Sitting or standing during _Kedusha deSidrah_

Question

The common minhag is to sit during kedusha deSidrah in the morning but stand during its recitation motzei Shabbos.

It seems the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim in siman 132 does not bring the position in which one should recite this, which assumes it is ok to sit, but is that a preferred practice? I was taught that it is better to sit in the morning, but someone forwarded me this article, which indicates that Rav Chaim Kanevsky and Chazon Ish both used to stand.

So it is not clear what is the source for our current halachic practice and what it is based on.

Same problem motzei shabbos, as in siman 295 the Rama comments that we do indeed have a custom to say kedusha deSidrah but does not comment whether to stand or to sit.

Thank you very much for clarifying this for me.

Answer 1

Regarding kedushah desidra after shacharit, it would appear that there are different customs.

Aruch HaShulchan 132:8 writes that he believes it to be appropriate to sit throughout ashrei - uva letzion. Similarly, Kaf HaChaim 59:20 writes, based mostly on kabbalistic sources, that the kedushah of uva letzion should be recited sitting and not standing.

On the other hand, R. Wosner writes in Shevet HaLevi VI:13 that he hasn't seen much explicit on the subject, but he believes that the custom is to stand, and he acts thus himself. He points out that such practice certainly makes sense if the reason for reciting this kedushah is as a substitute for the kedushah of the amidah. (See Beit Yosef, Orach Chaim 132:2.) He concludes that either sitting or standing is acceptable.

Regarding kedushah desidra on motzaei shabbat, Piskei Teshuvot Orach Chaim 295:1 points out that this is not being said as a kedushah at all, as there is no kedushah recited at arvit. Rather, we are merely prolonging the service, and thereby delaying the return of the wicked to gehinnom (see Tur, Orach Chaim 295). Therefore, he believes that one can recite this kedushah in whatever postion one likes.

In a footnote, he points to a comment of R. Yitzhak ibn Ghayyat (quoted in Biur Halachah to 489:1) which implies that the custom in his day was to sit. He also notes a line from R. Yaakov Tzemach's Nagid uMetzaveh which sounds like one should specifically sit, presumably for kabbalistic reasons.

However, he writes that he believes that the common custom is indeed to stand. He conjectures that the reason people do this is because they have the practice to stand for vihi noam and Tehillim 91 (see e.g. Sha'arei Teshuvah 295:1). They therefore simply remain standing until the end of the service.