“Remember the Shabbat day to make it holy,” reads the text of the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Our sages understand this to be an instruction to verbally declare Shabbat’s holiness when it arrives and (possibly also) when it departs. On Friday evening, we sanctified Shabbat with the kiddush; now, as we take leave of it after a night and day of Divine rest, we once again pronounce the holiness of the day over a cup of wine.
Paradoxically, this act of separation is what connects Shabbat with the rest of the week. When the boundaries between the holy and the ordinary are blurred, the holy is no longer holy and the ordinary is left with nothing to uplift it. By defining the separation of Shabbat from the workday week, the relationship between the two is also established—a relationship in which Shabbat imparts its transcendent vision to the rest of the week, and the six days of daily life feed into, and are sublimated within, the sanctity of Shabbat.
1. What You’ll Need:
• double-wicked candle (or two candles held with flames together)
• cup of wine or grape juice
• spices (cloves work well)
• piece of foil (or plate) for dripping the candle on, and extinguishing the flame
Shabbat ends when three medium-sized stars are visible in one glance in the evening sky. This time varies according to location and season.
Havdalah is made up of five sections:
1) Introductory paragraph.
Indeed, G d is my deliverance; I am confident and shall not fear, הִנֵּה אֵל יְשׁוּעָתִי אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד
for G d the L rd is my strength and song, and He has been a help to me. כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ יי וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה
You shall draw water with joy from the wellsprings of deliverance. וּשְׁאַבְתֶּם מַיִם בְּשָׂשׂוֹן מִמַּעַיְנֵי הַיְשׁוּעָה
Deliverance is the L rd’s; may Your blessing be upon Your people forever. לַיי הַיְשׁוּעָה עַל עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶךָ סֶּלָה
The L rd of hosts is with us; the G d of Jacob is our everlasting stronghold. יי צְבָאוֹת עִמָּנוּ מִשְׂגָּב לָנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה
L rd of hosts, happy is the man who trusts in You. יי צְבָאוֹת אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם בֹּוטֵחַ בָּךְ
L rd, deliver us; may the King answer us on the day we call. יי הוֹשִׁיעָה, הַמֶּלֶךְ יַעֲנֵנוּ בְיוֹם קָרְאֵנוּ
For the Jews there was light and joy, gladness and honor—so let it be with us! לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשֹׂן וִיקָרּ כֵּן תִּהְיֶה לָנוּ
I will raise the cup of deliverance and invoke the name of the L rd. כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא וּבְשֵׁם יי אֶקְרָא
2) Blessing over wine. Judaism teaches us to transform the physical to the spiritual. Just as simple grapes were transformed into wine, so too we take pleasure in the spiritual renewal we have accomplished over Shabbat, and hope it will continue to grow throughout the coming week.
Now raise your right hand—the hand holding the cup of wine—a little bit higher, and recite the blessing on the wine:
Attention, Gentlemen! סַבְרִי מָרָנָן
Blessed are You, L rd our G d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן
3) Blessing over spices. The Kabbalists tell us during Shabbat, we each receive an extra soul, or extra spiritual sensitivity. So as Shabbat goes away, so does the extra soul, causing us to feel faint. For this reason we smell some spices (spiritual smelling salts!) to comfort our soul at the loss of Shabbat.
Blessed are You, L rd our G d, King of the universe, who creates various kinds of spices. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא מִינֵי בְשָׂמִים
4) Blessing on the flame. The Talmud says that when Adam was created on Day Six, he became very sad when he saw darkness setting in on Friday night. He thought perhaps the world was ending! So on Saturday night, G-d gave Adam the gift of fire. This is why we say the blessing over fire on Saturday night. The Havdalah candle represents the primordial first light of creation; new beginnings, a new commitment. We hope to extend the light of Shabbat into our week.
After saying the blessing, we make use of the flame by holding our hand near the flame and looking at our fingernails. When Shabbat comes in, we light a simple candle; yet, when Shabbat is leaving, we light a larger flame of intertwined lights, for now we had the experience of living with an additional soul and the opportunity that provides.
Blessed are You, L rd our G d, King of the universe, who creates the lights of fire. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא מְאוֹרֵי הָאֵשׁ
5) Finally, the blessing of the Havdalah itself.
Lift the goblet in your right hand, and say the following:
Blessed are You, L rd our G d, King of the universe, בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
who makes a distinction between sacred and mundane, between light and darkness, הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחוֹל בֵּין אוֹר לְחֹשֶׁךְ
between Israel and the nations, between the Seventh Day and the six workdays. בֵּין יִשְׂרָאֵל לָעַמִּים בֵּין יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי לְשֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי הַמַּעֲשֶׂה
Blessed are You, L rd, who makes a distinction between sacred and mundane. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחוֹל
Have a seat, drink at least 1.5 oz. of wine, then extinguish the flame with the remaining wine. Dip your fingertips in the wine on the plate and wish everyone, “A good week!”
