{"id":2176,"date":"2018-03-05T08:21:07","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T08:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/2018\/03\/05\/introduction-to-the-kabbalat-shabbat-prayer-service"},"modified":"2018-06-12T08:21:19","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T08:21:19","slug":"introduction-to-the-kabbalat-shabbat-prayer-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/2018\/03\/05\/introduction-to-the-kabbalat-shabbat-prayer-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to the Kabbalat Shabbat Prayer Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

This introductory article<\/a> describes the origins and structure of the Kabbalat Shabbat services, noting various customs practiced in different communities. Originally from the\u00a0Encyclopaedia Judaica<\/a>, this\u00a0article was shared on Jewish Virtual Library<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Kabbalat Shabbat<\/h2>\n

Kabbalat Shabbat<\/span>\u00a0(\u05e7\u05b7\u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05dc\u05b7\u05ea \u05e9\u05c1\u05b7\u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05ea; literally “Reception of the\u00a0Shabbat<\/span>“) designates the inauguration of the\u00a0Shabbat\u00a0in general and, in a more specifically liturgical sense, is the part of the Friday evening service which precedes the regular evening\u00a0prayer<\/span>\u00a0and solemnly welcomes the\u00a0Shabbat.<\/p>\n

The Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony begins considerably before nightfall “so as to add from the weekday to the holy day.” Much care is traditionally lavished on preparing for the Shabbat. All housework that is\u00a0forbidden on the Shabbat\u00a0– for example cooking or baking – is completed beforehand. It is customary to bathe before the beginning of the Shabbat and to put on festive clothes. The\u00a0Talmud\u00a0tells that\u00a0Rabbi<\/span>\u00a0\u1e24anina 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!”<\/p>\n

These stories served as the main motif for the Shabbat hymn\u00a0“Lecha Dodi”\u00a0of\u00a0Solomon ha-Levi Alkabetz\u00a0and formed the basis of the custom of the kabbalists of\u00a0Safed<\/span>, who welcomed the\u00a0Shabbat\u00a0by going into the fields on Fridays at sunset to recite special prayers and hymns in honor of the Shabbat amid nature. In traditional synagogues this prayer is recited no later than half an hour after sunset. It opens with Psalm 29 (in the Ashkenazi and some other rites with the six Psalms 95\u201399 and 29 corresponding to the six days of creation or the six weekdays). The hymn “Lecha Dodi” is then sung, followed by Psalms 92 and 93. In some rituals the evening service is preceded by the recital of the\u00a0Song of Songs\u00a0in honor of the Bride (or Queen) Shabbat. In many traditional rituals the hymn\u00a0“Anna be-Kho’ah”\u00a0is said before the “Lecha Dodi” (or Psalm 121). Chapter 2 of\u00a0Mishnah<\/span>\u00a0Shabbat<\/i>\u00a0(Ba-Meh Madlikin<\/i>) is recited in some rites before the main evening prayer, in other rites following it. In the Yemenite ritual special\u00a0piyyutim<\/i>\u00a0are also inserted before the evening prayer on those Shabbats which coincide with the New Moon as well as for Shabbats in the\u00a0Omer<\/span>\u00a0period. The major deviations from the regular evening service are the elimination of the petitions of the\u00a0Amidah<\/span><\/i>\u00a0and the substitution of blessings in honor of the Shabbat.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Israel<\/span>, special\u00a0Kabbalat Shabbat<\/i>\u00a0ceremonies are held on Friday at noontime in schools and kindergartens, and before supper in some kibbutzim, where they consist of lighting the Shabbat candles, reciting poetry, and singing songs in honor of the weekly day of rest. In the United States, many Reform and Conservative synagogues have introduced the late Friday evening service, which starts after the end of the business day in order to enable a greater number of the congregants to participate. The central feature of the service is the rabbi’s sermon; after the service an\u00a0Oneg Shabbat<\/i>\u00a0(Shabbat Reception) is usually held.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This introductory article describes the origins and structure of the Kabbalat Shabbat services, noting various customs practiced in different communities. Originally from the\u00a0Encyclopaedia Judaica, this\u00a0article was shared on Jewish Virtual Library.\u00a0 Kabbalat Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat\u00a0(\u05e7\u05b7\u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05dc\u05b7\u05ea \u05e9\u05c1\u05b7\u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05ea; literally “Reception of the\u00a0Shabbat“) designates the inauguration of the\u00a0Shabbat\u00a0in general and, in a more specifically liturgical sense, is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[49],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=2176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176\/revisions\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2177\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=2176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=2176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=2176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}