A Sabbath Lesson in Light

My family lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan until I was seven years old. Our apartment was in a vibrant neighborhood filled with the hustle and bustle of city life. One of our neighbors was a divorced man whose kids visited him on weekends. His daughter and I would play together whenever she came over, enjoying our brief but memorable moments of childhood companionship.

One Sabbath day, I found myself at their apartment as the Sabbath was ending. I stayed for the Havdallah ceremony, a set of blessings recited to mark the conclusion of the Sabbath. This ritual was familiar to me, something I had done my whole life. But that night, it took on a new meaning.

The fourth of the Ten Commandments instructs us:

The sages explain that this means we should declare the Sabbath’s holiness both when it begins and when it ends. As we end the Sabbath after a day of divinely mandated rest, we declare its holiness over a cup of wine in a prayer called Havdallah, or Separation. This prayer not only marks the transition from the sacred Sabbath to the ordinary week, but it also reminds us to carry the spirituality of the Sabbath into the days ahead.

One of the blessings in this ceremony is recited over a flame. After saying the blessing, we hold our fingers up towards the flame, looking at the shadows of our fingers on our palms and the reflection of the fire in our fingernails. This was a ritual I had performed my entire life—six years at that point—without giving much thought to its significance. However, that particular Saturday night, my neighbor asked if I knew what it was about. Embarrassed, I admitted that I did not. He then explained it to me.

As a result of man’s sin, God chose to hide the primordial light He created at the beginning of the world. At the conclusion of the first Sabbath, the sun set and darkness appeared for the first time. Adam was terrified, but God inspired him to strike two stones together and create fire. In response, Adam praised God for creating fire using the very same blessing we now recite as part of the Havdallah prayer. By reciting this blessing, we thank God for the creation of fire on the very night that it was created. Reciting this blessing over fire also reminds us that just as Adam, with the help of God, created light from a rock to combat the darkness, we too can find clarity and illumination in challenging times, sometimes from the most unexpected sources.

In addition, the use of fire is prohibited throughout Shabbat (Exodus 35:3) and becomes permitted again only on Saturday night. We therefore recite this blessing of appreciation for fire following the departure of the Sabbath. This weekly renewal of fire also serves as a powerful symbol of hope and resilience, reminding us of our ability to overcome darkness with light.

My neighbor’s explanation transformed a simple ritual into a profound lesson. I learned that the traditions we practice often carry deep meanings that connect us to our history and to God. Even the most familiar rituals can hold hidden depths of inspiration.

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