Havdalah: Ending Shabbat

What Happens When Shabbat Ends?

If lighting Shabbat candles on Friday evening feels like opening a door to a sacred space, then Havdalah is the gentle closing of that door. But what exactly is Havdalah, how do you do it, and why does it involve wine, spices, and a flickering braided flame?

Havdalah (literally "separation") is the brief but beautiful ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat and the beginning of the new week. It is one of Jewish life's most sensory-rich rituals, engaging sight, smell, taste, and even touch. Whether you have been keeping Shabbat for years or are just beginning to explore it, Havdalah offers a meaningful transition from the peace of the holy day back into the rhythm of ordinary life.

When Is Havdalah Performed?

Havdalah takes place on Saturday night, after Shabbat has officially ended. But when exactly does Shabbat end? The answer depends on where you live.

Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday and ends when three medium-sized stars are visible in the Saturday night sky — a moment called tzet hakochavim. In practice, most communities calculate this as a specific number of minutes after sunset, typically between 40 and 72 minutes depending on your location and the opinion you follow. Many printed Jewish calendars and apps will list the exact time for your area each week.

The key rule: you should not perform Havdalah until Shabbat is truly over. Once it is, there is no need to rush — but it is customary to do Havdalah as soon as reasonably possible, ideally within the first few hours of Saturday night.

If you missed Havdalah on Saturday night, you can still recite it (without the candle and spices) until Tuesday sunset. But making it part of your Saturday night routine is the ideal.

The Four Parts of Havdalah

The Havdalah ceremony consists of four blessings, each with its own symbolic element. The entire ceremony takes only a few minutes, but it is packed with meaning.

1. Wine (or Grape Juice)

Havdalah begins with a cup of wine or grape juice, just as Shabbat began with Kiddush over wine on Friday night. The cup should be filled to the brim — even overflowing slightly — as a sign of blessing and abundance for the coming week.

The person leading Havdalah holds the cup in their right hand (or dominant hand) and recites an introductory series of verses, beginning with "Hinei El yeshuati..." ("Behold, God is my salvation..."). These verses set a tone of confidence and trust as we step into the new week.

The first formal blessing is borei pri hagafen — the standard blessing over wine. However, the wine is not drunk until the very end of the ceremony, after all four blessings have been recited.

2. Spices (Besamim)

After the wine blessing, we pick up a container of fragrant spices — called a besamim box — and recite the blessing "borei minei vesamim" ("Who creates various kinds of spices"). Then everyone present smells the spices.

Why spices? Jewish tradition teaches that on Shabbat, every person receives a neshamah yeterah — an extra soul — which allows them to experience a deeper level of rest and spiritual delight. When Shabbat ends, that extra soul departs, and the fragrance of the spices revives and comforts our remaining soul at this moment of loss.

It is a poignant idea: we are not just ending a day off work. We are saying goodbye to an elevated spiritual state. The spices help ease that transition.

Common spices used for Havdalah include whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, or any fragrant blend. Many families have a decorative spice box — often made of silver — that becomes a cherished ritual object passed down through generations.

3. The Havdalah Candle

The third blessing is over fire: "borei me'orei ha'esh" ("Who creates the lights of fire"). A special braided Havdalah candle is lit, and participants extend their hands toward the flame, curling their fingers inward to see the reflected light on their fingernails.

Why do we bless fire at Havdalah? Because creating fire was the very first creative act that Adam performed after the first Shabbat ended. According to the Midrash, God gave Adam the knowledge to strike two stones together and produce flame as darkness fell on Saturday night. We recreate that primal moment of discovery every week.

The candle used for Havdalah must have at least two wicks — and traditionally it is a braided candle with multiple wicks woven together. This is because the blessing uses the plural word me'orei ("lights"), indicating that a single flame is not sufficient. The intertwined wicks also symbolize the unity of different elements coming together to produce light.

During the blessing, it is customary to look at the light reflected on your fingernails. This serves a practical purpose — we need to actually benefit from the light to justify the blessing — and a symbolic one: the boundary between the light side and shadow side of the fingernail represents the distinction between holy and ordinary that Havdalah celebrates.

4. The Blessing of Separation

The final and most important blessing is the Havdalah blessing itself: "hamavdil bein kodesh l'chol" ("Who separates between holy and ordinary"). This blessing acknowledges four distinctions:

• Between holy and ordinary
• Between light and darkness
• Between Israel and the nations
• Between the seventh day and the six days of work

After this blessing, the leader drinks the wine. Many have the custom of pouring a small amount of wine onto a plate and extinguishing the Havdalah candle in it. Some dip their pinky fingers in the remaining wine and touch their eyelids or pockets — folk customs meant to bring blessing, good vision, and prosperity into the new week.

The Full Text of Havdalah

Introductory Verses

Hinei El yeshuati, evtach v'lo efchad. Ki ozi v'zimrat Yah Adonai, vayhi li lishuah. Ush'avtem mayim b'sasson mima'aynei hayeshuah. L'Adonai hayeshuah, al am'cha virchatecha selah. Adonai tz'vaot imanu, misgav lanu Elohei Ya'akov selah. Adonai tz'vaot, ashrei adam botei'ach bach. Adonai hoshiah, hamelech ya'aneinu v'yom koreinu. LaYehudim hay'tah orah v'simchah v'sasson vikar. Kein tihyeh lanu. Kos y'shuot esa uv'shem Adonai ekra.

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. You will draw water with joy from the springs of salvation. Salvation belongs to God; upon Your people is Your blessing. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Lord of hosts, happy is the person who trusts in You. Lord, save us; may the King answer us on the day we call. For the Jews there was light and joy, gladness and honor. So may it be for us. I will raise the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord."

The Four Blessings

Over wine: Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, borei pri hagafen.
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine."

Over spices: Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, borei minei vesamim.
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who creates various kinds of spices."

Over the flame: Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, borei me'orei ha'esh.
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who creates the lights of fire."

The Havdalah blessing: Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, hamavdil bein kodesh l'chol, bein or l'choshech, bein Yisrael la'amim, bein yom hash'vi'i l'sheishet y'mei hama'aseh. Baruch Atah Adonai, hamavdil bein kodesh l'chol.
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who separates between holy and ordinary, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of work. Blessed are You, Lord, Who separates between holy and ordinary."

Practical Tips for Your First Havdalah

What You Will Need

• A cup of wine or grape juice: Fill it to the top. Any wine cup will work, though many families use a special Kiddush cup.
• Fragrant spices: Whole cloves are the most common choice. Cinnamon sticks, allspice, or any fragrant herb will also work. You can keep them in a small bag or a decorative spice box.
• A Havdalah candle: These braided, multi-wick candles are available at most Judaica stores and many grocery stores before Shabbat. In a pinch, you can hold two regular candles close enough that their flames merge.
• A plate or saucer: To catch any wine that overflows and to extinguish the candle at the end.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Gather your family (or enjoy it solo — Havdalah is beautiful either way).
2. Dim the room lights if possible to let the Havdalah candle shine.
3. Light the Havdalah candle.
4. Hold the wine cup and recite the introductory verses and the blessing over wine.
5. Pick up the spice container, recite the blessing, and pass it around for everyone to smell.
6. Hold your hands near the candle flame, curl your fingers to see the light on your nails, and recite the blessing over fire.
7. Recite the final Havdalah blessing.
8. Drink the wine.
9. Pour a bit of remaining wine onto the plate and extinguish the candle in it.
10. Wish everyone "Shavua tov!" — a good week!

Havdalah Songs and Customs

Many families sing the hymn "Eliyahu HaNavi" (Elijah the Prophet) immediately after Havdalah. This song expresses the hope that the prophet Elijah will soon herald the coming of the Messiah. Saturday night, the moment when Shabbat ends, is traditionally seen as a time of heightened spiritual possibility — a moment when redemption could begin.

Other customs include:

• Dipping fingertips in the wine: Some touch their wine-dipped pinkies to their eyelids, behind their ears, or to their pockets — symbolic gestures for blessing, wisdom, and livelihood.
• Melave Malka: A post-Shabbat meal or gathering, literally "escorting the queen." Just as we welcomed the Shabbat Queen on Friday night, we honor her departure with one more meal.
• Music and creativity: Since Shabbat restrictions have ended, many people use Saturday night for musical gatherings, art projects, or other creative pursuits that were set aside during Shabbat.

Havdalah When Shabbat Falls Before a Holiday

When a Jewish holiday begins on Saturday night (immediately after Shabbat), Havdalah is incorporated into the holiday Kiddush. The order changes slightly, and the spices are omitted since the extra soul is not fully departing — it is transitioning from Shabbat holiness to holiday holiness. The candle blessing is made over the holiday candles rather than a separate Havdalah candle.

Teaching Havdalah to Children

Havdalah is one of the most child-friendly Jewish rituals. The flickering flame, the sweet smell of the spices, and the taste of grape juice all engage the senses in ways that children naturally love. Let children:

• Hold the spice box and pass it around
• Watch the flame and hold up their hands to see the light
• Help pour the wine onto the plate
• Sing Shavua tov and Eliyahu HaNavi together

These small participations create lasting memories and a lifelong connection to the rhythm of Shabbat observance.

The Deeper Meaning of Separation

Havdalah teaches us that distinction matters. Holy and ordinary, light and darkness, rest and work — these are not the same, and recognizing the boundary between them enriches both sides. Without ordinary days, Shabbat could not be special. Without Shabbat, ordinary days would lack meaning.

Every week, Havdalah gives us the opportunity to pause at the threshold and acknowledge: something sacred just happened. We were given the gift of rest, of family, of disconnection from the noise. And now we carry a spark of that holiness with us — like the lingering scent of spices — into the days ahead.

Shavua tov — may you have a good and blessed week.