Jewish Tales of Holy Women
Chapter One
Sabbath Candle-Lighting Prayers
The Sabbath is the focus of much of Jewish religious life. It is inaugurated
by the woman of the household lighting candles as dusk descends
on Friday. The Hebrew for Sabbath is Shabbat; in Yiddish, the
word is pronounced Shabbos. Friday during the day is called erev
Shabbat, and the time right after the Sabbath ends at sundown Saturday
is called motza'ei Shabbat.
* The tzaddeket Rebbetzin Hayyeleh Aharonowitz,
wife of Rabbi Avrum Aharonowitz, the Israeli tzaddik,
was totally devoted to the holiness of Shabbat. On
motza'ei Shabbat, she prepared wicks for her candles
for the coming Shabbat, already expectantly looking forward
to the next week's holy day of rest. And every day
of the week, she did something to prepare for the next
Shabbat, so as to remember the Sabbath constantly.
Her preparations reached a zenith on erev Shabbat,
when she exerted herself so that everything would be
fully ready and prepared in ... read full excerpt from Jewish Tales of Holy Women ebook
