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KINDLE THE SABBATH LIGHTS
Blessed are You, O YHWH,
LORD of the Sabbath,
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
and commanded its observance as Law
for all creatures, man and beast,
so that resting from our daily routines
might be part of our day
as well as our week,
so that we might cease from what occupies us
most of our lives,
whatever it is that keeps us striving nonstop,
so that we might simply delight
and take joy in Your gift of rest,
to the benefit of our health and well-being,
for the proper use of our rest time,
profitably and fruitfully
in ways that bless us and others,
by our obedience to Your Sabbath Law,
O Lord YHWH.
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,
Who manifested to Moshe as a burning bush,
to the mixed multitude as thunder and lightning on the mount of Sinai,
in Israel’s wilderness wandering as pillar of fire and glory cloud,
in the ‘Light of Torah’ to those of us today
who 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,
humankind’s ‘map’ and ‘pathway’
through the vicissitudes of living on planet earth.
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O YHWH, God of Israel and all the nations,
observant multitudes who continue to hear Your voice
in the pages of your Sinai Revelation,
who not only listen but heed,
gather on this Sabbath day,
from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday,
to take pleasure in Your gift of rest,
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 the Lord of the Sabbath,
YHWH the Name we call upon and proclaim!
Blessed are You, YHWH, God of Sinaites,
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 allotted to us,
we are grateful for many blessings we cannot count—
- 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 ceasing from our strivings,
a time to rest body and soul,
we partake of the bread and wine,
appropriate symbols chosen by Your chosen people,
for the joy and delight
that comes with celebrating Your Holy Sabbath.
With them, we say—
“L’Chaim”, “to LIFE,”
and “Mabuhay” — “Let us LIVE!”
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Image from mymorningmeditations.com
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 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 time You will continue to bless us
with 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 Israel, God of the Nations,
God of Sinaites,
Amen.
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