Havdalah

This is a Havdalah Service that I wrote for a Jewish organization. The prayer in this service are traditional Havdalah prayers.

Havdalah Service

In Judaism, the concept of making distinctions and separations permeates many facets of religious life. We distinguish between the Holy time and the mundane or ordinary time. The Havdalah Service marks the end of Shabbat, the separation into our worldly week days.

There are three primary symbols of Havdalah:

The braided candle
The Kiddish cup containing wine
The spice box (b’samim) containing sweet-smelling spices

The lighted candle symbolizes the light of Shabbat. Kindling flame is a symbol of our first labor on earth. As Shabbat departs and the rest of the week resumes, we kindle our own fire. We begin to separate ourselves from the Shabbat by lighting the way into a new week with this candle.

The strands of the braided candle have been interpreted as the many types of Jews in the world, all of whom are part of one unified people.

The wine is a symbol of joy. We take one last sip of the joy of Shabbat as we bid the Sabbath goodbye for another week.

The sweet-smelling spices symbolize the sweetness of Shabbat, whose pleasant aroma we breathe in one last time so that it might last us throughout the week to come, until we can welcome the Shabbat again.

The Blessing over the Wine:

Wine gladdens the heart. In our joy, we see beyond the injustice and violence that stains our world. Our eyes open to the unnoticed grace, blessings until now unseen, and the promise of goodness we can bring to the world.

ברוך אתה ײ אלהינו מלך העולם בורא פרי הגפן אמן

Baruch atah, Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha-olam, borei pe-ri ha-gafan. Amein.

Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. Amen.

(Drink the wine.)

The Blessing over the Spices:

The Kabbalists teach that during Shabbat, we receive an extra soul, or spiritual sensitivity. This extra soul of Shabbat leaves us now, causing us to feel faint. The spices revive us and remind us that the six days will pass, and Shabbat will return. Their scent makes us yearn for the sweetness of rest, and the dream world healed of pain, pure and wholesome as the first Shabbat, when God, finding things good, rested from the work of creation.

ברוך אתה ײ אלהינו מלך העולם בורא מיני בשמים אמן

Baruch atah, Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha-olam, borei minei v’samim. Amein.

Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who creates a potpourri of spices. Amen.

(The spice box is shaken to dispel the scent, and then is passed around so everyone can enjoy the fragrances.)

The Blessing over the Fire:

The Havdalah candle is unique. Its multiple wicks remind us that all qualities can be joined together. We have the power to create many different fires, some useful, others destructive. Let us be on guard never to let this gift of fire devour human life, sear cities and scorch fields, or foul the pure air we breathe. Let the fire we kindle be Holy; let it bring light and warmth to all humanity.

ברוך אתה ײ אלהינו מלך העולם בורא מאורי האש אמן

Baruch atah, Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha-olam, borei m’orei ha’eish. Amein.

Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who creates the light of fire. Amen.

(Everyone raises their cupped hands and looks at their fingernails in the light of the flame and watches the play of shadow and light on their palms.)

One explanation for the tradition of holding one’s hand before the flame is to enjoy the pleasure derived from the light. Another is that the reflection of the light on the fingernails casts a shadow on the palm, which shows the distinction between light and darkness, as in the end of Shabbat. The legal reason for this practice is to make use of the light after blessing it. It would be improper to recite a blessing and for the fire then fail make use of the fire.

The Final Blessing of Separation:

Havdalah is not for the close of Shabbat alone; it is for all days. Havdalah means to separate oneself ~ to separate from the unholy and to strive for holiness, to separate from hatred and violence and to promote peace among people and nations. May God give us understanding to reject the unholy and to choose the way of holiness.

ברוך אתה ײ אלהינו מלך העולם המבדיל בין קדש לחול בין אור לחשך בין ישראל לעמים בין יום השביעי לששת ימי המעשה המבדיל בין קדש לחול ברוך אתה ײ אמן

Baruch atah, Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha-olam,ha-mavdil bein ko-desh l’kol, bien or l’choshech, bien Yisrael l’amim, bien you hashvi’i l’shet ymei ha’ma’aseh. Barukah ata Adonai Hamav’dil bein Kodesh l’chol. Amein.

Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who separates the Holy from the mundane, light from darkness, Israel from the other nations, the seventh day of rest from the six days of work.

(The candle is then extinguished in the wine.)

Concluding Song (Traditional Song):

Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov.
A good week, a week of peace, may gladness reign and joy increase, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov.



© Smolinsky, 2010