JEWISH RITUAL — 5.3 (Sabbath)

SABBATH CANDLELIGHTING CUSTOMS

Two candles are usually lit for the Sabbath. They represent the two times the commandment to observe the Sabbath is given in the Bible, and, specifically, the two different words, shamor (guard) and zakhor (remember) that begin the commandment. But explanations for this custom abound, and some families go beyond this two-candle minimum. Some add a candle for each child. Others use a third candle to represent all their children. Because of the significance of the number seven in Judaism (for example, the seven days of creation), other customs include the lighting of seven Sabbath candles.

One classic Jewish image is a woman lighting two Sabbath candles before the sun sets. She closes her eyes intently and circles her hands in the air, as if to draw the energy of the candles into her, and she recites the traditional blessing.

The commandment to light candles is meant for men as well as women, but the custom evolved for women to light the candles because they are more closely associated with the home. In liberal Jewish circles, men sometimes light Sabbath candles, yet the custom of women lighting candles still holds sway, even in Jewish communities where women are rabbis and lay Jewish leaders.

After the candles are lit, the blessing is said over the Sabbath candles with eyes closed. Customarily, the person lighting candles adds a silent blessing for the family. Why are the eyes closed? The answer is not so simple. My mother used to say that no custom in Judaism is ever "so simple". Jews usually say a blessing before performing an act; for example, you say the blessing over bread before eating bread. But the blessing over the candles marks the beginning of the Sabbath, and on the Sabbath it is forbidden to create light. So you would be violating the rules of Shabbat by saying the blessing and then lighting the candles. Yet, in this case, you need to say the blessing before the act is done. So it became the custom to light the candles with the eyes closed so you wouldn't see the light while reciting the blessing. When you lower your hands from your eyes, it is as if you had said the blessing before the candles were lit.

Tradition prescribes that you light candles eighteen minutes before sunset. The Sabbath commences officially at sunset, but the lighting of candles marks the beginning of the Sabbath for those who lit the candles. The candlelighting is done early, both to provide a cushion of time so you won't accidentally light candles after sunset, and because it is difficult to determine exactly when sunset occurs.

Sabbath light is the symbol of joy and harmony. We are drawing this joy and harmony into ourselves and our home. The Sabbath is also imagined as a bride and the waving of the hands ushers the bride into the house.

The Book of Proverbs says, "The soul of a person is the light of God." After the candles are lit, many people take a moment to reflect on the soul, our inner being, who we are in the world, and how our inner light is connected to God's divine light.

OTHER SHABBAT RITUALS

Here is a very brief sketch of the rituals associated with each time period of Shabbat.

Friday Night Dinner/Friday Night

The Talmud says that a person is accompanied home on Friday night by two angels who guard the way (Shabbat 119b). Traditionally, families light Shabbat candles, and then the men go to synagogue for a brief prayer service called kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming the Sabbath). They come home and the Shabbat evening ritual begins with the kiddush (a blessing, said over wine, that sanctifies the day) and the motzi blessing over challah bread. This is followed by a Sabbath meal.

Sabbath Day

Shabbat morning is traditionally a time when people go to the synagogue. The highlight of the service is the reading of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) portion of the week, which is designed to help us reexperience the revelation at Sinai. It was at Sinai that the ancient Israelites entered into a covenantal relationship with God an their way through the desert. Sinai became the turning point for the Israelites and marked their move from a slave people to a free nation. We go to the synagogue to pray, to be with friends, and to celebrate the joys of Jewish community.

Saturday Sunset: Havdalah

Just as the Sabbath is ushered in with a ritual act of candlelighting, so we leave the Sabbath with a similar ritual act that involves light. It is a bittersweet time. It is also a time steeped in mystery as the daylight slips into darkness. We hate to let go of the Sabbath. This brief ritual marks the end of the Sabbath and helps us to make the transition back into the workaday world—even though most of us don't work on Saturday night or Sunday. The Havdalah ritual takes place at sundown, some twenty-five hours after lighting Sabbath candles. This lovely, simple ceremony includes wine, a special braided candle, and fragrant spices. The ceremony is a sensuous experience of enchanting lights and sweet-smelling aromas.

The Havdalah ceremony begins with a song that invites the prophet Elijah – who will herald to coming of the Messiah, according to Jewish tradition – into our midst. It continues with a paragraph taken from the Psalms that speaks of God as the source of redemption, followed by four brief blessings. The first blessing is said over wine. The second one is recited over spices—a reminder of the sweet fragrance of the Sabbath and a way to revive the soul, which has been diminished as a result of the Sabbath departure. Then comes a blessing said over the multiwicked Havdalah candle that acknowledges the creator of the flame. The candle mirrors the intertwining of the Sabbath day with the rest of the days of the week. Finally, a blessing is said praising God for helping us to distinguish between various things in our lives, particularly the holy and the secular. The wine is sipped and then the candle is extinguished in the wine. People wish each other a "good week" and then  return to their daily activities, which have been postponed for the Sabbath.

CHRISTIAN PARALLELS TO JEWISH SHABBAT OBSERVANCES

The Sabbath in Christian tradition has much in common with Jewish observance. While the modern Christian church does not typically follow the minutely detailed set of Shabbat prohibitions, traditionally Christians also did not work or do anything frivolous, such as going to the movies, on Sunday (the day that most Christians associate with the Sabbath). This tradition was reflected in the local "blue laws" in the United States, designed to keep most stores closed on Sunday. Mark Twain once joked, "The day was as long as a Protestant Sunday." During the Sabbath day, a Christian's goal was similar to a Jew's: to set aside time for meditation, to enjoy refreshment, and to spend time with family. Pressure from popular culture has placed many church services in conflict with civic groups, sports practices, and other diversions  on Sunday morning. Recently, though, Christians have been rediscovering the importance of keeping the Sabbath for their spiritual health.

One aspect of the Sabbath where Judaism and much of Christianity have parted ways is on what day Shabbat should be observed. The Catholic Church and most Protestant churches observe the Sabbath on Sunday in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus, which, according to the Gospels, happened on the first day of the week; that is, on Sunday. Some Christians, however, such as Seventh-Day Adventists, cite passages such as Acts 18:4, which says that Paul went to synagogue every Sabbath, to claim that the Saturday Sabbath was observed by Paul and should therefore still be observed on that day.

The difference between the observance of Sabbath days has historically caused difficulties for Jews economically. If Jews observed the Sabbath on Saturday and worked for a non-Jewish employer, there was tremendous pressure to work on Shabbat. This led to the radical suggestion by some nineteenth-century Reform rabbis in Germany to move the Jewish Sabbath to Sunday, to allow Jews to observe Shabbat without being pressured economically. In America, some rabbis in the late nineteenth century called for a five-day workweek, precisely so both Jews and Christians could observe their respective Sabbath days. As America moves to a seven-day week of commerce, with stores open every day, both faiths now suffer from the incessant call of commercialism.

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