Havdalah is a set of blessings recited at the end of Shabbat (or holidays in which labor is prohibited) and it distinguishes the sacred from the mundane.

 

The traditional Procedure of Havdalah:

• Blessing over the wine: Blessed are you G-d our Lord, king of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

• Blessing over scented plants: Blessed are you G-d our Lord, king of the universe, who creates who creates various kinds of spices.

• Blessing over the fire: Blessed are you G-d our Lord, king of the universe, who creates the lights of fire.

• The Havdalah blessing: Blessed are you G-d our Lord, king of the universe, who makes a distinction between sacred and mundane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the Seventh Day and the six workdays. Blessed are You, G-d, who makes a distinction between sacred and mundane.

• Following this blessing the person reciting the Havdalah drinks the wine. Some offer others to drink from the wine cup as in Kiddush and others refrain from doing this. Some have the custom to extinguish the Havdalah candle with the leftover wine, and some refrain from doing this, claiming it is not respectful. After the Havdalah it is customary to sing special Havdalah songs.