Kindle the Sabbath Lights
Blessed are You,
YHWH,
our God, King of the Universe!
God of Israel,
God of Sinaites,
God of all world religions.
Whether or not they acknowledge You as God,
You, YHWH, are God!
Creator, Revelator on Sinai,
God of Your Chosen Nation, Israel!
God of Gentiles who choose you as their God, such as we, Sinaites!
Whether individuals, peoples, and nations
recognize or refuse to recognize,
acknowledge or fail to acknowledge
You as God,
You, O YHWH, are God!
God of our great planet earth,
God of the world, God of the Universe,
All-Existent, Omnipresent,
Immortal, Invisible,
All-Wise, All-knowing, Omniscient!
Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent!
You, O YHWH,
are God and Lord
over all Creation,
over all Humanity!
LORD OVER ALL!
We are privileged, and honored,
to have found You and now know Your Name,
so that we may proclaim THE NAME to all
who would hear and heed and acknowledge that —
You, YHWH, are God!
You, YHWH, are our Lord,
our Master, and our King!
All that You have commanded humanity to do,
we obey!
Thank You for not keeping silent about who You are!
Thank You for revealing Yourself
on a mountain in the wilderness of Sinai,
to a people You formed
from their Patriarch, Abraham!
Thank You for giving them Your Torah,
indeed, Your prescribed Way of Life
not only for them but for all humanity!
Without Your Instructions for Life,
we would be left guessing,
inventing man-made laws
to regulate our lives,
lacking the wisdom and knowledge
about humanity that only You,
O Creator,
would know and understand!
Thank You,
for being an all-wise Judge,
knowing and understanding and forgiving
those among humanity
who recognize and acknowledge
that there is a God,
but do not have the opportunity
to know You,
through Your Revelation to Israel;
Resorting, therefore, to laws
that regulate their way of life,
to govern the behavior of members of
their community, society,
for without laws to live by,
there would be disorder and chaos,
because of the assertion of SELF
by the strong over the weak,
by those in power over the powerless,
by the superior over the inferior.
For, while You as Creator,
saw fit to create humanity after Your Image.
O God of Diversity,
In Your Wisdom,
You created homo sapiens
into two genders,
two separate beings, equal,
who would always be attracted
to one another, and function together,
yet assume different roles according to Your design,
for the propagation of the human species,
a sacred duty, divinely-ordained.
You did not leave them ignorant
of Your desired Will and Way for humanity,
Surely You would have instructed them
as You did . . . with a test for obedience.
And You have done the same for all the generations,
down to our times.
May those of us today who have been Torah-educated,
Having learned the lessons of disobedience,
Make the right choice: to simply obey!
And so we obey today, Your 4th Commandment!
Blessed are You,
YHWH, our God,
For blessing us with this day of rest,
Your Holy Sabbath,
Our Sabbath, our day of rest,
Amen.
Exodus 20:8-11 King James Version (KJV)
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God:
in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter,
thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 New International Version (NIV)
12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,
as the Lord your God has commanded you.
13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.
On it you shall not do any work,
neither you, nor your son or daughter,
nor your male or female servant,
nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals,
nor any foreigner residing in your towns,
so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.
15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt
and that the Lord your God brought you out of there
with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you
to observe the Sabbath day.
REMEMBER THE SABBATH
We thank You, O YHWH,
God of our Family,
For the special individuals You have placed in our lives–
Our Parents [name them],
Siblings [name them]
Children [name them]
Extended kin [name them]
We thank You for birthing us in our individual family,
for the love and care,
we have received from our parents,
for the camaraderie, we have enjoyed
in growing up with our siblings,
for the love and devotion,
we have shared with our spouse,
for the joys, our children have brought into our lives.
We especially remember those who have moved on
from our midst—[name them].
Thank You for the blessing they have been to us!
SABBATH MEAL
Image from www.pinterest.com
HAVDALAH
May the LORD of the Sabbath,
be pleased with our obedience to–
“Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy”
And to enjoy the rest He has provided
by adding the seventh day
specifically for Rest!
May He be pleased with all Sabbath-Keepers
who recognize Him
and call on His Name,
YHWH,
Lord and God—-
and King over us,
over our Family,
and over our fellow-worshippers!
May our God, YHWH,
continue to bless each one of us,
today and beyond this Sabbath day,
as we face the beginning of yet another week,
on our blessed life on earth,
to be useful to others and fruitful for Him,
as we remember His commandment
to be Other-conscious,
and not live simply for self.
May our choices for each day, each moment,
be according to TORAH,
For that would be beneficial to our fellowmen,
and glorifying to
the Author and Giver of the Torah,
YHWH is His Name!
Amen.
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