What Is a Kiddush Cup? How to Use One (and How to Choose)

Someone fills a cup of wine to the very top, the room goes quiet, and the Hebrew starts. If you've ever stood at a Shabbat table wondering what's happening (and when you get to eat), this one's for you.

What Is Kiddush, and What's the Cup For?

Kiddush means "sanctification." The Torah says "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8), and Jewish tradition does that remembering out loud, over a cup of wine, right before the Friday night meal. Wine gets the job because it's the drink of joy.

The kiddush cup is simply the cup that holds that wine. Any cup works as long as it's whole (no chips) and big enough, and ideally a real, reusable cup rather than a disposable one. Most families keep one special cup for it. Our kiddush cups run from hammered metal to hand-painted porcelain.

When Do You Use a Kiddush Cup?

• Friday night. The main event. Kiddush opens Shabbat dinner.
• Shabbat lunch. A shorter daytime kiddush. Originally it was just the blessing over wine, and most communities now add a few verses first.
• Holidays. Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot all get their own kiddush, with wording about that holiday. At the Passover seder, kiddush is the first of the four cups.
• Havdalah. The Saturday night ceremony that ends Shabbat also uses a cup of wine, and many families fill it until it overflows. Your kiddush cup works great here.
• Weddings and a bris. Under the chuppah, blessings are said over a cup of wine and the couple sips from it. At a brit milah, the blessing over wine comes after the circumcision, and the baby gets his Hebrew name and a drop of wine.

Heads up for Hanukkah 2026: it starts on Friday, December 4. On Friday, before sundown, light the Hanukkah candles first, then the Shabbat candles, and make kiddush at dinner as usual. Our guide to how to light the Hanukkah candles has the full schedule.

How to Make Kiddush, Step by Step

1. Fill the cup to the brim. A full cup is the ideal.
2. Cover the challah. Bread normally gets its blessing before wine, so we cover the challah while the wine goes first. Think of it as the challah politely looking the other way.
3. Pick who says it. Usually one person makes kiddush for everyone at the table, and the others listen and answer "amen." A woman can make kiddush just like a man.
4. Stand or sit, per your family's custom. Sephardim and Chassidic families generally stand on Friday night. Many other Ashkenazim sit, and some stand just for the opening paragraph. Hold the cup in your right hand (lefties use the left).
5. Say or sing the blessings. Every family has its own tune, and every family thinks theirs is the right one.
6. Drink, then share. Whoever made kiddush drinks at least a cheekful (Chabad puts it at about 1.5 ounces), then pours a little for everyone else or passes the cup around.
7. On to the challah. Kiddush is meant to be followed by the meal, so now you finally get to eat.

The Kiddush Blessing Over Wine

Friday night kiddush has three parts: a passage from Genesis about God finishing creation and resting on the seventh day (Vayechulu), the short blessing over the wine, and a longer blessing that thanks God for Shabbat and ends with mekadesh haShabbat. Any siddur or bencher has the full text. The wine blessing is the part you'll use most, on Shabbat, holidays and at havdalah:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, borei p'ri hagafen.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Everyone answers "amen" after each blessing, and once the last one is done, it's time to drink.

How Much Should a Kiddush Cup Hold?

A kiddush cup has to hold at least a revi'it, a Talmudic measure for liquid. Nobody agrees on exactly how big that is in modern ounces, which is very on brand for us. The three opinions you'll see most:

• About 3 fluid ounces (86 ml), following Rav Chaim Naeh.
• 4.42 fluid ounces for Friday night, following Rav Moshe Feinstein (who held the smaller amount is fine on Shabbat day).
• 5.1 fluid ounces (150 ml), following the Chazon Ish.

So a 6-ounce cup keeps everyone happy. If your family follows a specific opinion, ask your rabbi, and check the capacity on the listing when you shop.

Spode Kiddush Cup · $84 Coluna Marble Kiddush Cup by Anna New York - Gold · $195 Blue Bird Porcelain Kiddush Cup by Goodstein Ceramics · $83

The Spode cup holds 6 ounces, the Coluna marble cup holds more than 6, and the Blue Bird porcelain cup holds a generous 14, plenty for passing around.

Wine or Grape Juice?

Both are fine. The blessing is over "the fruit of the vine," and grape juice gets the exact same blessing as wine. The Talmud already allowed kiddush over fresh-squeezed grape juice, so this isn't a modern loophole. Some authorities prefer wine when you have it, but grape juice is completely normal for kids and grown-ups. Whichever you pour, make it kosher. And if there's no wine or juice in the house on a Friday night, you can make kiddush over the challah instead.

How to Choose a Kiddush Cup

• Material. Metal (silver, nickel, stainless) is sturdy and the classic heirloom pick. Porcelain and ceramic bring color and personality. Glass lets the wine show.
• Care. Some cups are dishwasher safe, like the kate spade porcelain cup. Hand-painted pieces are often hand-wash only.
• A saucer or tray. If you fill it to the brim (and at havdalah many families let it overflow), a saucer saves your tablecloth. The Rosé Glow cup comes with one.
• For a crowd. With a kiddush fountain, you make kiddush in the big cup, then pour the wine into the top of the fountain and it splits evenly into a ring of little cups. No more pouring cup by cup for a table of eight. See our kiddush fountains.

Pink Oak Street Kiddush Cup by kate spade new york · $42 Butterfly Glass Kiddush Cup · $98 Rosé Glow Kiddush Cup and Saucer · $42

Giving a Kiddush Cup as a Gift

A kiddush cup is one of the best Jewish gifts because it actually gets used, every single week. For a wedding, it's a natural fit: the ceremony itself starts with blessings over a cup of wine, and now the couple has a cup for every Friday night after. For a bar or bat mitzvah, it says "you're ready to make kiddush yourself." To make it personal, ask a local engraver about adding names and a date to a metal cup, or tuck a handwritten note in the box. Thirty years from now, someone will read it at a Shabbat table.

Kiddush Cup FAQ

What is a kiddush cup?

A kiddush cup is the cup of wine or grape juice you hold while saying kiddush, the blessing that starts Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Any whole, reusable cup that holds enough wine works, but most families keep one special cup just for kiddush.

How do you use a kiddush cup?

Fill it to the brim with kosher wine or grape juice, cover the challah, and have one person say kiddush while holding the cup. Everyone answers amen, the person who said it drinks at least a cheekful, and the rest gets shared.

What blessing do you say over the kiddush cup?

The blessing over wine is Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, borei p'ri hagafen: Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. On Friday night it sits between a passage from Genesis and a longer blessing for Shabbat.

How much should a kiddush cup hold?

At least a revi'it. Common modern measurements are about 3 ounces (Rav Chaim Naeh), 4.42 ounces (Rav Moshe Feinstein, for Friday night) and 5.1 ounces (Chazon Ish). A 6-ounce cup covers all three.

Can you use grape juice for kiddush?

Yes. The blessing is over the fruit of the vine, and the Talmud already allows fresh grape juice for kiddush. Some authorities prefer wine when you have it, but grape juice is a normal, accepted choice.

Is a kiddush cup a good gift?

Yes, especially for a wedding or a bar or bat mitzvah. It gets used every Friday night, and a metal cup can be engraved with names and a date.

L'chaim!