Seder Shabbat | Prayers for the Shabbat

What do you pray on Shabbat? What is Shabbat, and what happens during it?
You'll find answers to these and many other questions in this booklet. This guide will optimally prepare you for Friday evening and Shabbat (Saturday).

The prayers are clearly arranged and easy to follow. With the help of clear and concise explanations, you always know what they are about and understand the sequences and content. This makes Shabbat not only a tangible experience, but also a comprehensible one.

All prayers and blessings can be found in three forms:

• in Hebrew,

• in transcription (phonetic transcription),

• and in German translation.

This way you can read and recite them regardless of your level of knowledge.

The booklet follows the classic structure of Jewish prayer books (Siddurim): It begins on the right page and you leaf through to the left.

This Shabbat handbook is suitable for both beginners and advanced students. In selecting the texts, we have taken care to include only prayers and traditions that are commonly used in a similar form in most Jewish traditions.
Especially in international encounters, it quickly becomes apparent how different the practice of some traditions can be. Therefore, when designing this Shabbat handbook, we have always taken care to select texts that allow for precisely this.

In this book you can expect:

• Explanation of Shabbat traditions
• Facts and terms about Shabbat
• Laws for Shabbat and prohibited work activities
• Texts about Shabbat in the Torah and Tanakh
• Instructions for preparing for Shabbat
• Prayers for the reception of Shabbat in the synagogue
• Prayers for welcoming Shabbat at home
• Shabbat songs before the meal
• Birkat Ha'mason (Blessings after meals)
• Havdalah (blessings for the end of Shabbat on Saturday evening)
• Glossary with over 200 Hebrew Shabbat terms
• and other surprises

Further information

This booklet by no means contains all the Hebrew prayers that can be recited on Shabbat. A machzor (prayer book containing complete collections of prayers) can easily be hundreds of pages long. This guide is intended to provide an introduction and help you recite the basic prayers and brachot. The most important activities are explained briefly and clearly, so you can get started quickly and celebrate Shabbat without much preparation. You can simply open the book and read from it. The explanations can also be read aloud for everyone present.

Currently in its 4th edition (version 3.1 dated April 29, 2025)