Blessing the Sabbath Candles
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap80t.jpg)
The woodcuts in the book cover Sabbath & holiday observance, & home & synagogue rituals. Among them area mother blessing the Sabbath lights of a Sabbath oil lamp;a father chanting the Havdalah (service of "separation" at the conclusion of the Sabbath), while he holds a cup of wine by the light of a candle held by a child whose sibling holds a spice box; 4 men blessing the new moon;a rabbi preaching on the Great Sabbath (preceding Passover); grinding flour for & baking matzoh; searching for chametz (leaven); & scouring pots & pans. Also shown are a man having his hair cut on Lag B'Omer--the 33rd day of the 50 between Passover & Shavuot, when restrictions obtaining during that period of sernimourning are relaxed; Moses on Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments; worshipers seated on the floor on Tisha B'Av, mourning the destruction of the Temple; the sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, the New Year; a man building his tabernacle for the Feast of Tabernacles; the gathering of palms, willows, & myrtle to join the citron in its celebration; children receiving sweets to celebrate the Joy of the Law, Simhat Torah; the kindling of a Hanukkah lamp; & Purim jesters sounding their musical instruments.
The life cycle is also marked: bride & groom under the huppah (canopy); an infant boy entering the Covenant of Abraham; & finally, a body borne in a coffin to its eternal resting place. These are some of the 1707 woodcuts:
The Havdalah Service
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap801a.jpg)
Sounding the Shofar on Rosh Hashana
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap802a.jpg)
The Lulav: Palm Branch, Myrtle, and Willow
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap803a.jpg)
Hanukkah, Festival of Lights
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap804a.jpg)
The Merry Festival of Purim
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap805a.jpg)
Removing the Leaven from the Home
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap806a.jpg)
Under the Huppah, the Wedding Service
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap807a.jpg)
Brit Milah, the Circumcision
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap808a.jpg)
Carrying the Deceased to the Cemetery
![](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/chap809a.jpg)