Havdalah (‘separation’, ‘division’, or ‘distinction’) is a ritual marking the end of Shabbat. It can be done only after dark on Sunday night. The ceremony “separates” the holy day of Shabbat from the new week.
The Havdalah blessings are spoken (or sung) over lights, wine, and spices. The Havdalah ceremony also uses fragrant spices and a braided candle with many wicks. Some people also sing songs like ‘Shavua Tov’ (a good week) or ‘Eliyahu Ha-navi’.
After Havdalah, people start doing regular weekday things again.
Text adapted from Simple English Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0.
Candle Lighting Ending The Jewish Shabbath photo by Eliel Joseph Schafler on Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
