Havdalah
14
Introduction to Havdalah
On Friday evening, we sanctified the Shabbat with the Kiddush ritual. Now, as we take
leave of Shabbat after a night and day of divine rest, we once again pronounce the holiness
of the day over a cup of wine.
The Havdalah (“Separation”) ceremony is a multi-sensory ritual employing our faculties of
speech and hearing, sight, smell and taste to define the boundaries that God set in creation
“between the sacred and the everyday”.
Paradoxically, this act of separation is what connects Shabbat with the rest of the week.
When the boundaries between the holy and the ordinary are blurred, the holy is no longer
holy and the ordinary is left with nothing to uplift it. By defining the separation of Shabbat
from the working week, the relationship between the two is also established —
a relationship in which Shabbat imparts its transcendent vision to the rest of the week,
and the six days of daily life feed into, and are sublimated within, the sanctity of Shabbat.
Similarly, we hope this evening to use the ritual of Havdalah to sanctify the transition from
one Senior Rabbi to the next while affirming their relationship to one another.
Introductory Verses
We fill your Havdalah cup to the brim, to the point
that the wine actually spills over,
and lift it into the cupped fingers of your right
hand. Light the braided Havdalah candle.
The introduction to the Havdalah consists of
nine joyful biblical verses which set the tone for a
hopeful and joyous week to come.
Hinei El y’shuati, evtach v’lo efchad.
Ki ozi v’zimrat Yah Adonai vay’hi li lishuah.
Ush’avtem mayim b’sason
Mima’ainei hay’shuah.
LAdonai hay’shuah,
Al amcha virchatecha! Selah.
Adonai tz’vaot imanu,
Misgav lanu Elohei Yaakov. Selah.
Adonai tz’vaot,ashrei adam botei-ach bach.
Adonai hoshiah,
haMelech ya’aneinu v’yom kor’einu
La’Y’hudim hay’tah
Orah v’simchah v’sason vikar;
Kein tih’yeh lanu
Kos y’shuot esa, uv’sheim Adonai ekra.
Behold the God who gives me triumph! I am confident, unafraid; for God
is my strength and might, and has been my deliverance. Joyfully shall
you draw water from the fountains of triumph, deliverance is God’s; Your
blessing be upon Your people! Selah.
Adonai Tz’vaot is with us; the God of Jacob is our haven. Selah.
Adonai Tz’vaot, happy is the one who trusts in You. O God, grant victory!
May the Sovereign answer us when we call.
The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, joy and honor. So may it be for us.
I raise the cup of deliverance and invoke the name of the Eternal One.
Havdalah Blessing 1: Wine
Now we raise the cup of wine to sanctify the moment. We cannot touch time, so as on all
joyous occasions, we use wine.
Baruch atah, Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, borei p’ri hagafen.
Praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
Havdalah Blessing 2: Spices
On Shabbat we each possess an “added soul.” Now that this extra measure of vitality and
spirituality departs from us, we rejuvenate ourselves by smelling spices -- smell being the
most spiritual of the five senses.
We recite the special blessing thanking God for creating pleasant smelling plants, and the
diversity that they represent.
Baruch atah, Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, borei minei v’samim.
Praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, Creator of the varied spices.
Havdalah Blessing 3: Light
The midrash tells us that Adam and Eve first discovered, benefited from, and thanked God
for fire upon the close of the first Shabbat. For us, too, it is the first night of the week and
the time for us to thank God for the gift of fire, without which our nights would be dark,
gloomy and cold.
We use a braided candle with multiple wicks, to represent the multiple types and uses of
fire that we enjoy. We recite the blessing of light as we anticipate all that it might bring.
Baruch atah, Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, borei m’orei ha-eish
Praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, Creator of the lights of the fire.
Havdalah Blessing 4: Separation
Now it is time for the Havdalah itself — the blessing that defines the separation of the
holy from the everyday.
As we recite this blessing we say farewell to the Shabbat that was and welcome the
possibility of the week to come.
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olam
hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol,
bein or l’choshech
bein Yisrael la’amim,
bein yom hashvi’i l’sheishet y’mei hama’aseh.
Baruch atah Adonai hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol.
Praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe:
who distinguishes between the holy and ordinary,
between light and dark,
between Israel and the nations,
between the seventh day and the six days of work.
Praise to You, Eternal One, who distinguishes between the
holy and ordinary.
Shavuah tov
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