The CREATOR Kindles His Sabbath Lights!
Northern Lights with forest – image from www.huffingtonpost.comYHWH,
Blessed are You, YHWH, Eternal God,
Who was and is and will be as You choose to be
to Jews, to Gentiles, and to us, Sinaites.
Blessed are You, All-Existent-One
Who has no beginning and no end,
Whose Wisdom designed earthly time and heavenly space which you did not leave empty, but filled with breath-taking sights for all with eyes to see!
As we marvel at Your heavenly spectacles,
we remember how You taught Your chosen people
to track the heavenly bodies and their movements,
for the first sighting of a sliver of the moon,
to mark the passage of time by lunar cycles,
“for signs, seasons, and appointed times”
a constant reminder of your perfect clockwork.
Your universe has functioned
perfectly and exactly the same way
from the time of Creation week,
from sundown to sundown,
on to our days and on to the end of days,
all according to Your design and divine purpose.
May this month of November be for us,
a renewal of our love and devotion toward You,
and a time to further grow in our knowledge of You,
that we may be fruitful for ourselves
for one another, for others not with us,
and specially for the unknown seekers of truth
who find their way into our Sinai 6000 website
and learn just as we have,
that Your Truth has been staring humanity in the face
for six millennia now,
and all we need to do is return to Your original Revelation on Sinai,
Your Torah, as enshrined in the Scriptures of Israel.
Blessed are You,
Creator God whose very first words were
“let there be light” . . .
Whose Light existed
before there ever was a sun,
who designed heavenly luminaries
for visual pleasure and for guidance.
In Your Presence on earth,
You manifested as a burning bush,
a pillar of fire,
a shekinah glory cloud.
As we light our Sabbath candles this erev,
May we never forget
the true Source of enlightenment.
Your Torah is a lamp unto our feet,
and a light unto our path.
Living Your Torah
virtually makes all Torah-observant
Jews and Gentiles
luminaries in a darkened world.
We thank You, Giver of the Torah,
for enabling us to see your Light,
for illuminating our lives
so that individually and collectively,
we could become
reflectors of Your Light.
Image from sunshinereflections.wordpress.com
[Tune: To God be the Glory!/Revised lyrics]
1. To God be the glory, great things He has done,
So loved He the world that He came down to man,
To teach man about Him, His Will and His Way,
Without His instructions, man goes his own way.
Chorus: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come all believers, give glory to God,
For all that He IS and for all He has done.
2. O God of the heavens, You’re God of the earth,
The earth is Your footstool, the heavens Your throne,
No place in this universe where You’re not there,
Your vastness, Your largess, takes You everywhere.
Chorus: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
He is easy to find;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Keep Him always in mind;
Just love Him with all of your soul and your heart,
From His Omnipresence you’ll never depart!
3. O Lord of the Sabbath, we rest on Your day,
We know that this pleases You and, by the way,
If ever Your Presence seeks rest in our home,
Just open the door, you’ll hear “Shabbat Shalom!”
Chorus: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
What a pleasure to know,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
That our God loves us so,
He’s just like a Father, He welcomes us all,
As long as we heed Him, there’s no way to fall!
Image from pathtoheaven-ahnsahnghong.blogspot.com
BLESSINGS
YHWH our God and King,
may it be that You will remember the
names of our loved ones; grant them peace, mercy, and grace. May they be worthy to be added to your Book of Life.
Parents;
Siblings:
Spouse:
Sons:
Daughters:
Extended family:
Children’s Spouses
Grandchildren:
Image from www.dreamstime.com
For countless joys that have blessed our days,
family, friends, good fortune, and more,
even those disguised as trials and failures and suffering,
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 the 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
that fed 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 yahuahshomemaker.wordpress.com
Image from www.pinterest.com
HAVDALAH
Adonai Elohim YHWH,
LORD of the Sabbath,
How truly privileged we are to have spent 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, lovingkindness, 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 to rest in our permanent home,
since we have chosen to live the Torah ‘life’
may our names be written in Your Book of Life,
that we may enjoy everlasting life
in Your Eternal Presence.
Amen.
Image from mtofolives.ning.com
