[Every so often, we feature prayer traditions of believers/worshippers from all over the world, if only to prove that no matter how different people’s religious beliefs are, the common denominator is worship of the God they know, expressed in words. The prayers in this Sabbath Liturgy are randomly chosen from the sources listed under the Category: WORSHIP AIDS on Site Map and/or UPDATED SITE CONTENTS – July 2018.
Shabbat shalom to Sinaites all over the world, and to our Christian, Messianic and Jewish friends who are Sabbath-observers— Admin1.]
KINDLE THE SABBATH LIGHTS
The light of life is a finite flame.
Like a candle, life is kindled:
it burns, it glows,
it is radiant with warmth and beauty.
But soon it fades;
its substance is consumed,
and it is no more.
In light we see;
in light we are seen.
The flames dance and our lives are full.
But as night follows day,
the candle of our life burns down and gutters.
There is an end to the Flames.
We see no more and are no more seen.
Yet we do not despair,
for we are more than a memory,
slowly fading into the darkness.
With our lives we give lives.
Something of us can never die:
we move in the eternal cycle of darkness and death,
of light and life.
Where God is Found
God, where shall I find Thee,
Whose glory fills the universe?
Behold I find Thee
Wherever the mind is free to follow its own bent,
Wherever the words come out from the depth of truth,
Wherever tireless striving stretches
its arms toward perfection,
Wherever men struggle for freedom and right,
Wherever the scientist toils
to unbare the secrets of nature,
Wherever the poet strings pearls of beauty in lyric lines,
Wherever glorious deeds are done.
—Jewish Reconstructionist Prayer Book
Great becomes the fruit,
Great the advantage of earnest contemplation,
When it is set round with upright conduct.
Great becomes the fruit,
Great the advantage of intellect, when it is set round with earnest contemplation.
The mind set round with intelligence is set quite free from the intoxications:
From the intoxication of sensuality,
From the intoxication of becoming,
From the intoxication of delusion,
From the intoxication of ignorance.
—BUDDHA’S SONG
Our eyes may see some uncleanness,
But let not our mind see things that are not clean.
Our ears may hear some uncleanness,
But let not our mind hear things that are not clean.
SHINTO
BLESSINGS
Author of life,
as You renew all things,
take us, Your children, and make us new.
————
Blessed are YOU, our GOD and the GOD of our ancestors,
Who has enabled us to further the generations
with courage, and blessed us with the new life.
Blessed are YOU, the GOD of Life,
Who has given me strength in this difficult hour
and blessed me with the joy
of taking part in the act of creation.
Blessed are YOU, our GOD
and the GOD of our mothers and fathers,
for the miracle of birth and the joy of parenthood,
For the beauty and love and the harmony of the life cycle.
RABBI ELYSE GOLDSTEIN
[Take this time to pray for FAMILY: parents, siblings, spouse, children, extended kin. Include special people: friends, co-workers, etc., and institutions, work places, churches/fellowships.]
TORAH STUDY
Blessed are You
YHWH,
our God,
King of the universe,
Who gives us
the Torah of Truth
so that we may study,
live,
learn,
and be changed by it,
so that we may have righteous judgment
and Your spirit of love,
so that we may keep Your commandments,
do them,
and live in them,
and teach them to our children
and our children’s children forever.
Amain!
Blessing for the TORAH
————-
There are obligations without measure, their fruit we eat now, their essence remains for us in the life to come:
To honor father and mother,
to perform acts of love and kindness;
to attend the house of study daily;
to welcome the stranger;
to visit the sick;
to rejoice with bride and groom;
to console the bereaved;
to pray with sincerity;
to make peace when there is strife.
But the study of Torah is equal to them all.
—Gates of Repentance (Jewish Liturgy)
God spake these words, and said:
I am the LORD thy GOD;
Thou shalt have none other gods but Me.
Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow to them, nor worship them.
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy GOD in vain.
Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day.
Honor thy father and mother.
Thou shalt do no murder.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor.
thou shalt not covet.
Lord have mercy upon us,
and write all these Thy Laws in our hearts,
we beseech Thee.
—HOLY COMMUNION DECALOGUE
FROM THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, King of the universe,
who has given us a Torah of truth,
implanting within us eternal life.
Blessed are You, Adonai, who gives the Torah.
—The Rabbi’s Blessing after reading the Torah
HAVDALAH
May the time not be distant, O God,
—when Your name shall be worshipped in all the earth,
—when unbelief shall disappear and error be no more.
Fervently we pray that the day may come
—when all shall turn to You in love,
—when corruption and evil shall give way to integrity and goodness,
—when superstition shall no longer enslave the mind,
nor idolatry blind the eye,
—when all who dwell on earth shall know that You alone are God.
O may all, created in Your image,
become one in spirit and one in friendship,
forever united in Your service.
Then shall Your Kingdom be established on earth,
and the word of Your prophet fulfilled:
“The Eternal God will reign for ever and ever.”
Let the glory of God be extolled,
let God’s great name be hallowed
in the world whose creation God willed.
May God’s rule soon prevail, in our own day,
our own lives, and in the life of all Israel,
and let us say: Amen.
Let God’s great name be blessed for ever and ever.
Let the name of the Holy One, the Blessed One,
be glorified, exalted and honored,
though God is beyond all praises, songs, and adorations
that we can utter, and let us say: Amen.
For us and for all Israel,
may the blessing of peace and the promise of life come true,
and let us say: Amen.
May the One who causes peace to reign in the high heavens,
let peace descend on us,
on all Israel,
and all the world,
and let us say: Amen.
—Gates of Repentance (Jewish Prayers)
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray Thee, Lord,
Thy child to keep:
Thy love guard me
through the night
and wake me
with the morning light.
BEDTIME PRAYER
—————————————————–
“My religion is to be good and to do good.”
1913-1994
Founder and President,
BC/BCF-UC
Baguio City, Philippines