KINDLE THE SABBATH LIGHTS
Blessed are You, YHWH, Creator God,
whose very first words recorded in Scripture were:“let there be light”,
Whose LIGHT illuminated empty space before there ever was a created sun;
Who designed heavenly luminaries
for visual delight as well as for guidance.
In Your theophanies as recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures,
You manifested as “flames of fire from within a burning bush”
as “a pillar of fire by night”
and as shekinah, a glory cloud by day
to guide your people in their journey toward the Land of Promise.
On erev Shabbat, we light our Sabbath candles
emulating the symbolic tradition of Your chosen people,
Your designated ‘light to the gentiles’
Your Covenant nation,
receivers of Your Torah which is
‘a lamp unto our feet,
and a light unto our path.’
Torah observant Jews and Gentiles
will hopefully reflect Your Light and Your Way,
virtual ‘luminaries’ and lamps that brighten up the pathway leading to You,
in a world in dire need of Your True Light, Your Sinai Revelation!
We thank You, Giver of the Torah,
for Israel’s continuing existence way into our times,
for redirecting our vision to finally see Your Light
in their Hebrew Scriptures,
for illuminating our minds so that by obedience to Your Torah,
we might also become reflectors of Your Light,
just like Israel.
As gentiles drawn to You, Your Torah, and Your Sabbath day.
we kindle these Sabbath lights,
seeking Your blessings upon all fellowships,
among families and friends.
May the joy of knowing You
pervade the atmosphere of all meeting places
which are virtual Sabbath sanctuaries
for Sabbath keepers who unite in every part of Your world,
who dutifully obey Your 4th commandment,
who consciously cease from their daily strivings,
in loving obedience to You, LORD of the Sabbath.
O YHWH,
Creator, Lord, and Master,
There is no God but You.
We don’t see you,
we don’t hear your voice,
we don’t feel your Presence,
but we acknowledge Your Existence,
for your CREATION is a magnificent testimony to an awesome Designer.
Had we never rediscovered Your Revelation on Sinai,
through which we see You, hear Your voice, feel Your Presence,
we would still be worshipping other gods of men’s creation,
feeling unnecessary guilt and helplessness in ‘original sin’,
relying on another proclaimed Savior’s perfect obedience to substitute for ours,
proclaiming a name other than Yours, O YHWH,
living by grace and not by Your Torah,
We thank You,
O YHWH,
God of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov,
God of Israel, God of Sinaites,
for Your true Sabbath day,
which Israel was commanded to remember and observe,
which we have learned from your Torah
to remember and to observe.
Image from www.pinterest.com
[Music from the Seventh Day Adventist Hymnody, Revised Lyrics]
Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy, honor the day,
Remember the LORD of the Sabbath wholly, this is His Day;
We’re blest to learn all the truths He has to say,
Keeping His Sabbath holy, and walk His Way.
The people in bondage He liberated — from the Pharaoh’s hand,
They labored and toiled everyday in slavery, while in Egypt’s land,
How long they waited to hear their God’s command,
‘Passover is your freedom to the Promised Land’.
With manna from heaven and water pouring — from out of the Rock,
such daily provisions through desert wandering, they had no lack,
They learned to cease and desist enough to rest,
from their daily strivings, they passed the test.
Creator of all that exist, we see You — in this world You made,
In six days You spoke “let there be” existence — all foundations laid,
And on the seventh, we still hear what You said,
“Keep the Sabbath holy” — in Rest, You led.
Keeping the Sabbath holy, in You we rest!
———————
PSALM 67
May YHWH favor us and bless us,
May He illuminate His countenance with us. Selah.
To make known Your way on earth,
among all nations Your salvation.
The peoples will acknowledge You, O YHWH;
the peoples will acknowledge You — all of them.
Regimes will be glad and sing for joy,
because You will judge the people fairly
and guide them with fairness the regimes on earth. Selah.
The peoples will acknowledge You, O YHWH;
the peoples will acknowledge You– all of them.
The earth will then have yielded its produce;
May YHWH, our God, bless us.
May YHWH bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear Him.
Image from www.essex1.com
For countless joys that have blessed the days of our lives—
family, friends, good fortune, and more,
even those disguised as trials and failures—
we raise our wine glasses filled with the fruit of the vine,
a drink for health, a drink for joy, a drink to LIFE, L’CHAIM!
For nourishment of body and refreshment of soul,
all these come from Your providential care;
as we partake of this bread we share,
we remember Your miracle manna and water from the Rock,
that nourished Your people for 40 years in the wilderness.
You are the Creator Who filled nature with so much variety of sustenance.
Blessed are You, Creator God, for blessing us with our daily bread.
Image from www.decalsforthewall.com
O YHWH, God of our families,
we ask You to remember
our loved ones;
grant them peace, mercy, and grace,
and continued protection
throughout their life on this earth.
May they live according to Your Torah so that their names will be added to your Book of Life:
Parents; Siblings
Spouse; Sons; Daughters; Grandchildren
Extended family: Children’s Spouses
Beloved friends.
Sinaite’s Sabbath Table
Image from www.hebroots.com
HAVDALAH
Adonai Elohim YHWH,
LORD of the Sabbath,
How truly privileged we are to spend this day
basking in Your presumed Presence among us,
delighting in the joy of knowing You,
and enjoying our fellowship with one another.
We have partaken of Your goodness, kindness, and benevolence
in granting us by your Divine Providence,
life, health, family, opportunity,
and specially Your blueprint for living,
Your Torah, our Tree of Life.
We have entered into Your sanctuary in time,
truly a fitting memorial to You,
the God of Creation, the Lord of the Sabbath.
As we bid farewell to Your Queen of days,
We look forward to next Friday’s sundown,
when we welcome on erev another cherished time with You.
May You grant us many more Sabbaths during our sojourning on earth!
And when we celebrate our final Sabbath on this earth,
may we be granted rest from our earthly strivings,
having chosen You as our God,
having obeyed your command to live according to Your Torah;
May our names be written in Your Book of Life,
that we may reap the blessings from having heard and heeded
Your Words to “choose life!”
Amen.
in behalf of Sinai 6000 Core Community,
NSB@S6K
