Escorting the Queen into the Night
The house feels different after Shabbos ends. The candles are out, the table has been cleared, and the quiet of the holy day gives way to the familiar hum of the coming week. There is a moment right then, on Motzaei Shabbos, when something in you does not want to let go just yet.
That feeling is real, and it has a name. For centuries, Yidden have sat down to a special meal on Motzaei Shabbos called Melaveh Malkah (escorting the queen). The idea is simple and beautiful: Shabbos arrived like a queen on Friday night, and now we walk her out with honor. We set a table, eat something warm, and sing. We do not rush her away.
The central song of the melaveh malkah is Hamavdil Bein Kodesh L’Chol, an ancient piyut that asks Hashem to forgive our aveiros and multiply our children and our livelihood like the sand and the stars. It is a tefillah wrapped inside a niggun, sung at the table as the new week begins.
Before You Say This Tefillah
Before singing Hamavdil, pause for a moment. You are not just ending Shabbos; you are asking Hashem to carry its kedushah forward into the new week. Speak to Him simply:
Ribono Shel Olam, I have tasted the sweetness of Shabbos, and now I must return to the days of work and effort. Please carry the peace of this holy day into my new week. Forgive whatever I have done wrong, and give me strength for what lies ahead. Let the light of Shabbos stay with me even in the ordinary days. In the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, Elokah d’Meir aneni.
If giving tzedakah, add:
In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, please bless the work of my hands in the coming week. Ribono Shel Olam, I am helping to sustain Your children in Eretz Yisrael. Please sustain me and my family with parnassah and shalom.
Hamavdil Bein Kodesh L’Chol: The Full Prayer
הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחֹל חַטֹּאתֵינוּ הוּא יִמְחֹל
זַרְעֵנוּ וְכַסְפֵּנוּ יַרְבֶּה כַחוֹל וְכַכּוֹכָבִים בַּלָּיְלָה
יוֹם פָּנָה כְּצֵל תֹּמֶר אֶקְרָא לָאֵל עָלַי גּוֹמֵר
אָמַר שׁוֹמֵר אָתָא בֹקֶר וְגַם לָיְלָה
צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַר תָּבוֹר עַל חֲטָאַי עֲבוֹר תַּעֲבוֹר
כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל כִּי יַעֲבוֹר וְאַשְׁמוּרָה בַלָּיְלָה
חָלְפָה עוֹנַת מִנְחָתִי מִי יִתֵּן מְנוּחָתִי
יָגַעְתִּי בְּאַנְחָתִי אַשְׂחֶה בְכׇל לַיְלָה
קוֹלִי אַל תִּשְׁלַח מֵרָחוֹק כִּי אִם הוּא חָנוּן וְרַחוֹק
נָא לָנוּ מְחוֹל וּסְלַח סְלַח נָא סְלַח נָא סְלָח
Hamavdil bein koidesh l'chol, chatoisainu hu yimchol,
zar'einu v'chaspeinu yarbeh kachol v'chakochavim balayla.
Yom panah k'tzeil toimer, ekra la'Eil alai gomeir,
amar shomeir, asa voker v'gam layla.
Tzidkas'cha k'har Tavor, al chata'ai avor ta'avor,
k'yom etmol ki ya'avor, v'ashmura balayla.
Chalfah oinas minchasi, mi yitein menuchasi,
yagati b'anchasi, as'cheh b'chol layla.
Koli al tishlach meirachok, ki im hu chanun v'rachok,
na lanu m'chol us'lach, s'lach na s'lach na s'lach.
Hamavdil bein kodesh lechol, chatoteinu hu yimchol,
zar'enu vechaspeinu yarbeh kachol vechakochavim balayla.
Yom pana ketzel tomer, ekra la'El alai gomer,
amar shomer, ata voker vegam layla.
Tzidkatecha kehar Tavor, al chata'ai avor ta'avor,
keyom etmol ki ya'avor, ve'ashmura balayla.
Chalfa onat minchati, mi yiten menuchati,
yagati be'anchati, as'che bechol layla.
Koli al tishlach merachok, ki im hu chanun verachok,
na lanu mechol uslach, slach na slach na slach.
He who separates between the holy and the ordinary, may He forgive our sins.
May He multiply our offspring and our wealth like the sand and like the stars in the night.
The day has turned like the shadow of a palm tree; I call out to God who completes all things for me.
The watchman said: morning has come, and also the night.
Your righteousness is like Mount Tavor; pass over my sins, let them pass away,
like yesterday when it passes, and like a watch in the night.
The time of my offering has gone by; who will give me rest?
I am weary with my groaning; I drench my bed every night.
Do not turn away from my voice, for He is gracious, though He may seem distant.
Please forgive us and pardon; pardon, please, pardon, please, pardon.
Hamavdil is a well-known Motzaei Shabbos piyut in the Ashkenazi tradition, sung for generations as the new week begins. Its language is a plea for forgiveness and blessing at the moment Shabbos departs, and its familiar melody has long been part of the Motzaei Shabbos table, passed from parents to children.
Understanding the Piyut
Hamavdil bein koidesh l’chol “He who separates between the holy and the ordinary.”
There is a real difference between Shabbos and the rest of the week, and Hashem Himself is the one who draws that line. The Gemara in Pesachim (103b) discusses the bracha of Havdalah and how we acknowledge this separation. But here in the piyut, we are not just noting the difference. We are standing at the border and asking Hashem to carry something of the kedushah across with us. The week does not have to be empty. When you sing these words at the Motzaei Shabbos table, you are asking Hashem to let some of the holiness spill over.
Chatoisainu hu yimchol “May He forgive our sins.”
Right after we name the separation, we ask for forgiveness. As Shabbos leaves, we think about the week that just passed and the things we wish we had done differently. The Rambam in Hilchos Teshuvah (2:1) teaches that even a person who repents at the very end of life is accepted, reminding us that the door to teshuvah is never closed. This seudah is a natural moment for it. A new week is starting, and you have a fresh chance. You are not dragging last week’s mistakes with you. You are asking Hashem to wipe the slate and let you begin again.
Zar’einu v’chaspeinu yarbeh kachol “May He multiply our offspring and our wealth like the sand.”
This line echoes the bracha Hashem gave to Avraham Avinu about descendants as numerous as the stars and the sand (Bereishis 22:17), while the piyut itself expands the request into a broader tefillah for blessing in the week ahead. At the start of a new week, when the reality of parnassah and responsibility comes rushing back, we sing a tefillah for abundance. Not greed, not excess. Just the quiet plea of a parent who wants to provide for their family. The sand and the stars are Hashem’s promise to Avraham, and when you sing these words, you are linking your family’s future to that same promise. You are saying: Hashem, I trust that You can bless the work of my hands this week.
Na lanu m’chol us’lach “Please forgive us and pardon.”
The piyut ends where it began, with a plea for forgiveness. But now the word is repeated: s’lach na, s’lach na, s’lach. This repetition reflects a deep yearning for a clean slate as the new week begins. The Gemara in Yoma (86a) teaches the immense power of teshuvah and Hashem’s readiness to forgive. When you sing these closing words at the table, you are not begging someone who does not want to listen. You are turning to a Father who has been waiting for you to ask.
How to Say This Tefillah
This meal takes place on Motzaei Shabbos, after Havdalah. There is no fixed time. Some families sit down right after Havdalah while the feeling of Shabbos is still warm. Others wait until later in the evening. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 300:1) records that a person should always set his table on Motzaei Shabbos to escort the Shabbos, even if he only eats a kezayis, and the Mishnah Berurah adds that the table should be set nicely with a tablecloth, just as for any honored meal.
Hamavdil is typically sung sitting at the table. The minhag in many homes is to sing it together, the whole family joining in. Even if you are alone, the words are just as meaningful. If the Hebrew is difficult, the transliteration or English can be used—the main thing is the kavanah of the heart.
Set your kavanah before singing. You might say quietly: “Hashem, I am escorting Your Shabbos Queen. Please bless my new week with parnassah, with shalom, and with the strength to serve You in the ordinary days.” Tradition (cited in the Eliya Rabba and Kaf Hachaim 300:1-2) connects the melaveh malkah to the luz bone (a tiny bone at the base of the spine), which Chazal say is nourished only by the Motzaei Shabbos meal and from which the body will be rebuilt at techiyas hameisim; the Arizal further taught that the neshamah yeseirah of Shabbos remains with a person until after melaveh malkah.
Tefillah and tzedakah strengthen each other. When you sing Hamavdil and give tzedakah, your tefillah rises with your act of chesed. You are not davening to Rabbi Meir. You are asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the merit of this great tzaddik and in the merit of your own generosity. After singing, you may add: Elokah d’Meir aneni!
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18a-18b) preserves the well-known expression Elokah d’Meir aneni in a story associated with Rabbi Meir’s rescue of his sister-in-law from Roman captivity and the miracles performed with these words. For generations, Yidden have repeated these words as an expression of bitachon that no situation is beyond Hashem’s help. These words invoke the merit of Rabbi Meir, asking Hashem to answer us in the zechus of this great tzaddik.
On Motzaei Shabbos, as you face a new week with all its unknowns, giving tzedakah is an act of that same trust. You are saying: I do not know what this week will bring, but I will start it by helping someone else. Giving in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness is asking Hashem to bless the days ahead in the combined merit of this tzaddik and your own chesed.
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded in 1799, supports Torah scholars and the poor in Eretz Yisrael. The scholars at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias daven by name for those who reach out. Giving tzedakah at the Motzaei Shabbos table combines the kedushah of the moment with the zechus of tefillah and of caring for Yidden in the Holy Land.
It is a meal eaten on Motzaei Shabbos, after Havdalah. The name means "escorting the queen," referring to the Shabbos Queen whom we welcomed on Friday night and now accompany as she departs. It is a time for warm food, singing, and carrying the feeling of Shabbos into the new week.
The Gemara teaches that Dovid HaMelech knew he would die on a Shabbos, and separately that one should set the table on Motzaei Shabbos. Later tradition connects the Motzaei Shabbos seudah with Dovid HaMelech and explains it as an expression of gratitude for another week of life.
There is a tradition that Eliyahu HaNavi will not come to announce the geulah on Shabbos itself, so as not to disturb the rest of Shabbos. Motzaei Shabbos is therefore a time of special hope for his arrival. Many sing "Eliyahu HaNavi" at this seudah, expressing the yearning for the final redemption.
There is no required menu. The Mishnah Berurah (300:1) notes that even a small amount of food is meaningful, though a warm dish is ideal. Some have the custom to eat bread, while others eat cake or fruit. The main point is to honor the departing Shabbos.
Chazal and later tradition speak of a bone called the luz that is associated with the future resurrection of the dead. Later sources connect melaveh malkah to this teaching as well.
A Blessing for Your New Week
In the zechus of holding onto the kedushah of Shabbos:
May Hashem carry the peace of this Shabbos into every day of your week. May the work of your hands be blessed, your home filled with shalom, and may you find menuchas hanefesh even during a busy week. May you go into this week with the awareness that Hashem is with you, and may its kedushah remain until the next Shabbos.
You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias at no cost — they will daven for you and your family by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus, that merit will be added to your tefillah.
