When are the candles lit?

 It is traditional to light the Shabbat candles during the 18 minute window right before sundown on Friday, which marks the beginning of Shabbat. Some cities have a tradition of offering a larger window for candle-lighting, most notably Jerusalem whose window begins 40 minutes before sundown. (In Jerusalem, a siren that can be heard throughout the city is blown at this time on late Friday afternoon to alert citizens that candle-lighting time is upon them.) The earliest one may light Shabbat candles is 75 minutes before sundown.

After sundown, whether candles have been lit or not, Shabbat has begun and one may not kindle a flame. The timing of this window of course varies from location to location and throughout the year. There are many online tools to look up the Shabbat candle-lighting time in your area this week.

Are any candles acceptable?

Shabbat candles must burn at least until you recite Hamotzi, the blessing over bread, and some sources say that they should burn for two to three hours. For this reason, birthday candles and Hanukkah candles, which burn down quickly, are not recommended. There are specially-made Shabbat candles that will fit in a regular-sized taper holder but are shorter than taper candles (and therefore will not burn all night), but a regular tea light will also work perfectly well. Many people choose neronim, candles in glass cups, that look especially beautiful and are a way to perform hiddur mitzvah, beautifying the commandment of lighting Shabbat candles. For the same reason, if you have a beautiful pair of candlesticks, this the time to use them. It is customary to light white candles, though this is not a hard and fast rule.

How many candles?

It is traditional to light a minimum of two candles in each household. Indeed, the pair of Shabbat candles is one of the most iconic images of the holiday. Many reasons are given for the number two. Some say that it indicates the candles are special — holding a purpose one candle alone cannot. Some say that it represents the two instances of the commandment of keeping Shabbat given in the Torah, one found in Exodus 20:8 that says “Zachor (remember) the Sabbath,” and one found in Deuteronomy 5:12 that says “Shamor (keep) the Sabbath.”  Others hold that the number two underlies the two major themes of Shabbat: creation and revelation.

However, many households have a tradition of lighting more candles, often one for each member of the household.

Who lights the candles?

Traditionally, lighting Shabbat candles was the obligation of the woman of the household. In households with no adult woman, a man would take over the responsibility. In many contemporary egalitarian families, lighting candles may be done by any adult in the house — and it is often done by the family all together.

Should I blow out the candles before I go to bed?

No, Shabbat candles should not be extinguished but allowed to burn all the way down. If you anticipate that your candles will still be burning by the time you are ready to hit the hay, it is especially important to light them in a safe place, far from any paper, textiles or other flammable items. It is traditional not to move the candles after they are lit.

What is the origin of the candle-lighting?

The Torah says nothing about lighting candles to welcome Shabbat; the practice first appears in rabbinic literature. It seems to have originated as an extension of the practice of lighting a flame before Shabbat precisely because flames may not be kindled on the Sabbath. This flame was a source of light after the sun went down. However, the Shabbat candles evolved into an important part of the ritual and it became forbidden to use them for any practical purpose, including as light to read by (this is why some people do not move the candles after they are lit — to avoid the temptation of using them for some practical purpose).

The Talmud records that lighting Shabbat candles is a mitzvah, a commandment, but does not record a blessing attached to them. The first recorded instance of a blessing said for lighting the Shabbat candles is found in the Siddur of Rav Amram (9^th c.), and it is the blessing we say today, apparently modeled on the blessing for lighting Hanukkah candles.

How do you light Shabbat candles?

Normally, in Jewish tradition, blessings are said before the act. We say Kiddush before drinking wine and Hamotzi before eating bread. However, because saying the blessing over the candles brings in Shabbat, and candles may not be lit on Shabbat, the order is in this case reversed: candles are lit first, and the blessing is recited afterward.

Instructions: First, light the candles. Then, many people wave their hands around the flame three times and then bring their hands over their eyes, keeping their eyes covered while they recite the blessing. Then, they open their eyes and experience the candles anew after the blessing is said (a substitute for the fact that the candles cannot actually be lit after the blessing is recited).

The Blessing:

בָּרוּך אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלָךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל שַׁבָּת

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with commandments, and commanded us to light Shabbat candles.

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The songs and blessings before the Friday night meal include: blessing for lighting the candles, blessing for the children, Shalom Aleichem (welcoming the Sabbath angels), Eshet Hayil (Woman of Valor), Kiddush, Netilat Yadayim (a blessing for washing hands), Hamotzi (blessing for the bread). After the meal, many recite Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals) and sing special Sabbath songs called Zemirot.

Read on for the text of these blessings and fuller explanation.

Blessing over the Candles

The lighting of candles as sunset approaches on Friday is the traditional sign of the arrival of Shabbat. After lighting the candles, it is customary to cover one’s eyes and recite the following:

בָּרוּך אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם אַשֶׁר קִדְשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶל שַבָּת

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.

Blessed are You, God, Ruler of the universe, who sanctified us with the commandment of lighting Shabbat candles.

Blessing for the Children

In households with children, it is traditional to offer a special blessing on Friday night after candle-lighting. There are two versions, one for boys and one for girls.

For boys, the introductory line is:

יְשִׂימְךָ אֱלֹהיִם כְּאֶפְרַיְם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁה

Yismech Elohim k’Ephraim v’chi-Menashe.

May you be like Ephraim and Menashe.

For girls, the introductory line is:

יְשִׂימֵךְ אֱלֹהיִם כְּשָׂרָה רִבְקָה רָחֵל וְלֵאָה

Yesimech Elohim k’Sarah Rivka Rachel v’Leah

May you be like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.

For both boys and girls, the rest of the blessing is:

יְבָרֶכְךָ ה׳ וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ

יָאֵר ה׳ פָּנָיו  אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ

יִשָּׂא ה׳ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם

Yivarechecha Adonai v’yishmerechaYa’er Adonai panav eilecha vichunekaYisa Adonai panav eilecha v’yasem lecha shalom

May God bless you and protect you.

May God show you favor and be gracious to you.

May God show you kindness and grant you peace.

Shalom Aleichem

Upon approaching the table, it is traditional to welcome the Sabbath angels with this song whose name in fact means “welcome.”

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת‏‏ מַלְאֲכֵי עֶלְיוֹן מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

 בּוֹאֲכֶם לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי עֶלְיוֹן מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

בָּרְכוּנִי לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאָכֵי עֶלְיוֹן מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

צֵאתְכֶם לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאָכֵי עֶלְיוֹן מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Shalom aleichem mal’achei hashareit mal’achei elyon mimelech malchei ham’lachim, ha-kadosh baruch huBo’achem l’shalom mal’achei hashalom mal’achei elyon mimelech malchei ham’lachim, ha-kadosh baruch huBarechuni l’shalom mal’achei hashalom mal’achei elyon mimelech malchei ham’lachim, ha-kadosh baruch huTzeitchem l’shalom mal’achei hashalom mal’achei elyon mimelech malchei ham’lachim, ha-kadosh baruch hu

Peace be with you, ministering angels, messengers of the Most High, messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Come in peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High, messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Bless me with peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High, messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Go in peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High, messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Eshet Hayil (Woman of Valor)

Introduced by the Jewish mystics in the 17th century, this melody is sung as a tribute to the woman of the house, normally right after Shalom Aleichem. This excerpt from the 31st chapter of the book of Proverbs, and it describes a “woman of valor.”

You can read the full text of Eshet Hayil here.

Listen to Eshet Chayil (courtesy of Mechon Hadar)

Blessing over Wine or Grape Juice (Kiddush)

The kiddush marks Shabbat as sacred time. Recite the blessing before sipping the wine or grape juice. The Shabbat evening Kiddush is often preceded by a paragraph called Vayechulu, taken straight from the Hebrew Bible, which recounts the moment God completed creation and decided to rest. Here is the complete Kiddush, including Vayechulu:

וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר
יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי. וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאָם
וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּום הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּו אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּום הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּו אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה
וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ. כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת

סַבְרִי מָרָנָן וְרַבָּנָן וְרַבּותַי

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְרָצָה בָנוּ. וְשַׁבַּת קָדְשׁוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחִילָנוּ זִכָּרוֹן לְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית. כִּי הוּא יוֹם תְּחִלָּה לְמִקְרָאֵי קדֶשׁ זֵכֶר לִיצִיאַת מִצְרָיִם. כִּי בָנוּ בָחַרְתָּ וְאוֹתָנוּ קִדַּשְׁתָּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים וְשַׁבַּת קָדְשְׁךָ בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחַלְתָּנוּ
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ מְקַדֵּשׁ הַשַּׁבָּת

(Quietly: Va-y’hee erev, va-y’hee boker.)Yom ha-shishi. Vay’chulu hashamayim v’ha-aretz v’chol tz’va’am. Vay’chal Elohim bayom hash’vi’i milachto asher asa. Vayishbot bayom hash’vi’i mikol milachto asher asa. Vay’varech Elohim et yom hash’vi’i vay’kadesh oto. Kee vo shabbat mi-kol m’lachto asher bara Elohim la’asot.Savri maranan v’rabanan v’rabotai. Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borei p’ri hagafen.Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’ratza vanu, v’shabbat kod’sho b’ahava uv’ratzon hinchilanu, zikaron l’ma’aseh b’reishit. Ki hu yom t’chila l’mikra-ay kodesh, zaycher l’tziat mitzrayim. Ki vanu vacharta v’otanu kidashta mikol ha’amim. V’shabbat kod-shi-cha b’ahava uv’ratzon hinchal tanu. Baruch ata Adonai, mi’kadesh ha Shabbat.

(Quietly: There was an evening, there was a morning.)

The sixth day: And the Heavens and the Earth and all they contained were completed, and on the seventh day God desisted from all the work that he had done. And God rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on that day he rested from all the work which he had done in creating the world.

[Leader:] By your leave, rabbis, masters, teachers!

[Diners:] To Life!

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, how has sanctified us with his commandments and favored us, and given us in love and favor his holy Shabbat as an inheritance, as a remembrance of the act of creation. For this day is the beginning of all holy days, a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt. For you have chosen us and you have blessed us from among all the nations. And you have bequeathed us your holy Shabbat in love and favor. Blessed are you, Lord, who sanctifies Shabbat.

Listen to the Kiddush for Shabbat Evening (courtesy of Mechon Hadar)

Blessing over Hand Washing (Netilat Yadayim)

Following Kiddush, it is customary to wash one’s hands prior to continuing the meal. After washing the hands with water from a cup — often twice on the right hand and twice on the left, though precise practices vary — the following blessing is recited:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדַיִם

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu al n’tilat yadayim.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and command us concerning the washing of the hands.

Blessing over the Bread (Hamotzi)

After the washing of hands, some people have the custom of remaining silent until bread is eaten. Prior to eating the bread, the following blessing is recited.

בָּרוּך אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם הָמוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הַאָרֶץ

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has brought forth bread from the earth.

Blessing after the Meal (Birkat Hamazon, or Benching)

After the meal, some families have the tradition of reciting Birkat Hamazon (sometimes called benching). This lengthy blessing, whose recitation is required after any meal that includes bread, includes multiple expressions of gratitude to God for providing food and sustenance to the Jewish people. On Shabbat, it is preceded by an additional Psalm and, if three adults (in some traditions, three adult males) have eaten together, by a short invitation to prayer known as a zimmun.

The full text can be found in most bentchers, small booklets containing the blessing after the meal and other festive songs. You can purchase a bentcher here  or at your local Judaica store. They also are frequently distributed at weddings and bar/bat mitzvah celebrations.

Read the full text of Birkat Hamazon in Hebrew and English here.

Listen to the Birkat Hamazon (courtesy of Mechon Hadar)

Zemirot

Singing festive hymns is a common practice at the Shabbat table. There are a number of traditional ones, many of them composed by the ancient Jewish mystics. You can listen to some traditional ones here.

A searchable database of Shabbat song recordings and lyrics can be found here.

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The post Shabbat Blessings for Friday Night appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Braiding challah can seem complicated, and it definitely takes practice to create a beautiful final product. But that’s precisely why we have created this how-to video, to help you conquer the art of braiding challah for any occasion.

In the video above you will see how to braid a simple three strand challah, a knotted roll (great for Shabbat lunch sandwiches, or things like pulled brisket sandwiches for football-viewing), a six strand challah (perhaps one of the most coveted and complicated braiding techniques to master) and a unique six strand “basket weave” round challah that will be the centerpiece of any holiday celebration.

You can use any challah recipe you like with these techniques. Here are a few of our favorites:

Basic challah

Za’atar and garlic challah

Honey whole wheat challah

Bread machine challah

Pumpkin challah

The post How to Braid Challah for Shabbat, Holidays or Anytime appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

“Who had time in Sarnia,” recalls my father, “for a leisurely Friday night dinner? You had to rush home, eat quickly, and get back to the store.”

When my family moved to Toronto, however, all this changed. My father ceased working on Shabbat. We began attending Jewish schools and camps where we learned tefillot (prayers) and Hebrew songs.

Singing as a Renewed Commitment

When we first introduced the singing of Eshet Hayil at the Shabbat table, my father, who had received but a rudimentary Jewish education growing up in Sarnia, struggled with the complex Hebrew words, yet persisted in going through it every week. For our family, singing Eshet Hayil symbolized a renewed commitment to Jewish observance and the authentic calm of a leisurely Shabbat meal shared with the whole family. It stood for the realization of a Jewish Canadian/American dream, completely elusive to my grandfather’s generation: the possibility of earning a living while living as a fully observant Jew.

Listen to Eshet Hayil (courtesy of Mechon Hadar)

The Origins of Eshet Hayil

Scholars say that the custom of singing Eshet Hayil at the Friday night table was initiated by kabbalists in the 17th century, who viewed Shabbat as an occasion of mystical union with the Divine. They understood Eshet Hayil allegorically as a representation of the Shekhina, the feminine presence of God. In a sense, we were living out our own contemporary allegorical interpretation of Proverbs 31, with the Woman of Valor being the Sabbath, whom we had welcomed, with renewed energy, into our midst.

There is allegory, and then there is literal reading. Singing Eshet Hayil was also an occasion to offer appreciation for my mother, who cooked, baked, and sewed, and had now prepared the Shabbat dinner that we so much enjoyed. The valorous woman in Proverbs 31 never sits still, let alone rests. Her light never goes out and she rises from her bed when it is still dark. Was that not just like my own mother, who teemed with nervous energy, walked more quickly than anyone else in the family, and had this uncanny ability to wake up in the middle of the night in response to the sound of my footsteps approaching my parents’ room?

Wonder Woman

Years later, as a mother, scholar, and feminist, I find myself returning to Eshet Hayil, wondering where I see myself in relation to this biblical uber-frau, who singlehandedly feeds her entire household, works her hands in wool and flax, clothes her children in crimson, all the while managing a business and various philanthropic endeavors. To what extent do any of us see ourselves in this A to Z list of what was valued in a woman in the biblical period? Are we amused by it or alienated?

In the context of our own times, when so many of us work outside as well as inside the home, negotiating on a daily basis a heroic set of professional as well as domestic duties, does Proverbs 31 provide inspiration or does it enshrine a set of unrealistic expectations? Nowadays, when husbands are more involved in child rearing, domestic chores, and Shabbat preparation, should they still sing this paean to their wives while wives sing nothing to their husbands? Given our awareness of the number of single women in our midst as well as couples and families who do not conform to this heterosexual norm, are we not concerned about trumpeting this image as an ideal?

In asking these questions, we exit the experiential mode in which the song wafts over us unthinkingly and begin a more critical set of deliberations that can lead to disgruntlement as well as rediscovery. What do we find when we look into the ways in which Jews read and understood this poem/song in the past? And what new readings can we offer as moderns and as feminists?

Eshet Hayil In Context

Many of us are acquainted with remarkable men and women, though, who possess amazing and numerous virtues that inspire us and even arrest our imaginations. As feminists, we may not thrill to the list of tasks and traits enumerated in the biblical acrostic that is Proverbs 31. Yet, I still cling to the scholarly mission of searching out outstanding women of the past as well as to the belief in the real possibility of contemporary women of valor, however we define the term. Once again, I refer to the issue of context.

We typically ignore the fact that the Eshet Hayil poem is preceded in Proverbs 31 by nine verses of instruction offered by an unnamed Queen Mother to her son King Lemuel, in which she warns him against drunkenness and debauchery (with women), encouraging him instead to judge righteously and be an advocate for the needy. One way to read the Eshet Hayil, poem, then, is as King Lemuel’s eulogy for his valorous and wise mother, bearing in mind the genre of the eulogy, which often includes hyperbole and sacralizing of the lost loved one.

We all know, of course, that it is best not to reserve one’s appreciation for that ultimate occasion. Instead, why not sing it each week to others as well as ourselves? This past Friday night, after completing a draft of this essay as well as a dizzying array of other home-related tasks, I giddily joined in the singing of Eshet Hayil, adding in my own extemporaneous musical list of my accomplishments and those of the people around me–my kids had been remarkably cooperative that Friday, my husband survived another week on Wall Street and had managed to get home just in time for candle lighting–to the praised attainments of yesteryear. A better way to begin my Shabbat, who can find?

Excerpted with permission from JOFA, The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance.

The post How To Read Eshet Hayil appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Hamotzi — the blessing over bread — blesses God for enabling bread to come forth from the earth. It is recited any time that bread is consumed, and usually with special ceremony at Shabbat dinner, right before the challah is eaten.

Hamotzi on Friday night

As part of the Friday night table blessings to welcome Shabbat and begin the festive Sabbath meal, Hamotzi is recited right after hand-washing (though in some communities, including the Yemenite and German Jewish communities, Hamotzi immediately follows Kiddush). In communities that juxtapose hand-washing to Hamotzi, it is traditional not to speak between the time one washes hands and the time one tastes the bread, after Hamotzi has been recited.

To say Hamotzi on Friday night, first remove the cover from the challah or bread (traditionally two loaves). Some people then choose either to lay hands on the bread or to lift the loaves together in the air to recite the blessing.

After Hamotzi has been recited, some people sprinkle salt on the bread before distributing it to those assembled. The salt recalls the animal sacrifices in the Temple that were salted (in that case, to remove the blood).

Some people slice the bread into small pieces, while others choose to tear, abstaining from using a knife, a symbol of violence, as part of this fundamental ritual. Once everyone has tasted the bread, the meal has formally begun and other food may be served and eaten.

Full Text of Hamotzi

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ

Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, ruler of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth.

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is as ancient as the Hebrew Bible, for the Torah records that even the patriarchs prayed to God in times of distress or to give thanks. In late antiquity, the Rabbis of the Talmud established formal structures and blessings to be recited for the various worship services.

History of the Prayerbook

Two of the earliest written versions of the prayerbook, called a siddur (meaning “order”) in Hebrew, were compiled in Babylonia by the sages Amram Gaon and Saadia Gaon in the ninth century CE. Over the centuries, scores of rabbis produced their own versions of the siddur, providing commentaries and additional religious poems as they were written and incorporated into a local community’s liturgy. Even to this day, while the talmudic structure of prayers remains the standard format, contemporary rabbis, denominational movements, and different ethnic communities within the Jewish people continue to update and publish new siddurim. Although separate prayerbooks (called machzors) exist for High Holy Day services and daily prayers, siddurim for Shabbat and holidays are more prevalent within any given synagogue and serve as the primer of spirituality for Jewish life.

Morning Blessings and Psalms: Pesukei D’Zimra, Shema and Barkhu

Nearly all Shabbat and holiday siddurim (plural of siddur) are structured around significant liturgical units. The first of these, and often the first section one finds in a siddur, is morning blessings and psalms. Called Birchot HaShahar, or blessings of the morning, these were originally recited by individuals in their home as they awoke, washed, and dressed for the day. Later on, these blessings—such as thanking God for giving sight to the blind (once recited before one opened their eyes in the morning), raising the downtrodden (recited before standing up from bed), and clothing the naked (recited before getting dressed)—were transferred to the synagogue and included in the siddur.

To spiritually prepare the worshipper for reciting the obligatory major prayers of the morning, the Rabbis established that a series of psalms and selected passages from the Hebrew Bible should be recited each morning. Called Pesukei D’Zimra (verses of song), these readings were chanted, mumbled, or read silently by the individual worshippers in order to build up to the proper mood and reverential attitude for reciting the later prayers of the service.

One of the most ancient prayers recited by Jews is called the K’riyat Shema, or the recitation of the Shema, meaning “Hear!” In the Torah, Moses declares, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (Deuteronomy 6:4), which has become the quintessential statement of Jewish monotheistic belief. The Rabbis ordained the recitation of the Shema and a series of additional selections from the Torah each morning and evening. A series of berakhot, or blessings, was established to be recited before and after the passages of the Shema. Forming its own mini liturgical unit, the recitation of the Shema and its attendant blessings begins with the Barkhu, the formal call to prayer (“Praise the Lord who is blessed!”), and its antiphonal response by the congregation (“Praised be the Lord, who is blessed, forever and ever.”). The two blessings preceding the Shema are extended paeans to God on the twin themes of creation of the world and revelation of the Torah. Following the Shema is a concluding blessing thanking God for redemption of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt and obliquely referring to a future, messianic redemption.

The Amidah (Standing)

The Amidah (literally, “standing”) is the second major liturgical unit of the Shabbat and holiday service. Taking its name, obviously, from the posture in which it is said, the Rabbis also referred to it as HaTefillah, or simply, “The prayer” par excellence. Using the image of master and servant, the Rabbis declared that a worshipper should come before their master first with words of praise, then ask one’s petitions, and finally withdraw with words of thanks. Using this tripartite division, every Amidah begins with three blessings, praising God’s relationship with the biblical patriarchs, God’s divine power to give and restore life, and God’s holiness. On Shabbat and holidays, instead of petitions that might distract us by reminding us of our physical wants and needs, the Rabbis established the middle section as an opportunity to celebrate the holiness of the Sabbath day and/or the festival. The final section of every Amidah concludes with blessings of thanksgiving to God for accepting our prayers, for the daily miracles of creation, and a final prayer for God to bestow justice, mercy, and peace on the world.

The Torah Service

Every Shabbat and holiday includes a service in which Torah scrolls are removed from the holy ark and read. Each Shabbat, a portion of the Torah is read, advancing each week until the entire five books of Moses are completed in a single year, although some liberal communities read the Torah in a three-year cycle, chanting one-third of each portion each week. On festivals, special selections are read outside of this order that either mention the particular holiday or highlight a theme of the festival.

As the Torah scroll is removed from the ark, the congregation chants, “From Zion shall come forth the Torah, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). Most siddurim also include the special blessings chanted before and after the reading of the Torah as well as the blessings before and after the Haftarah. Concluding with prayers for the host country, the State of Israel, and (in some siddurim) world peace, as well as additional psalms, the Torah is wrapped up in its mantle, marched around the sanctuary once again and returned to the ark as the congregation sings, “It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it, and all of its supporters are happy” (Proverbs 3:18).

Ein K’eloheinu, Aleinu, Mourner’s Kaddish and Adon Olam

At the conclusion of every Shabbat and festival service, the medieval hymn Ein K’eloheynu (“There is none like our Lord”) is chanted, followed by a prayer called Aleinu, which means, “It is incumbent upon us.” Referring to the obligation to acknowledge the sovereignty of God, its highpoint is the line, “We bend the knee and bow, acknowledging the King of Kings, the Holy One, praised be God,” at which the congregation as a whole bows in the direction of the ark, toward the east—Israel and Jerusalem. Concluding with a messianic commitment to improving this world, the Aleinu prayer ends with a hope that on “that day, the Lord shall be one and God’s name will be one” (Zechariah 14:9). This is followed by the Mourner’s Kaddish, at which anyone in the community who is mourning the recent loss of a family member, or anyone observing the yearly anniversary of the death of a loved one, recites a prayer of praise to God. The service ends with the singing of the medieval hymn, Adon Olam, (“Lord of the World”), which contrasts Gods eternity and infinity with human mortality and finitude.

Hallels for Holidays

What has just been described is the general flow of a regular Shabbat service. On festivals there are additional sections of prayers included as way to celebrate the unique character of the day. One such addition is called Hallel, which means “praise.” This name is derived from the fact that of the six psalms of celebration chanted that make up Hallel, nearly all of them begin with the Hebrew word halleluyah, or “praise God!” Scholars surmise that the joyous chanting of Psalms 113 through to 118 were sung by the Levitical Temple workers even in ancient biblical times. Extolling God for the exodus from Egypt, for God’s power to effect salvation and save from enemies, the psalms of Hallel represent a brief spectrum of religious reasons for praising and rejoicing in God’s omnipotence. Beginning and ending with a blessing, Hallel is chanted immediately following the Amidah, preceeding the Torah service on the pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

Liturgy as Replacement for Temple Sacrifices

Upon the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE by the Romans, the Rabbis of antiquity moved quickly to transform the rites and rituals of the now-defunct sacrificial cult into a spiritually based religion predicated on prayer and observance of the Torah’s commandments. In place of the daily and festival animal sacrifices, the Rabbis established the recitation of the Amidah, the central prayer of Jewish worship, as a substitute based on a creative interpretation of the prophetic utterance, “Let the [utterings of our] lips compensate for the bulls [which used to be sacrificed]” (Hosea 14:3).

Based on a one-to-one correspondence of Amidahs in place of animal sacrifices (except for the evening or ma’ariv service, which has no ancient sacrificial parallel), the Rabbis established an additional Amidah for Shabbat and holidays to be recited after the Torah reading. This is called the Musaf, or additional service, and corresponds to the additional animal sacrifice offered on these days. Consisting of the same opening and closing set of blessings, the central portion of the Musaf Amidah for Shabbat or holiday deals once again with the themes of the day, making specific mention of the animal sacrifices that were offered as the additional offering of that day. (Today, many liberal communities have eliminated the Musaf service.)

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A weekly 25-hour observance, from just before sundown each Friday through the completion of nightfall on Saturday, Shabbat is more than just a day off from labor. It is a day of physical and spiritual delights that is meant to illuminate certain key concepts in the traditional Jewish perception of the world.

Shabbat Themes and Theology

Shabbat is portrayed in the Bible as the pinnacle of the creation of the universe, and its observance can be seen as a reminder of the purposefulness of the world and the role of human beings in it. Shabbat also serves as a memorial to God‘s act of rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by setting aside a day for personal autonomy and freedom from the harsh demands of labor. The traditional Shabbat is portrayed in Jewish liturgy, song, and story as a day of joy, a sanctuary from travails, and even a foretaste of the perfected world that will someday be attained.

Shabbat History and Development

Shabbat, like many important facets of Judaism, has its origins in the Torah, where it is most notable as a day of complete cessation of labor. The prophetic tradition portrays it as a day of pleasures as well. The Rabbis spelled out their understanding of forbidden “labor” in a complex series of restrictions on productive activities of many sorts. They also prescribed festive meals and ceremonies for every part of the day. The varieties of Shabbat observances and customs over the ages and around the world illustrate the adaptation of Jews in many societies to new realities and modern ideas.

Celebrating Shabbat At Home

One constant theme in Shabbat observance across time and territory is the centrality of home life with family members and guests. Preparation for Shabbat begins as early as mid-week in some households, and its arrival is marked by the spiritual illumination of a candle-lighting ceremony. Rabbinic tradition mandates three Shabbat meals, two begun with a special kiddush (“sanctification”) recited over wine. Family meals are occasions for singing, studying, and celebrating together, as well as for consuming distinctive Shabbat foods.

Shabbat at Synagogue

Shabbat observance in the public sphere is focused on the synagogue, from the lively welcoming service, Kabbalat Shabbat, to the pensive farewell ceremony, Havdalah. The daily round of prayer services is augmented and endowed with a unique atmosphere. Special melodies and liturgy are used, and the familiar prayers are supplemented with passages in prose and poetry extolling God for the divine gift of the Shabbat and its delights. At the major worship service on Saturday morning, a portion of the Torah is read aloud as part of a year-long cycle, supplemented by a passage from one of the prophetic books (called a haftarah).

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This passage from the Book of Deuteronomy and the three passages that follow constitute a central part of each morning and evening Jewish prayer service. Probably the most important single sentence in the liturgy, the Shema is not a prayer but rather an affirmation of the unity of God.

The Amidah (“Standing Prayer”)

The Amidah, a series of prayers recited while standing in silent meditation, is the major liturgical piece of every synagogue service throughout the year. On a weekday, the Amidah contains prayers for the physical and spiritual well-being of the one praying as well as of the entire community of the people of Israel. On Shabbat, we praise God for the joy of the Shabbat and the rest that we enjoy. It is perfectly acceptable and even desirable that people recite the Amidah in English, and worshippers are also encouraged to pray from their hearts if the printed words do not speak to them.

The Torah Service

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Note: Jews observe Shabbat in a variety of ways. This article explains the most traditional and strict interpretations of what is and is not permitted on Shabbat.

Beyond Torah: What Can and Can’t We Do?

In the Mishnah, the Rabbis enumerated 39 major categories (with hundreds of subcategories) of labor that were forbidden (avot melachah) based on the types of work that were related to the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, which ceased on the Sabbath (Shab. 7:2).

Activities that cannot be performed on the Sabbath are basic tasks connected with preparing the showbread of the Temple (sowing, plowing, reaping, binding, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking), work related to making the coverings in the Tabernacle and the vestments used by the Kohanim (shearing sheep, bleaching, carding, dyeing, spinning, stretching material, making two loops — the beginning of sewing, threading needles, weaving, separating, tying a knot, untying a knot, sewing, tearing), activities concerned with writing and the preparation of parchment from animal skin (trapping or hunting, slaughtering, skinning, curing hides, scraping pelts, marking out a hide to make ready for cutting, cutting), writing, erasing, constructing (building, demolishing), kindling a flame (lighting or extinguishing), carrying (from private to public domain, and vice versa), and putting the finishing touches to a piece of work already begun before the Sabbath.

The Rabbis decreed that one not only should avoid forbidden acts but also must not do anything that (1) resembles a prohibited act or could be confused with it, (2) is a habit linked with a prohibited act, or (3) usually leads to performing a prohibited act.

The rabbinic enactment of measures to prevent these possibilities was termed “putting a fence around the Torah” (Avot 1:1). For example, ripping up a piece of paper was forbidden since it resembles “cutting to shape” or could be confused with it.

Similarly, agreeing to buy something was prohibited, because most agreements are confirmed in “writing”; climbing a tree is forbidden, because it may lead to breaking twigs or tearing leaves, which could be construed as “reaping” (i.e., separating part of a growing plant from its source). Other activities that by extension are prohibited on the Sabbath include the following:

• Adding fresh water to a vase of cut flowers (sowing — any activity that causes or furthers plant growth).
• Making a bouquet of flowers (making a sheaf).
• Separating good fruit from spoiled fruit (winnowing, selecting, sifting).
• Brushing dried mud from boots or clothes (grinding).
• Cutting hair or nails (shearing sheep-removing outer covering of a human or animal).
• Applying makeup (dyeing).
• Braiding hair (weaving).
• Drawing blood for a blood test (slaughtering).
• Rubbing soap to make lather, applying face cream, polishing shoes, using scouring powder for utensils or other surfaces (scraping-smoothing the surface of any material by grinding, rubbing, or polishing).
• Sharpening a pencil (cutting to shape-altering the size or shape of an item to make it better for human use).
• Painting, drawing, typing (writing, making durable marks on a durable material).
• Tearing through lettering on a package (erasing).
• Opening an umbrella or unfolding a screen (building).
• Smoking a cigarette, using the telephone (kindling a fire).
• Switching off an electric light (extinguishing a fire).
• Setting or winding a clock or watch (finishing off).
• Wearing eyeglasses not permanently required (carrying from private to public domain and vice versa).

Muktzeh: Things You Can’t Even Touch

Any items that may not be used on the Sabbath may not even be handled on that day, lest one unintentionally perform one of the forbidden types of work. These objects are termed muktzeh, meaning to “set aside” or “store away.” Among the many things considered muktzeh are money and checks; scissors, hammers and saws; pencils and pens; battery-operated toys and flashlights; radios and CDs; telephones and computers; and certain religious objects such as shofar, tefillin, and lulav. Even the Sabbath candlesticks are muktzeh and thus should not be touched on the Sabbath after the candles have been lit.

Even if not strictly classified as forbidden work, certain “mundane matters” should be avoided on the Sabbath. These include weekday chores (such as packing suitcases and rearranging furniture, which are not in keeping with enjoyment of the restful spirit of the Sabbath), opening mail, and discussing business issues or matters of everyday concern. One is forbidden to even think about or make plans for the week ahead, such as preparing equipment, mapping out a route, readying a briefcase for the next day, or setting the table for a party on Saturday night.

Based on Isaiah’s exhortation that one “honor it (the Sabbath) by not doing your usual ways” (Isa. 58:13), the Rabbis recommended that a person should even walk differently on the Sabbath, avoiding the long strides and rushing about that characterize the pace of most people on weekdays.

Then What Can We Do?

For an activity to be considered as work forbidden on the Sabbath, the violation must be intentional. Therefore moving a chair from one place to another is permissible, even though it may produce an impression on the ground. Similarly, walking on the grass is allowed, even though this may result in some of it being crushed underfoot and thus technically constitute the prohibited activity mentioned above or the forbidden cutting of blades of grass.

One has not violated the Sabbath as long as the original purpose was solely to move the chair or to walk on the grass. In contrast, one is not permitted to engage in a task that always results in forbidden work. Thus washing oneself on a lawn is prohibited because it inevitably will result in watering the grass, which is forbidden on the Sabbath.

The Rules on Fire!

In addition to the general forbidding of all manner of work on the Sabbath, there is a special prohibition against making a fire (Exod. 35:3). The Rabbis considered this to include everything that pertains to the kindling of light, even if no actual work is involved. In modern times, there is a controversy regarding whether the switching on of electric lights and appliances is equivalent to making a fire.

There are two reasons to think that switching on an electric light may not be considered kindling. First, switching on a light does not create electric power; the power exists already. Second, there is no combustion in the filament of an electric light. Nevertheless, Orthodox Jews do not use electric appliances on the Sabbath, believing that the prohibition against kindling a fire was not based on the physical effort involved in rubbing two stones together to produce a spark but rather on the thought and planning that resulted in its generation.

For the Hazon Ish, the activation of an electric current and its transmission to sources of power, heat, and light that is produced by turning on a switch is forbidden because it falls under the category of “building” — intentionally causing something to happen. An exception is the refrigerator, which may be opened and closed because any electric current that this produces is incidental and without conscious intent. However, many observant Jews unscrew the refrigerator bulb for the Sabbath.

Lights that have been kindled before the Sabbath, such as the Sabbath candles, are allowed, as are an oven for keeping previously cooked food warm and a burner to keep water warm for coffee or tea. Similarly, it is permitted to leave an electric appliance running during the Sabbath and to use a timer to automatically turn an appliance on or off, as long as the timer is set before the Sabbath begins.

One mechanism to ease the difficulty of complying with the prohibition against work on the Sabbath was the concept of the Shabbos goy — a non-Jew hired by an observant family to perform certain activities forbidden to Jews on the Sabbath, such as starting a fire and turning lights on and off. However, the proliferation of electronic timers has virtually eliminated the need for the Shabbos goy.

Reprinted with permission from The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions, published by the Jewish Publication Society.

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Traditionally, Kiddush is recited (in two different versions) on Friday night and at Shabbat lunch. Other versions of the Kiddush are said on holiday eves and days.

Friday Night Kiddush

On Friday night, the Kiddush is recited over a full cup of wine or grape juice before sitting down for Shabbat dinner and before saying Hamotzi, the blessing over the challah. Traditionally, the Kiddush was recited by men. Today, in many households women or men recite Kiddush. After the Kiddush is recited, the cup is passed around so that everyone can take a sip from it. Many families have a special cup, called a Kiddush cup, reserved for this purpose. Kiddush cups can be purchased at Judaica stores and online.

The text of Friday night Kiddush begins with Vayechulu, a passage from Genesis 2:1-3 that describes the completion of creation. In that text, God steps back from six days of creation to rest on the seventh. The Jewish Shabbat is an imitation of this divine act.

What follows then is an invitation to say the Kiddush, and the full text of the Kiddush itself which is actually two blessings. The first blessing is the traditional blessing over the “fruit of the vine” (which is why Kiddush is recited over wine or grape juice) followed by a sanctification of the holy Sabbath. This second blessing highlights the two major themes that are consecrated in Shabbat: creation (God rested on the seventh day) and redemption (God redeemed the Jewish people from Egypt so that they could follow the divine commandments, including observing the Sabbath). This blessing also thanks God for giving the Jewish people the Shabbat in love, and making them God’s chosen people.

Text of the Friday Night Kiddush

וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר
יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי. וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאָם
וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּום הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּו אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיִּשְׁבּת בַּיּום הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּו אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה
וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ. כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּו אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂות

סַבְרִי מָרָנָן וְרַבָּנָן וְרַבּותַי

(!לחיים)

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱֹלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְרָצָה בָנוּ וְשַׁבַּת קָדְשׁוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחִילָנוּ זִכָּרוֹן לְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית. כִּי הוּא יוֹם תְּחִלָּה לְמִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ זֵכֶר לִיצִיאַת מִצְרָיִם. כִּי בָנוּ בָחַרְתָּ וְאוֹתָנוּ קִדַּשְׁתָּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים וְשַׁבַּת קָדְשְׁךָ בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחַלְתָּנוּ
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ מְקַדֵּשׁ הַשַּׁבָּת

(Quietly: Va-y’hee erev, va-y’hee boker.)
Yom ha-shishi. Vay’chulu hashamayim v’ha-aretz v’chol tz’va’am. Vay’chal Elohim bayom hash’vi’i milachto asher asa. Vayishbot bayom hash’vi’i mikol milachto asher asa. Vay’varech Elohim et yom hash’vi’i vay’kadesh oto. Kee vo shabbat mi-kol m’lachto asher bara Elohim la’asot.

Savri maranan v’rabanan v’rabotai.

L’chaim!

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borei p’ri hagafen.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’ratza vanu, v’shabbat kod’sho b’ahava uv’ratzon hinchilanu, zikaron l’ma’aseh b’reishit. Ki hu yom t’chila l’mikra-ay kodesh, zaycher l’tziat mitzrayim. Ki vanu vacharta v’otanu kidashta mikol ha’amim. V’shabbat kod-shi-cha b’ahava uv’ratzon hinchal tanu. Baruch ata Adonai, mi’kadesh ha Shabbat.

The sixth day: And the Heavens and the Earth and all they contained were completed, and on the seventh day God desisted from all the work that he had done. And God rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on that day he rested from all the work which he had done in creating the world.

[Leader:] By your leave, rabbis, masters, teachers!

[Diners:] To Life!

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, how has sanctified us with his commandments and favored us, and given us in love and favor his holy Shabbat as an inheritance, as a remembrance of the act of creation. For this day is the beginning of all holy days, a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt. For you have chosen us and you have blessed us from among all the nations. And you have bequeathed us your holy Shabbat in love and favor. Blessed are you, Lord, who sanctifies Shabbat.

Shabbat Day Kiddush

On Saturday morning, the Kiddush is said after Shabbat morning services and before lunch. The prologue to Kiddush in this case is V’Shamru, a prayer that recalls that Shabbat is a sign of the divine covenant between God and the Jewish people.

The Shabbat morning version of the Kiddush focuses on God’s commandment for Jews to observe the Sabbath by refraining from work and to make it holy.

Text of Shabbat Day Kiddush

Kiddush for Holiday Eves and Days

Kiddush is also recited on the eve of many holidays and also midday on those holidays. Each holiday has its own version, and it is best to consult your siddur (prayerbook) for the correct text.

When “Kiddush” means Lunch

The word “Kiddush” is also used to refer to a communal gathering held immediately following Shabbat morning services at synagogue. A synagogue Kiddush can range from a quick get-together over wine or grape juice and challah to a full buffet lunch. Often synagogue members who are celebrating a simcha, or joyous occasion like a bar/bat mitzvah or wedding, will sponsor the Kiddush, usually meaning they cover the costs of the food and/or catering.

Audio of the Different Versions of the Kiddush (courtesy of Mechon Hadar)

Shabbat Evening (Friday)

Festival/Holiday Evening

Shabbat Morning (Saturday)

Shabbat/Festival Morning (Blessing the Wine, Not the Full Kiddush)

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Waking Up

In a deep sense, this is the practice of meditation as well. There are many forms of meditative practice, but their essence is to see clearly into the truth of what is — like Shabbat, it’s not about not making or changing anything, or feeling a special way, but just waking up, in a focused way, to what’s already here. Most classical Jewish meditations do this by contemplating a particular object — a phrase, a sense-perception, even an idea–and focusing thought so resolutely that distractions drop away. In other traditions, attention is drawn to the barest perceptions of breath, or movement–not so much for the purpose of contemplation, but simply to slow down the motion of discursive thoughts. In both approaches, what one finds when distractions and thoughts are slowed down is that an important illusion is released: that the world matters only to the extent that it pleases me, my ego, and my desires.

Suppose a bit of food isn’t to your liking, or a sound is harsh, or grating. If you’re like me, your immediate reaction is to want to push it away–in other words, to change the momentary conditions of your life, in order to make them better. Meditation slowly trains the mind to be a little less centered on what in Jewish tradition is called the yetzer hara, the evil, or selfish inclination. As with Shabbat, the practice is simply to let it be. It’s not that the food will get tastier, or the sound will shift in quality, but your relationship to it can change.

All this may seem a bit irrelevant when talking about foods and sounds, but it’s not so irrelevant when working with sickness, or suffering, or people with whom it’s hard to get along. What it would be like to bring a little Shabbat–a little “let it be”–into such difficult places?

Well, you have to try it to find out. Reading about meditation without doing it is like reading a cookbook without tasting the recipes: you can get the general idea, but you’ll never really understand it. Fortunately, meditating on Shabbat is easy, since the Jewish tradition has already set up ideal conditions for doing it. Let’s look at a few practical ways to bring in the light–just to open the eyes a little wider to the everyday miracles of being.

The Sensation of Stopping

In religiously-observant homes, Friday afternoon is usually a hectic time. Food to prepare, emails to answer, floors to clean–it can get to be a little much, especially if you’ve been at work all day, or dealing with the kids. But then, when the candles are lit, a change takes place. Now there’s nothing to do. What’s done is done, what isn’t isn’t, and Shabbat is here. Whatever your Shabbat practice, I encourage you to try lighting candles before sunset as a way to mark this important transition. Don’t worry about doing it right; the main thing is to do it. Find a corner of your home which isn’t cluttered, set up a candlestick or two, and light. Close your eyes as you recite the blessing (if it’s your practice to do so; otherwise just close your eyes) and keep them closed for just five seconds more. Listen to the sounds around you–you have no responsibility for them, nothing to grab or to push away; just let them wash over you like an incidental symphony. Notice your body: see if there’s tension in your face, or your back, that you can just….relax. And take a nice, full breath, feeling the delicious sensation of inhaling and exhaling–an ordinary pleasure we’re too busy to enjoy.

On Shabbat, it’s said that we receive neshama yeteira, an extra soul. The word for soul here, neshama, is related to the word for breath, neshima. If you like, welcome in this “extra soul” that comes purely from being able to relax.

Open your eyes slowly, letting them feast on the visual sensation of the candle, or candles, burning. Focus on the light of the candle, not with a rigid wall of attention, but with an intention of receiving–of kabbalat shabbat. Just let it be whatever it will be. The secret of spirituality is that there’s no right way, no special feeling you’re supposed to have–only an open, loving relationship to any feeling, any sensation. Did a car honk just as you lit? Did your baby cry? No problem. As one of my teachers says, “it’s not what’s going on–it’s how you relate to it.”

Take as long as you like to linger over the Shabbat candles. It’s okay to be late to whatever comes next. See if, just by removing the sense of “what has to get done,” you can perceive their light with a bit more clarity than usual.

Moments of Silence

Since I do not use electricity on Shabbat, my home is much quieter on Saturdays than it is the rest of the week. No music, no TV, no computers–even in the noise of the city, my home is an island of silence. This silence extends, in traditional observance, to many parts of Shabbat–for example, in between ritually washing the hands and making the motzi blessing over bread. Ordinarily, silence can feel uncomfortable, and indeed, many people work hard to fill up these moments of quiet with songs or gestures of conversation. But silence is just like the essence of Shabbat, and meditation: not making, not doing–but being.

I suggest giving yourself random moments of silence throughout Shabbat. When you find your mind is running off somewhere, or the conversation has gotten louder than you really want–just pause. Let your body come into stillness, again relaxing any involuntary tensions that may have arisen. Take an artificial breath–a full, deep inhale, and an exhalation, with a sigh, that really clears out the lungs. And listen–not to the silence, since it probably won’t be totally silent–but to the silence of non-doing. Let the world be transparent to you, not colored by changes or preferences–just what it is. If you’re with other people, it’s okay if they think you’re weird; if you do this practice enough, you’ll learn to become so instantly relaxed that they’ll be jealous.

But relaxation is only the gateway. Try, in each moment of silence, to actually notice something you hadn’t noticed before: the quality of light, or your mood, or your feelings for another person. Maybe a scent, or a touch, or a presence of mind. Do this as often as you like–several times an hour, if you really like it. Just pause, relax, and drop into a kind of awareness that is normally the province of poetry.

Oneg Shabbos: Deepening Pleasure

Meditation isn’t about feeling good all the time–that’s narcotics, not spirituality. But, nu, it doesn’t hurt to feel good either, right? On Shabbat, to enjoy life is actually a mitzvah. You might’ve heard that sex is a “double mitzvah” on Shabbat. Well, it’s true; sex is a mitzvah on its own, and on Shabbat, since it’s enjoyable, it’s also a mitzvah of oneg shabbat, enjoying Shabbat.

Oneg Shabbat–in the Ashkenazic pronunciation, oneg shabbos–extends well beyond the bedroom, though. Here, Judaism actively invites delight in the senses (in eating and drinking and taking long naps) as well as in the soul (learning and reading and praying). In less opulent times, simply having a bit of chicken soup would have been a delectable and rare treat. Nowadays, though, I think we have to make an effort to enjoy. With so many improved means for unimproved ends, we probably have too many pleasures, not too few. And the result is less enjoyment of any.

Thus, oneg shabbos–becoming ever more exquisitely attuned to pleasure–takes some effort. Suppose you’re about to take that first bite of hallah on Friday night. Make the hallah the subject of meditation. Hold it in your hand, notice its feel, its smell. When you eat it, don’t scarf it all down right away; chew it ten, twenty, even thirty times, tasting the doughiness, the silkiness of it. Let yourself enjoy it the way you would a gourmet meal–why not? The neshama yeteira doesn’t come from magic; it comes from attention.

Or when you’re praying, don’t cram in as many words to as few minutes as possible. Stretch it out; if you don’t get to the whole service, so what? Delight in each poetic phrase, or a single lofty topic of contemplation. It’s said of one Hasidic rabbi that, one day, he never got past the first three words of the prayer service–modeh ani lefanecha, thankful am I before You–because he was so awed at being in the presence of the Divine.

Or even when you’re taking a walk: save the marathon for another day. Walk more slowly than usual, noticing how your perception shifts when you move a little slower. Make oneg shabbat part of your weekly practice, in whatever form makes sense for you: not adding more cherries onto the sundae, but deeply, sensuously enjoying the scoops you’ve already got.

Rabbi Nahman of Breslov said, “the world is full of light and mysteries both wonderful and awesome, but our tiny little hand shades our eyes and prevents them from seeing.”  Shabbat is a day for moving away the hand; the desiring, the small self; the relentless pull of the ego. These are very simple meditation practices — no chants to remember, no postures to master — but they do the trick. Good Shabbos!

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On Shabbat, Requests Yield to Thanks

On weekdays, the central portion of the 19-blessing Amidah prayer—fully 13 of its blessings—contains temporal requests, such as those for a prosperous livelihood, a bountiful year for produce, and for true justice to be enacted on earth. This entire section is replaced on Shabbat with a single blessing that emphasizes the special holiness of the day.

Called in Hebrew kedushat ha-yom (“the sanctity of the day”), this paragraph is repeated in each of the Amidah prayers recited on Shabbat—at Ma’ariv (evening service), Shaharit (morning service), at the additional Musaf service, and at Minhah on Shabbat afternoon.  In it, worshippers thank God for the gift of Shabbat and say: “Grant that we inherit Your holy gift of Shabbat forever, so that Your people Israel who sanctify Your name will always find rest on this day. Praised are You, Adonai, who sanctifies Shabbat.”

Why Not Ask for Things on Shabbat?

Why are there no individual or communal requests made of God on Shabbat?  After all, it might seem that such a holy day would be an especially propitious time to ask — and possibly receive — whatever one might request of God. An ancient midrash (rabbinic interpretation) deals with this precise question when it offers the following scenario:

“Why does a person not pray ‘Blessed are You, Adonai, Healer of the people Israel’ [one of the 13 weekday petitionary blessings] on Shabbat? Lest they remember a sick loved one and then become sad on the holy Shabbat which has been set aside as a day of rest and delight. Therefore, on Shabbat we consciously choose to enjoy and celebrate the unique sanctity of the day” (from Midrash Tanhuma, Parashat Vayera).

Shabbat’s Themes: Creation, Revelation and Redemption

Turning from what is absent from the Shabbat liturgy to what is present, we find that the first significant theme is actually a pattern of three subjects that appear in subtle ways in many prayers, just as the musical theme of a fugue reappears in subtly different forms.  This first three-in-one theme, pointed out and explored by the early 20th-century German Jewish theologian Franz Rosenzweig, is that of creation, revelation, and redemption.

The creation of the world appears throughout many prayers in Jewish liturgy because it emphasizes God’s role as the supreme author of all existence.  Revelation of the Torah illustrates God’s active involvement in the world of human beings, especially the origins and ongoing history of the Jewish people. And finally, redemption of the Israelites from slavery serves as a harbinger of the messianic redemption, of not just the Jewish people but all humanity, in some distant time.

Taken together, these three topics encapsulate the essential Jewish understanding of all existence:  the beginning (creation), the middle (revelation), and the end (redemption)—two of them having already arrived and one yet to come.

On Shabbat, the subject of creation is emphasized in the Friday-evening Amidah. One of the paragraphs of the central kedushat ha-yom blessing states (quoting from the Torah), “The heavens and the earth and all they contain were completed.  On the seventh day God finished the work [of creation] which God had been doing…” (Genesis 2:1-2).

On Shabbat morning, the subject of revelation is brought to the foreground in the parallel portion of the Shaharit Amidah, which states, “Moses rejoiced at the gift of his destiny when You [O God] declared him a faithful servant… Two tablets of stone did he bring down, inscribed with Shabbat observance….”

Finally, the topic of redemption is subtly alluded to in the same spot during the final Amidah of the day, in the Mincha service, which states, “A day of rest and sanctity You [O God] have given your people…a perfect rest in which you delight.” While this passage also refers to the Shabbat day itself, it mentions too a day of “perfect rest,” which, according to the Jewish tradition, will only be enjoyed in the days of the Messiah.

Shabbat Services Are Longer

The Shabbat worship service is longer than the weekday service.  On weekdays, we do not have the time to spend in extended prayer.  Weekday prayer services include not much more than the bare essentials of what is considered obligatory for every Jew to recite. However, because Shabbat is a day of rest and relaxation, a day set aside for spiritual enjoyment and contemplation, the liturgy of that day is significantly expanded to enable us to more fully appreciate its unique holiness.

On a weekday, the preliminary Pesukei D’Zimra service offers a relatively short selection of Psalms and biblical passages, just enough to put us in a reverent mood for the full Shaharit (morning) service. On Shabbat this section is significantly expanded. Ten additional celebratory psalms are added, reaching a crescendo with Psalm 92, “Song for the Sabbath day,” the only psalm out of 150 to praise God for the gift of the Shabbat.

On a weekday, we move quickly from Pesukei D’Zimra to the Barekhu, the beginning of the Shaharit service.  On Shabbat, a number of extra introductory piyyutim (liturgical poems) are included, which creatively express the inadequacy of human beings to truly praise God. One passage states,

“Could song fill our mouth as water fills the sea and joy flood our tongue like countless waves,  could our lips utter praise limitless as the sky… never could we fully state our gratitude for one ten-thousandth of the lasting love which is Your precious blessing, dearest God, granted to our ancestors and us.”

One More Plea, Much More Music

During the communal repetition of the Amidah, the third blessing—called Kedushah (holiness) or Kedushat Ha-shem, a prayer praising God’s holiness—is also expanded on Shabbat. Surprising, in light of the general elimination of blessings of request in the Shabbat Amidah, is the inclusion here of a plea for God to “reign over us soon, for we await You! When will You reign in Zion?  Let it be soon…” The direct language and heartfelt sentiment of this prayer serves to emphasize the close spiritual connection between God and Israel on Shabbat.

In every Jewish community, the Shabbat liturgy is performed with far more musical embellishment than one finds in weekday worship. This too serves to extend the time needed for worship, but few participants would prefer the relatively bland weekday musical style to prevail during Shabbat worship as well.

Musaf (Additional Service) and a Taste of Paradise

The final contrast between the Shabbat and weekday liturgy is the presence of an entire extra service at the end of every Shabbat morning service. It is called Musaf, or “addition,” and it is omitted in most Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues. Replacing a 2,000-year-old additional animal sacrifice offered each Shabbat (korban musaf), the Musaf service stands as a verbal substitute. It also offers another opportunity to thank God for the joy of Shabbat.

In the Ashkenazic rite, this is the only time during Shabbat in which the worshippers recite a paragraph that begins thus: “Those who celebrate Shabbat rejoice in Your kingship, hallowing the seventh day, calling it a delight…”

According to the Talmudic rabbis, the celebration of our temporal Shabbat is only one-60th of the delight that we will all merit to experience in the messianic World to Come.  Therefore, the themes mentioned in the prayers, underscored by the festive musical settings and the additional length of the services, invite the worshipper to imagine the idyllic spiritual state awaiting us all, and offer us an all-too-brief foretaste of that time.

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Our rabbis teach that on Shabbat, we are given an extra soul. At Havdalah we relinquish that extra soul, but hope that the sweetness and holiness of the day will remain with us during the week. We take a cup of wine, a box of spices and a beautiful braided Havdalah candle, and we sing or recite the blessings.

These blessings talk about distinctions between the holy and the everyday, between light and darkness, between the people Israel and the other peoples of the earth, and between the seventh day of rest and the six days of work. We make a blessing over the wine, a symbol of joy, to sanctify the moment, and we sniff the spices to carry the sweet spice of Shabbat into the week and to wake us gently to our earthly responsibilities. We use the light of the candle by looking at our fingernails and palms in the light with our hands palms-up, making finger-shadows on our hands that display the distinction between light and darkness.

This light is the first fire of the new week. It is a sign that the time to begin creating again has arrived. No more dreamlike days until next week. It is now time to invest ourselves in our work again. As we make the transition back to our week, we also make the connection between creation and the messianic era (a time of justice and peace) by invoking the prophet Elijah. Tradition teaches that he will herald the coming of the Messiah.

Some add that Miriam the prophetess will lead the Jewish people in joyful song and dance to a time of perfection. We then drink the wine, douse the candle, and wish each other a good week. Shabbat is a taste of that perfection, but our work in the world is needed to bring it about.

How To Make Havdalah

To make Havdalah, a braided candle, a spice box filled with spices, and a kiddush cup for wine or grape juice are needed. Form a circle in a fairly dark room and have different people hold the candle, the spice box, and the kiddush cup. The Havdalah blessings are recited in Hebrew or English, either by one person or all together. As each blessing is said, the relevant item is made accessible to the group: The kiddush cup is held up for all to see, but the wine is not sipped yet. The spices are passed around, and each person takes a moment to smell their sweetness. The candle is held high, and every person puts a hand up into the candle’s light, turning the hands over, palms in, and bending the fingers. Some people look into the eyes of those near them to see the light reflected there.

When the blessings are concluded, each person takes a sip from the wine. The remainder is poured into a nonflammable dish or basin in which the candle is then extinguished. An alternative, which is more fun but also more dangerous, is to pour whiskey or vodka into the dish and extinguish the candle in it. It will burst into a big, quick burning flame, sure to enchant the children.

The Havdalah Blessings

Introductory Paragraph:

הִנֵּה אֵל יְשׁוּעָתִי אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ יי וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה
וּשְׁאַבְתֶּם מַיִם בְּשָׂשׂוֹן מִמַּעַיְנֵי הַיְשׁוּעָה
לַיי הַיְשׁוּעָה עַל עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶךָ סֶּלָה
יי צְבָאוֹת עִמָּנוּ מִשְׂגָּב לָנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה
יי צְבָאוֹת אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם בֹּוטֵחַ בָּך
יי הוֹשִׁיעָה הַמֶּלֶךְ יַעֲנֵנוּ בְיוֹם קָרְאֵנו
לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשֹׂן וִיקָר
כֵּן תְהִיֶה לָנוּ:
כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא וּבְשֵׁם יי אֶקְרָא

Hinei El yeshu’ati, evtach v’-lo efchad. Ki ozi ve-zimrat Yah Adonai, vayhi li liyshu’a. Ush’avtem mayim b’sason mi-ma’y’nei ha-yshu’a. L’Adonai ha-y’shu’a, al amkha virkhatekha selah. Adonai tz’vaot imanu, misgav lanu Elohei Ya’akov selah. Adonai tz’vaot ashrei adam boteakh bach. Adonai hosheea, ha-Melech ya’aneinu b’yom kor’einu. La-Yhudim hayta orah ve-simcha ve-sason viykar, ken tihyeh lanu. Kos yeshu’ot esa uvshem Adonai ekra.

Behold, God is my unfailing help; I will trust in God and will not be afraid. God is strength and song, my Deliverer. With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation. God alone is our help; may God bless His people. God of the universe is with us; the God of Jacob is our protection. There was light and joy; gladness and honor for the Jewish people. So may we be blessed. I will lift the cup of salvation and call upon God’s Name.

Blessing over the wine:

 בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-gafen.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

Blessing over the spices:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא מִינֵי בְשָׂמִים

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei minei v’samim.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of many kinds of spices.

Blessing over the flames of the Havdalah candle:

 בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא מְאוֹרֵי הָאֵשׁ

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei m’orei ha-eish.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fire’s light.

Concluding blessing:

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, ha-mavdil bein kodesh l’chol, bein or-le’choshekh, bein Yisrael la-amim, bein yom ha-shevi’i l’sheshet y’mai ha-ma’aseh. Barukh ata Adonai, ha-mavdil bein kodesh l’chol.

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Ruler of the universe, Who distinguishes between the sacred and the profane, between light and darkness, between Israel and other people of the world, between the seventh day and the six days of the week. Blessed are You, Who distinguishes between the sacred and the profane.

Post-Havdalah Songs

In the dim twilight, the people in the circle (often joining hands) sing “Shavua Tov” (a good week), which is sung in Hebrew and English. This is followed by “Eliyahu Ha-navi,” sung in Hebrew only. Some people add “Miriam Ha-nevi’ah.”

Shavua Tov

Shavua tov (8x)

A good week, a week of peace, may gladness reign and joy increase. (repeat twice)

Eliyahu HaNavi

Eliahu ha-navi, Eliahu ha-Tishbi, Eliahu ha-Giladi. Bimheira v’yameinu yavo eleinu, im mashiach ben David.

Miriam ha-Nevi’a, oz v’zimra b’yadah. Miriam tirkod itanu l’hagdil zimrat olam. Miriam tirkod itanu l’taken et ha-olam. Bimheira v’yameinu, hee t’vi’einu el mei ha-y’shua. El mei ha-y’shua.

May Elijah the Prophet come to us, heralding the Messiah, soon and in our days!

Miriam the Prophetess, strength and song in her hand, will dance with us to repair the world. Soon, and in our days, may she bring us to the waters of redemption!

(The Miriam verse was written by Rabbi Leila Gal Berner.)

Finally we wish each other a happy, healthy week — “Shavua tov!” — and the lights are turned on. Shabbat has ended.

Reprinted with permission from Jewish Family and Life: Traditions, Holidays, and Values for Today’s Parents and Children, published by Golden Books.

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Answer:

Yes, sex is permitted and even encouraged on Shabbat.

The Talmud is full of positive references to sexual intercourse between married partners on Shabbat. Since Shabbat is a day of rest and enjoyment, Friday night is often considered an optimal time for marital relations. In Bava Kamma 82a, the Gemara says:

One should eat garlic on Shabbat eve. This is due to the fact that garlic enhances sexual potency, and Friday night is an appropriate time for conjugal relations.

Today, Jewish people in many different communities have the practice to set aside time on Shabbat for sexual intimacy. Shabbat is considered a particularly holy time to fulfill the mitzvahs of onah (pleasurable marital relations) and pru ur’vu (be fruitful and multiply). 

Nonetheless, there are some bedroom activities that are avoided on Shabbat due to the prohibition against melacha, or forbidden labor. For example, tying knots or using an electric vibrator are both violations of traditional Shabbat law.

Rabbi Lara Haft Yom-Tov is a Jewish educator based in London.

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In the book, D.E.A.R. is an acronym for “drop everything and read.” The book tells the story of young readers who quite literally drop everything and read, each immersing themselves in the celebratory world of books. The book suggests that reading can and should be a celebratory event. You can’t just read when you have time. A real celebration requires ritual and commitment, a time where you are ready to drop everything and read. And that time for me is Shabbat.

That is why I have recently reframed Shabbat as my D.E.A.R. time. A lot has been said of late about unplugging on Shabbat, but that almost feels insufficient. Unplug, sure. But what are we supposed to plug into? I submit that we ought to use Shabbat to plug into books. Books offer an accessible entry point for Jews of all backgrounds to sanctify the Shabbat experience with the world of ideas.

As Jews do, I made this into a bit of a shtick. Every Saturday night, I post to Twitter what I read that Shabbat along with a brief review. Since I began doing this in 2020, I’ve posted books about Shabbtai Sevi, addiction, and Isaac Meyer Wise. There are no specific rules, just a new way to engage with Shabbat.

But I also believe there is a deeper connection between Shabbat and reading. If you pay close attention, the Shabbat liturgy is quite strange. Shabbat is supposed to be a redemptive experience, but over and over again in the Shabbat prayers, we find the theme of destruction. 

In Lecha Dodi, the mystical poem we recite on Friday night likening Shabbat to a bride, we lament the destruction of the Temple. During the special Shabbat additions to the Grace After Meals, we ask for comfort from exile and pray for the rebuilding of the Temple. When we recite Kedushah on Shabbat morning, we cry out, “when will God once again reign in Zion?” This seems out of character with the redemptive nature of Shabbat. Why are we talking about the destruction of the Temple on our day of peak joy?

Shabbat, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel eloquently notes, is our Temple in time. It is the palace we build not with bricks but with minutes. And it is specifically when we occupy this palace in time that we recognize that our palace in space is still absent. 

But aside from noting the absence of the Temple, there is another way to connect to the fullness of the redemptive experience on Shabbat. In Guy Maclean Roger’s phenomenal book, For the Freedom of Zion: The Great Revolt of Jews Against Romans, 66-74 CE, a riveting retelling of the story of the destruction of the Temple, the author concludes with a counterintuitive note. After retelling the story of the destruction of the Second Temple, Rogers concludes that the Romans had it all wrong. He writes:

Vespasian and the Romans destroyed God’s sacrificial cult and thought they had defeated the God of Israel. But the emperors were wrong. They had ensured God’s victory … it was rather the sign that God’s bond with his people did not require a Temple.

The destruction of the Temple, however tragic, was a new beginning. It did not destroy the Jewish people as the Romans intended, but changed them from a people whose religious life centered around the sacrificial propitiations of the Temple to one anchored to sacred texts. Our homeland was transformed from a Temple to the Torah. Our homeland became the book itself. 

And it is precisely on Shabbat, when we enjoy our redemptive palace in time and reflect on the absence of our palace in space, that we can still catch a glimpse of that full redemptive experience through the simple act of reading. We can’t enter a physical Temple, but we can carry its essence within our homeland of the book. So each Shabbat I immerse myself in a new book, a new Jewish idea, and somehow try to find a way to embody the full experience of redemption. I drop everything and read over Shabbat and experience a taste of redemption — one page at a time.

This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learning’s Shabbat newsletter Recharge on August 6, 2022. To sign up to receive Recharge each week in your inbox, click here.

The post Drop Everything and Read appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Savory Challahs

Homemade Challah Pretzel Buns

Challah rolls just got a whole lot better.

Summer Pesto and Gruyere Stuffed Challah

This challah is a delicious meal all on its own!

Pastrami Sandwich Challah

Yes, you can bake meat into your challah to create this Jewish deli-inspired loaf.

Dill Pickle Challah

Why should pastrami be the only deli ingredient in your challah? The fresh dill on top makes this loaf especially beautiful.

Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Challah

What’s not to love?

Butternut Squash and Sage Challah

A lovely, autumnal loaf.

Scallion Pancake Challah

Challah with a Chinese twist, from celebrity chef Molly Yeh.

Savory Za’atar Challah

The classic Middle Eastern spice pairs beautifully with challah.

Ramp Chimichurri Challah

A show-stopper challah perfect for spring.

Sweet Challahs

 Chocolate Babka Challah

Your favorite dessert meets your favorite bread.

Unicorn Challah

Sweet, whimsical, and pastel colored — with frosting and sprinkles, of course!

Gingersnap and Apple Challah

Germanic-inspired winter flavors combine for a warm, richly-spiced loaf.

Chocolate Cranberry Challah Rolls with Citrus Sugar

Fall flavors and chocolate chips together!

Fruit Cake Challah

Pistachios, golden raisins, and cranberries stud this sweet, colorful challah.

Coffee Cake Challah

Tastes just like Entenmann’s.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Challah

For lovers of this classic flavor combination.

Tumeric Tahini Challah

This recipe makes a beautiful golden loaf with a Middle Eastern flavor profile.

Pull-Apart Challah Stuffed with Cheese and Guava

Challah with Cuban flair!

Double Chocolate Chip Challah

This one, with chocolate dough and chocolate chips, is for the chocoholics.

Cranberry Sauce Stuffed Challah

Perfect for the Shabbat after Thanksgiving!

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Challah

Complete with gooey marshmallows melted on top.

Challahs for Special Diets

 Vegan Challah

No need for honey or eggs, just a maple syrup glaze!

Gluten-Free Challah

Gluten-free bread dough is similar in texture to cake batter, so it cannot be braided. This challah is baked in a pan shaped like a braided loaf to give it that classic look.

Honey Whole Wheat Challah

A little healthier, still totally delicious.

Fun Seasonal Challahs

 12 Sweet Challahs for the Jewish New Year

Rosh Hashanah is known for challah — specifically, round-shaped challah. Here are 12 amazing ideas to start your year of challah-eating off right, from balsamic apple date challah to chocolate walnut challah.

Turkey-Shaped Challah for Thanksgiving

You and your guests will enjoy gobbling this!

Crown-Shaped Poppyseed-Stuffed Challah for Purim

Honor both Queen Esther and the classic hamantaschen filling with this beautiful challah.

Sweet Russian Purim Challah

The Russian take on Purim challah includes dried fruit, citrus peel, and a powdered sugar frosting.

Shlissel Challah for the Shabbat after Passover

Did you know there’s a Jewish tradition of baking a key into your challah, or baking your challah into the shape of a key for the Shabbat following Passover?

Rainbow Challah

Perfect for Parashat Noach or pride month.

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The post 30 Amazing Challah Recipes appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Taking time to observe Shabbat can be difficult  in our fast-paced, 24/7 workaholic world. But it can also be incredibly meaningful. Here are seven reasons Jews choose this weekly refuge.

1. To Connect with Others

Though Shabbat affords amazing opportunities for individual rest and renewal, it is very much a communal experience. Many Shabbat prayers as well as the Shabbat Torah reading can’t be said in isolation, but are recited in a minyan, a quorum of ten. Traditional Shabbat meals are enjoyed around a table with friends and family. This communal experience of Shabbat is wonderful for the individual, creating a buffer against isolation and loneliness. But it also strengthens the larger community, reliably bringing members together on a regular basis.

2. To Experience Personal Renewal

It has become a commonplace observation that technology keeps us connected and “on call” at all hours of every day. Shabbat is a natural antidote to this crush of electronic connection, an opportunity to ignore those devices and slow down to connect with oneself. People who observe Shabbat frequently report that it helps them to become better people, that it makes room for more creative thinking, and that it is an opportunity to feel refreshed before diving into another work week. In addition, with its decadent meals and joyful singing, Shabbat becomes an opportunity to taste a better life. This taste, symbolized by the sweet spices that are sniffed at Havdalah (the ceremony ending Shabbat), is carried over into the rest of the week, making life richer all week long. And as a foretaste of the World to Come, Shabbat can inspire the individual to work to make the world a better place.

3. To Connect to the Natural World.

The origin story for Shabbat is found in Genesis 1-2 in which God creates the world in six days and then surveys the results—“God saw all that God had made, and found it very good”— before resting on the seventh. It doesn’t make sense to all later commentators that an all-powerful deity would need to rest at all, even after so enormous a task as creating the world, and God’s choice to step back to and marvel at the wonder of it all is thought to be a divine example for human beings. We, too, rest once per week, and take an opportunity to marvel at the wonder of the world. As Rabbi Arthur Waskow put it, Shabbat is “a time to live in harmony rather than achieve dominion” over nature. After all, if God was impressed by creation, how much more so should we be awed by it?

4. To Stop Feeling Like a Slave to Your Work

If work has no end, then it becomes a form of enslavement. This is particularly true in an era when technology makes it possible for a great many of us to do our work anytime, anywhere. Shabbat creates an opportunity to flip that switch, to turn off all the work, and to remind ourselves that we are not slaves to our livelihoods.

5. To Stop Searching for Life’s Purpose

For some, Shabbat creates an opportunity to connect to the self and discover one’s life purpose. But it can also do just the opposite — offering us an excuse to stop madly seeking a purpose. As Rabbi Gunther Plaut has noted, long ago life’s purpose was simple and clear: survival. In the premodern era, merely achieving adequate shelter, food, and clothing was an achievement to be proud of. In the modern Western world when these things are less difficult to achieve (though we are mindful that they are still difficult for many), it has become less clear what life’s major challenge and purpose ought to be — and too often we cobble together some vague notions of “success,” “happiness” and “fulfillment.” Shabbat affords an opportunity to step back from frantically trying to achieve these amorphous goals, to just be.

6. Because It’s Challenging

Unplugging, eating wonderful meals, connecting with family and community — these things require discipline and preparation. Also, calming one’s mind, choosing to miss out on the hubbub of the outside world, and taking a pause. It also takes effort to learn prayers and pray with kavanah (intention). Shabbat is not simply a holiday that happens to us, it’s one we make happen, and sometimes doing so is quite difficult. One reason to make Shabbat a part of one’s week is not because it is easy (though taking a nap on Shabbat might be deliciously so), but because it is hard.

7. Because It’s Commanded

For many Jews, the number one reason to observe Shabbat is simply that God commands us to do so. The Torah prohibits work on the seventh day and names a few varieties (gathering sticks, lighting a fire, etc.) while rabbinic literature expands and delineates these prohibitions quite elaborately. Observing Shabbat is about fulfilling the dictates of God, and conforming to standards of observance that have bound Jews together throughout the millennia.

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The post 7 Reasons to Observe Shabbat appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

The poem’s four stanzas (some Sephardic Jews add a fifth) welcome angels into the home on the Sabbath — welcoming them in peace, asking for blessings of peace, and wishing them a peaceful departure (when the Sabbath ends). In some families, the custom is to sing each verse three times.

The song originated among the kabbalists of northern Israel in the 16th or 17th century and was based on the talmudic teaching that two ministering angels — one good and one evil — accompany a person home from synagogue on Shabbat evening. According to the teaching, if they find the person’s home prepared for Shabbat, the good angel declares: “May it be Your will that it shall be like this for another Shabbat.” And the evil angel answers against his will: “Amen.” If the home is not prepared, the reverse happens: The evil angel voices a wish for it to be this way for another week and the good angel responds “Amen.”

Singing Shalom Aleichem prior to the Friday evening Shabbat meal is a nearly universal Jewish custom. The most common melody for it was composed by Rabbi Israel Goldfarb, a Polish born cantor who emigrated to New York in the late 19th century. According to a letter Goldfarb wrote in 1963, the melody was composed on a Friday in 1918 on the campus of Columbia University.

The full text of Shalom Aleichem is as follows:

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת‏‏ מַלְאֲכֵי עֶלְיוֹן

Shalom aleichem mal’achei hashareit mal’achei elyon

Peace be with you, ministering angels, messengers of the Most High,

מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Mimelech malchei ham’lachim, ha-kadosh baruch hu

Messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

בּוֹאֲכֶם לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי עֶלְיוֹן

Bo’achem l’shalom mal’achei hashalom mal’achei elyon

Come in peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High,

מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Mimelech malchei ham’lachim, ha-kadosh baruch hu

Messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

בָּרְכוּנִי לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאָכֵי עֶלְיוֹן

Barechuni l’shalom mal’achei hashalom mal’achei elyon

Bless me with peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High,

מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Mimelech malchei ham’lachim ha-kadosh baruch hu

Messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

צֵאתְכֶם לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאָכֵי עֶלְיוֹן

Tzeitchem l’shalom mal’achei hashalom mal’achei elyon

Go in peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High,

מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Mimelech malchei ham’lachim ha-kadosh baruch hu

Messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

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The post Shalom Aleichem appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

This recipe is not mine, in fact I almost never make cholent. But it is a close version of the beloved cholent recipe passed down from my husband’s grandmother, Baba Billie Goldberg of blessed memory, to my husband. It is so delicious and I love it, but it wasn’t until our wedding day that I was given the keys to the cholent car: My mother-in-law hand-wrote the recipe on a piece of paper and my husband gave it to me after the chuppah. My official welcome into the Goldberg clan was through a beloved family recipe.

Recipes aren’t always about the food — they can also be about history, how our people adapted in the myriad locations they lived as well as the more personal stories of our loved ones. This cholent recipe is both delicious and rich with memory.

Enjoy these easy directions and let us know how your family likes to make cholent – we know every family has their precious combination of ingredients and spices that make it just right.

The post VIDEO: How to Make Cholent for Shabbat appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

The Torah bans the performance of physical creative labor on Shabbat — melachah in Hebrew — which the rabbis broke down into 39 categories of work. Over the years, rabbis have advanced various theories as to which of those categories covers electrical use.

1. Perhaps the most common argument is that electricity usage amounts to kindling a flame, and therefore violates the biblical prohibition on lighting a fire on the Sabbath.
2. Some have suggested that turning on an appliance is equivalent to creating something new (“molid”).
3. Others say the completion of an electrical circuit by turning on a switch is a kind of building (“boneh”).
4. A similar logic underlies the suggestion that electrical use violates the prohibition on completion (“makeh b’famish”).
5. Still others have suggested the problem is that it leads to increased fuel consumption at the power station or that heating a metal transistor amounts to cooking.

All these rationales have their logical shortcomings and none is universally accepted. Indeed, some have suggested that at this point the reason for banning electricity is merely tradition. For many observant Jews, abstaining from electrical use is one of the core features that separate the feel of the Sabbath from the rest of the week.

Rabbi Daniel Nevins, in a responsa approved by the Conservative movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards in 2012, advanced the novel theory that the usage of most modern consumer electronic devices should be banned because they generate data, which violates the rabbinic ban on writing.  However Nevins also concludes that electricity use is not categorically forbidden, and explicitly permitted the use of lights, fans, electronic key cards, electric motors to help the elderly get around, elevators and other devices that do not disrupt the atmosphere of Shabbat — none of which is considered acceptable Sabbath practice by Orthodox Jews.

However, even in Orthodox communities the ban on electricity does not prevent people from using electrical devices that were turned on prior to the Sabbath. Electric lights, fans, refrigerators, warming plates for food — all of these can be left on for the Sabbath and their benefits enjoyed provided they are not turned off or adjusted. In addition, various innovative workarounds have been found to enable an even wider usage of devices. Hotels that cater to a religious clientele often have a so-called Shabbat elevator that is programmed to stop on every floor, enabling the Sabbath observant to avoid climbing several flights of stairs without actually having to push the buttons and thus operate an electrical machine. Many observant homes also use timers to turn lights on and off on Shabbat. The Zomet Institute in Israel has also developed a Sabbath electrical outlet that operates through indirect action that can be used for essential needs.

Observant Jews typically will not leave a radio or television playing on the Sabbath, however. Though this is no different in principle from leaving on a light or a slow cooker, it is broadly regarded as inconsistent with the spirit of the day.

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