At the end of the Sabbath, the Havdalah ceremony is performed to create distinction between the close of the Sabbath and the new work week. Havdalah means separation or distinction in Hebrew. In addition to creating distinction, the purpose of the Havdalah ritual is to carry the sweetness and holiness of the Sabbath through to all that you do during the new work week. The Havdalah ritual includes lighting a special braided multi-wicked candle and blessing spices and wine. The smealling of spices at the end of the Sabbath comes from the Kabbalist tradition of smelling the myrtle plant - imbuing all of your senses with the sweetness of the Sabbath to last you through the week. Hadas means myrtle in Hebrew.

The River Havdalah Set was commissioned by Congregation Ahaveth Beth Israel to honor Rabbi Dan Fink upon his retirement after 30 years of service. I was honored to create this gift in 2024.

After researching the origin of the Havdalah tradition of smelling spices at the end of the Sabbath, I found the oldest reference to this tradition speaks of smelling a branch of myrtle. In honor of the origin of this tradition, for my final BFA project in undergrad at the University of Oregon in 1997, I created a spice box, Myrtle Hadas, that is a magnified representation of the myrtle plant native to the Mediterranean region.