friday night

How To Read Eshet Chayil: Reflections from a Feminist Scholar

How To Read Eshet Chayil: Reflections from a Feminist Scholar

This reflection by feminist scholar, Dr. Wendy Zierler, traces her evolving relationship with the words of Eshet Chayil over the course of her life. She suggests several ways of reading the text, exploring the Kabbalistic

Reform: How to Recite the Blessing Over Children (Audio & Text)

Reform: How to Recite the Blessing Over Children (Audio & Text)

This instructional post provides the Hebrew audio and the Hebrew, English and transliterated text of the blessing over the children according to the Reform tradition, which makes a slight modification to the traditional Hebrew text

Friday Night & Beyond: Insights on the Blessing Over the Children (Plus Text & Audio)

Friday Night & Beyond: Insights on the Blessing Over the Children (Plus Text & Audio)

This thorough excerpt from “Friday Night and Beyond” by Lori Palatnik explains the biblical origins of the ritual blessing over the children on Friday night, as well as a practical how-to guide for parents, complete

A Multi-Generational Blessing Over the Children

A Multi-Generational Blessing Over the Children

This post describes the way in which one family includes all four generations present at their Shabbat table when performing the blessing over the children. Dale Schatz writes how each generation blesses the

Paul Ben-Haim’s Rendition of the Blessing Over the Shabbat Candles (Reform)

Paul Ben-Haim’s Rendition of the Blessing Over the Shabbat Candles (Reform)

This audio clip (the second track on the album, “Sacred Services from Israel”), demonstrates an operatic version of the blessing over the Shabbat evening candles according to Reform tradition. Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984), a Liberal

Switching On Shabbat: Temples in Time

Switching On Shabbat: Temples in Time

Referencing Jewish thinkers Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Blu Greenberg, this article describes lighting the Shabbat candles as a transformative act that enables us to create temples in time, thus turning Shabbat on

Shlomo Carlebach: The Shabbat Candles Story

Shlomo Carlebach: The Shabbat Candles Story

In this 12 minute long audio recording, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach tells an inspirational story, centered on the Shabbat candles. A narrative of hope and resilience, the story is about a young couple he met

A Complete Guide to Performing a Traditional Friday Night Kiddush: Text & Audio

A Complete Guide to Performing a Traditional Friday Night Kiddush: Text & Audio

This step-by-step guide  explains how to perform the basic Orthodox Ashkenazi Kiddush, including the Hebrew, English, and transliterated text of the blessings. Reprinted on Aish.com, this is an excerpt from “Friday Night and Beyond” by Lori Palatnik, a