Havdalah

 ( Shabbat ) 

Spices, called besamim in Hebrew, often stored in an artistically-decorative spice container in order to beautify and honor the mitzvah, are handed around so that everyone can smell the fragrance. In many Sephardic Jews and Mizrahi Jews communities, branches of aromatic plants are used for this purpose, while Ashkenazi Jews have traditionally used cloves. A special braided havdalah candle with more than one wick is lit, and a blessing is recited. If a special havdalah candle is not available, two candles can be used, and the two flames joined when reciting the blessing.

Either right before or right after reciting the words "Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam, bo're m'orei ha'esh," it is customary for the participants to hold their hands up to the candle and gaze at the reflection of the light in their fingernails. This custom was first recorded in Sefer Asufot ()f. 96d and the ().f. 53v

At the conclusion of Havdalah, some or all of the leftover wine is poured into a small dish and the candle is extinguished in it, as a sign that the candle was lit solely for the mitzvah of Havdalah; some pour directly onto the candle. Based on , "the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes," some Jews dip a finger into the leftover wine and touch their eyes or pockets with it. Because it was used for a mitzvah, the wine is considered a " segulah," or good omen.

After the Havdalah ceremony, it is customary to sing " Eliyahu Hanavi" ("Elijah the Prophet") and/or HaMavdil Bein Kodesh LeChol ("Who separates Holy from ordinary/weekday"), and to bless one another with shavua tov (Hebrew) or a gute vokh (Yiddish), meaning "Have a good week".

Havdalah is also recited at the conclusion of the following biblical Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah; Yom Kippur; the first days (first day in Israel) of Sukkot; Simchat Torah; Passover ( Pesach), both its first and last days; and Shavuot. It is omitted, however, if the Sabbath falls immediately after the Festival. At the conclusion of a Festival that is not at the conclusion of the Sabbath, on the blessings over the wine and the blessing separating the holy from the everyday, but the spices and the havdalah candle are omitted. At the conclusion of Yom Kippur, when the blessing over the candle is recited, if it was lit from a candle that was lit all of Yom Kippur;Shulchan Aruch 624:4. when Yom Kippur falls on a weekday, the blessing on spices is not recited, and when it falls on the Sabbath customs differ.See Shulchan Aruch 624:3 and commentaries.

When a major holiday follows Shabbat, the Havdalah service is recited as part of the holiday kiddush and the blessing over spices is not said. The special braided Havdalah candle is not used since it may not be extinguished after the service, but rather the blessing is recited over the Shabbat candles. The prayer "distinguishes holiness from the everyday" is changed to "distinguishes holiness from holiness" signifying that the holiness of the holiday is of a lesser degree than the holiness of the concluded Shabbat.

Following a normal Shabbat, the order of the prayers corresponds to the acrostic יבנ"ה Yavneh. This acrostic consists of the initials Yayin (wine), Besamim (spices), Ner (candle), and Havdalah (the Havdalah prayer).

The order of elements when Havdalah is combined with kiddush (e.g., on a Saturday night that is Yom Tov ("holiday", literally "Good Day") is known by the acrostic יקנה"ז Yaknhaz. This acrostic consists of the initials Yayin (wine), Kiddush HaYom (blessing the day), Ner (candle), Havdala (the Havdala blessing) and Zman (time, i.e. shehechiyanu). However, when the eighth day of Passover (outside of Israel) falls on Saturday night, the order is יקנ"ה Yikneh, since shehechiyanu is never recited on the last days of Passover.

Near the Qaddesh section in some Ashkenazic versions of the Haggadah (e.g. Mantoba 1560, Prague 1526, Venice 1609 and the Goldschmidt Edition),Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003), Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew. Palgrave Macmillan. / [1] there is a picture of a hunter chasing a hare. This picture is a useful mnemonic for the acrostic יקנה"ז Yaknhaz or Yaknehoz, which resembles a Yiddish or German language phrase that sounds similar. The Yiddish phrase יאָגן א האָז yogn a hoz means "to hunt a hare!" (cf. Yiddish יאָג דעם האָז yog dem hoz). The colloquial German sentence Jag 'en Has' jakenhaz also means "hunt a/the hare!" (cf. German Jag einen/den Hasen!).