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Motza'ei Shabbat

Havdala at Home

Seder Havdalah Beveit

סדר הבדלה בבית

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Hebrew

הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחֹל, חַטֹּאתֵינוּ הוּא יִמְחֹל
זַרְעֵנוּ וְכַסְפֵּנוּ יַרְבֶּה כַּחוֹל וְכַכּוֹכָבִים בַּלָּיְלָה׃

Sephardi

HaMavdil bein kodesh lechol, chatoteinu hu yimchol
Zar'einu vechaspeinu yarbeh kachol vechakochavim balaylah

English

He who distinguishes between sacred and secular, may He forgive our sins. May He multiply our offspring and wealth like the sand, and like the stars at night.

Is. 21

Hebrew

יוֹם פָּנָה כְּצֵל תָּמָר, אֶקְרָא לָאֵל עָלַי גּוֹמֵר
אָמַר שֹׁמֵר, אָתָא בֹקֶר וְגַם־לָיְלָה׃

Sephardi

Yom panah ketzel tamar, ekra la'El alai gomer
Amar shomer, ata voker vegam-laylah

English

The day has passed like a palm tree’s shadow; I call on God to fulfill what the watchman said: “Morning comes, though now it is night.”

Ps. 90

Hebrew

צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַר תָּבוֹר, עַל חַטָּאַי עֲבוֹר תַּעֲבֹר
כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל כִּי יַעֲבֹר, וְאַשְׁמוּרָה בַלָּיְלָה׃

Sephardi

Tzidkatecha kehar Tavor, al chatta'ai avor ta'avor
Keyom etmol ki ya'avor, ve'ashmurah balaylah

English

Your righteousness is as high as Mount Tabor. May You pass high over my sins. [Let them be] like yesterday when it has passed, like a watch in the night.

Ps. 6

Hebrew

חָלְפָה עוֹנַת מִנְחָתִי, מִי יִתֵּן מְנוּחָתִי
יָגַעְתִּי בְּאַנְחָתִי, אַשְׂחֶה בְכָל־לַיְלָה׃

Sephardi

Chalfah onat minchati, mi yiten menuchati
Yagati be'anchati, ascheh vechal-laylah

English

The time of offerings has passed. Would that I might rest. I am weary with my sighing, every night I drench [with tears].

Song. 5

Hebrew

קוֹלִי בַּל יֻנְטָל, פְּתַח לִי שַׁעַר הַמְּנוּטָּל
שֶׁרֹאשִׁי נִמְלָא טַל, קְוֻצּוֹתַי רְסִיסֵי לָיְלָה׃

Sephardi

Koli bal yuntal, petach li sha'ar hamenutal
Sheroshi nimla tal, kevutzotai resisei laylah

English

Hear my voice; let it not be cast aside. Open for me the lofty gate. My head is filled with the dew of dawn, my hair with raindrops of the night.

Prov. 7

Hebrew

הַעְתֵּר נוֹרָא וְאָיֹם, אֲשַׁוֵּעַ, תְּנָה פִדְיוֹם
בְּנֶשֶׁף־בְּעֶרֶב יוֹם, בְּאִישׁוֹן לָיְלָה׃

Sephardi

Ha'eter nora ve'ayom, ashave'a, tenah pidyom
Beneshef-be'erev yom, be'ishon laylah

English

Heed my prayer, revered and awesome God. When I cry, grant me deliverance at twilight, as the day fades, or in the darkness of the night.

Prov. 1

Hebrew

קְרָאתִיךָ יָהּ, הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי, אֹרַח חַיִּים הוֹדִיעֵנִי
מִדַּלָּה תְבַצְּעֵנִי, מִיּוֹם עַד־לָיְלָה׃

Sephardi

Keraticha Yah, hoshi'eini, orach chayim hodi'eini
Midalah tevatz'eini, miyom ad-laylah

English

I call to You, LORD: Save me. Make known to me the path of life. Rescue me from misery before day turns to night.

Commentary

One of the key verbs in Genesis 1 is b-d-l, “to separate, distinguish, divide” – the root of the word Havdala. It appears five times in the chapter. By inviting human beings to engage in Havdala at the end of Shabbat, God invites us to create worlds. Creation involves the ability to make distinctions, to rescue order from chaos, to respect the integrity of creation. Havdala is thus not only a human blessing over the end of the day of rest, but as it were a divine blessing over the days of work. The Creator invites us to be creative – but always and only in a way that respects differences and distinctions, the laws of nature and the moral law. The message of Havdala is: if we respect the integrity of boundaries, we can turn chaos into order, darkness into light.

הַמַּבְדִּיל He who distinguishes: As we welcomed the arrival of Shabbat in song, so we bid our farewell to it in song. This beautiful hymn, originally part of the Ne’ila service on Yom Kippur, was composed by Isaac ibn Hayat (1030–1089).

… marking of a transition from secular to holy time and vice versa. It is our way of fulfilling the commandment to “Remember the Sabbath day,” understood by the sages to mean: “Remember it at the beginning and at the end” (Pesaḥim 106a) – in both cases over a cup of wine.

Its deeper meaning recalls the moment at which Adam and Eve, exiled from Eden because of their sin, prepared to enter, for the first time, the world outside, with its darkness and dangers. As a gift, God showed them how to make light. Hence the light of Havdala.

This profound parable is the reverse of the Greek myth of Prometheus – who stole fire from the gods and was sentenced to everlasting torment. Judaism taught that God wants and blesses human creativity. Day 8, for humans, was the counterpart to Day 1 for God. Just as God began creation by making light, so He taught humans how to make light – inviting them to become “His partners in the work of creation.”