Havdalah

Introduction:

For my ritual I wanted to find a way to have a transition from such a holy time with the rest of our year, and luckily Jews already have a tradition of separating the holy from the everyday, Havdalah. There is something beautiful about ending Shabbat with a ritual around waking up your senses, and leaving with one last taste of the holiness of Shabbat. I wanted to add that to the experience of the High Holidays because it can be really jolting to go back to the secular world after we bare our souls, and being able to transition back could be really helpful in being fully present in our lives. This ritual is written to be done after Yom Kippur but can be adapted for the ending of any holiday. 

How To:

First you’ll need to gather the supplies, for this Havdalah adaptation you will need:

• coffee/hot chocolate
• dates
• Pan dulce (or any type of sweet bread)
• Candle (you could do scented, unscented tea lights, any candle)
• Incense or spices with an invigorating scent (think mint, citrus)
•  If possible go somewhere in nature, I recommend the beach but anywhere outside will do.

Once you have picked your spot, bring your supplies and set them in a way that makes picking up each item easy. Unlike Havdalah done on Shabbat, this one is meant to be done the morning after Yom Kippur, before you go to work. 

The first thing you’ll bless is the coffee. Take the cup in two hands to feel its warmth.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם מֵּאִיר (קרי: מֵּעִיר) לָאָרֶץ וְלַדָּרִים עָלֶיהָ בְּרַחֲמִים

Praised are You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of universe, who rouses the world and its inhabitants in mercy

.Take a sip of coffee/hot chocolate. Then the incense or spices to smell

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֶלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא מִינֵי בְשָׂמִים

Blessed are you, Lord our God, sovereign of the universe Who creates varieties of spices.

Smell the spices.

The last blessing will be over the candle.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֶלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא מְאוֹרֵBlessed are you, Lord our God, sovereign of the universe Who creates the light of the fire

Feel the warmth of the fire 

Lastly we’ll bless the pan dulce

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ

Blessed are you, Lord our God, ruler of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth.

Before taking a bite of the pan dulce grab a date and say:

May it be your will, God, that hatred will end. (The word for date looks similar to the word end in Hebrew)

Enjoy the coffee/hot chocolate pan dulce, and dates!

Once you have completed this ritual, take a moment to think about what bits of sweetness you want to bring into your life now that the High Holidays are over, and enjoy your year!

Shana Tova!

Ritual by Ziggy Valdez