Havdalá, the separation "between the sacred and the profane"
"Havdalah
On Shabbat night, we once again experience many of the same motifs we encountered with the arrival of Shabbat: when we welcomed the Queen of Shabbat, we recited blessings over the candles, over the perfumes, and in the Kiddush, over a cup of wine.
Now we bid him farewell in a very similar way, reciting the Havdalah blessings over the wine, the perfume, and the light of a multi-candle.
Not only the themes but also the liturgy of each of these two ceremonies are parallel. In the Kiddush, we testify to the supreme sanctity of Shabbat by reciting the passage "Vayehul," proclaiming that the Creator brought the world into existence during the six days of creation, but that on the seventh day He ceased His work and made Shabbat holy.
In the Havdalah blessing, we proclaim that the Creator "separated the sacred from the profane, the light from the darkness, the seventh day from the six days of the week."
These parallels in practice and liturgy reveal the main purpose that welcoming Shabbat when it arrives and bidding it farewell when it departs have in common:
"Imbue the days of the week with the sanctity of the Seventh Day."
We can clearly discern their relationship if, instead of thinking of Shabbat as the end of the week, we consider its central place in creation as reflected in its position in the order of days.
In fact, Shabbat is the middle of the week, located after the fourth, fifth and sixth days and preceding the first, second and third.
The precepts of the arrival of the child are retroactive, illuminating the three days of the week that have already passed. The parallel precepts we fulfill immediately after the departure of Shabbat are anticipatory, illuminating the three days of the week that lie ahead. Their purpose is the same: to bring spiritual rectification to the days of the week...
(Excerpts from The Seventh Heaven, Rabbi Nachman)
We will continue next week, explaining the meaning of wine, aromatic spices, and fire.
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