Havdalah
Havdalah. From Shabbat to the crappy real world in 6 minutes.
Begins Saturdays at sundown when Shabbat ends.
Havdalah is one of the most overlooked Jewish celebrations that should get more attention. It’s short, it has cool props, and it has wine. Havdalah marks the space in time when Shabbat is over, which might sound sad at first. Havdalah (from the Hebrew word for separation) occurs on Saturday evening when the sun goes down. So, depending on the time of year, because the days are a lot longer in the summer, Havdalah is often done right before people head out to meet friends, go out for ice cream, head to the bar, check email… whatever their plans are. Which makes it not so sad, right?
Easing Back Into the Real World
In the days before people had Apple watches, Havdalah took place when people could see three stars in the night sky. These days people generally celebrate Havdalah about an hour after sundown. The idea is that you’re spiritual during Shabbat. If you’re observant, you might not use electricity and refrain from lots of mundane tasks… no shopping, no driving, no use of money, etc. When done according to tradition, Shabbat really is a totally restful day. But it’s so restful we need Havdalah to help us ease out of it and get us back to the real world. We use all five of our senses to help bring us back. We taste the wine, smell the spices, see and feel the candle flame, and hear the blessings.
THINGS TO HAVE ON HAND
It Makes A Lot of Sense (Literally)
Here’s a list of things that you’ll need. (You can also buy a Havdalah kit from Etsy.com or on Amazon.com)
- Kiddush cup (or a regular cup) and wine (or juice or whatever you have)
- Spices (Lots of people use cloves and/or cinnamon – the more fragrant the spice the better. Some people use a special Havdalah spice box.)
- Havdalah candle (A Havdalah candle is braided and has two or more wicks. If you don’t have one, you can use two regular candles held together so that the flames merge. Or just use a regular candle if that’s what you prefer. TBH, there’s no one answer for why we use more than one wick. Some people say it’s to represent the multiple ways we use fire, others say it’s to make the fire look more like a torch, and some people use six wicks to represent the days of the week until Shabbat.)
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