Jewitch Ritual for Shabbat Samhain / Halloween Night
On Halloween night in 2025, the calendar brings an intersection of sacred time: Shabbat, our weekly sanctuary of rest, and Samhain, the witch's new year—when the veil between worlds thins, and the voices of our dead and our ancestors feel close.
This ritual emerged from that crossing: lighting the traditional two Shabbat candles to welcome peace and presence into my home, and then six more flames, arranged in the shape of a Magen David, each one a point of memory, grief, and longing.
These candles are not for comfort. They are for bearing witness.
To our sages. To our martyrs.
To the victims of antisemitism and genocide.
To those caught in cycles of violence, including the dead of Gaza and Israel.
To all who cry out for justice.
And to peace—still distant, still possible.
This ritual is part mourning, part prayer, part stubborn declaration: that we remember, that we care, that we refuse to become numb.
That even when the world is terrifying, we still light candles.
We still say blessings.
We still dream of peace.
This ritual emerged from that crossing: lighting the traditional two Shabbat candles to welcome peace and presence into my home, and then six more flames, arranged in the shape of a Magen David, each one a point of memory, grief, and longing.
These candles are not for comfort. They are for bearing witness.
To our sages. To our martyrs.
To the victims of antisemitism and genocide.
To those caught in cycles of violence, including the dead of Gaza and Israel.
To all who cry out for justice.
And to peace—still distant, still possible.
This ritual is part mourning, part prayer, part stubborn declaration: that we remember, that we care, that we refuse to become numb.
That even when the world is terrifying, we still light candles.
We still say blessings.
We still dream of peace.
What You’ll Need:
- 2 Shabbat candles
- 6 additional candles arranged in a Magen David (Star of David) pattern
- Matches or lighter
- A quiet space, ideally dim or dark
- Optional: a white cloth, herbs, photos, stones, or other altar items you associate with your ancestors or spiritual protection
Step 1: Prepare the Space
Take a few breaths. Let the veil of the week fall away. Whisper:
“Bo’i, Shabbat ha-malkah.”
Come, Shabbat Queen.
You can hum a niggun (wordless melody), or just let silence speak. Let your heart arrive.
Take a few breaths. Let the veil of the week fall away. Whisper:
“Bo’i, Shabbat ha-malkah.”
Come, Shabbat Queen.
You can hum a niggun (wordless melody), or just let silence speak. Let your heart arrive.
Step 2: Light the Two Shabbat Candles
Cover your eyes as you recite or speak the blessing:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam,
asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.
Blessed are You, Eternal One, Source of Life,
who makes us holy through mitzvot and commands us to kindle the light of Shabbat.
Uncover your eyes. Let the light fall on your face.
Cover your eyes as you recite or speak the blessing:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam,
asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.
Blessed are You, Eternal One, Source of Life,
who makes us holy through mitzvot and commands us to kindle the light of Shabbat.
Uncover your eyes. Let the light fall on your face.
Step 3: The Six-Pointed Star of Flame
One by one, light the six additional candles. After each, pause to say (or feel) the intention.
Let the candles speak to each other in stillness. Let the star burn.
One by one, light the six additional candles. After each, pause to say (or feel) the intention.
- Spiritual Ancestors
“For the sages, mystics, rebels, and wanderers who lit the way before me—Rambam, Rebbe Nachman, and all those who wrestled with angels and doubt alike.” - Holocaust Victims
“For the six million and the shattered lineages, the names we know and the ones we never will. May their memory burn bright.” - Victims of Antisemitism and Hate
“For the ones taken in pogroms, shootings, stabbings, arsons, slurs. For those whose only crime was being visibly, audibly, stubbornly Jewish.” - Jews Killed in Israel-Palestine
“For the Israeli Jews who died in war and terror. Civilians. Children. Peace-seekers caught in crossfire. May their memory lead us not to vengeance, but to vision.” - Palestinians Killed in Gaza
“For the Palestinian lives lost in bombings and siege. For the children who did not choose this. May the world learn to count their lives as sacred, and choose another way.” - A Prayer for Peace
“Y’hi shalom b’cheileich, shalvah b’armenotayich.”
May there be peace within your walls, stillness within your dwellings.
“Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu, v’al kol yoshvei tevel.”
May the Maker of peace in the heights bring peace upon us, and on all who dwell on earth.
Let the candles speak to each other in stillness. Let the star burn.
Step 4: Sanctify the Moment
You can end with a poem, a psalm (e.g., Psalm 121), or simply:
“Zachor v’shamor—remember and keep.”
Let this Shabbat be a sanctuary for your soul.
Let the flames be a promise: we will not forget. We will not become numb.
May the dead rest.
May the living rise.
May peace, somehow, come.
You can end with a poem, a psalm (e.g., Psalm 121), or simply:
“Zachor v’shamor—remember and keep.”
Let this Shabbat be a sanctuary for your soul.
Let the flames be a promise: we will not forget. We will not become numb.
May the dead rest.
May the living rise.
May peace, somehow, come.
