Friday afternoon. The sanctity of Shabbat is already beginning to instill serenity and peace in people’s hearts. The world raises its last dust of weekdays... and Shabbat stands nearby, waiting for the weekday atmosphere to disappear...
Shabbat begins to stride between the houses... knocking on their doors and finding the children resplendent in their Shabbat clothes, the women preparing to kindle the flame of the Shabbat candles and welcome in the Shabbat...
At this point in time, it is the parents' duty to be alert and ensure that their children also share this feeling and that there is nothing bothering them. Experience has shown that if at Shabbat's onset the children are hungry or tired, they will be grouchy — now and especially at the Shabbat table. Therefore, some have the custom of giving the children a bag of treats before candle-lighting, so that they will be settled and happy.
It is Friday night. Every Jewish heart stirs and yearns for the sanctity of Shabbat. When we return from the synagogue and gather around a table set with a beautiful cloth, arranged with fine dishes and choice salads, the heart expands with pleasure...
The flames of the Shabbat candles, lit by the mother, radiate calm and tranquility and fill the air of the home with a yearning for something higher...
The family members stand around the table and together begin to sing followed by other songs. The head of the family — the leader of the home — rises in those holy moments to a higher spiritual stature and receives the strength to conduct the Shabbat table...
The head of the family receives the power to influence each and every member of his household through his prayers, his blessings, and his good intent. If he knows how to make use of these powers and pleads with G-d from the depths of his heart on behalf of his wife and children, he can indeed achieve whatever he desires...
After ritual hand washing and breaking the bread, the whole family sits together and delights in the delicious Shabbat foods. Between courses, one should fill the Shabbat meals with spiritual content — with song, words of Torah, stories of tzaddikim, and gentle and pleasant conversation among the family members. When the meal is conducted in this way, this table is elevated up and is presented as an offering before the Holy One, blessed be He... Concerning such a table, the verse states: (Ezekiel 41:22).
Let us sharpen one final point...
