On Friday night the traditional evening service is supplemented with some additional psalms and a poem designed to welcome the Sabbath Queen. Seven psalms are recited—one for each day of the week. Take a moment to think of your week day by day, beginning with Sunday. What stayed with you this week? What are you bringing with you into the next week? What do you hope to let go of? Take a few minutes to reflect on these questions.

Maimonides, a 12th Century scholar and philosopher, both held to tradition and pushed its boundaries. One of his most lasting contributions was his 13 Principles of Faith, which appears in the Talmud and summarizes how Maimonides understood humanity's relationship to God.  It's become a hymn that's often sung at the end of Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night.  יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים חַי וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח, נִמְצָא, וְאֵין עֵת אֶל מְצִיאוּתוֹ: אֶחָד וְאֵין יָחִיד כְּיִחוּדוֹ, נֶעְלָם, וְגַם אֵין סוֹף לְאַחְדּוּתוֹ: אֵין לוֹ דְמוּת הַגּוּף וְאֵינוֹ גּוּף,...

One should rise to recite the following prayer: עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ לַאֲדוֹן הַכֹּל, לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוֹצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית, שֶׁלֹּא עָשַָׂנוּ כְּגוֹיֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת, וְלֹא שָׂמָנוּ כְּמִשְׁפְּחוֹת הָאֲדָמָה, שֶֹׁלּא שָֹם חֶלְקֵנוּ כָּהֶם, וְגוֹרָלֵנוּ כְּכָל הֲמוֹנָם. שֶׁהֵם מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לְהֶבֶל וְלָרִיק. וַאֲנַחְנוּ כּוֹרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים וּמוֹדִים, לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ, מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים, הַקָּדוֹשׁ, בָּרוּךְ הוּא: שֶׁהוּא נוֹטֶה שָׁמַיִם וְיוֹסֵד אָרֶץ,וּמוֹשַׁב יְקָרוֹ בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל, וּשְׁכִינַת עֻזּוֹ בְּגָבְהֵי מְרוֹמִים, הוּא אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֵין עוֹד. אֱמֶת מַלְכֵּנוּ, אֶפֶס זוּלָתוֹ, כַּכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתוֹ: וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּוֹם וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ, כִּי יְיָ הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל, וְעַל הָאָרֶץ...

Light one candle, and use that candle to light the others. Draw your hands up three times around the lights, toward your face, and then place them over your eyes to recite the following: ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם  אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להדליק נר של שבת Ba-rukh a-ta A-do-nai, Elo-hei-nu me-lekh ha-olam, a-sher ki-d’shanu b’mitz-vo-tav,  v’tzi-va-nu l’had-lik ner shel Shabbat. We praise God, ruler of everything, who made us holy through obligations, commanding us to light the Shabbat candles....

Now comes the central moment of the Shabbat service—the Amidah, the standing prayer. The Amidah comes in the middle of every Jewish service, and is traditionally recited silently, at least in part. On weekdays, it consists of 19 blessings, asking God for everything from health, to redemption, to healing, to peace. On Shabbat, it has been streamlined, eliminating some of the overt requests—on Shabbat we try not to request things of God, because even God is resting—and instead focusing on thanking...

Introduction Can I Wear This? Navigating The Bat Mitzvah Dress Code is a short film created by Ma’yan in collaboration with a group of NewYork City teen girls and their families. The film looks at the messages that girls get about what is “appropriate” dress for a batmitzvah. We created this discussion guide to help you engage with some of the issues the film raises, and more.You can use this guide to facilitate discussions with youth, parents or educators, in a...

We have reached the Barchu and Shema, key moments in any service. The Barchu is a communal call: Come, let us all bless God who blesses us. It is followed by two longer blessings. The first thanks God for giving us each day and night, light and darkness, the stars and the sun. In the second blessing, we thank God for loving the Jewish people and for the gift of Torah.   

At the start of the Amidah, it is customary to take three steps backward, then three steps forward and remain standing with your feet together through the entire Amidah. This is meant to remind us that we are standing in the presence of God, and should enter the spiritual realm with respect and reverence אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ Adonai, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. In some communities the first paragraph of the Amidah begins...

Shma:  Communal Declaration of Faith Hear, O Israel---The divine abounds everywhere And dwells in everything: the many are One. Sh’ma, yisrael— La’elohut alfey panim, M’lo olam sh’khinatah, Ribuy paneha ekhad.   Loving life and its mysterious source with all our heart and all our spirit, All our senses and strength, we take upon ourselves and into ourselves these promises: To care for the earth and those who live upon it, To pursue justice and peace, To love kindness and compassion. We will...

There is a mystical tradition that on Shabbat each person has a neshama yeteirah, an extra soul, who joins them on Friday night during Kabbalat Shabbat and leaves on Saturday with havdalah. Take a moment to focus yourself inward and try to find the neshama yeteirah expanding your soul, growing and taking you to a new and different place, emotionally and spirituall. The Kabbalat Shabbat service is about to come to an end, followed immediately by a special version of the...

In two paragraphs, the Aleinu concentrates a basic tension in Judaism: the tension between the particular ─ Israel’s special relationship with God ─ and the universal, the faith that all of humanity will someday fully recognize the one God. In its final form, the Aleinu dates back to the third century, but has an older history perhaps as far back as the Babylonian and Persian exiles of the Sixth and Fifth Centuries BCE. An earlier form was probably recited during the...

Avot ve’Imahot  The Eternal God is not the God of Abraham is not the God of  Isaac is not the God of Jacob is not the God of Sarah is not the God of Rebecca is not the God of my childhood is not the God of  my youth is not the God of my adulthood is not the God of my old age is not the God of my dying is not the God of my imagining. The Eternal God...

During the first line of the Shema, we cover our eyes to help us concentrate as we say:   שְׁמַע | יִשְׂרָאֵל, יְיָ | אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְיָ |אֶחָד: Sh'ma Yisra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. In an undertone: בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד Barukh sheim k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed. Blessed be the Name of God's glorious sovereignty for ever and ever. If you prefer a God-optional version, use this time to reflect...

We say this blessing any time we eat a type of bread, including challah, matzah, pita, brioche, injera...take your pick!  On Shabbat we use two, complete loaves of rich, braided bread to symbolize abundance and blessing. We cover two unbroken loaves of bread with a cloth or a napkin. Before saying this blessing, remove the napkin, touch both loaves with one hand and say the blessing: ברוך אתה ה' אלוהינו מלך העולם המוציא לחם מן הארץ Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech...

by Sylvan Kamens & Rabbi Jack Riemer At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them. At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter; We remember them. At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring; We remember them. At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer; We remember them. At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn; We remember them. At...

This prayer is often referred to as the repetition of the Shabbat evening amidah, or as Magen Avot, Shield of our Ancestors  וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַֽיִם וְהָאָֽרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאָם. וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיְבָֽרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ, כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ, אֲשֶר בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת. And the Heaven and the Earth were finished and all their host. And on the seventh day God finished working and rested from all...