Before Kiddush, special hymns are sung. The first one, Shalom Aleichem, explains how two angels accompany every Jew on his way from the Friday night service to his home. Verses from the Book of Psalms are recited where the ideal wife is described. It mentions the relationship between the Sabbath and the preparation of the house and food, done by the wife.
Kiddush means holy and is sung/said just before the Friday night dinner and the Shabbat lunch. It can be recited either standing or sitting and should be said where the meal will be eaten. Kiddush is made over a cup of wine as “wine gladdens the heart” (Psalm 104:105). If no wine is available, it should be recited over the two challot. The wine cup is raised and is passed for everyone to take a sip. Kiddush is a sign of joy and is said to sanctify Shabbat. The prayer thanks God for the delight of Shabbat, Creation, and freeing the Jews from Egypt.
Immediately after Kiddush, hamotzei is said over two hallot. The blessing thanks God for providing food, in particular, bread. The two hallot represent the double portion of manna that the Israelites received when they were wandering the desert. The hallot are often plaited as this represents the ladder in Jacob’s dream, which the angles were climbing down instead of ascending up to Heaven. During Kiddush, they are covered with an appropriate cloth which reminds Jews of the dew covering the manna. Whilst saying hamotzei, both hands are placed on the bread. A piece is given to every person present at the meal and salt is added to remember the sacrifices in the Temple as they were heavily coated in salt.
During the meal, it is customary for Jews to sing Sabbath hymns known as Zemirot. The Birkat Hamazon is sung/said at the conclusion of each of the three meals. It begins with Psalm 126, instead of Psalm 137 because speaking of the restoration of Zion is more fitting than speaking of the destruction, as Shabbat is a day of joy.
As Shabbat is not a working day, the Shacharit service starts later and is longer. In Pesukei Dezimrah (Psalms of Praise), psalms are inserted between “hodu” and “yehi chavod”. These psalms mention the three main themes of Shabbat; the creation, the freedom from Egypt and the next Shabbat. It concludes with Birkat Hashir which is also found in the Passover Haggadah. It praises God for the exodus from Egypt. This logically follows the Song of the Red Sea.
After Nishmat, the chazan begins at shochen ad. It praises the everlasting God as the creator. The first blessing before the Shema is expanded. Then Hamair is concluded with a series of verses explaining the world to come, the Messiah and the rising of the dead. These particular phrases are appropriate as the theme of eternity is central to Shabbat. The Amidah follows the same structure as the Friday night one but one of the middle benedictions is different. It centres on a biblical quotation from Moses. “I have a precious gift in my treasure house called the Sabbath and I want to give it to Israel”. During the Hazarat Hashats, the Kedusha is lengthened. The extra passage explains how men try and connect with God more on a Shabbat, than on a weekday. It also suggests that it was on Shabbat that God took His place on His sovereign throne.
On Shabbat, one or two portions of the Torah are read.
In the times of the temple, extra sacrifices were brought on Shabbat. Seeing as the structure of the service correlates with the structure of the offerings brought to God, Musaf is the additional service that takes place on Shabbat and follows immediately after the return of the Torah to the Ark. El Malai Rachamim, a memorial prayer for the deceased and also a prayer for the sick members of the community. This is followed by the singing of Ashrei. The Mussaf Amidah has the same structure as the Shacharit Amidah but the middle benediction is different. It comments on the extra sacrifices brought to the Temple on Shabbat, festivals and Rosh Chodesh. The prayer Tikkuneta is said and describes the past and the future. It is followed by Eloheynu and Yismachu. The Kedusha includes the responses and the first and last paragraphs of the Shema. This was introduced because the Persian rulers of Babylon banned the recitation of the Shema, so the Jews hid parts of it in the Kedusha. Ein Keloheynu is recited because a Jew is meant to recite a hundred benedictions a day. Seeing as only 7 are in the Shabbat Amidah instead of the normal 18, extra blessings have to be added at other points in the service. Other passages are recited and Musaf concludes with Adon Olam. Often sermons are preached by the Rabbi as Shabbat is meant to be a day of religious learning.
During the afternoon of the Sabbath, additional texts are read. From the first Shabbat until the Shabbat before Pesach, we recite Psalms 104 and 129 – 134. They are known as the Songs of Ascent. These Psalms are relevant because they relate to the Creation and Shabbat is the day of rest after the Creation. Since the winter is associated with creation, this is an appropriate time to say these psalms. From the Sabbath after Pesach, until the Sabbath before Rosh Hashanah, Pirkei Avot are said. They begin with “Moses received the Torah at Mount Sinai.” As Shavuot is the festival that celebrates the giving of the Torah, it is fitting for the Ethics of our Forefathers to be read in the summer.
The Shabbat Minhah varies from the weekday Minhah. Veani Tephaliti is read before the Torah is taken out. The reason is that the verse that precedes it in the book of psalms states, “They that sit in the gate talk of me, and I am the song of the drunkards” shows that although other religions celebrate festivals with excessive drinking, Jews finish Shabbat in a calm manner and are ready to listen to the words of the Torah. The portion that is read from the Torah is from the sedrah of the following week. Only 3 people are called up to this reading. For the Amidah, the first and last three blessings are as normal. The middle blessing has two passages. The first is only for Minhah and explains the relationship between God, Israel and the Sabbath as they all bear witness to each other. God and Israel prove that the Sabbath is a day of rest. God and the Sabbath testify that Israel is unique and Israel and Shabbat show that God is one. The second passage is in every other Shabbat Amidah. After Hazarat Hashats, three additional verses are normally said because they commemorate Joseph, Moses and David’s death as they all died on Shabbat. These same verses are recited at a funeral.
Se’udah Shelishit is a light meal that is eaten between Minhah and Maariv. It takes place because three meals should be eaten on the Sabbath (Friday night dinner, Shabbat lunch and Se’udah Shelishit). It is often provided on the synagogue premises so worshippers do not have to go home between the two services. No Kiddush is recited but hamotzei is said. Like the other two meals, Zemirot are sung.
Shabbat ends with the recitation of Maariv. It is nearly identical to the regular weekday Ma’ariv service. In some synagogues, Psalm 144 and 67 are added at the beginning. Psalm 144 is about the weekday struggle but the hopes that God will protect the Jews through it and Psalm 67 explains the hopes for next week. An extra blessing is inserted in the middle of the fourth benediction of the Amidah. This extra prayer explains the difference between; the Diaspora and Israel, light and darkness, Shabbat and working days, holy and unholy. It also brings hope to the coming week by mentioning peace, freedom from sin and an end to the fear of God. Havdalah is recited in the synagogue for those who do not have the resources to do it at home.
Havdalah is the formal conclusion of Shabbat and is recited before Aleynu. If an emergency occurs, it can be delayed until Tuesday. However, after Saturday night, the spices and candle are left out. The candle is made of two or more wicks. Wine does not have to be used, any drink apart from water will do. It is said standing with the cup of wine held in the right hand and the spices in the left. A blessing is made over the wine. Next, the spices are held are in the right hand and a benediction is made over them. The wine and spices are put down and a prayer over light is recited. Simultaneously, both hands are held over the fire, so the light can be clearly seen. Finally the wine is taken in the right hand and the last blessing is said over havdalah itself. The wine is drunk. It is a custom for the rest of the liquid to be poured into another container and for the fire to be extinguished in the beverage. Others dip fingers into the wine and touch their eyes as “the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening our eyes.” Another custom is to touch the wine and put both hands in the pockets of clothing as sign of wanting prosperity for the upcoming week.