Image from jewishpalmbeach.org[“
In hindsight, it was prophetic because since then, one ‘light of life’ in our very small core community was extinguished on January 23 this year, namely VAN@S6K, the most senior among us. But while his lonnngggg life-wick did finally burn out at age 88, his legacy and contribution to framing the Sinaite Creed is enshrined in our Home Page declaration. Those of us who continue the work are hopeful that beyond our lifetime, Sinai 6000 will serve as a beacon for gentiles who are seeking another pathway diverging from world religions — a simple individual life journey—
- toward the beckoning LIGHT of the Sinai Revelation,
- to meet the God Who once spoke to representative humanity,
- Whose Words are recorded in the TORAH, the first part of the Scriptures of Israel.
- That God gave His Name as YHWH.
Enjoy this Sabbath liturgy, dear Sinaites and web-visitors. We are connecting in spirit not only with faceless-nameless strangers, kindred-spirits for sure, whose repeated visits we see on our SITESTATS. We connect as well with the original core community of 25 Sinaites spread all over the globe, who collectively and individually braved deviating from their lifelong pilgrimage as Christians worshipping a ‘Trinitarian Godhead’, and veering toward the One True God Who spoke from historic Sinai.
On our 6th anniversary, we fondly remember three co-travellers who fast-forwarded their trek to Spiritual Sinai to seek their final Sabbath Rest with the True Lord of the Sabbath.
Shabbat shalom!—Admin1]
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Image from www.adathjeshurun.com
KINDLE THE SABBATH LIGHTS
O Lord YHWH,
Creator, Master, Designer of the universe,
Lord of the Sabbath, God of Israel and the Nations,
Revelator on Sinai, LIGHT of the world: YHWH!
You are King enthroned in the heart of each spiritually awakened individual—
who has heard Your voice from Sinai,
who acknowledges You as the One True God,
who proudly declares Your Name with reverence and awe,
who meets with You for all the Sabbaths apportioned in each one’s lifetime,
who lives in obedience to Your commandments
as You have laid out before Moses and the mixed multitude on Sinai,
intended for all generations of humanity who live in community,
whether chosen like Israel,
or un-chosen like gentiles —such as we, Sinaites—
who have individually and collectively chosen You
to be Lord and Master and Ruler over our lives.
Truly we are privileged and blessed,
O Lord YHWH,
to know You as much as we have come to know You now,
having journeyed for so long seeking You,
not going any farther than the religions
we were born in or had chosen,
thinking that surely, all religions would lead
to the true knowledge of You and Your Way of life.
Our quest has taken almost a lifetime,
because we were not born like observant Jews
into a set-apart culture and community
where Your Name is known though remain unspoken,
and Your Torah is taught and learned from early childhood.
Still, Lord YHWH, we are blessed to have found You
as the universal God sought by religionists
in all seasons of one’s lifetime;
but most specially we are blessed to have found You,
Revelator of the Torah, God of Jew and Gentile alike,
even in the autumn instead of the spring of our lives,
for our lifelong quest which took many twists and turns
in uncovering and discovering more truth and more light—
truly has not been wasted.
Just like candles that are lit at different times
and therefore uneven in length of light-bearing,
some of us have shorter wicks
but no shorter in our dedication and zeal
to serve You and worship You as our God,
to make Your Name known,
to be as guides to gentiles like ourselves,
who are seeking and interested in study
so that they might learn to live out Your Torah.
Who are we but mere flickers in a world which,
in this sixth millennium is still very much ‘in the dark’,
a world with capability to acquire instant information
and unlimited knowledge through information technology;
yet still strangely, many remain uninformed about You,
O YHWH, the One true God,
innocently uninformed if not willfully ignorant,
or willfully negligent, or willfully disobedient,
or willfully choosing to remain in unbelief,
—-doubting Your very existence,
—-questioning the veracity of Your manual for living,
and its relevance to the lives of those outside Israel.
This world still fails to comprehend
—–the significance of Your Sinai revelation
—-its relevance to life in all cultures and in all times.
This world still goes the way of self-centeredness and self-will,
unable to grasp the message and lessons from biblical narratives,
that teach the blessings for obedience,
as well as the consequences of disobedience,
—-since the testing of the first couple
—-to the failures of the chosen nation,
between Genesis and Deuteronomy,
and beyond the writtenTorah attributed to Moses,
as recorded in the national and sacred history
of the custodians of Your Sinai Revelation.
O Lord YHWH,
It is our fervent wish and the desire of our heart and earnest prayer—
that You will be known by all people,
that Your Name will be spoken with reverence and awe
from Sabbath to Sabbath,
that You will be worshipped by all nations,
that world religions will enthrone You and You alone—
as King, as Lord, as Creator-God—
that they will finally see and acknowledge the ‘light of Israel’
that has shone through millennia
since the people’s formation from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
to the birth of the nation at Sinai;
a light that might have been dimmed by their failure to be obedient,
as their nation’s history attest,
but a light that shines nevertheless,
only because You, their God who chose them,
have been faithful to all Your declarations, promises,
and acts in history on their behalf.
The saga of their survival and very existence is one continuing testimony
that You, YHWH, their God,
are indeed the One True God,
the One and Only. AMEN.
The SHEMA: Deuteronomy 6:1-9, 7:6-9.11
Image from www.pinterest.com
6:1 Now this is the commandment, the laws and the regulations
that YHWH your God has commanded (me) to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing into to possess,
2 in order that you may hold YHWH your God in awe, by keeping all his laws and his commandments that I commend to you,
you, and your child, and your child’s child,
all the days of your life;
and in order that your days may be prolonged.
3 You are to hearken, O Israel,
and are to take-care to observe (them)
that it may go-well with you,
that you may become exceedingly many,
as YHWH, the God of your fathers promised to you—
(in) a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 Hearken O Israel:
YHWH our God, YHWH (is) One!
5 You are to love YHWH your God with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your substance!
6 These words, which I myself command you today, are to be upon your heart,
7 You are to repeat them with your children
and are to speak of them
in your stirring in your house and in your walking in the way,
in your lying-down and in your rising-up.
8 You are to tie them as a sign upon your hand,
and they are to be for bands between your eyes.
9 You are to write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
7:6 For you are a people holy to YHWH your God,
(it is) you (that) YHWH your God chose for him as a treasured people
from among all peoples that are on the face of the soil.
7 Not because of your being many-more than all the peoples
has YHWH attached himself to you and chosen you,
for you are the least-numerous of al peoples!
8 Rather, because of YHWH’s love for you
and because of His keeping the sworn-oath that he swore to your fathers
did YHWH take you out, with a strong hand,
and redeem you from the house of serfs, from the land of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
9 Know
that YHWH your God, he is God,
the trustworthy God,
keeping the covenant of loyalty
with those who love him
and those who keep his commandments,
to the thousandth generation . . . .
11 So you are to keep the command;
the laws and the regulations that I command you today,
by observing them.
Image from 9pixs.com
BLESSINGS
Thank You,
Lord YHWH,
for daily graces and mercies,
providence and protection,
so many blessings evident and ‘in disguise’
that come our way
and extended to our loved ones day after day.
We thank You specially for many answered prayers.
[Take the time to publicly or privately mention these.]
Thank You, Lord YHWH,
for the blessing of family:
may all our names be written in Your Book of Life,
those who live today
or have lived according to Your Torah
because it is written in the heart of all humankind: [name them]
fathers, mothers, siblings,
husbands wives,
sons, daughters,
extended family,
beloved friends and special people.
Thank You, Lord YHWH,
for Sinaites who are not physically present
but are united with us
in the spirit of celebrating Your Sabbath;
Sinaites in other cities and countries
who celebrate with observant Jews at the synagogue.
We remember with fondness,
three Sinaites who began this journey with us
but have gone ahead of us,
having ‘graduated’ to their final Sabbath Rest:
—Ciso and Lorna and Vic —
who, the day before they individually departed,
were granted a day they delighted in so much that they literally danced for joy—
Sukkot for Ciso,
and 40th wedding anniversary for Lorna,
and for Vic, a quiet, restful, peaceful sleep
after erev Sabbath celebration.
Would that You grant us the same joy-full ‘celebrating exit’ from this life,
so that those we leave behind
will have a comforting and lasting memory
of peace and bliss
instead of sadness and loss.
Thank You, Lord YHWH,
for opening up a pathway for us
to reach others in search of the gentile alternative—
to joining the three monotheistic religions
that trace their roots to Abraham.
While we have not succeeded in six years time
to draw the interest of those nearest to us and around us,
Yet You have gifted us with a website that has extended our reach
far beyond our circles of influence,
beyond borders we had not imagined we would transcend,
through the amazing information technology of the worldwide web,
devised by exploring freethinkers
who learned to tap into the natural workings
of Your comprehensible universe.
We are so deeply grateful
for the indescribable pleasure
we derive from celebrating every Sabbath,
in the company of one another—
breaking bread, sipping wine,
our special meal provided by our hosts in their lovely home—
the exhilaration that lingers
after our meeting turns into anticipation
through our 6-day-week until the next Sabbath .
Finally, as we have borrowed from Jewish tradition,
we have kindled our Sabbath lights,
we have prayed for blessings,
we now share the bread of fellowship,
we raise this glass of wine, symbol of joy to say:
“to life” — “l’chaim” —“mabuhay”
with the deepest gratitude,
in tribute to the Source of Light and Giver of Life
truly the Love of our life!
Image from www.sabbathofrest.net
HAVDALAH
[Borrowed Tune: Lord I want to know You more/revised lyrics]
1. Just the time I think that I’m at peace in a world that’s fine,
I feel at ease, contented with myself and what is mine,
Then in my rest there comes a test that shakes me ’till again I know,
That what I had is not enough and again I’ve got to grow—-
Cho: Lord, I want to know You more,
deep within my heart I long to meet You,
see You, want to feel You,
where to find You in this world,
I hear You in Your Word, Your Revelation
How to show I love You more,
how I need to serve You more,
worship You, obey You more.
2. My full supply I find as I move closer to the Truth of God,
to nourish me, to nurture me, to strengthen will and mind,
I’ve truly grown but even so, my hunger hasn’t gone away,
for still I long, and still I thirst, to know You more each day . . .
Cho: Lord, I want to know You more,
deep within my soul I truly seek You,
how I long to meet You,
I would give my final breath
to know beyond Your Word, Your Revelation,
drive away my doubts before,
feel Your Presence all the more,
live Your life and so much more!
www.pinterest.com
“Remember us for life,
O King Who desires life,
and inscribe our names
into Your Book of Life,
joining all others
who have lived a lifetime seeking You
and even in their ignorance,
still lived for Your sake,
O Living God.”
Happy anniversary Sinaites!
Shabbat shalom to our web-visitors and friends!
Image from restoration.windowsofheavenpublishing.com
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