Musing – How might Christians better appreciate their “Sabbath”?

Hebraic Musing – How might Christians better appreciate their “Sabbath”?

Do you remember the feelings you had as you came off of a spiritual retreat or a wonderful vacation experience or returning from a honeymoon?  Remember the bittersweet re-entry into daily routines?  You’ve just savored a wonderful time with God and with others, but alas, it will soon be over.

The Jews have a little family ceremony at the conclusion of their Sabbath on Saturday evening as the sun sets. They are coming out of their delightful Sabbath with relaxing, studying the Torah, and having fellowship with family and friends. As they partake of the Sabbath experience – rest, study, and fellowship — they have enjoyably achieved their spiritual goal, restoration.  Christians have typically tried to set Sunday aside as their “Lord’s Day”.  Let’s set aside the argument over which day it should be and explore ways to honor the Sabbath or Lord’s Day appropriately or meaningfully.

The Saturday evening ceremony by the Jews is called Havdalah (literally “separation”).  The ceremony marks the end of Shabbat rest and the ushering in of a new work week.  Their ceremony includes symbolically important rituals:

1.   Lighting a special Havdalah candle with three braided wicks.  The light from a braided candle symbolizes the intertwining of the Eternal One’s Spirit and the divine spirit in man and the “Light of the World”.  That’s one of many interpretations.

2.   Blessing an overflowing cup of wine, or grape juice, with “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe; who made all things exist through His word. Amen.” The overflowing cup symbolizes the uncontainable optimism and our hope for the coming week.

3.   Smelling sweet spices and reciting “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates varieties of spices. Amen” thereby recognizing the source of the sweet blessings to follow in our lives.

4.   And a final blessing comes as a few drops of wine or juice are used to extinguish the Havdalah candle’s flame while reciting “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who separates between sacred and secular” thus creating the ‘separation’ we will experience as we enter the next six days of our labor.

5.   Then Shabbat ends on Saturday night with the appearance of three stars in the sky which marks a point of separation in time.

Might our appreciation of God’s Sabbath Rest be more significant if we were to recognize Him with these OR with our own similar rituals?   “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8).

Point to ponder

Have you ever felt we were missing something important
as we try to honor God’s (longest) commandment?

What customs might we adopt in our home to honor God’s Sabbath?

Shabbat Shalom!                                                 April 28, 2015

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd    

Author::                       (Hyperlinks are now available!)     
Hebraic Insights                                  Re-Published – March 2015
Biblical_Marriage                               May 2012
Musings: Vol.1 – A Victorious Life     Sept.2014
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