Aliyot | Burial of Shemot | Decorum During Services
| El Maleh Rachamin
| Erev Pesach on Shabbat | Hanukah | Havdalah | High Holidays | High Holiday Dress | High Holidays Preparations
| How to Dress for Shul |
Jewish Books | The
Kaddish | Kedushah | Keriah
Mi Sheberach | the Machzor | Mitzvah Minyanaires | Mourning | Pesach | Prayer
| Proper Behavior in Shul
| Proper Dress for Children in Shul | Purim Ritual
Objects | Ritual Practices | Rosh Chodesh | Seudah Shlishit | Shabbat | Shavout
| Shiva | Traditions
| Visiting the Sick
Havdalah
Alvin Stern
Just as we usher in the Shabbat with rituals such as Kiddush,
blessing the children and lighting the candles, so, too, when the Shabbat is
over we have a ceremony to mark the occasion. Known as Havdalah (meaning separation),
this short ritual consists of several components. The symbols used are (1) a
glass of wine (though grape juice can be used, and other beverages such as vodka
are permissible, but require a different blessing to be used), (2) sweet spices
- to revive us as our extra soul that joined us for Shabbat leaves and (3) a
multi-wicked candle. The wine is held in the right hand; often children assist
by holding the candle and spices. The prayers begin with an introductory paragraph
(Hinei El Yeshuati …behold, G-d is my salvation), which includes the well-known
verse "U'shavtem Mayim B'Sasone" - and you can draw water with joy
from the wells of salvation. Just before the leader recites the verse from the
Megillah of Esther (LaYehudim Hayta Orah v' Simcha, v'Sasone v'Yikar - the Jews
had light and gladness, joy and honor), the congregation recites that verse,
and the candle is held high to shed light on the participants.
The leader then recites the Bracha for the wine (Boray P'ree
Hagafen), but does not drink it until the ceremony is completed. Then he or
she recites the Bracha for the spices (Boray Menay Besammim) and inhales the
sweet aroma - often cinnamon and/or cloves and passes the spice box around so
all can inhale the scents. As the leader recites the third blessing for the
light (Boray M'oray HaAish), all present place their hands, palm side up with
the fingers curved so that the shadow of the fingers is visible on the palm.
The final blessing acknowledges G-d as the one who separates holy from mundane,
light from dark, Israel from the other nations and the Shabbat from the other
days of Creation. At this point the wine is drunk, and the candle extinguished
either directly into the cup of wine, or into a plate into which some wine has
been poured. We have a tradition at TBS of extinguishing the candle's flames
in vodka, which then ignites and causes a tower of flame to be produced - thus
we take the Shabbat's light and joy into the new week which has just begun.
It is traditional to sing several songs at the end of Havdalah
- Hamavdil bane kodesh l'chol (He who separates holy from mundane), Eliyahu
HaNavi (it is believed that the Shabbat is like the utopia of Messianic times
to come, since Elijah the Prophet will announce the coming of the Mashiach,
we sing and pray that this coming week will be the beginning of the Messianic
period! Lastly we sing Shavuah Tov - wishing each other a good week!
There are several variations to the basic Havdalah service -
when a festival concludes on a weekday, we only use the wine and recite the
blessing for it and the concluding blessing (we don't recite the introductory
section or sing the songs at the end). After Yom Kippur, we use the candle but
not the spices, and light the candle from a flame that had been lit before the
holiday began (such as a Yahrzeit candle).
Although the ceremony of Havdalah should be done first thing
at the conclusion of Shabbat, it may be done anytime until Tuesday night - since
we are still closer to the previous Shabbat than the next one. If Tisha B'av
falls on Sunday, we do Havdalah at the conclusion of the fast day (using the
pattern of a holiday ending on a weekday). On Chanukah we do Havdalah before
lighting the Chanukia candles at home, but in shul, we light the Chanukah candles
first in order to proclaim the miracle of the holiday.
Havdalah is easy to perform at home and there are beautiful havdalah
sets available; it is a nice way to make the transition from the Day of Rest.
|
