Kabbalat

Kabbalat, from the Hebrew word meaning “receiving” or “accepting,” is a term used in Jewish liturgy to describe a group of prayers and customs that welcome a sacred time or revelation. The best-known use is Kabbalat Shabbat, the Friday evening service that greets the Sabbath. In this practice, a sequence of psalms and meditative poems is recited or chanted before the formal evening prayers, culminating in the singing of Lecha Dodi, a poetically framed hymn that depicts the Sabbath as a bride welcomed by the community. The rite began in the 16th century in Safed (Tzfat) with kabbalists associated with the Lurianic school and rapidly spread to many Jewish communities, where melodies and exact ordering vary by tradition.

Kabbalat HaTorah is another usage of the term, referring to an introductory set of prayers or piyyutim in some communities that precede or accompany the Torah reading to emphasize the reception of the Torah at Sinai. Practices described as Kabbalat HaTorah can differ in content and placement within the service across Ashkenazi and Sephardi rites, and are less uniform than Kabbalat Shabbat.

Overall, Kabbalat denotes a ceremonial reception or welcoming of a sacred focus—most commonly the sanctity of Shabbat in Kabbalat Shabbat, and, in other contexts, the divine revelation represented by the Torah. The specific prayers, order, and tunes reflect regional liturgical traditions and hallowed kabbalistic influences.