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Kindle the Sabbath Lights
Blessed are You, O YHWH,
Creator and Master of the universe—
Who blessed us with knowledge
about Yourself and Your Way through Your Revelation on Sinai;
Who set apart the sacred from the profane,
a day of rest from six days of work,
Who first observed the Sabbath day on Creation Week,
and included its observance as Law on Sinai,
mandated for all creatures, man and beast,
so that resting from daily routines
might be part of our day as well as our week,
so that we might cease from what occupies us
all of our conscious time during our time on earth,
whatever it is that keeps us striving nonstop,
that, by our own choice and self-will,
either unconsciously enslaves us
or wilfully obsesses us.
May every Sabbath be a reminder,
that we should simply delight and take joy in Your gift of rest,
to the benefit of our own health and well-being,
for the proper use of our rest time profitably and fruitfully,
in ways that bless us and others,
by our simple obedience to Your Sabbath Law,
O YHWH, LORD of the Sabbath,
These Sabbath lights are kindled not so much because
we need to brighten this sacred space for our Sabbath fellowship,
but more to remind us of the very Source of Light,
YOU, Lord YHWH,
True LIGHT of the world Who manifested—
–to Moshe as a burning bush,
–to the mixed multitude as thunder and lightning on a mount in the wilderness of Sinai,
–during Israel’s wilderness wandering as pillar of fire and glory cloud,
–and in the ‘Light of Torah’ to those of us who live in this day and age,
who continue to receive divine enlightenment regarding the Way to right relationship,
—primarily with You
—and secondarily with fellow humanity,
so that Gentiles represented in the ‘mixed multitude’
on that fateful day of Your giving Your Torah,
would eventually meld with the nation
that would be Israel,
Your firstborn son, Your chosen people,
with whom You would cut Your one and only covenant.
Observant Israel and enlightened gentiles
– representative humanity –
have ever since and to this day,
represent You YHWH, as the True Creator God,
Giver of a most unique manual for living,
Your TORAH, the Tree of Life, our Guideline,
humanity’s ‘map’ and ‘pathway’
through the vicissitudes of living on planet earth.
O YHWH, God of Israel and all the nations,
those of us among observant multitudes in this day and age,
who not only hear but listen and heed,
gather on this Sabbath day,
from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday,
to take pleasure in Your gift of rest,
a day to spend in ways distinct from the days of our workweek,
to gather with like-minded believers
and worshippers of You,
The One and Only True God:
YHWH is Your Name,
YHWH is the Lord of the Sabbath,
YHWH the Name we call upon and proclaim!
Blessed are You, YHWH,
God of Israel, King of the Universe,
for blessing us and all created beings
with a special day of rest,
Your Holy Sabbath!
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Psalms 99: The Lord Our God Is Holy
1 YHWH reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim;
let the earth quake!
2 YHWH is great in Zion;
He is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name!
Holy is He!
4 The King in His might loves justice.
You have established equity;
You have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt YHWH our God;
worship at His footstool!
Holy is He!
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon His name.
They called to YHWH, and He answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud He spoke to them;
they kept His testimonies
and the statute that He gave them.
8 O YHWH our God, You answered them;
You were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt YHWH our God,
and worship at His holy mountain;
for YHWH our God is holy!
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S A B B A T H
B L E S S I N G S
O YHWH, LORD of TIME and all that TIME represents,
The only BEING with no beginning and no end,
YHWH, GOD ETERNAL:
Among the created beings which You designed
with specificity, distinction, diversity,
purpose and individual beauty,
Humanity shares with all other living things
the precious limitation of a once-only lifetime on earth.
As we each reflect on the life we have lived
for the number of years You have so far granted us,
We are grateful for blessings we continue to receive from Your Gracious Hand—[name them].
We ask for graces and mercies, provision and protection for our loved ones—
- parents who birthed us into their planned family,
- siblings we connected in ways beyond blood relationship,
- spouse we have committed to in marriage,
- children and generations that continue our family lineage,
- friendships that have lasted through good times and adversities,
- the blessings of work opportunities, enjoyment and comforts in life,
- and countless more.
As we come together in fellowship on this day of our ceasing from our strivings,
a time to rest body and soul,
We partake of the bread and wine,
appropriate symbols used selected Your ‘chosen people’,
to symbolize the joy and delight that comes with celebrating Your Holy Sabbath.
With them, we say—
“L’Chaim”, “to LIFE,”
and “Mabuhay” — “Long LIVE!”
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HAVDALAH
LORD of the Sabbath, YHWH our God,
We are among the people who live from Sabbath to Sabbath;
Each time our Sabbath celebration comes to an end,
we can barely wait for the next Sabbath in the next week to come,
—never knowing what will happen in between,
—simply anticipating the uniqueness and difference we feel every time we do leave the world of work to enter Your Sabbath Sanctuary in Your Time.
We entrust our limited lifetime into Your Hands,
O YHWH, Source of Breath and Life,
We entrust our loved ones to You,
O YHWH, God of our family,
We entrust our future to You, O YHWH,
Who alone knows the Future from our Present.
Whatever happens in between the meeting of like-minded worshippers of You
in this gathering of Torah/Sabbath-Keepers,
We entrust whatever is left of our Time on earth to You,
for we know that as You have always been in our past and present.
as we journeyed through life in search of You,
that You are the same God we will love and worship;
whatever our future holds,
a minute later, an hour later,
a day after, the next week, month, and year—-
for the length of life-time You will continue to share with us Your Breath of Life,
until You grant us our final Sabbath Rest,
You are the God we have chosen to serve, O YHWH!
Blessed are You, YHWH,
God of chosen Israel, God of all the Nations,
Chosen God . . . of Sinaites,
Amen.
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Shabbat shalom to all Sabbath-Keepers!
In behalf of Sinai 6000 Core Community,
