As on every evening, the congregation recites the prayers of the evening service, but on Friday night they first recite a supplement called Kabbalat Shabbat, which means receiving Shabbat. It is a formal and celebratory welcome for Shabbat, which is compared to a queen. Kabbalat Shabbat, which consists of several psalms and one liturgical poem, praises the greatness of the Creator and the special nature of Shabbat.

At the heart of Kabbalat Shabbat is the liturgical poem Lekha Dodi, “Let us go, my beloved,” with the refrain “Let us go, my beloved, to meet the bride; we will welcome the presence of Shabbat.” Composed in the sixteenth century by the kabbalist Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz, the poem alludes to the author in an acrostic formed by the first letter of each verse. In most synagogues it is customary for the entire congregation to sing the poem together.

Before the last verse (“Come in peace”), everyone turns around and chants or sings that verse while facing westward, since according to the Talmud the Divine Presence is revealed from the west (Menaḥot 98b).

After Kabbalat Shabbat the congregation recites the evening service. The Amida prayer for Shabbat is shorter than that of the rest of the week, as it contains only seven blessings instead of the usual nineteen. One who erroneously proceeded from the third blessing, the blessing of Holiness, to the first words of the formula of the weekday evening service should finish the blessing he started, and then return to the text of the Shabbat Amida prayer.

After the Amida, the entire congregation stands up and loudly recites the passage beginning “The heavens and the earth and their entire host were completed [vaykhulu]” (Genesis 2:1–3). These verses describe the completion of the process of creation, on the first Shabbat in history.

Immediately following this passage, the prayer leader [hazan] continues with a highly condensed version of the seven blessings of the Amida that the congregation just recited. In the middle of the passage, the rest of the congregation joins him. This section is recited only when praying in a congregation; an individual praying alone does not say it.

In many communities it is customary for each father to bless his children on Friday night. In some homes the mother gives these blessings as well. This can be done in the synagogue at the conclusion of the evening service, or after returning home. Some fathers lay their hands on the head of the child receiving the blessing.

Before the blessing one first recites:

For a son: “May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh” (Genesis 48:2).

For a daughter: “May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.”

The text of the blessing itself is the Priestly Benediction:

“The Lord shall bless you, and keep you. The Lord shall shine His countenance to you, and be gracious to you. The Lord shall lift His countenance to you, and grant you peace” (Numbers 6:24–26).