Candle Lighting Times

Candle Lighting Times

The meaning of Shabbat

The Shabbat [or the Hebrew word Shabbat] is one of the best known and least understood of all Jewish observances. The Hebrew word Shabbat comes from the verb shavat, which literally means “to cease”. Although it is more often translated as “the day of rest”, a more literal translation would be “ceasing”, with the implication of “ceasing from work”. 

Keeping Shabbat Experience

For the deed to be effective, it must not remain that of an individual but must become that of a community. Even the purely religious aspects of the Jewish deed are most intimately interwoven with the general matrix of community existence.

Lighting Shabbat Candles

Lighting the Shabbat candles is a mitzvah of rabbinic origin which is significant and an honor for Shabbat. Because we aren’t allowed any kind of electricity on Shabbat, Rabbis were concerned that without light, darkness wouldn’t give us the spirit and feeling to observe Shabbat. Therefore, they made it a religious obligation to light candles just before the commencement of Shabbat.

Prayers for Shabbat

Shabbat services begin Friday evening with the weekday Mincha followed often in communities with “Shir Hashirim” which was composed by King David. Consequently, Kabbalat Shabbat is said.

Several Ways to Celebrate Shabbat

Technically, the laws of Shabbat [can seem] draconian. There are thirty-nine official "don'ts," and they each have subcategories that add hundreds more. One cannot mow the lawn, hunt for food, light a fire, plant a seed, cook food, boil water, sew on a button, erect a tent, use a hammer, bake a cake, or gather kindling.

Havdalah

Havdalah is a Jewish religious that ends the Shabbat and high holidays. The word Havdalah comes from the verb Lehavdil meaning “to separate”. We use this word as a completion of Shabbat and we separate the weekday from the Holy day, Shabbat.

Other Special Shabbatot

Shabbat Ha-Gadol, Shabbat Shirah, Shabbat Hazon, Shabbat Shuvah

The Soul of Shabbat

"G-d created the world in six days and on Shabbos He rested." What a sad translation! On Shabbos, G-d gave the world a soul. On Shabbos G-d created the world of souls, of depth, of tasting that which is most real. Shabbos is the Name of G-d.

Shabbat - Blessing or Bother

Shabbat, blessing or bother? Take the time to learn a little about this often ignored concept, invest in a few salient pieces of judaica to enhance your experience, and sit back and experience something that can transform your life!

Shabbat as a “Perfected World to Come

Rabbinic literature and medieval Kabbalah describe the day as a foretaste of life in the perfected "world to come" that traditional Judaism anticipates.

The Meaning Behind Shabbat Dinner Rituals

Friday night at sundown, a transformation occurs in Jewish households across the country. As the sky becomes darker, our hearts become lighter. The anxieties from the past week melt away, and we enter the peace and joy of Shabbat. There are many wonderfully rich observances one can embrace.

Shabbat Hamalka - The Sabbath Queen

Orthodox Jews call the Sabbath day, “Shabbat Hamalka,” which means Queen or Bride of the Sabbath.  The Sabbath day is the most important ritual observance in Judaism, and the only ritual observance instituted in the Ten Commandments.

Why do we fail to observe Shabbat?

To make a point about the role of Shabbat in Jewish life, the author contrasts the widespread adherence to many of the rituals of Passover with the relative paucity of Shabbat observance. Reprinted from The Enchantments of Judaism, published by Basic Books.

Shabbat as a holy of holies in Time

Judaism is a religion of time aiming at the sanctification of time. Unlike the space-minded man to whom time is unvaried, iterative, and homogeneous, to whom all hours are alike, quality-less, empty shells, the Bible senses the diversified character of time.

Sholosh Seudos

On the Sabbath we are supposed to eat three meals. The third meal is begun in the late afternoon as the sun is setting, or just before the sun sets, and continues until the stars are visible in the sky. Grammatically speaking, the name of that meal would be "Seudah Shlishis" (or Seudah Shlishit), "the third meal."

39 Laws of Shabbat

Jewish law prohibits doing any form of melachah [Hebrew word for work] on Shabbat. But, as always, there are some exceptions. Orthodox and Conservative Jews don’t perform the 39 laws on Shabbat as the Talmud states.