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Lord God YHWH, Creator of the universe—
You bid all humanity
to “be still” for one day out of seven,
that we might find joy and refreshment
in Your ‘sanctuary in time,
a rest from our daily endeavors
at the end of our workweek.
You bid us “be still”
so that we might know not only that there is a God,
that there is only one God,
and that God is You, O YHWH!
You invite us to seek to know You not only as Creator
but as the First Sabbath Observer,
Lord of the Sabbath
Who added the seventh day
at the culmination of the 6-day Creation week,
the one and only day You sanctified and blessed,
and modeled as a day of rest,
later establishing it as the fourth commandment
in Your Ten Declarations on Sinai.
We praise You, O YHWH, the True Lord of the Sabbath,
and joyfully celebrate with the Sabbath-observant nation of Israel,
and all gentiles who are Sabbath-keepers;
We thank You, O YHWH, Life-Giver,
for being the Source of our breath of life,
for giving us the privilege of knowing
that You and You alone are God,
there is No Other.
As we relish this time of rest,
whether alone or with family and friends,
we ask for Your blessing upon our gathering
for fellowship, for worship,
for prayer and for study of Your Torah.
Thank You for Your Presence
amidst all the communities
who proclaim Your Name
and worship You and You alone,
O YHWH our Lord and our God.
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Psalm 49
Hear this, all your peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the utterance from my heart will give understanding.
I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle.
Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?
No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him—
the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
that he should live on forever and not see decay.
For all can see that wise men die,
the foolish and the senseless alike perish
and leave their wealth to others.
Their tombs will remain their houses forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had named lands after themselves.
But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is like the beasts that perish.
This is the fate of those who trust in themselves
and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Selah.
Like sheep they are destined for the grave
and death will feed on them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning;
their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
But God will redeem my life from the grave,
He will surely take me to Himself. Selah.
Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
and when the splendor of his house increases;
for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.
Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—
and men praise you when you prosper–
he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light [of life].
A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish.
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Blessed are those whose God is YHWH—
blessed are those who proclaim His Name!
Blessed are we who know YHWH
as the One True God
and enthrone Him as Lord of their lives.
Blessed are those
who seek YHWH’s Presence
in all Sabbath celebrations
on this second Sabbath of this August month;
Blessed are we who seek YHWH’s Hand upon each Sabbath-keeper in every Sabbath-gathering,
and upon the families and loved ones represented,
May each one of them have a deep yearning to know their Creator,
to learn how to live according to the Torah of the Giver of Life,
to worship Him as the One True God,
and love Him for all He has done.
[Take time to name every individual and institution you wish God to bless with the knowledge of Him: family and friends, special people.]
We thank YHWH for this bread and wine,
symbols of His daily provisions
and the joy we derive from obeying His commandments
and living His Torah life.
A toast to Life, to YHWH’s Torah Life!
L’chaim, Mabuhay!
SABBATH MEAL
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HAVDALAH
TORAH that remains simply in the mind
as knowledge;
TORAH that remains in the heart
as intention . . .
TORAH that is not lived . . .
is of no use to humanity
and does not glorify the Giver of the TORAH.
May we align our will with the YHWH’s Will;
May we align our lives with TORAH life,
Making the right choice–
moment by moment,
day by day,
from one Sabbath to the next,
until the end of our days,
until the End of All Days.
And because we have chosen to do so,
and in our lives we have done so,
May our names be written in
YHWH’s Book of Life:
Those of us who have partaken
of the fruit from YHWH’s Tree of Life,
And having done so,
have lived fruitful lives
dedicated to obeying YHWH’s commandments,
and making YHWH’s Name known
to a world that worships different gods,
other than the One True God.
Who is the One True God?
YHWH is His Name!
Worship Him!
Amen.
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Shabbat shalom to —our dear Sinaites,
our Jewish friends,
Messianics, Christians,
and all people of faith
who are Sabbath-Keepers!
In behalf of Sinai600 Core CommunityNSB@S6K
