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Prague · 28 Cheshvan 5787

Shabbat this week · 16:02–17:11

Holiday guide

How to celebrate Shabbat

A guide from Friday preparation to havdalah. Each step offers a basic option for beginners and a traditional option following Orthodox practice.

This guide describes common practice; details vary by community and level of observance. For practical halakhic questions, consult the rabbi of your community.

  1. Step 1 of 6· Friday morning and afternoon

    Preparing on Friday

    Minhag

    Clean, shop, bake or buy two challot, prepare wine or grape juice, set a festive table. Food for Saturday is cooked in advance.

    Basic practice

    Set the table, buy challah and wine, cook dinner.

    Traditional practice

    Finish all cooking before Shabbat, leave Saturday’s food on the stove under a cover (*blech*) or on a warming plate, set timers, light a lasting light; men often go to the mikveh.

  2. Step 2 of 6· Friday, usually 18 minutes before sunset

    Lighting the candles

    Halakhah

    At least two candles are lit and the blessing is recited. In traditional practice, Shabbat begins once the candles are lit.1

    Basic practice

    Light two candles, say the blessing (for example from a transliterated card) and pause for a moment.

    Traditional practice

    Light on time according to the local calendar, cover the eyes with the hands, recite the blessing (Ashkenazi custom), add a personal prayer. By doing so women accept Shabbat and no longer perform prohibited work.

  3. Step 3 of 6· Friday evening, after returning from the synagogue

    Kiddush

    Halakhah

    Over a full cup of wine, the Friday night kiddush is recited, proclaiming the holiness of the day. It is preceded by the song Shalom Aleichem and, in many families, the blessing of the children.2

    Basic practice

    One person reads the kiddush (in English is fine), and everyone drinks wine or grape juice.

    Traditional practice

    Kiddush standing or seated according to family custom, a cup holding at least a *revi’it*, challot covered; everyone present answers “amen” and takes a sip.

  4. Step 4 of 6· Friday evening

    Friday night dinner

    Minhag

    Ritual hand-washing, HaMotzi over two challot, a festive dinner with the singing of zemirot, conversation or a short commentary on the weekly Torah portion, and finally the blessing after the meal.

    Basic practice

    Bless the challah, share it out and eat dinner together without phones.

    Traditional practice

    Netilat yadayim with the blessing, challah dipped in salt, zemirot between courses, *Birkat Hamazon* after the meal.

  5. Step 5 of 6· Saturday from morning to afternoon

    Saturday

    Minhag

    The morning service with the Torah reading, a short daytime kiddush and the midday meal; in the afternoon rest, a walk, study. Before nightfall, the third meal (seudah shlishit).3

    Basic practice

    A day without work or shopping: time with family and friends, reading, a walk.

    Traditional practice

    Service in the synagogue, three Shabbat meals, none of the 39 melakhot, carrying only within an eruv, the afternoon Minchah and study.

  6. Step 6 of 6· Saturday after nightfall (three stars)

    Havdalah

    Halakhah

    Havdalah separates Shabbat from the weekdays: blessings over wine, fragrant spices, the flame of a braided candle and a concluding blessing on the distinction between holy and ordinary.4

    Basic practice

    Light a braided candle, smell the spices, drink some wine and wish each other “shavua tov” – a good week.

    Traditional practice

    After the evening prayer with the insertion *Atah chonantanu*; full havdalah over wine, besamim and candle, the candle extinguished in the wine, singing *Ha-mavdil* and *Eliyahu ha-navi*.

Sources

Shabbat