Each Friday night, Jewish families do what we have done for thousands of years. We sit down for the moment we have anticipated all week: Shabbat dinner.
Before the meal, we engage in a few ritual practices. The woman of the house lights the Shabbat candles, ushering in the sacred day. We welcome the Sabbath day in song, we bless God over the wine and the bread, and we serenade (from Psalms 31) the Jewish woman.
The best part – the moment that earns our highest anticipation throughout the week – is when we bless our children. It is a moment so sublime that the Jewish parent can, by laying his or her hands on the child, feel the presence of God at the Shabbat table.
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