Distinctions (Havdalah) for the end of Shabbat, by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=7053
open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license Date: 2013-06-21
Last Updated: 2025-02-18
Categories: Motsei Shabbat
Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English poetry, English vernacular prayer, paraliturgical havdalah, paraliturgical teḥinot, Prayers as poems, הבדלות havdalot, תחינות teḥinot
Excerpt: A prayer-poem inspired by the ritual Havdallah, preparing a separation between Shabbat and weekday time. . . .
Content:
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English |
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In the end we’re like children:
we thrive on distinctions
between me and you, us and them.
Made in Your image
we separate light from darkness,
family from stranger, weekday
from that fleeting taste of Paradise.
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Wax drips from the braided candle.
Cinnamon tingles the nose
to keep us from fainting
as the extra soul departs.
Stop now. Notice this hinge
between Shabbat
and what’s next.
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Plunge the candle into the wine
but don’t cry: even without a flame
our light still shines. This
is our inheritance, better than rubies.
And now it’s Saturday night, the cusp
of a new beginning, another day.
This week, may our hearts be whole.
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Contributor: Rachel Barenblat
Co-authors:
Featured Image:
Title: Joseph_Wright_of_Derby_The_Alchemist
Caption: "The Alchymist, In Search of the Philosopher’s Stone, Discovers Phosphorus, and prays for the successful Conclusion of his operation, as was the custom of the Ancient Chymical Astrologers" (1771) by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1791)
