The Havdalah Ritual

First Blessing

Light the braided Havdalah candle, but don't say a blessing yet. The first blessing that we say is over the wine. Lift the cup of wine and say:

Ba-rukh A-ta A-don-ai El-o-hey-nu Mel-ekh ha-o-lam bo-rey p'ri ha-gaf-en.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine. (A traditional translation.)

Holy One of Blessing, Your Presence fills creation, forming the fruit of the vine. (An alternative translation.)

Second Blessing

The second blessing is over the spices. Lift the spices and say:

Ba-rukh A-ta A-don-ai El-o-hey-nu Mel-ekh ha-o-lam bo-rey mi-ney v'sa-mim.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates species of fragrance. (A traditional translation.)

Blessed are You, God, our God, Sovereign of the universe, who creates various kinds of spices. (An alternative translation.)

After saying the blessing, inhale the sweet smell. Pass around the spice box so that everybody can inhale the scent deeply.

Third Blessing

The third blessing is over the lights of the candle, which we have already lit. We say:

Ba-rukh A-ta A-don-ai El-o-hey-nu Mel-ekh ha-o-lam bo-rey m'o-rey ha-esh.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates the lights of fire. (A traditional translation.)

Blessed are you, THE RADIANCE, our God, the sovereign of all worlds, who creates the light of fire. (An alternative translation.)

After the blessing, hold up your hands to feel the warmth of the braided candle. To make use of the light, some people look for the reflection of the candle light in their fingernails. Another custom has people start with fingers cupped toward their palms and slowly opening them to see the light on their palms.

Fourth Blessing

The last blessing marks the separation of Shabbat from the rest of the week. We say:

Ba-rukh A-ta A-don-ai El-o-hey-nu Mel-ekh ha-o-lam ha-mav'dil bein-ko-desh l'chol, bein-or l'cho-shekh, bein-yis'ra-el la-a-mim. Bein-yom hash'vi'i l'she-shet y'mey-ha-ma-a-se. Ba-rukh A-ta A-don-ai ha-mav'dil bein-ko-desh l'chol.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who separates between holy and secular, between light and darkness, between Israel and other peoples, between the seventh day and the six days of work. Blessed are You, Lord our God, who separates between holy and secular. (A traditional translation.)

Blessed are you, THE MANY-NAMED, our God, the sovereign of all worlds, who separates between holy and ordinary, light and dark, the seventh day and the six days of work. Blessed are you, THE INVISIBLE who separates the holy from the ordinary. (An alternative translation.)

We then sip the wine and extinguish the candle in the remaining wine. Many have the custom of singing "Eliyahu Ha'Navi" while slowly lowering the Havdalah candle into the wine so that the candle is extinguished as the song ends.

El-i-ya-hu ha'Na-vi, El-i-ya-hu ha'Tish-bi, El-i-ya-hu ha-Gi-la-di,
bim'hey-ra, v'ya-mey-nu, ya-vo El-ey-nu im Mash-i-ach ben Dav-id.

The song is translated as, "Elijah the Prophet, Elijah of Tishbe in Gilead, come speedily, in our days, to us with the Messiah, son of David."

Conclusion

It is customary, at the ritual's conclusion, to sing "Shavua Tov" (which means "a good week" in Hebrew) and turn on the room's lights as it ends.

Shavua tov. (8x)
A good week, a week of peace, may gladness reign and joy increase. (2x)

Return to the Guide to Shabbat and Havdalah for Interfaith Families Resource Guide.