The Moment Between Shabbos and the Week Ahead
Saturday night holds a feeling unlike any other. The table is cleared, the candles have gone out, and the house is quieter now. Something sacred is leaving, and you can feel it. There is a catch in the heart, a reluctance to let go. That is the moment Havdalah was made for.
The havdalah blessings are not just a formality marking the end of Shabbos. They are a ceremony, a real event, where you stand with a cup of wine in your hand, the scent of spices filling the room, and the glow of a braided flame reaching upward. You are saying goodbye to something precious, and at the same time, you are asking Hashem to carry that light into the coming days.
The Havdalah ceremony is one of the oldest in our tradition. It begins with pesukim of hope, moves through four brachos (blessings), and ends with the declaration that Hashem separates between the holy and the ordinary. Every word is deliberate. Every element, from the wine to the besamim (spices) and the fire, has a deep meaning, reminding us of what Shabbos is and what we carry with us when it goes.
Before Making Havdalah
Before you lift the cup, pause. Let the last quiet of Shabbos settle around you. You are about to step into a new week. Stand before Hashem now, in this in-between moment, and speak from your heart:
Ribono Shel Olam, I am standing at the edge of a new week. Shabbos gave me rest, and now I need Your help to carry that peace forward. Please bless the work of my hands in the days ahead. Guard my family and guide my steps. Let me remember, even in the busiest moments, that You are with me. In the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, I ask You to hear this prayer. Elokah d’Meir aneni.
If giving tzedakah, add:
In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, please let this new week be one of brachah and peace for me and my family. As I care for Your children in Eretz Yisrael, please watch over mine.
Havdalah: The Full Text
[rmbh_prayer_tabs]The Havdalah ceremony dates back to the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah (Men of the Great Assembly), who established it as one of the earliest formal brachos in our mesorah. The Gemara (Brachos 33a) teaches that Havdalah was originally said within the Shemoneh Esrei but was later set as an independent ceremony over wine, so that the sweetness of Shabbos could linger in a tangible way. The opening pesukim, beginning with “Hinei Keil yeshuosi,” are drawn from Yeshayahu, Tehillim, and Megillas Esther, bringing together themes of yeshuah, bitachon, and the light that follows darkness.
Understanding the Words of Havdalah
Hinei Keil yeshuosi evtach v’loi efchod “Behold, Hashem is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.”
This pasuk from Yeshayahu (12:2) opens the entire Havdalah with a declaration of trust. The word evtach comes from the root ב-ט-ח, which means to lean on something with your full weight, to rely on it completely. As Shabbos ends and the unknown week stretches out before you, Havdalah asks you to begin not with worry but with emunah. You are not walking into the week alone. No matter what the coming days hold, your first words are a statement of bitachon: I will trust and I will not be afraid. This is the foundation the Havdalah blessings establish for the new week.
Ush’avtem mayim b’soson mi’ma’aynei hayeshuoh “And you shall draw water with joy from the springs of salvation.”
Also from Yeshayahu (12:3), this pasuk presents a simple yet profound image. Water drawn from a spring is not something you manufacture. It is there, under the ground, waiting. You just have to come and draw it up. The Vilna Gaon explains that simchah (joy) is itself a vessel. When you approach Hashem b’simchah, you create the capacity to receive His yeshuah. That is what Havdalah teaches at the very start: simchah is not a luxury; it is the very means by which we draw close to Hashem as a new week begins.
Boirei m’oirei ho’eish “Who creates the lights of the fire.”
The bracha over the braided candle is unique in all of Jewish life. It is the only bracha we say specifically over fire. The Gemara (Pesachim 54a) teaches that fire was created on motzaei Shabbos, when Adam HaRishon, sitting in darkness after his first Shabbos ended, struck two stones together and saw light. The word m’oirei, “lights,” is plural because a flame contains many colors. When you hold your fingers up to the Havdalah candle and see the light on your nails, you are recalling that first moment when Adam discovered that Hashem gives us the tools to bring light into the dark.
Hamavdil bein koidesh l’chol “Who separates between holy and ordinary.”
This is the heart of the entire ceremony, the phrase that gives Havdalah (separation) its name. The root ב-ד-ל means to distinguish, to set apart. Hashem asks us to notice the difference between Shabbos and the rest of the week, a powerful act in itself. Not to blur it, not to let one slide into the other, but to stand at the border and say: this was kodesh, and now I am stepping into chol. The Maharal teaches that the ability to make havdalah, to recognize distinctions, is at the core of wisdom itself. When you say these words on motzaei Shabbos, you are not just marking a change in the clock. You are declaring that the kedushah of Shabbos was real, it had a real effect, and you will now carry its influence into the ordinary days ahead.
How to Say This Tefillah
Havdalah is said on motzaei Shabbos, after three stars appear in the sky, which is typically about 45 to 72 minutes after sunset depending on your community’s minhag. Many people say it right after Maariv, while others wait until they are home with their family gathered around.
You will need three things: a cup of wine or grape juice filled to the brim, a container of besamim (cloves are the most common), and a braided candle with at least two wicks. The cup is held in the right hand throughout the brachos. After the bracha over besamim, pass the spice container around and inhale deeply. The Tur (Orach Chayim 297), based on the teaching of Reish Lakish in Beitzah 16a, explains that the besamim comfort the neshamah yeseirah (additional soul) that departs when Shabbos ends. After the bracha over fire, hold your fingertips up to the flame and look at the light reflected on your nails.
Set your kavanah (intention) before you begin. You might think quietly: “Hashem, I am grateful for the Shabbos that is leaving. Please carry its kedushah into my week. Help me remember this peace when the days get busy.” Taking a moment to focus helps you say the brachos with real kavanah.
Tefillah and tzedakah share a deep connection. When you make Havdalah and also give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you are linking the kedushah of Shabbos to an act of real chesed. Your tefillah rises and your ma’aseh tov rises alongside it. You are not davening in the merit of Rabbi Meir. You are asking Hashem to hear your prayer in the merit of this great tzaddik. After the ceremony, you may add: Elokah d’Meir aneni.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
abbi Meir was one of the greatest Tannaim. In the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18a), his sister-in-law had been taken by the Romans and placed in a place of degradation. Rabbi Meir risked himself to rescue her, and through courage, wisdom, and trust in Hashem he brought her to safety. Rabbi Meir taught the phrase “Elaha d’Meir aneini,” as a cry for divine help in a moment of danger, with miraculous results. A person trapped in darkness was brought out to safety.
This is the same theme Havdalah marks: the movement from darkness to light, and from ordinary time to something elevated. Giving tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness is asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the combined zechus of this tzaddik and your own act of kindness.
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799. The talmidei chachamim (Torah scholars) at Rabbi Meir’s grave in Tiberias daven for those who reach out. The charity supports Torah scholars and the poor in Eretz Yisrael. When you give tzedakah at Havdalah time, as the new week begins, you are starting your week with an act of chesed that echoes across Eretz Yisrael.
One Small Step To Take After Havdalah
Havdalah marks the start of a new week, and that means new work, new challenges, new decisions. Tefillah and hishtadlus go together. We daven to Hashem and we do our part.
If you are facing challenges in the week ahead, use the moments after Havdalah to focus your bitachon. We do our hishtadlus, but we remember that the bracha for the new week comes from Hashem.
If you are going through a difficult time with parnassah, shalom bayis, or health, remember that hishtadlus means using the tools Hashem has put in the world. Speak to a rav you trust or seek professional guidance when needed, knowing that Hashem is guiding your steps.
Make motzaei Shabbos itself a moment of intention. Some families have a minhag to sing Eliyahu HaNavi after Havdalah, expressing their hope for the geulah. Others use those first post-Shabbos minutes to do a small act of chesed, like making a phone call to someone who is alone or setting aside money for tzedakah. However you choose to begin, let the kedushah of Shabbos give shape to the week that follows.
[rmbh_faq]A Blessing for Your Week Ahead
As you stand at the start of a new week, carry the kedushah of Shabbos with you.
May Hashem bless the work of your hands in the coming days. May the kedushah of Shabbos stay with you, quietly, even when the noise of the week tries to push it away. If there is something you are worried about, may the worry dissolve and the answer come. If there is something you are hoping for, may this be the week it begins to take shape. And when next Shabbos arrives, may you look back and see that Hashem was with you through every step.
You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at Rabbi Meir’s grave in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for you and your family by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your prayer.
