Kiddush and Havdalah: Marking the Boundaries of Sanctified Time
Date: May 22, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Sponsor: Online Learning | Public Lectures and Events
Location: Online
Category: Online Learning Public Lectures & Events
Kiddush and Havdalah: Marking the Boundaries of Sanctified Time
Part of our spring learning series, The Space In Between: Thresholds and Borders in Jewish Life and Thought
Monday, May 22, 2023
1:00–2:00 p.m. ET
Online
With Dr. Judith Hauptman, E. Billi Ivry Professor Emerita of Talmud and Rabbinic Culture, JTS
Kiddush marks the onset of Sabbath sanctity and havdalah marks its end. Both of these ritual acts derive from the Talmud. A review of Talmudic texts reveals that although kiddush did not change much during the Talmudic period, havdalah underwent significant modification. It began as a simple statement of the end of Sabbath sanctity but evolved into a full-blown ritual in which we recite blessings, light a candle, smell spices, and drink wine. Anecdotes abound. In this session, we will study the changes to the havdalah ceremony and consider what brought them about and what they communicate about this unique moment that marks the end of the Sabbath. We will reflect on how marking the beginning and end of the Sabbath allows us to experience its holiness more acutely.
If you have previously registered for another session in this series, your registration admits you to all sessions in the series, and you may attend as many as you’d like.
Note: The Zoom link for this session will be in the confirmation email that you will receive after you register.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Space In Between: Thresholds and Borders in Jewish Life and Thought
We are living in an undefined time: our daily existence is no longer dominated by the pandemic, yet neither have we settled into a new normal. This sense of being in transition—neither here nor there—can feel destabilizing; but is the time in between really temporary, or are we always living in between moments, identities, and phases of life?
In this series, JTS scholars will delve into the idea of liminality—the time or space in between—which we encounter often in Jewish ritual, identity, law, and life. Join us to consider what these many manifestations of “in-between-ness” can teach us about ourselves and about Judaism, and to explore how we might find strength and meaning in an orientation not of “either/or” but of “both/and.”
