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| Praised are You O Lord our
God who has sanctified us and commanded us in the lighting
of the Shabbat candles. |
Barukh ata adonai eloheinu melekh haolam
asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat. |
This blessing can be found on page 717 of Siddur
Sim Shalom.
The Shabbat is ordained by the Torah in the Ten
Commandments with the understanding that Shabbat reminds us of
the creation of the world. It instructs us that part of creation
is rest. Part of work is taking a break to gain some perspective.
As the painter must step back to recognize the progress of the
work and plan a course for further enhancement, so too we need
to step back and gain perspective on our lives so w can plot a
course for the future.
The Shabbat candles are lit at eighteen minutes
prior to sunset on Friday, though they may be lit even earlier.
This bracha has the same formulation as the bracha over the Hanukah
candles (bracha #17). However, with the Shabbat candle lighting
the candles are first lit and then the bracha is recited. The
sequence for lighting the Shabbat candles is as follows: Light
the candles, cover your eyes then recite the bracha with eyes
covered. This order is specified because once the bracha over
the candles is recited it is Shabbat. Since there is a prohibition
against the kindling of fire on the Shabbat, the one who is performing
this mitzvah (commandment) would then be unable to t light the
candles. We have also learned that in most cases, when performing
a mitzvah, the action follows the bracha. In this case that is
not possible with out transgressing the law of "thou shalt not
kindle fire on the Shabbat." Therefore, this unique approach has
been offered by the codes of Jewish Law, specifically the Rama
on the Shulkahn Arukh (Orekh Hayim 263:5)
Though the law of lighting the Shabbat candles is
incumbent on both men and women, it is has become customary for
the woman of the house to light on behalf of her family. (Talmud
Shabbat 31b Mishneh Torah Hilkhot Shabbat 5:3) It is also a custom
that one candle is lit for each member of the family with the
minimum number of candles being two. While we encourage young
woman to begin lighting one candle after their Bat Mitzvah in
preparation for having their own home. This of course can become
the accepted practice for men as well.
In our home, our entire family gathers around as
my wife lights the candles. The hustle of getting ready for Shabbat
comes to a complete halt. The children stop running around and
a quite calm comes over our home. After singing the bracha aloud
with our children to a tune I learned at summer camp when I was
younger, my wife takes a moment to offer her own personal and
private prayer on behalf of those whom she loves and for peace
in the world at large. A Hasidic custom explains that a woman's
prayers as she lights the holy Shabbat candles are the strongest
of the entire week, and is a parallel to the personal bracha I
offer each of our children as we sit down to dinner on Friday
night.
Upon conclusion of this rite, we all embrace. Offering
the traditional "gut Shabbos" to each other with a kiss. The youngest
ones run from person to person kissing them. We take a moment
to daven, pray, and then begin the rituals of Friday night dinner
with kiddush (an upcoming bracha) and HaMotzi (bracha #12). Then
we sit down to the most meaningful candle light dinner imaginable.
Abraham Joshua Heschel writes "When all work is brought to a standstill,
the candles are lit. Just as creation began with the word 'let
there be light!' so does the celebration of creation begin with
the kindling of lights. It is the woman who ushers in the joy
and sets up the most exquisite symbol, light, to dominate the
atmosphere of the home." (The Shabbat p.66)
Copyright © 2001 Rabbi
Yohanan Stein. All rights reserved.
New Jersey Region United Synagogue
of Conservative Judaism
PO Box 390; 1025 St. Georges
Ave
Linden, NJ 07036-0390
Phone: 908-925-USCJ (8725)
/ Fax: 908-486-USCJ (8725)
E-mail: njersey@uscj.org
Copyright © 2000 -
2003 New Jersey USCJ. All rights reserved.
Last Updated: July 2003
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