OVERVIEW:

On Saturday night, havdalah transitions us from Shabbat to the regular week. Gather your community to participate in this meaningful Jewish ritual followed by a Havdalah-themed party!

NOTE: Apply for the Shabbat Enhancement grant and/or the Jewish Culture and Holiday grant to cover program costs which may include: havdalah candles, matches, tin foil, a kiddush cup, besamim, wine/grape juice, and printing costs.

MATERIALS:

• Havdalah candle
• Matches/lighter
• Tin foil
• Kiddush cup (or a cup that can have a candle extinguished in it)
• Besamim (Sweet-smelling spices like cinnamon sticks and cloves or fresh herbs like rosemary and mint or whatever smell you like!)
• Wine/grape juice
• Havdalah Blessing Printout

PROGRAM OUTLINE: (~60 minutes)

• Welcome and Framing (10 minutes)
• Havdalah Ritual (20 minutes)
• Deconstructed Havdalah Stations (~30 minutes)

Program Details:

Beginning – Welcome and Framing (10 minutes)

• Welcome your community members!
• Consider having a place for people to make name tags or answer an interactive icebreaker question with stickers or a DIY voting/poll:
  • Ex. If you had to pick are you the wine, the spices or the flame? What’s your favorite spice to use for besamim?
• Alternatively, you could have the deconstructed havdalah stations prepared for them to engage with before and after the formal havdalah ritual.

Middle – Havdalah Ritual (20 minutes)

• Gather your community in a large central location in a circle.
• Pass out the havdalah Blessing Printout
• Pass out/delegate the ritual items (to residents or community members).

Below are a few options for how you might lead the havdalah ritual. Choose which one works best for you/your community. For questions or support, reach out to your Jewish Life Specialist!

Option 1

• Sing through all of havdalah using a melody familiar to you or your community.
• Consider sending a recording of the melody to your community members before the event so they are familiar with the melody. See a few links to havdalah melodies in Option 3.
• Have a member of your house/community who plays guitar? Invite them to accompany you/your community for this ritual.

Option 2

• Read through all of the havdalah blessings.
• Consider reading both the Hebrew/transliteration and the English text.
• Delegate many people to read or go around in a circle so many voices in the community are heard.

Option 3

• Listen to a recording of the havdalah ritual and do each of the ritual movements/moments at their prescribed time.
• Here are a few links to recordings of the havdalah service:
  • Click HERE for a video from MH to teach you/your community the lyrics and Debbie Friedman melody for havdalah
  • Click HERE for the classic Debbie Friedman havdalah melody (without introductory blessings).
  • Click HERE for the classic Debbie Friedman havdalah melody with the intro blessings (melody by Rav Shaul Yedidya Elazar).
  • Click HERE for a new havdalah melody from Jared Stein.
  • Click HERE for the Max Helfman havdalah (fun fact: this is the havdalah melody that your JLS, Adira, grew up singing!
  • If none of these feel right, feel free to reach out to your JLS or do some googling to find a melody that works for you/your house!

End – Deconstructed Havdalah Stations (~30 minutes)

• This section offers a couple of options for creating stations themed to each of the blessings of havdalah. Feel free to pick which option from each category works best for your community or use these as inspiration to come up with your own.
• Wine
  • Have a wine-tasting station. Click HERE for inspo. on hosting a wine tasting at home.
  • Make or paint your own kiddush cups! Buy premade cups or clay and paints and get creative!
• Spices
  • Make your own mulling spice kit! Buy spices and little jars or bags to make a little a little DIY mulling spice bar. Click HERE for inspo.
  • Similar to the idea above, make your own besamim (spice) kits so your community members can do havdalah at home!
• Flame
  • Make your own havdalah candle! Buy beeswax sticks of many colors and wicks and invite people to make their own braided candles. Note: Havdalah candles need at least two wicks.
  • Have a backyard or a fireplace? Consider having a little song session by the bonfire. Perhaps some s’mores too?
• Separation
  • Have some slips of paper and pencils and ask people to answer the prompt “What am I letting go of?” or “What am I letting go of this week?” This could be done solo or in a small group. Invite people to post their answers somewhere or pair it with the bonfire activity and have people toss their paper into the fire when they’re done.
  • Invite everyone to add to a canvas or piece of art as they leave the party. Perhaps answering the prompt “What are you looking forward to this week?” Consider writing Shavua Tov on the canvas and having people decorate around that so it can be a piece you hang in your MH after the party!