Special Halachot of Motzaei Shabbat Kiddush/Havdala | Rabbi Daniel Mann | Beit Midrash

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Question: Please review the unique halachot of Kiddush of Shavuot night that falls on Motzaei Shabbat.

Answer: First of all, the most basic advice is to take a good look at the siddur before you start to see what you will be saying –the five berachot that follow the acronym of yaknehaz (wine, Kiddush, candle, Havdala, Shehecheyanu). Beyond that, we will divide some of the unique halachot into categories. (Almost all of the halachot we are mentioning can be found in Shemirat Shabbat K’hilchata (II) 62:9-22, and we will not list specific citations from there.)

Pre-Havdala: If one wants to do work that it is forbidden on Shabbat but permitted on Yom Tov and it is late enough, he/she should have davened Ma’ariv with the addition of Vatodi’einu (the Yom Tov equivalent of Ata Chonantanu) or made the declaration of Hamavdil. Regarding the latter, it is important to remember to say "… hamavdil bein kodesh l’kodesh."

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Wine: While both Kiddush and Havdala should preferably be made over wine (or grape juice), bread (challa) can be used for Kiddush but not for Havdala (the status of other beverages is beyond our present scope). Regarding this Kiddush that also includes Havdala, the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 296:2) cites two opinions if bread suffices, but the Rama says that it does. Nevertheless, the Mishna Berura (296:16) says that an extra effort should be made to use wine in deference to the opinions that this is fully required.
The minhag that many have to pour enough wine for Havdala to spill over is not in effect in this case.

Besamim: There is no beracha on besamim because the festivities of Yom Tov are sufficient "resuscitation" after the loss of the neshama yeteira (Tosafot, Beitza 33b). The beracha on besamim is not made after Yom Tov finishes either.
If one mistakenly made the beracha on the besamim in the midst of the Havdala, it does not cause a problematic break (Shemirat Shabbat K’hilchata 62:(22) and Nitei Gavriel 30:2, contrary to the opinion of Shalmei Toda, p. 149).

Candle: There are major discussions as to whether the beracha on fire justifies lighting a new flame and combining flames to create a torch effect. We dealt with the matter in Living the Halachic Process III, D-4. Our operative suggestion is to take the Yom Tov candles and hold them together for the beracha. According to any system, it is important to not directly extinguish the flame.
Even those who usually shut the electric lights to get more significant benefit from the Havdala candle’s light can make the beracha on the candle(s) with the electric lights on.

Women: On every Motzaei Shabbat, it is preferable for a woman not to make her own Havdala due to questions about whether she is obligated in Havdala and the beracha on the candle and due to the minhag that women not drink from Havdala wine (see our treatment of the topic in Living the Halachic Process II, C-8). Here, there is more of a problem because voluntarily making a beracha in the midst of a Kiddush in which she is certainly obligated and should not interrupt is questionable. However, if necessary, a woman may recite the whole Yaknehaz Kiddush, and she is then allowed and indeed required to drink from the wine.

Mistakes: If one forgot to make the Havdala beracha and he is in the middle of the meal, he should make it, over a cup of wine, before continuing to eat, as it is always forbidden to eat before Havdala. If, during Kiddush, he did not have in mind the possibility of drinking wine during the meal, he must make another beracha on the wine, but otherwise he drinks the wine without an additional beracha.
Finishing the beracha with "hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol" instead of "hamavdil bein kodesh l’kodesh" is equivalent to not saying Havdala at all.
One who left out Shehecheyanu can make it up throughout the chag. A forgotten "Borei Meorei Ha’eish" can be made up only that night.

Praying, Kiddush and the Meals

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