Havdala at Home

seder havdalah babayit

סדר הבדלה בבית

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

Hebrew

הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחֹל, חַטֹּאתֵינוּ הוּא יִמְחֹל
זַרְעֵנוּ וְכַסְפֵּנוּ יַרְבֶּה כַּחוֹל וְכַכּוֹכָבִים בַּלָּיְלָה׃

Israeli

hamavdil bein kodesh lechol, chatoteinu hu yimchol
zarenu vechaspenu yarbeh kachol vechakochavim balaylah.

Is. 21

Hebrew

יוֹם פָּנָה כְּצֵל תָּמָר, אֶקְרָא לָאֵל עָלַי גּוֹמֵר
אָמַר שֹׁמֵר, אָתָא בֹקֶר וְגַם־לָיְלָה׃

Israeli

yom panah k'tzel tamar, ekra la-El alai gomer
amar shomer, ata voker vegam-laylah.

Ps. 90

Hebrew

צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַר תָּבוֹר, עַל חַטָּאַי עֲבוֹר תַּעֲבֹר
כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל כִּי יַעֲבֹר, וְאַשְׁמוּרָה בַלָּיְלָה׃

Israeli

tzidkatcha kehar tavor, al chata-ai avor ta-avor
k'yom etmol ki ya-avor, ve-ashmurah valaylah.

Ps. 6

Hebrew

חָלְפָה עוֹנַת מִנְחָתִי, מִי יִתֵּן מְנוּחָתִי
יָגַעְתִּי בְּאַנְחָתִי, אַשְׂחֶה בְכָל־לַיְלָה׃

Israeli

chalefah onat minchati, mi yiten menuchati
yagati be-anchati, ascheh v'chol-laylah.

Song. 5

Hebrew

קוֹלִי בַּל יֻנְטָל, פְּתַח לִי שַׁעַר הַמְּנוּטָּל
שֶׁרֹאשִׁי נִמְלָא טַל, קְוֻצּוֹתַי רְסִיסֵי לָיְלָה׃

Israeli

koli bal yuntal, p'tach li sha-ar hamenutal
sheroshi nimla tal, k'vutzotai resisei laylah.

Prov. 7

Hebrew

הַעְתֵּר נוֹרָא וְאָיֹם, אֲשַׁוֵּעַ, תְּנָה פִדְיוֹם
בְּנֶשֶׁף־בְּעֶרֶב יוֹם, בְּאִישׁוֹן לָיְלָה׃

Israeli

hater nora ve-ayom, ashavea, t'nah fidyom
b'neshef-be-erev yom, be-ishon laylah.

Prov. 1

Hebrew

קְרָאתִיךָ יָהּ, הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי, אֹרַח חַיִּים הוֹדִיעֵנִי
מִדַּלָּה תְבַצְּעֵנִי, מִיּוֹם עַד־לָיְלָה׃

Israeli

k'raticha Yah, hoshi-eni, orach chayim hodi-eni
midalah t'vatze-eni, miyom ad-laylah.

Commentary

One of the key verbs in Genesis 1 is b-d-l, “to separate, distinguish, divide” – the root of the word Havdala. It appears five times in the chapter. By inviting human beings to engage in Havdala at the end of Shabbat, God invites us to create worlds. Creation involves the ability to make distinctions, to rescue order from chaos, to respect the integrity of creation. Havdala is thus not only a human blessing over the end of the day of rest, but as it were a divine blessing over the days of work. The Creator invites us to be creative – but always and only in a way that respects differences and distinctions, the laws of nature and the moral law. The message of Havdala is: if we respect the integrity of boundaries, we can turn chaos into order, darkness into light.

הַמַּבְדִּיל He who distinguishes: As we welcomed the arrival of Shabbat in song, so we bid our farewell to it in song. This beautiful hymn, originally part of the Ne’ila service on Yom Kippur, was composed by Isaac ibn Hayat (1030–1089).

… marking of a transition from secular to holy time and vice versa. It is our way of fulfilling the commandment to “Remember the Sabbath day,” understood by the sages to mean: “Remember it at the beginning and at the end” (Pesaḥim 106a) – in both cases over a cup of wine.

Its deeper meaning recalls the moment at which Adam and Eve, exiled from Eden because of their sin, prepared to enter, for the first time, the world outside, with its darkness and dangers. As a gift, God showed them how to make light. Hence the light of Havdala.

This profound parable is the reverse of the Greek myth of Prometheus – who stole fire from the gods and was sentenced to everlasting torment. Judaism taught that God wants and blesses human creativity. Day 8, for humans, was the counterpart to Day 1 for God. Just as God began creation by making light, so He taught humans how to make light – inviting them to become “His partners in the work of creation.”