As the sun sets on Friday afternoon, we take some time out to feel gratitude and joy. Shabbat is about rest and rejuvenation, as well as appreciating all of the gifts—both sacred and mundane—that we enjoy each day. Take a few deep breaths. Close your eyes. Use this service to bring some joy, beauty, and peace into your weekend.

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.

Introduce yourself to the people sitting on either side of you. Share a blessing that you received over the past week with them (“I had really great luck with parking spots today” “I got a good grade on a big exam this week” “I made it to exercise class three times this week and it felt wonderful and empowering”). If you can’t think of anything, just say, “I made it through the week to Shabbat!” After you have shared your blessings,...

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 that thank God for giving us each day and night, light and darkness, and for loving the Jewish people. Then comes the Shema, one of the pillars of Jewish liturgy and belief. In the Shema we cover our eyes to aid in our concentration as we say,...

In the sixteenth century, the small town of Safed, located in the mountains of Galilee in northern Israel, was a center of Jewish mysticism. Solomon ben Moses Halevi Alkabets was one of the many mystics who lived and studied there. On Friday nights, Alkabets and his colleagues would dress in white like bridegrooms and joyously dance and march through the fields outside town to greet the Sabbath, which is depicted in both Talmud and in mystical texts as a bride and...

In a congregation the following is most often sung in unison, while standing facing forward (which is east); responding to each stanza with the chorus below it: לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה, פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה, פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה שָׁמוֹר וְזָכוֹר בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד, הִשְׁמִיעָנוּ אֵל הַמְיֻחָד, יְיָ אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד, לְשֵׁם וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת וְלִתְהִלָּה לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה, פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה לִקְרַאת שַׁבָּת לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה, כִּי הִיא מְקוֹר הַבְּרָכָה, מֵראשׁ מִקֶּדֶם נְסוּכָה, סוֹף מַעֲשֶֹה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה תְּחִלָּה לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה,...

A beautiful ceremony marks the end of Shabbat on Saturday evening. This ending ritual is called Havdalah, which means separation or distinction in Hebrew. The Torah teaches that God created the world by making distinctions, first between light anddarkness, next between water and empty space, then between earth and water. The final distinction made in that week of creation was between regular time and holy time. Just as candles, wine and challah begin Shabbat, a braided candle, wine and spices mark...

The past, present and future are timelessly linked in the spinning circle of life. Our past was the seed that became the present. We can make it bloom in the future if we nurture it with love, respect, and understanding of the shared culture and heritage that we call life.

הִנֵּה מַה טּוֹב וּמַה נָעִים שֶבֶת אַחִים גַם יָחַד Hineh Mah tov umah na'im shevet achim gam yachad. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Reader and Congregation recite while standing: וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאָם. וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ, כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ, אֲשֶר בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת Reader continues: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם, אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק, וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב, הָאֵל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא, אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, קוֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ Reader and Congregation: מָגֵן אָבוֹת בִּדְבָרוֹ, מְחַיֵּה מֵתִים בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ, הָאֵלְהַקָּדוֹשׁ שֶׁאֵין כָּמוֹהוּ, הַמֵּנִיחַ לְעַמּוֹ בְּיוֹם שַׁבַּתקָדְשׁוֹ, כִּי...

God made and named almost everything in the world. God made and named Heaven. Godmade and named Earth. God made and named the sun and the moon, the stars and thewaters. God made and named almost everything. God even made and named the firstman, “Adam,” which means “red earth” because God made the first man out of red earth.But God did not name the animals.God thought, “I want Adam and Adam’s children to protect and care for these animals.Maybe if I...

Light the braided Havdalah candle, but don’t say a blessing yet.Thefirst blessing that we say is over the wine. Lift the cup of wine and say: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּֽפֶן Baruch atah, Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha'olam, boray pri hagafen. Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. [A traditional translation.] - Holy One of Blessing,Your Presence fills creation,forming the fruit of the vine. [An alternative translationfrom Vetaher...

The third blessing is over the lights of the candle, which we havealready lit. We say: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא מְאוֹרֵי הָאֵשׁ Baruch atah, Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha'olam, boray me'oray ha'aysh. - Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, whocreates the lights of fire. [A traditional translation.] - Blessed are you, THE RADIANCE,our God, the sovereign of all worlds,who creates the light of fire. [An alternative translation from KolHaneshamah, the Reconstructionist siddur.] - After the...

William Cronon The time has come to rethink wilderness.This will seem a heretical claim to many environmentalists, since the idea of wilderness has for decadesbeen a fundamental tenet—indeed, a passion—of the environmental movement. For many Americanswilderness stands as the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth. Seen in this way, wilderness presents itself as the best antidote to our human selves, a refuge we must somehow recover if we hope to save...

Many people begin with this introductory paragraph: הִנֵּה אֵל יְשׁוּעָתִי, אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד, כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ יְיָ, וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה. וּשְׁאַבְתֶּם מַֽיִם בְּשָׂשׂוֹן, מִמַּעַיְנֵי הַיְשׁוּעָה. לַייָ הַיְשׁוּעָה, עַל עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶֽךָ סֶּֽלָה. יְיָ צְבָאוֹת עִמָּֽנוּ, מִשְׂגָּב לָנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶֽלָה. יְיָ צְבָאוֹת, אַשְרֵי אָדָם בֹּטֵֽחַ בָּךְ. יְיָ הוֹשִֽׁיעָה, הַמֶּֽלֶךְ יַעֲנֵֽנוּ בְיוֹם קָרְאֵֽנוּ. לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה .וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשׂוֹן וִיקָר. כֵּן תִּהְיֶה לָּֽנוּ. כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא, וּבְשֵׁם יְיָ אֶקְרָא Hinei El yeshuati, evtach velo efchad, ki ozi vezimrat yah, Adonai vayehili liyeshuah. Ushavtem...

שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת, בְּשׁוּב יְיָ אֶת שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן, הָיִינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים. אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק פִּינוּ וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה, אָז יֹאמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם, הִגְדִּיל יְיָ לַעֲשׂוֹת עִם אֵלֶּה. הִגְדִּיל יְיָ לַעֲשׂוֹת עִמָּנוּ, הָיִינוּ שְׂמֵחִים. שׁוּבָה יְיָ אֶת שְׁבִיתֵנוּ, כַּאֲפִיקִים בַּנֶּגֶב. הַזֹּרְעִים בְּדִמְעָה, בְּרִנָּה יִקְצֽרוּ. הָלוֹךְ יֵלֵךְ וּבָכֹה נֹשֵׂא מֶשֶׁךְ הַזָּרַע, בֹּא יָבֹא בְרִנָּה נֹשֵׂא אֲלֻמֹּתָיו. Shir Hama-a-lot, b’shuv Adonai et shivat Tzion hayinu k’cholmim. Az y’malei s’chok pinu ul-shoneinu rina, az yomru vagoyim: Higdil Adonai la-a-sot im eileh. Higdil Adonai la-a-sot imanu, hayinu s’meichim. Shuva Adonai...