Kindle the Sabbath Lights
As the TRUE LIGHT of the Universe
sends His powerful and far-reaching
sun-light to brighten darkness in outer space,
We kindle our Sabbath lights—
a Jewish tradition we,
Gentiles, Sinaites,
emulate to signify the beginning of our day of rest,
and to brighten the darkness of the evening.
The Sabbath,
a thoughtful and loving gift
from the Creator of Time,
YHWH, LORD of the Sabbath!
The Sabbath,
a day we are commanded to set apart from all other days,
so that we might cease from our striving and toiling,
from our work, our labor, our worrying, and our cares,
that preoccupy six days of our 7-day week,
a Divinely-designed time frame
for the benefit and blessing of humanity,
and all of God’s creatures that have the breath of life.
For indeed, the tyranny of earthly time enslaves us,
because we fill it up with doings and un-doings,
unaware of the equal importance of REST
as a crucial requirement for survival,
not only for humans, His crown of creation,
but for all living creatures in whom,
instinctively, the principle of rest has been infused.
We thank our Creator for His Torah,
where we have heard, been taught, and learned—
all that He requires from the one creature
with whom He shared His Image,
Laws and life principles that regulate human behavior,
toward self, toward fellow-humans,
and toward all His Creatures,
animate and inanimate,
Indeed we thank our Creator,
the LORD of our Sabbath,
for His gift of the 4th Commandment:
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.
Exodus 20:8-11 King James Version (KJV)
And so be it . . . Amen.
Scripture Reading:
Ecclesiastes 12 New International Version (NIV)
12 Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Image from www.lovethispic.com
B L E S S I N G S
[Borrowed Prayers and Sayings]
This Thanksgiving—
For the beauties and abundance of the earth,
For family near and far,
For friends, old and new,
For the gift of each brand new day,
And the chance to make a difference,
Let us give thanks.
****************
For the bounty of the year;
For the friends that we hold dear,
For new blessings on the way,
Let’s be thankful, all, today.
**************
The warmth of good friends,
and the joy of celebration,
For these, we give thanks.
******
COUNT Your BLESSINGS
Count your blessings instead of your crosses,
Count your gains instead of your losses,
Count your joys instead of your woes,
Count your friends instead of your foes,
Count your smiles instead of your tears,
Count your full years instead of your lean,
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean,
Count your health instead of your wealth,
Count on God instead of yourself.
*******
A Prayer for Thanksgiving
Loving God,
We turn our hearts to You this day
for giving thanks,
mindful of your many gifts.
For each one, we are grateful.
For each one, we are blessed.
For each one, we are opened
to the abundance of Your love.
May this Thanksgiving Day
offer a reminder to be
generous with others,
just as You are with us.
We praise You,
We rejoice in You,
We give You thanks.
Amen.
*******
Thanksgiving Prayer by Ralph Waldo Emerson
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
For flowers that bloom about our feet,
For tender grass, so fresh so sweet,
For song of bird and hum of bee,
For all things fair we hear or see.
Father in heaven,
we thank Thee.
*******
To all my family and dear friends
that I am honored and blessed
to have in my life:
May this holiday season bring you—
love to your heart,
health to your body,
and peace and joy to your house
throughout the year.
Image from www.chabadstanford.org
HAVDALAH
[A Jewish Prayer of Gratitude]
[Individual: ]
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the world,
Who rewards the undeserving with goodness,
and Who has rewarded me with goodness.
[To each other: ]
May He who rewarded you with all goodness
reward you with all goodness for ever.
A blessed Sabbath of Thanksgiving
to all our family and friends
spread out over this wonderful world,
In behalf of Sinai6000 Core Community,
NSB@S6K
