Friday night is a festive occasion—a time to slow down, eat well, sing, and engage deeply with one another. Traditionally, we welcome the Sabbath bride by lighting candles, reciting Kiddush, and saying a blessing over challah. We bless the children among us and some of us turn to bless each other. We sing a song to welcome angels and welcome guests to our table. Some people find Shabbat peace in simply joining together to watch a movie or play a game. As we gather with loved ones or take time for ourselves, Friday night offers us the opportunity to look back on the week that has passed. We begin to slow down and unwind as we open to the peace of Shabbat.
“Here, in hearth of heart, / All is made whole.”
“We do not celebrate Shabbat, / We receive it.”
“And this is how we begin again: let our lives be renewed at this sacred time, when the end and the beginning become one.”
“The past and the present are one here”
An alternative ritual for not lighting Shabbat candles
“We don’t have to struggle on without end”
Short kabbalat Shabbat service
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