Shabbat begins at sundown on Friday, and concludes when three stars appear in the Saturday night sky. Friday is often a busy day preparing for Shabbat. Buying and preparing food, getting flowers, cleaning the house, bathing the kids and dressing in nice clothes. But when the time comes for candle lighting, an exquisite sense of calm falls over the household. Each woman lights candles - two for herself and her husband, and many families light one extra for each child in the family, as each child brings new light into the world. Women away from their families (for example, in college) should also light candles, as should men who are not in the company of a woman, or who feel like lighting them themselves. After lighting the candles, many people move their hands from the light to their eyes three times, drawing in the essence of Shabbat before covering their eyes with their hands and reciting the blessing: Baruch Ata Adonai, Elohenu Melech Ha Olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav, vetsivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat. Blessed are You G-d, Creator of the world, Who has commanded us to observe the mitzvah of lighting the Shabbat candles. After the Shabbat evening service which includes many beautiful psalms and "Lecha Dodi," the song of "welcoming the Sabbath bride", written by a sixteenth century Kabbalist in Tzvat, Israel, the family comes home to enjoy a wonderful meal together. The meal begins with the parents blessing the children, followed by "Shalom Alechem" and "Eshet Chayil," two common Shabbat evening songs. Then the Shabbat kiddush blessing over the wine, the motzi blessing over the bread, and finally the meal. Shabbat meals are often followed by singing and storytelling, and conclude with the Birkat Hamazon, the grace after meals. Many families have their own traditions for Shabbat evenings, such as sharing the best event in everyone's week, reviewing what the children learned in school during the week, and telling stories. This is often the best quality time a family can have, where everyone bases their schedules around a Friday evening meal, and no one is in a hurry to attend to other engagements. Although it may be a difficult routine to begin, once in the practice of observing Shabbat in whatever way you choose, it will likely become the highlight of the week.

Hosted with Jvillage Network