Shabbat Symbols & Objects
Shabbat begins as night falls on Friday and ends after nightfall on Saturday. It is a very precious time of the week: a time where we stop all work and we rest. Because Shabbat is such a special time for all Creation, there are certain symbols we have and foods that we eat on Shabbat.
Symbols
Candlesticks
The candle is a very important symbol for Jews. Fire is warm and inviting. Jews believe the candle’s flame is a symbol of God’s relationship to the world and to us.
- Candles are lit on Friday before Shabbat to help create Shalom Bayit (peace in the home), and Oneg Shabbat (Sabbath joy). The candles should be in the room where the Friday night meal is eaten.
- The woman of the house traditionally lights the candles, unless there is no woman. The candles can be lit up to one and a quarter hours before Shabbat begins, but usually, they are lit 18 minutes before sunset. (The number 18 is written in Hebrew letters as Yud Chet, and these letters spell the Hebrew word for ‘life’. Jewish people believe the number eighteen is very special.)
- Two candles (at least) must be lit in order to show shamor (observance) and zachor (remembrance) of Shabbat. The two candles are a symbol of things in life that come in pairs, such as man and woman; body and soul; speech and silence, etc.
- We are allowed to light more than two candles. Some people light a candle for every member of the family. Once a certain amount of candles have been lit, it is customary never to light less than that amount of candles.
- Once we have lit the candles, we say “Shabbat Shalom”, which means ‘hello and welcome’ to the Shabbat and ‘Have a peacefull Shabbat’.
- We light the candles like this: The hands are drawn around the candles towards the face between one and seven times, the eyes are covered with both hands and the blessing is recited. The blessing is translated as:
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has honoured us with mitzvot and commanded us to light the Shabbat candles.” We wave our hands around the candles seven times to draw light to ourselves and to welcome the Shabbat bride. The number seven reminds us that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.
- Havdalah (the special ceremony at the end of Shabbat) is said with a plaited Havdalah candle, a cup of wine and fragrant spices, to say goodbye to Shabbat and welcome in a new week.
Shabbat Clothes
On Shabbat we put on our best clothes, dressing as if for an important occasion. This reflects the mood of Shabbat, that it is different and special.
The Shabbat Table
- The table should be covered with a special white cloth, and set with the best china and silver to honour the Shabbat Queen. Shabbat food should be the tastiest and best. It is said that Shabbat adds a special flavour to your food. Special Shabbat foods include gefilte fish, chicken soup, kugel, cholent and challot.
- The white table cloth is said to represent the manna, a double portion of which was gathered on Friday to last for Shabbat. The manna was white.
Foods
Challah
- Challah is the traditional plaited bread especially baked for Shabbat and other holidays. It is customary to home bake challah to emphasise the feeling of unity, warmth and love that the Sabbath and other holidays represent.
- Challah means ‘dough’. Originally this name referred to the piece of dough broken off and given as a sacrifice whenever we made bread (see next paragraph), but it came to refer the special plaited loaves we make for Shabbat and holydays.
- It is a mitzvah (commandment) to separate a portion of the challah, which is to be given to the priests (Kohanim) to eat. Since the destruction of the Temple, we keep this mitzvah by removing a portion from the top, or head of the braided dough before it is baked. The piece is then burnt in the oven to symbolise and commemorate our sacrifice as well as the destruction of the Temple (a piece of challah for the ritual burning can be removed after baking if it has not been done before).
- When the piece of dough is taken to be burnt, the following blessing is recited: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to separate.”
- Challah was once considered a rich man’s bread, as it contained grain. It was only eaten on Shabbat and holidays as a treat. This is still done today.
- On Friday Night two challot (the plural of challah) are on the dinner table. This reminds is of the double portion of manna that was received from God on Fridays by the people of Israel in the desert. This provided the people in the desert with extra manna for Shabbat. Some people sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds over the challah before baking to further remind them of the manna.
- A blessing is recited before the breaking and eating of the bread. We don’t usually cut the bread with a knife, because a knife is like a weapon of war. Instead, the challah is broken up and divided by hand. The blessing is: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.”
- After the bread has been blessed it should be salted, the way sacrifices were salted in the Temple, and also to reflect Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow shall you get bread to eat”. (Sweat is salty.)
- It is a custom to leave the broken bread on a communal plate, or for a piece to be put on every individual plate instead of handing it to people, to stress that we do not receive our bread from man, but instead we receive it from God.
- Before the challah is blessed, and during the blessing for the wine, the bread is kept covered by a cloth. This is to shield its sensitive feelings. This teaches us that we must respect objects as well as living things.
- For Shabbat lunch, a slow-cooked stew called ‘cholent’ is traditional, expecially in winter when the weather is cold. It is possible to put the cholent on to cook before Shabbat and let it cook slowly on a low flame all through the night, so that we can enjoy hot food at lunchtime without breaking Shabbat by cooking.
- The eating of fish on Shabbat is interpreted as a symbol of the blessing that the children of Israel would multiply like the stars in the heavens and the sand of the seas. Potato kugel is supposed to remind us of the manna, which was made up of globules.
Wine and Kiddush Cup
- Wine is very special and has its own blessing. Wine is used to show the holiness of the Sabbath when it comes in on Friday night (kiddush) and when it goes out on Saturday night (havdalah). The English word wine may derive from the Hebrew yayin.
- The blessing over wine is: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine.”
- The kiddush cup is a special goblet set aside for the blessing of the wine. If possible, it should be made from silver. The kiddush wine should make you feel relaxed for Shabbat.
Zemirot
Special songs for the Shabbat table are called zemirot. As the zemirot are sung, we can forget our weekday worries, and completely relax. Sometimes modern songs in Hebrew or English are added to the traditional zemirot.
