Lighting the Sabbath Candles
Each week Jews celebrate the Sabbath as a day of peace and rest. As with so many Jewish holidays, the Sabbath begins in the evening at sunset. Shortly before sunset—in many communities 18 minutes before sunset—women light candles as a symbol of the warmth and light the Sabbath provides to the community.
Why does this ceremony take place before the Sabbath officially starts? Candle lighting occurs before the sacred day starts to show our affection for the Sabbath.
The early rush to start the festivities is a sign that we want even more time of rest and peace than we would have if we started the ritual precisely at sunset.
Some women light one candle; many women light a candle for each immediate family member with the number growing if a couple has additional children. As the woman lights candles, she acknowledges through a short blessing that God has commanded her to light the Sabbath candles. Many women intone the blessing with their eyes closed to facilitate concentrating on the Sabbath welcome. With the blessing complete, the candle lighter says to all the people in the room, “Shabbat shalom,” which translates from the Hebrew as “A peaceful Sabbath.”
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