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KINDLE THE SABBATH LIGHTS
Blessed are You,
Lord YHWH our God,
Creator-Designer of all that exist,
Synchronizer of earthly time,
Who rested from Your creative work
on the seventh day,
Who commanded the mixed multitude gathered on Sinai
through Your chosen mouthpiece, Moshe —
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. . .
For in six days YHWH made heaven and earth and sea,
and all that is in them,
and He rested on the seventh day;
therefore YHWH blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.
On erev, Friday evening, sunset, sundown,
we mark the beginning of our 24-hour Sabbath observance
on this side of Your created world.
We welcome Your Queen of Days,
much anticipated since our last Sabbath together.
We delight in resting from our work-week
for time to refresh body, mind, and spirit,
for time with family and friends,
for time that connects us with Sabbath-keepers all over this world,
Jews and Gentiles alike,
who are one in heart, mind, and spirit
in worshipping You,
in acknowledging You and only You,
O YHWH, as the One True God,
Whose Name we glorify–
as we declare it with reverence and awe,
honoring Your Holy Name through the way we live our lives,
which we have aligned with Your Torah.
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Blessed be our Lord YHWH,
Creator and designer of distinct genders—
male and female–
perfectly configured to suit the divine purpose intended for each,
one complementing the other,
both participating in the grand plan of procreation,
the continuance of human life through generations,
through parenting by partnership,
conscious of their God-ordained responsibility in their role as father or mother,
for the raising and proper instruction of children,
whose lives are gifts from the Giver of Life.
According to Jewish tradition,
the woman of the home kindles the sabbath lights.
We emulate this symbolic gesture,
honoring woman who lights up her home
not so much by kindling the shabbat candles,
but for the light-bearer that she is in her family,
through the roles she assumes—-
—as co-partner with the head of household
in participating in the wondrous recreation of new life,
—as carrier of the unborn until its birth,
—as nurturer of growing children.
Womanhood—wives and mothers —
is a reflection of Your loving and caring attribute,
O YHWH, our most benevolent King.
As she recites the blessing, we bless You back, O YHWH,
for blessing us with the gift of a seventh day,
that is to be unique and distinct from all other days.
We recognize its true value as a virtual sanctuary in time;
we are privileged to enter it as one enters the tabernacle,
meeting with the True Lord of the Sabbath!
How confined is the glow that emanates from these two candles,
yet they are enough to dispel the space that darkness would naturally occupy;
In the same way, O YHWH, LIGHT of the world,
You gradually dispel in limited doses,
the darkness in our minds through Your Torah,
instructions on the healthy maintenance of body and mind,
regulations on our horizontal relationships,
commandments etched on tablets of stone,
expanded in the Hebrew scriptures,
but also infused in the consciousness of every individual born on this earth.
Indeed, O YHWH,
“All Your words are true,
All Your righteous laws are eternal.” [Psalms 119:160]
Psalm 112
Hallelujah.
Happy is the man who fears YHWH,
who is ardently devoted to His commandments.
His descendants will be mighty in the land,
a blessed generation of upright men.
Wealth and riches are in his house
and his beneficence lasts forever.
A light shines for the upright in the darkness;
he is gracious, compassionate, and beneficent.
All goes well with the man who lends generously,
who conducts his affairs with equity.
He shall never be shaken;
the beneficent man will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of evil tidings;
his heart is firm, he trusts in YHWH.
His heart is resolute, he is unafraid;
in the end he will see the fall of his foes.
He gives freely to the poor;
his beneficence lasts forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
The wicked man shall see it and be vexed;
he shall gnash his teeth; his courage shall fail.
The desire of the wicked shall come to nothing.
B L E S S I N G S
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All that we possess, all that we have in life, have been arranged by Your providence!
For all these, we thank You and bless You back with gratitude from the heart, evidenced in the way we live Your Torah.
Your provisions for food is symbolized by the bread we share and partake of:
for everything that this bread represents in our daily living,
we bless You back, O YHWH.
For the joy of learning about You day by day,
for the relationships we have nurtured and enjoyed through our lives—
in family,
in long-lasting friendships
and in our faith communities.
For all the anonymous like-minded individuals
who are learning about You and Your Torah
through this gift of a website,
For all these—
And to YHWH our God, LORD over our lives,
we raise our wine glasses in thanksgiving ,
for the meaning You have given
every stage of our lifetime quest to know You more,
until we arrived on SINAI,
YHWH on SINAI—-
truly the place and source of revelation and enlightenment
for Israel and the Nations,
Jew and Gentile alike.
To YHWH our Lord and our God,
To Your gift of Life—
To the Tree of Life, the Torah—-
we join all Jewish and Gentile Sabbath-keepers and say—
to LIFE, “l’chaim”, “mabuhay”!
SABBATH MEAL
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TORAH STUDY
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HAVDALAH
A Time for Everything
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
May this time in our lives,
bear fruit for ourselves and our fellowmen,
but most of all for YHWH,
God of Israel, God of the Nations,
God of Sinaites.
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Shabbat Shalom,
to Sinaites, Messianics, Christians,
Sabbath-Keepers all over the world,
on behalf of Sinai 6000 Core Community,
NSB@S6K
