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On Friday evenings, around sunset (whenever that may be - it's not according to our clocks!), we do a simple ceremony which goes like this:
Gather your family and do some liturgy (as outlined in some of the links, below). The woman covers her head, lights two candles, cradles the "light" of the candles with her hands and then draws it toward her face (a kind of graceful waving motion) three times and covers her eyes and says:
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe Who sanctified us by your commandment and for whom we kindle the Sabbath lights.
Hebrew (roughly transliterated):
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melecha o'lam, Asher kidshanu b'mitz votav, vitzeevanu, la hahd leek ner shel Shabbat.
Then the husband does some liturgy which includes something like this:
From Exodus 31:16-17
16 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.' 17" It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed."
Then the family together turns towards the East and says the Sh'ma:
Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. Barukh sheim k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed.
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.
Afterward, the husband blesses his children (either doing liturgy or just speaking from the heart); then the husband blesses his wife, and she blesses him (either from liturgy or words from the heart).
And then you eat and rest and relax! Some people do a longer version which includes symbolic hand washing (see links), while others prefer the shorter version.
On the next morning (unless you've chosen to read the Torah portions on Friday evening), to properly observe Shabbat (unless you attend a synagogue where the studies are basically done for you) you need to do your Torah portion studies (Stern's Complete Jewish Bible lists the pertinent Scriptures to read along with the Torah portions). The study, if done right, takes at least an hour.
After synagogue or home Bible study, either stick around there to fellowship with your family and friends, or go to a park (having brought a potluck lunch) or go back home. Do something that does not require someone else to have to perform work for you. (My husband and I went out to lunch to fellowship after synagogue for years before we realized, "Hey, WE are causing people to work on the Sabbath - not to mention we're guilty of committing commerce!") So, don't go to the movies or out to eat on Saturdays because you'll be causing someone else to have to work (even though you're not their employers, you're still partaking of the work THEY do). The day, after all, is all about REST for everyone, including as God said, "your donkey" and any other working animals - so if you live on a farm, don't make your animals work.
It doesn't matter whether or not cooks and waiters/waitresses at your favorite restaurant, or theater ticket takers, etc. don't observe YHWH's Sabbath; the point is that you do! Every Torah observant believer is supposed to REST on Shabbat. If you want to rent movies to watch on Saturday afternoon, rent them on Fridays before Shabbat starts. If you go for a drive, don't go so far that you have to spend money to gas up. Don't work in your garden or paint the house or whatever. It's "work" which you can do on Sundays. The main purpose of Shabbat is REST and relaxation while remembering, above all, to concentrate on God.
While there are, of course, some circumstances where we are forced to spend money (i.e., your child suddenly has a bad fever and you either need to go to the emergency room or your local pharmacy, etc.) the point is to try to follow the "rest" command as much as possible. Don't cook on Shabbat - and if I do, make it something quick and easy, something you've either prepared beforehand or that you can just toss into the microwave. (In Biblical times God said not to build a fire - and that's because it was a lot of work to build a fire, which included gathering firewood; while cooking included the killing of an animal or gathering and cleaning the vegetables, etc. - stuff that ended up in a lot of WORK.) Leave the dishes for after sunset on Saturday; they're not going anywhere. These types of things will become habit after awhile and they are not that hard to do once you get into the swing of properly observing the Shabbat.
There are several websites, such as Experiencing the Sabbath day, which go into a lot more detail, but at least now you have an idea as to what to do to bring in the Sabbath!
I would also suggest that you buy "God's Appointed Times" by Barney Kasdan, which shows how to properly keep all the Feasts.
Shalom, Shali
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