
WINE
#HowIShabbat
DIY Ritual. DIY Joy.

WINE
#HowIShabbat
DIY Ritual. DIY Joy.
Raise a Glass: Sanctifying the Wine
Raise a glass. There are many ways to enjoy Shabbat rituals + Friday night dinners, so we asked five OneTable hosts to share their unique practices, challenges, and inspiration. Watch how they sanctify the wine and adapt the ritual to meet their needs.
Healy
(she/her)
DIY Ritual: Building on her family traditions from different cultures
DIY Joy: Singing around the Shabbat table
Dani
(she/her)
DIY Ritual: Tapping into family traditions and creating her own practice
DIY Joy: Redefining traditions as a new couple
Jacob
(he/him)
DIY Ritual: Welcoming guests into the mood of Shabbat in different ways
DIY Joy: Bringing Judaism into his home by hosting Shabbat dinners
Mel
(she/they)
DIY Ritual: Being more comfortable setting intentions in a personal setting
DIY Joy: Sharing gratitude for the week with those sharing Shabbat
Ruby
(they/fae)
DIY Ritual: Using a gender-inclusive blessing that empowers guests
DIY Joy: Connecting Shabbat dinners with activism
Are you ready to enrich your Friday nights?
Check out these additional resources to create your rituals. As you get ready to bring in Shabbat, share your rituals + reflections on social with @onetableshabbat and use #HowIShabbat.
Sanctifying the Wine at Your Next Shabbat Dinner
Kiddush—the blessing over the wine—formally sanctifies time, using wine to distinguish between every day and the holiness of Shabbat. There are many old and new traditions around the wine. Here are some elements you might consider.
- What: Wine, grape juice, mocktail, or cocktail. A special drink in a special cup (ornate or just set aside for the ritual).
- When: After lighting the candles and before blessing the challah.
- Who: All genders are welcome to bless the wine. Everyone can partake by singing along or saying “Amen” at the end.
- How: Pour a glass of wine or grape juice. Allow the kiddush cup to overflow. You may sit or stand, and raise your glass with one hand or two as you say the blessing. After saying the blessing, take a sip of your newly sanctified beverage. If blessing isn’t your thing, no problem. You could also sing a song, read a poem, or offer a short guided meditation.
- Pro Tip: As Kiddush is being recited, consider asking guests to look into their own glasses of wine for the sparks of light twinkling back at them.
In Judaism, wine represents joy. By taking a moment to bless the wine, we acknowledge joy as a value unto itself, not as it serves something else. Through the blessing of the wine (kiddush), one acknowledges two of God’s greatest gifts: creation of the world and the exodus from Egypt.
Kiddush also creates a moment to express gratitude for Shabbat. It is composed of two blessings: to bless the wine and to sanctify the day. It’s not about the wine itself, it’s about what it has the power to do when we raise our glass with intention.
That’s the magic of kiddush, from the Hebrew word for holy — our ability to demarcate time, to say that this Friday night, this Shabbat dinner, this exact moment, which has never occurred before and never will again, is special. Cheers to that!
Explore our Shabbat guides and resource library to make your Shabbat dinners even more magical.