Sukkot - Kiddush

QUESTION: What if I made Kiddush in the sukkah and it began raining and I cannot see into my house. What should I do? Should I repeat Kiddush in the house?

ANSWER: In this case, if one leaves the sukkah and enters his house, he will be required to repeat Kiddush. He will not have fulfilled the mitzvah of Kiddush with his recitation in the sukkah, unless he ate there a kezayis of bread. If in fact he leaves the sukkah and enters his home, it will turn out that the Kiddush said in the sukkah will have been a bracha livatala (a blessing recited in vain).

The Mishnah Berurah (Shar Ha’tziun 273:5) writes that in this scenario, the preferable course of action would be for everyone to eat a kezayis of bread in the sukkah in the rain or at the very least every person should drink a reviis of wine (See Mishnah Berurah 273:5). Once they do this, they will have fulfilled their mitzvah of Kiddush and there will be no need to repeat Kiddush in the house. They may then enter the house and continue the meal. Since they likely realized that it was going to rain, and had in mind that if it rained they would finish the meal in the house, there is no need to recite Hamotzi again when they eat in the home.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.