Anatomy of a Shabbat Service
Reference sheet by LilyFish Gomberg
Why Shabbat Services?
Shabbat services are important to people for many different reasons! For some, it’s an opportunity to be with Jewish community and sing familiar songs. Others understand Shabbat services as an obligation, something G!d expects of them. Regardless of why you come to Shabbat services at Hillel, this sheet is intended to help you understand the service a little better!
Where do Shabbat Services Come From?
Upon the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE by the Romans, the Rabbis of antiquity moved quickly to transform the rites and rituals of the now-defunct sacrificial cult into a spiritually based religion predicated on prayer and observance of the Torah’s commandments. In place of the daily and festival animal sacrifices, the Rabbis established the recitation of the Amidah, the central prayer of Jewish worship, as a substitute.
Main Components of the Service:
- Kabbalat Shabbat
What is Kabbalat Shabbat?
Widely considered the most poetic and magical of all Jewish liturgy, the Kabbalat Shabbat service reflects Jewish history from biblical origins to the mystical age centered in Safed in the 16th and 17th centuries. In origin as well as current traditional practice, kabbalat shabbat is a distinct service that not only precedes arvit l'shabbat—the Sabbath eve, or Friday evening service—but actually commences just before sundown at the end of the day on Friday.
The Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony begins considerably before nightfall "so as to add from the weekday to the holy day." The Talmud tells that Rabbi Ḥanina used to put on his Shabbat clothes and stand at sunset of Shabbat eve and exclaim: "Come and let us go forth to welcome the Queen Shabbat" and Rabbi Yannai used to don his festive robes at that time and exclaim, "Come, O bride! Come, O bride!"
What Prayers are part of Kabbalat Shabbat?
Lecha Dodi is the lynchpin of Kabbalat Shabbat. It was composed by Solomon Alkabetz, a Kabbalist (mystic), and describes Shabbat as a Queen or Bride.
We often include other songs or psalms, such as Hinei Ma Tov!
- Shabbat Ma’ariv
What is Shabbat Ma’ariv?
The Evening Service! Jewish rabbinic tradition holds that we pray three times a day, morning noon and night. Ma’ariv is the evening service, and Shabbat Ma’ariv is the evening service on Shabbat.
What Prayers are part of Ma’ariv?
Barchu - the call to worship. We only say this prayer when we have a minyan, a community of 10 adult Jews.
This is followed by Ma’ariv Aravim - a prayer which celebrates dusk. At Hillel, we’ve traditionally sung “Roll into Dark.”
Shema and Her Blessings - The Shema is one of the most central prayers to the Jewish people, it comes directly from the Torah! It is also one of my favorites because it is “surrounded with love.”
Ahavat Olam - A proclamation of G!d’s abundant and everlasting love for the Jewish people, and that the Torah is the physical and eternal evidence of that love.
Shema - The six words of Shema are considered the most essential declaration of the Jewish faith — HaShem is our G!d, HaShem is one.
Ve’ahavta - The prayer that directly follows the Shema, detailing how we can show our love for G!d. There are three sections of the Ve’Ahavtah, although we don’t usually recite the entire prayer aloud.
The first section details the particular ways in which that faith should be lived: Love G!d with all of your being, teach it to your children, recite it when you wake and lie down, bind it as a symbol on your body.
The second section, Revelation, specifies what will happen if G!d’s commands are heeded — and if they are not. Submission to G!d’s command will result in rain in its proper season, gathering of grain, wine and oil, grass in the fields for cattle, and abundant food. But if G!d’s will is flouted and foreign G!ds are worshipped, none of those blessings will come.
To ensure that these commandments are remembered, the final section concerns the biblical commandment of tzitzit , the ritual fringes that serve as a reminder of G!d’s presence and which are worn by many Orthodox men at all times.
Mi Chamocha - Literally, “Who is like You?” Verses from Exodus 15:11 that are incorporated into the prayer service. These verses are an excerpt from the song that the biblical Israelites sang after crossing the Sea of Reeds to safety.
Hashkivenu - part of a set of rabbinic readings that bracket the biblical text of the Shema during evening prayers on both Shabbat and weekdays. The prayer envisions G!d as a guide and shelter during the night ahead and praises G!d for watching over us, delivering us, and being merciful. This prayer is also traditionally a part of the Bedtime Shema.
Vishamru - Highlights our role in observing the Sabbath as a way of protecting the covenant. By living it, we protect it. And it protects us. As the famous thinker Ahad Ha’am once said, “More than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel.”
Amidah - The Amidah (literally, “standing”) is a major liturgical unit of the Shabbat and holiday service. Taking its name from the posture in which it is said, the Rabbis also referred to it as HaTefillah, or simply, “The prayer” par excellence. The Rabbis declared that a worshipper should come before their G!d first with words of praise, then ask one’s petitions, and finally withdraw with words of thanks. Using this tripartite division, every Amidah begins with three blessings, praising G!d’s relationship with the biblical patriarchs, G!d’s divine power to give and restore life, and G!d’s holiness. On Shabbat and holidays, instead of petitions that might distract us by reminding us of our physical wants and needs, the Rabbis established the middle section as an opportunity to celebrate the holiness of the Sabbath day and/or the festival. The final section of every Amidah concludes with blessings of thanksgiving to G!d for accepting our prayers, for the daily miracles of creation, and a final prayer for G!d to bestow justice, mercy, and peace on the world.
We generally end this prayer with a prayer for peace, such as “Shalom Ra’av,” “Oseh Shalom,” etc. At our Hillel, this is often referred to as the Post-Amidah Bop.
“Torah Service” - This is where many communities have a Torah Service. At our Hillel, we do this as a “D’var Torah.”
D’var Torah - Literally “words of Torah,” a D’var Torah is the sermon. A D’var Torah is intended to pass on wisdom, and is generally related to the week’s Torah Portion. The struggle to find personal meaning in words of Torah and to share that message with the community is central to Jewish observance.
Mi Sheberach - One of the central Jewish prayers for those who are ill or recovering from illness or accidents is the Mi Sheberach. The name is taken from its first two Hebrew words. With a holistic view of humankind, it prays for physical cure as well as spiritual healing, asking for blessing, compassion, restoration, and strength, within the community of others facing illness as well as all Jews, all human beings. Traditionally, the Mi Sheberach is said in synagogue when the Torah is read, and we sing it right after our D’var Torah.
Concluding Prayers
Aleinu - “Aleinu” literally means “it is incumbent upon us.” Referring to the obligation to acknowledge spirituality, its highpoint is the line, “We bend the knee and bow, acknowledging the Ruler of Rulers, HaShem, praised be G!d,” at which the congregation as a whole bows in the direction of the ark, toward the east—Israel and Jerusalem. Concluding with a commitment to improving this world, the Aleinu prayer ends with a hope for a better future world that we must strive to create.
Kaddish Yatom - written in Aramaic, the Mourner’s Kaddish is the prayer traditionally recited in memory of the dead, although it makes no mention of death. Children are supposed to recite this for 11 months after the death of a parent and on the anniversary (Yahrzeit) of the death. The principle behind the Mourner’s Kaddish is that when the child sanctifies G!d’s name in public by reciting the doxology, merit is accrued to the parent’s soul. This is a central part of Jewish mourning ritual, forcing a person in mourning to find community in a minyan, which is required for the mourner’s Kaddish.
We generally add a song to transition between mourning and celebration
Adon Olam - A short hymn that summarizes the Jewish understanding of G!d. Adon Olam is a short piyut or liturgical poem that is recited at various times in the prayer service, in our services we conclude with it. Adon Olam references some of the most famous lines in Psalm 23. Where the psalm says, “I fear no evil for You are with me,” Adon Olam repeats, “G!d is with me, I have no fear.” Where the psalmist exalts that “my cup runneth over” Adon Olam refers to G!d as “my cup of life.” These descriptions of a personal, attentive G!d dovetail nicely with the piyut’s use of the singular first person.
- Shabbat Meal
What Prayers are part of Shabbat dinner?
Candles - The lighting of candles as sunset approaches on Friday is the traditional sign of the arrival of Shabbat. After lighting the candles, it is customary to cover one’s eyes and recite the blessing. Many people welcome the light into themselves through a broad gesture, welcoming in the calm, peace, and quiet of Shabbat.
Wine - The kiddush marks Shabbat as sacred time. Recite the blessing before sipping the wine or grape juice (aka Purple Drank). The Shabbat evening Kiddush is often preceded by a paragraph called Vayechulu, taken straight from the Hebrew Bible, which recounts the moment God completed creation and decided to rest, although we don’t generally include that here.
Challah - Prior to eating the challah, and subsequently the rest of the meal, we say the Motzi blessing.
Birkat HaMazon - The blessing after meals.
Shabbat Shalom!
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