After the evening service, we gather round the Shabbat table and sing Sholom Aleichem. The Talmud relates, “Two angels accompany a person on the eve of the Shabbat from the synagogue to his home.” The Sholom Aleichem song greets these Shabbat angels, requests their blessing, and bids them farewell.

Next we sing Aishet Chayil, a special tribute to another type of Shabbat angel — the Jewish woman. This song, written by King Solomon, sings the praises of the “woman of valor,” extolling her for her loves and labors and the light she brings to the Jewish home.