Jewish people mark the transition from the end of the Shabbat (signified by the appearance of three stars in the darkening sky) to a new week of work through a beautiful short ritual centered around three objects – cup of wine or grape juice, a sweet smelling spice and a braided candle. One of the most well known composer of American Jewish music, Debbie Friedman, z’l, created a melody that is sung by Jewish communities around the world, from orthodox to barely observant.
Once the light of the braided candle is extinguished, we call upon the mystical figure of Elijah the Prophet, to come and bring us the Messianic Age. In today’s egalitarian world, we also invite Miriam the Prophetess, to come and help us to repair the world through her gift of song.
RUSSIAN:
Еврейский народ отмечает переход от конца Шаббата (с появлением трех звезд на темнеющем небе) к новой рабочей неделе красивым недолгим ритуалом, сосредоточенным на трех вещах - на чаше с вином или виноградным соком, на запахе пряностей и на плетеных свечах. Один из самых известных композиторов Американской Еврейской музыки, Дебби Фридман, написала мелодию, которую поют еврейские общины по всему миру, от ортодоксальных до мало религиозных.
После того, как свет плетеной свечи гаснет, мы призываем мистического Илью Пророка, который своим приходом знаменует приход мессии. В сегодняшнем эгалитарном мире мы также призываем Мириам помочь нам восстановить мир ц помощью ее песенного дара.
lyrics
Blessing over the Wine, hold the glass of wine high and recite:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּֽפֶן
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, borei p'ri hagafen.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine.
Blessing over the spices, pass the spice box around to everyone to smell the cinnamon and cloves:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא מִינֵי בְשָׂמִים
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam borei minei v'samim.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of all spices.
Blessing over the braided havdallah candle. It is traditional for an adult to hold the candle high, while everyone else stretches their hands towards the fire, with palms turned up and each finger casting a shadow from the candle onto their palm:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא מְאוֹרֵי הָאֵשׁ
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, borei m'orei ha-eish.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of fire.
After saying the last blessing, it is traditional to take a sip of the wine, then to dip the burning candle into the wine to extinguish the flame:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמַּבְדִיל בֵּין קֹֽדֶשׁ לְחוֹל
Baruch atah Adonai, hamavdil bein kodesh l'chol.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe,
You distinguish the commonplace from the holy; You create light and darkness, Israel and the nations, the seventh day of rest and the six days of labor. We praise You, O God: You call us to distinguish the commonplace from the holy.
credits
from Zing Along Shabes,
released December 30, 2014
Cantors Maria Dubinsky and Natasha Hirschhorn. Melody by D. Friedman.
Zing Along Shabes is a companion musical recording to the Zing Along Shabes project, a set of materials to help families
foster traditions around celebrating Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. The project was created by Inna Barmash, Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch and Irina Sheynfeld....more
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