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.

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.)