The mitzvah
Shabbat runs from just before sunset on Friday until nightfall on Saturday. We stop creative work, light candles, make Kiddush, eat festive meals with family, pray, learn, and rest. It is the Torah’s gift of time.
The sources
“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy… for in six days Hashem made heaven and earth… and rested on the seventh day.”
Hashem told Moshe: “I have a good gift in My treasure house, and Shabbat is its name.”
Lighting Shabbat candles is an obligation that brings peace and honor to the home.
What you need
- Two candles (or more) and matches
- Wine or grape juice and a cup
- Two challah loaves
- A siddur
- Time with family or friends
Step by step
- Friday afternoon: finish cooking and preparing. Many give a coin to tzedakah before candle-lighting.
- Light the candles about 18 minutes before sunset (check your local time). Light, cover your eyes, say the blessing, uncover your eyes — Shabbat has begun.
- Take a quiet moment after lighting for a personal prayer.
- Friday night: many go to shul for Kabbalat Shabbat. Parents bless their children. Sing “Shalom Aleichem.”
- Make Kiddush over a cup of wine or grape juice (see the Kiddush guide).
- Wash hands for bread (see Blessings), then say Hamotzi over two challah loaves.
- Enjoy the meal. Put the phone away. Talk, sing, share a thought from the weekly Torah portion.
- After the meal, say Grace After Meals (Birkat Hamazon) from a siddur.
- Saturday: shul in the morning, a festive lunch with Kiddush, rest, learning, a walk.
- Saturday night after three stars: Havdalah ends Shabbat (see the Havdalah guide).
What to say
English first, then the words to say out loud — sounded out so anyone can say them.
This page contains Hebrew prayer text with the Divine Name. If you print it, please treat it respectfully and dispose of it appropriately (in genizah).
Questions people ask
What counts as “work”?
The Talmud lists 39 categories of creative work, drawn from building the Tabernacle (Mishnah Shabbat 7:2) — cooking, writing, lighting a fire, and more. A rabbi or a good beginner’s book can walk you through them.
I can’t keep all of Shabbat yet.
Start with one piece: candles, a Friday night dinner, or a few phone-free hours. Add a little each month.
Who lights the candles?
Traditionally the woman of the house; if no woman is home, a man lights. Many families have daughters light their own candle too.
Your family’s way
Many Sephardim say the candle blessing before lighting rather than after. Candle-lighting times and the number of candles vary by family and city.
The inner dimension
The Talmud calls Shabbat “one-sixtieth of the World to Come” (Berachot 57b) — a weekly glimpse of a world at peace.
This Friday, light two candles before sunset and say the blessing.
These are general guidelines. Customs differ between communities, and for a personal question, ask a rabbi you trust.