And with its dimmed lights, sensuous spices, braided candle, and jumping flame, I love the
Havdalah service.
The candle-lighting and
havdalah times and Torah readings were unaltered by the week's horrifying events because no human act can stop Shabbat's arrival and departure.
Youth movements and summer camps offer virtual
Havdalah. Family and friends separated by geography "meet up" for a virtual shiva minyan.
"The media for the engagement between transcendence and immanence are the same as those with which the world itself was created: light, horizon, breath, pattern, the holiness of distinctions." (38) In referencing the "holiness of distinctions," Kahn calls to mind the Jewish concept of
havdalah, the separation of holy from ordinary space or time, embodied weekly by the ritual that concludes the Sabbath.
Other storylines have included a Yom Kippur break-fast, a Passover Seder aboard a cruise ship and a
Havdalah ceremony that devolves into a fight over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
If he makes
havdalah over wine on Saturday night, as it says, You must distinguish between the sacred and the profane (Lev.
A spice box, used for the
havdalah service bidding farewell to the Sabbath, contains skeletons that allude to the sack of Zion in the book of Lamentations.
One box, for example, could commemorate
Havdalah, the ceremony that marks the end of the Sabbath each Saturday night.
In Jewish custom even today, the end of the Sabbath day is marked by a ritual of candle lighting and blessing called
Havdalah (i.e., separation).
The next night will feature
Havdalah as well as the deconsecration of the Persky Sanctuary.
Thus, Nana Clover has a Thanksgiving centerpiece, the Danziger family has a
havdalah candle to bless the ending of Sabbath, the Erickson's have a Santa Lucia candle for Kirsten's crown to celebrate Santa Lucia Day, Donte's family has a Faith candle for the kinara, and finally Nasreen and Faruq have a candle to help guide their father to their new apartment home when the power goes out.