Levana Havdallah!

Every Monday in the Levana class we celebrate Havdallah, literally, separation, where we welcome a new week by acknowledging that the holiness of Shabbat has passed, and we are all ready to begin a new week of school.  Just as we welcome Shabbat with candlelight, grape juice (the sweetness symbolizing the joy we feel at Shabbat), and challah, we say goodbye to Shabbat with candlelight, grape juice, and sweet-smelling spices.  We use our five senses and our beautiful singing voices to celebrate Havdallah.

We begin with a niggun, a wordless melody.  Abby looks closely the prayer sheet as all of the students sing along together.  

Next, we say a blessing over light.  Graham helps to hold a multi-wick candle.  We can all feel the heat!

We smell sweet spices from the bags that our parents decorated for us on curriculum night.

And we all listen attentively as a teacher submerges the candle in the juice to put out the light.  It makes a faint hissing sound as the light goes out.  We then conclude with the blessing, "Baruch ata adonai ha'mavdil ben kodesh v'chol."  Blessed are you, Adonai, who separates holiness from the mundane.  Shabbat is sacred, holy time.  In order to appreciate the holiness of Shabbat, we need the rest of the week.  Havdallah has become sacred time in our classroom, too, and we all look forward to it.