reason he cited, that in the Holy Land ת"ו mazalos have no dominion, does not appear to me to be relevant to this matter, since it was not overlooked in any responsum or commentary to explain so. And support for this from the fact that R. Akiva (and certainly also Rebbi) was in Eretz Yisrael, and nevertheless he experienced anxiety (Shabbos 156b). And likewise Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi was in Eretz Yisrael, and nevertheless he wrote in his notebook "such a one etc." (ibid. 156a). And it is a great stretch to say that he wrote in his notebook for the sake of his students who were from Bavel (similar to what is written in Tosafos Sukkah 44a), as is understood'.
And in an additional letter4: 'As to what they wrote, the reason that these matters were said only in Chutz LaAretz, that there is the matter of the seventy heavenly ministers which is not so in Eretz Yisrael, which "ארץ אשר עיני ה' אלוקיך בה (a land upon which the eyes of Hashem your God are)" etc., it does not seem so, apparently, from the sugya (Shabbos 129b), which does not differentiate in this at all. And based on the aforementioned sugya, one may add another reason, to clarify in each and every country the practice in this specifically, since they said there in such a case that "דשו בה רבים" (many have trodden upon it), and therefore in a country where they have not had the minhag, "שומר פתאים ה' (Hashem guards the simple)"'.
And in addition the Rebbe explains5 that there is dominion to the mazalos in the Land so that the influence will come in physical form.
If so, the argument that in Eretz Yisrael the mazalos have no dominion is rejected by the Rebbe through proofs from the Talmud that the Tannaim and Amoraim were concerned even in Eretz Yisrael for matters connected to the mazalos.
However, the Rebbe explains there in the letter in a different way what they wrote to him, that there are those in the Land who do not practice this: 'As to what was written that in the Holy Land ת"ו they are not careful in this, behold, if it is an accepted minhag there, one may say the reason is that from the outset they did not accept it (and indeed in the Shulchan Aruch there he is precise in his language: there are those who are careful etc., and it has already been explained that initially one should make Kiddush immediately etc. - even though sometimes this will be during the aforementioned hour). And the reason for the absence of acceptance of this minhag (even when it is not immediately upon his arrival etc.) - one may say it is because "שומר מצוה לא ידע דבר רע (one who guards a mitzvah will know no evil thing)" (see the Shulchan Aruch of our Rabbi 455, sections 15-16)'.
If so, we see in the Rebbe's view that this minhag does not depend on location, Chutz LaAretz or Eretz Yisrael, but rather whether they accepted it upon themselves or not, and since the Chabad minhag is to be careful not to make Kiddush during the seventh hour, therefore so we practice also in Eretz Yisrael6.
And likewise many of the communities of Israel had the minhag to continue being careful regarding this also in Eretz Yisrael7.
Notes:
1 קודש הלולים בשם הרה"ק מהר"א מבעלז. ריח השדה ח"א סי' ח בשם הר"מ אליהו. וראה גם במנהג אבותינו בידינו - 'שונות' ע' קל ↩
2 ראה רמב"ן עה"ת ויקרא יח, כה. חסד לאברהם מעין ג נהר ג ↩
3 אג"ק חי"ג ע' קכ בהמשך למכתב שבאג"ק חי"ב ע' רכז ↩
4 מכה תמוז התשכ"א. שלחן מנחם ח"ב ע' עד ↩
5 אג"ק חי"ב ע' קסה ↩
6 ראה ממלכת כהנים שם סי' יט ע' ס ↩
7 ראה מנהג אבותינו שם. שו"ת נחלת פינחס שם ↩
[3] (halacha 124)
Question: How does one calculate the seventh hour?
Answer: The Rebbe writes1: 'As to what was written regarding the care not to make Kiddush from 6-7 on the eve of Shabbos, it is understood that the intention is to an hour of sixty minutes, for the movement of the mazalos is equal in summer and in winter, and also at midday there is no difference between places in the south and in the north, and consequently the sixth hour means six equal hours after midday'.
After this response and several additional responses on the matter2 a doubt remained among Anash as to how to conduct themselves in practice - from which midday to calculate the seventh hour, and in response to the question of Rabbi Sholom Ber Levin the Rebbe answered3:
'Apparently it should be - six hours after the true midday (the midpoint between "נה"ח ושקה"ח (sunrise and sunset)" - which is apparently easy for a person to know - when the sun is overhead). And the intention, according to what I have seen practiced - is six hours after the mean midday'.
(And the Rebbe crossed out on the question sheet the possibility that his intention in the letters was to calculate according to the conventional midday).
In order to understand the words of the Rebbe, we will first explain the concepts that appear in the responses, as follows:
Midday (Chatzos)
The concept of "Chatzos" can be understood in three possibilities:
A) chatzos ha'amiti (true midday) - the time that "the sun is over every person's head," meaning precisely at the middle of the day between sunrise and sunset; this time changes from place to place and from day to day.
B) chatzos ha'emtza'i (mean midday) - meaning the average time of true midday over the course of the entire year, and it is a fixed time throughout the year. However, it changes from place to place (in Eretz Yisrael this is at 11:40, in the Cairo region it is at exactly 12).
C) chatzos hamuscom (conventional midday) - 12 noon. Since the mean midday also changes from place to place, therefore in order to make things easier for people, they established that countries in the same region would have a uniform clock and consequently the same time of midday. For example, in the region of Eretz Yisrael, they established that the central point is the Cairo region in Egypt, and all the countries near Cairo set their clock according to the Cairo horizon even though the gap between Israel and Cairo is a difference of 20 minutes.
'Hour'
A) sha'ah zmanis (seasonal hour) - when one divides the day from sunrise until sunset into 12 hours, each portion equals a seasonal hour, and consequently in winter when the day is short the hour can be less than 60 minutes, and in summer when the day is long an hour can be more than 60 minutes. These hours are used to define the end of the time for Kerias Shema, tefillah, and the like.
B) sha'ah shavah (equal hour) - when one divides the full day into 24 equal hours, and consequently each hour will be 60 minutes. And these are the hours of the cycle of the mazalos.
If so, in practice one calculates the seventh hour during which we do not make Kiddush according to a regular hour of 60 minutes that begins from the mean midday in each place, and in Eretz Yisrael this is from 17:40 until 18:40.
Attached is a link to a website where one can see what the time is in each place in the world:
https://7thhour.info/
(To be more precise, also in Eretz Yisrael there are variations of a few minutes from place to place, but apparently as appears from the Rebbe's letters, and since this is how it is practiced in fact among Anash to be careful between 17:40 and 18:40, apparently there is no necessity to be precise in each and every place according to its specific minute).
Notes:
1 אג"ק חי"ב ע' רכו ↩
2 אג"ק חי"ג ע' קכ. קובץ יגדיל תורה נ.י. חוברת ז סי' כ ↩
[4] (halacha 125)
Question: If we arrived home during the seventh hour, must we make Kiddush immediately?
Answer: The Alter Rebbe wrote1 'There are those who are careful not to make Kiddush during the first hour of the night .. but rather either before nightfall or one hour into the night .. and it has already been explained that initially he should make Kiddush immediately upon his coming from the synagogue while it is still day'.
In understanding the conclusion of his words there are several approaches; some understood his intent2 to mean that although one may make Kiddush either before the seventh hour or after it, nevertheless it has already been explained that one should make Kiddush immediately upon his coming from the synagogue, and consequently one should prefer the option of making Kiddush before the seventh hour and not after it.
But from the Rebbe's letter3 it appears4 that he explains the words of the Alter Rebbe as a general reservation regarding the stringency of "there are those who are careful," that although there are those who are careful, the importance of making Kiddush immediately upon his coming from the synagogue overrides this concern.
And based on this, some wrote5 that initially it is preferable to delay and daven or learn in the synagogue and not to arrive home, but if he arrived at his home he will need to make Kiddush according to the Alter Rebbe even within the seventh hour.
However, the Chabad minhag in practice6 is to wait and not make Kiddush until the conclusion of the seventh hour in any case, even if he arrived at his home earlier.
Question: May one be lenient when making Kiddush on white wine or on bread?
Answer: Although there is one who wrote7 that with white wine there is no concern, others have already written that this reasoning is rejected, and from the language of the Alter Rebbe it is clear that the prohibition is in the very act of making Kiddush during this hour, and it makes no difference upon what one makes Kiddush, and particularly since in the following siman8 he wrote that one makes Kiddush on white wine, if so, in the siman before it, where he writes not to make Kiddush during the seventh hour, and does not differentiate at all between red wine and white, it is plainly understood that there is no distinction as to the type of wine but rather the very act of Kiddush9.
And with this is rejected also what is written in the Sefer Maginei Avraham10 that the entire concern is in Kiddush on wine and not in Kiddush on bread.
If so, in practice one should not make Kiddush during the seventh hour, not even on white wine or challos.
Notes:
1 סי' רעא ס"ג ↩
2 שו"ע עם דובר שלום אות כג. מנהג אבותינו 'שונות' ע' קכג הערה 38 ↩
3 אג"ק חי"ג ע' קכ ↩
4 וכ"כ בקיצור הלכות משו"ע אדה"ז הערה 13. בירורי מנהגים שבת ע' 58. לקט ציונים והערות לשוע"ר (ביסטריצקי) מדרכי לוי הערה 6 ↩
5 קובץ אהלי שם ח"ז ע' רה ואילך. שו"ת ריח השדה סי' ח ענף א ↩
6 התקשרות גליון שעט ע' 17 ואילך. בירורי מנהגים שם ע' 59. (וראה גם בשו"ת נחלת פינחס ח"א סי' א אות לט) וראה גם מעשה מלך ע' 131 אות כה והערה 27 ↩
7 ראה בשו"ת ל"ב סביון ע' סד. ובשו"ת נחלת פינחס שם ↩
8 רעב ס"ד ↩
9 תפארת יהודה קלמן ח"א ע' 326 ואילך. ממלכת כהנים שער בירורי הלכה סי' יט ע' נו ואילך. ברורי מנהגים - שבת ע' 55 ↩
10 להרה"ח אברהם צבי ברודנא בהגהות על מסכת שבת דף קכט, ב ↩
[5] (halacha 126)
Question: When there are guests, may one be lenient in this?
Answer: In Likutei Maharich1 he wrote to be lenient with poor guests: 'And behold, although it is certainly proper to be careful in this, nevertheless let every prudent person act with knowledge - כל ערום יעשה בדעת ("let every prudent person act with knowledge") - for one who has poor guests at his table who are hungry and thirsty, then great is the power of gifts to the poor which transform the attribute of judgment to mercy'.
And some were lenient even with ordinary guests who are not poor and hungry, as written in Nitei Gavriel2 plainly that in honor of guests one should not wait, and that so ruled the holy Rabbi Aharon of Belz.
But on the other hand the Rebbe writes3 that a guest does not constitute a reason to make Kiddush early, and these are his holy words: 'Apparently, according to his question that the matter is relevant when one brings in a guest and the latter wishes to make Kiddush as above, that hachnasas orchim is certainly of Torah origin and "שומר מצוה לא ידע וכו' (one who guards a mitzvah etc.)," but in truth this is not so, for in the guest himself the matter of "guarding a mitzvah" is not present here, and consequently there is also no place for the assurance of "he will know no [evil thing]," and by the same token it is also inapplicable to say this of the host. And this is easily understood.
And see also the testimony of the Rebbe's personal attendant (משב"ק) הריל"ג4 that they always had the minhag to be careful even when there are guests who are not aware of this or who are not careful regarding it.
If so, in practice even when there are guests one should not make Kiddush during the seventh hour. However, in a situation of great pressing need (such as in the case of shluchim who invite those they are bringing close, and the like) they should make a query of a rav as to whether one may nevertheless be lenient.
Question: May one be lenient to make Kiddush during the seventh hour for the sake of the young children?
Answer: Although there is one who wrote to be lenient to make Kiddush for the sake of children5, nevertheless since the Alter Rebbe wrote6 that 'it is permitted to feed the child before Kiddush, whether of the night or of the day, and it is forbidden to cause him affliction', if so there is no need to be lenient to make Kiddush during this hour in which there is a care against making Kiddush, since from the standpoint of the law it is permitted for them to eat without Kiddush.
Therefore one should not make Kiddush during the seventh hour for the sake of young children
Notes:
1 סדר קידוש דליל שבת [ולהעיר מהדבר אברהם (ח"ב סי' ב) שכתב ששמע בשם החפץ חיים שהמארח עניים לסעודת שבת צריך לקדש ולסעוד מיד, מדין 'בל תאחר'. אך הוא מיישב את מנהג העולם שמתעכבים, מדין 'קבע לו זמן' שמראש בעל הבית קובע את זמן הצדקה, בשעה שהוא יתיישב בעצמו לסעודה ולכן אין כאן בל תאחר] ↩
2 נישואין ח"ב פפ"ב דין ג והערה ג ↩
3 במכתב מכה תמוז תשכא (שלחן מנחם ח"ב ע' עה) ↩
4 הובאה בגליון התקשרות שעט ע' 19 ↩
5 שו"ת ריח השדה ח"א סי' ח ענף ב ↩
6 סי' רסט ס"ג ↩
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