During friday the house is
tidied and the table set, so
that everything is ready to
welcome the Sabbath
It is always the wife or mother in a Jewish
family who begins the Sabbath celebrations.
The first thing she does is light two candles. A
she lights them, she say a prayer which asks
God to bless the home
There is always a service in the
synagogue on a Friday evening.
When the family return home the
father blesses the children and
reads from the scriptures
The table is always covered with a
clean white cloth, the meal begins when
the father recites a blessing called the
Kiddush over a cup of wine.
Sabbath hymns are sung as the
family sits at the table.
There are always two
loaves of challah bread, a
blessing is said over the
bread before it is eaten.
On Sabbath morning many
Jews go to the service in the
synagogue
To make Sabbath
different from any other
day Jews must rest
completely and not do
any work.
The Sabbath ends on Saturday evening, when the father says another
blessing called the havdalah. A special plaited candle is lit, and everyone
smells a special box of spices.
After the blessing the havdalah candle
is put out by dipping it in a cup of wine.
Shabbat is over when three stars can
be seen in the sky.
Intoduction
Shabbat is the
Jewish day of rest
and worship
Shabbat is the Hebrew
word for sabbath
It begins at sunset on
Friday evening, and lasts
until dusk on Saturday
Shabbat is the
oldest of the Jewish
holidays
Jews remember the
story in the book of
Genesis about how
God made the world.
The story says that
God worked for six
days and on the
seventh day he
rested
Jews think that Sabbath is
very important. They believe
that it is a special gift from God.
It is a day of peace and rest.