Traditionally the woman covers her head while lighting the candles. A daughter may also light a small pair of candles—as she learns from her mother.
The mother (woman) says the following blessings before lighting the candles.
Blessed are
you, O LORD,
Our God, King
of the Universe,
Who has
sanctified us with His Commandments,
And Who sanctifies the Sabbath
As she lights the first candle, she recites:
Blessed are
you, O LORD,
Our God, King
of the Universe,
Who brings
forth light from the darkness
As she lights the second candle, she recites:
Blessed are
you, O LORD,
Our God, King
of the Universe,
Who brings
forth redemption through Yeshua
(Optional) As she lights the third candle, she recites:
Blessed are
you, O LORD,
Our God, King
of the Universe,
Who brings
forth restoration through Yeshua
The Shema is the cornerstone of Hebrew life (Deuteronomy 6:4). In this prayer, we proclaim: God is One! We desire to be one with Him! We desire to listen and obey His voice and His Covenant!
Shema Yisrael
Adonai Eloheinu
Adonai Echad
Baruch Shem
kavod malchuto
L’olam
va’ed
Hear, O,
Israel,
The Lord our
God
The Lord is
One!
Blessed be the
Name of His glorious Majesty
Forever and
Ever!
Amen!
This is an example prayer spoken by the mother after she lights the candles and her family prays the Shema.
Blessed art
Thou, O LORD our God,
King of the
Universe
Who art the
Author of Peace.
You Who made
the Sabbath holy,
You who called
us to honor this Sabbath,
Enter into our
home this night.
Almighty God,
Grant us and
all our loved ones rest
On this Sabbath
day.
May the Light
of Yeshua drive out
From among us
the spirit of anger
And the spirit
of fear.
Send Your
Blessing that we may walk
In Your Way and
in Your Light.
Enter our
hearts this night.
Heavenly
Father,
We rejoice in
Your Creation!
It is from You
that we receive every good
And perfect
gift.
Giver of Life
and Love,
Grant us Your
Peace,
Through Yeshua
our King
Amen.
Your children will never forget the blessings that you give them! Traditionally, the father blesses his children by placing his hands on their heads. Bless them individually according to their gifts and abilities! Include a current need and a future goal in their blessing—to inspire them about their future!
Also, say a corporate prayer over them:
May the LORD
protect and defend you,
May He always
shield you from shame.
May you come to
be, in Israel a shining name.
May you be like
Ruth and Ephraim,
May you be
deserving of praise.
Strengthen them
O LORD,
And keep them
from the stranger’s ways.
May God bless
you and grant you long lives,
May the LORD
fulfill our Sabbath prayer for you.
May God make
you good fathers and mothers , husbands and wives
May He send
someone who will care for you.
May the LORD
protect and defend you,
May the LORD
preserve you from pain.
Favor them O
LORD, with happiness and peace,
O, Hear our
Sabbath prayer, Amen.
The heart of the home is the woman; she is the stabilizing force of her family! At this point, the husband reads Proverbs 31 over his wife and continues with a blessing from his heart. If you live in a non-traditional family—do as the Spirit of the LORD leads you! Perhaps have the son(s) or daughter(s) read this psalm to their mother.
Who can find a
virtuous wife?
For her worth
is far above rubies.
The heart of
her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have
no lack of gain.
She does him
good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeks wool
and flax,
And willingly
works with her hands.
She is like the
merchant ships, she brings her food from afar.
She also rises
while it is yet night,
And provides a
portion for her household,
And a portion
for her maidservants.
She considers a
field and buys it;
From her
profits she plants a vineyard.
She girds
herself with strength,
And strengthens
her arms.
She perceives
that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp
does not go out by night.
She stretches
her hand out to the distaff,
And her hand
holds the spindle.
She extends her
hand to the poor,
Yes, she
reaches out her hand to the needy.
She is not
afraid of snow for her household,
For all her
household is clothed with scarlet.
She makes
tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is
fine linen and purple.
Her husband is
known in the gates,
When he sits
among the elders of the land.
She makes linen
garments and sells them,
And supplies
sashes for the merchants.
Strength and
honor are her clothing;
She shall
rejoice in the time to come.
She opens her
mouth with wisdom,
And on her
tongue is the law of kindness.
She watches
over the ways of her household,
And does not
eat the bread of idleness.
Her children
rise up and bless her;
Her husband
also, and he praises her, saying:
“Many
daughters have done well, but you excel them all.”
A woman who
fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her fruit
of her hands,
And let her own
works praise her in the gates.
Step 6: Blessing Over the Husband
As a compliment to her husband, the wife reads Psalm 1 to her husband.
If you live in a non-traditional family—do as the Spirit of the LORD leads you! Perhaps have the mother read this psalm over her son(s)—or the daughter(s) read this psalm over her brothers!
How blessed is the man
Who does not
walk in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in
the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the
seat of scoffers,
But his delight
is in the Torah of the LORD,
And in His
Torah he meditates day and night.
He will be like
the tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields
its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf does
not wither;
The ungodly are
not so,
But are like
the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the
ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in
the congregation of the righteous,
For the LORD
knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of
the ungodly shall perish.
Washing hands before dinner is not only healthy, but in this instance is also symbolic of coming to God’s altar. Washing your hands symbolizes a change of status from ‘common’ to ‘holy!’
If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
The man pours water from the pitcher for everyone to was his or her hands as he says the following blessing:
Blessed are
you, O LORD,
Our God, King
of the Universe,
Who has
sanctified us with His commandments,
And has
commanded regarding washing hands.
Place a bit of salt on your plate. Starting with the man, everyone breaks off a piece of bread to eat. This is symbolic of a Midrash (a discussion)—breaking the Word of God into small pieces so that all can partake of it, understand it and be blessed by it!
It is traditional to sprinkle a little salt on your bread, recalling Genesis 3:19:
Blessed are
you, O LORD,
Our God, King
of the Universe,
Who brings
forth bread from the earth.
All lift their glasses of wine with their right hand—thankful to God for His Right Hand of Redemption—and pray the following blessing:
Blessed are
you, O LORD,
Our God, King
of the Universe,
Creator of the
fruit of the vine.
This is the final blessing before the dinner!
Everyone prays:
Blessed are
you, O LORD,
Our God, King
of the Universe,
Creator of all
kinds of food.
Serve a special meal and make special family traditions such as honey butter for the Challah, fresh flowers for each of your guests or whatever will create lasting memories for your children. Remember to make the table special, use the best that you have…the Shabbat dinner is a meal offering to God and the table represents His Altar!
When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you! Deuteronomy 8:10
This is an example prayer spoken by everyone at the table at the end of the special Shabbat meal:
Blessed art
Thou, LORD our God,
Yeshua—King
of the Universe,
Who provides
the fruit of the earth for our use.
We bless You
for continually fulfilling
Your promise
that while the earth remains
Seedtime and
harvest shall not fail.
Teach us to
remember
That it is not
by bread alone that we live.
Grant us
evermore to feed on Him Who is the True Bread from heaven,
Yeshua
HaMashiach.
O God, our
Heavenly Father,
Look in favor
upon the homes of Your people.
Defend them
against evil and supply all their needs
According to
the riches of Your Wonderful Grace.
Make them
sanctuaries of peace, love, and joy.
Help us follow
You in every step of our daily lives.
May we always
abide under the safe shadow of Your Love,
Through Yeshua
HaMashiach.
Amen.
At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them unto babes. Even so Father, for it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is Light.
Matthew 11:25-30
SHABBAT
SHALOM!