KINDLE THE SABBATH LIGHTS
Blessed are You, Creator God,
whose very first words were“let there be light”
Whose Light shone before there ever was a sun,
who designed heavenly luminaries
for visual pleasure and for guidance.
In Your theophanies on earth,
You manifested as a burning bush,
a pillar of fire, a shekinah glory cloud.
We light our Sabbath candles
to symbolize the true source of enlightenment.
Your Torah
which is ‘a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path.’
Living Your Torah
enables us to be luminaries in a darkened world.
We thank You, Giver of the Torah,
for Israel, Your light to the nations,
for redirecting our vision to finally see Your Light,
for illuminating our lives so that by obedience to Your Torah,
we might become reflectors of Your Light.
As gentiles drawn to You, Your Torah, Your Sabbath day.
we kindle the Sabbath lights,
seeking Your blessings upon our
fellowship, family, and food;
may the joy of knowing You
pervade the atmosphere of this home,
this place of meeting which is our Sabbath sanctuary
Amen.
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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.
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[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!
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For countless joys that have blessed our days,
family, friends, good fortune, and more,
even those disguised as trials and failures,
we raise our 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.
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O YHWH, God of our families,
we ask Thee to remember
the names of our loved ones;
grant them peace, mercy, and grace,
and continued protection
throughout their life on this earth.
May they be worthy
to be added to your Book of Life:
Parents; Siblings
Spouse; Sons; Daughters; Grandchildren
Extended family: Children’s Spouses
Beloved friends.
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HAVDALAH
Adonai Elohim YHWH,
LORD of the Sabbath,
How truly privileged we are to spend this day
basking in Your Presence among us,
savoring 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 delighted in Your sanctuary in time,
truly a fitting memorial to You,
the God of Creation.
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 enter our final Sabbath and be granted rest from our earthly strivings,
having chosen You as our God
and 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 heeded Your Words
to “choose life”
Amen.
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