Havdalah is a Hebrew word that means “separation” and is the ritual that ends Shabbat, separating it from the start of the new week. The service can take place in the home, in synagogue or in a group. A beautiful ritual, it’s a brief ceremony that uses four elements to mark the moment we sadly say goodbye to the beauty of Shabbat, and pledge to carry its gifts into the week to come.
We drink from a cup of wine – which symbolizes the joy we experienced on Shabbat. We pass a spice box (full of cinnamon or another sweet smelling spice) – which symbolizes the lingering scent of the sweetness of Shabbat. We light a multi-wicked candle – which symbolizes how our busy separate selves come together on Shabbat. The light, the wine, and spices all come together to help us carry Shabbat with us through the week until the next Shabbat. We extinguish the candle into the wine to conclude the ceremony, as a final moment of “goodbye” to Shabbat.
With the singing of Shavua Tov and Eliyahu haNavi we wish each other a “good week” to come and long for a day when Shabbat won’t need to end at all!
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