How to Celebrate a One New Man Shabbat

On Friday nights we celebrate Shabbat (Sabbath) with a group of people. We always open our meetings with the lighting of the candles and then communion. After this we might worship, or we might talk a little about something that God has shown one of us. We have even had meetings that were just discussions about different scriptures. Whatever we do we never try to put God in a box, and He always shows up faithfully every time.

Keeping the feasts brings blessings. We have a man in our meetings that has his own business. When he kept all of the feasts his business was doing quite well, but once he stopped so did his customers. After he and I met he realized what had happened and came to our weekly meeting. The following week was the the busiest week he had not seen in a long time. He now is excited about celebrating all of the feasts because he knows the difference between keeping them and not keeping them.

We want to do what the Word of God states rather than keeping tradition. We long to experience Him corporately and look forward to Him being in midst of meetings. We remain expectant for His presence and He never disappoints. Yet, what we do is nothing beyond what anyone else can do, the following is just a basic guideline to help you start celebrating one of your own.

What is the Sabbath?
God created the Sabbath for all of us to rest including Himself. “On the seventh day God rested before blessing and sanctifying this day” (Gen. 2:1-3). Sabbath in the Hebrew is Shabbat and means literally to cease. As in we are to cease from all activities. According to the rabbis the three letters that make up the Hebrew word for Shabbat, are used to remind us of these three verses:

1. God finished (vs. 1)
2. God rested (vs. 2)
3. God blessed and sanctified it making it holy(vs.3)

The Sabbath is generally observed from sundown Friday and concludes on sundown Saturday.

What is the One New Man Sabbath?
God wants us to delight in His plans and His presence as spoken in Isaiah 58:13-14, ...and call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, and you shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord, And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth…. According to Hebrews 4:9 There remains a rest for the people of God. This Greek word for rest (Sabbatismos) is used only one time in the New Testament, and it means: a keeping of the Sabbath; the blessed rest from toils and troubles looked for in the age to come by the true worshipers of God and true believers. Therefore, we can all come together into that rest as one in Him, both Jew and Gentile believers in our Lord.

So we greet one another with a Shabbat shalom b’Yeshua (Sabbath peace in Jesus). Expressing not only His peace, but also a full completeness of His rest.

What are the elements?
According to rabbinical Judaism we are to have three basic elements for the Sabbath: the candles, the bread and the wine. Looking at these from a Christian perspective we now see what the rabbis instituted as law/tradition can now become pure enjoyment. This is because these elements may be viewed as His body. One other item that may be included on the Sabbath is the shofar where this is his voice.

Within each of these items we will look at it from the rabbinical point of view, then from the perspective of the One New Man (ONM).

The Candles

Rabbinical: In all Jewish homes that celebrate the Sabbath there are always two candles to be lit. Each representing the two commandments found in Ex. 20:8 Remember (zachar) and Deuteronomy 5:12 Observe (shamor). The candles were not originally used. The rabbis added them into the observance of the Sabbath later on. It came about because of the way the Pharisees and the Sadducees interpreted the law. The Sadducees believed that the law should be carried out to the very letter, leaving people to sit around in the dark on the Sabbath. On the other hand, the Pharisees still believed that the Sabbath was a day of rest, but felt that people should be allowed to kindle their lights before the Sabbath began.

Sabbath candles are lit and a blessing is recited over them no more than twenty minutes before sunset. This ritual is performed by the woman of the house, if the woman is not available then the man of the house is left to do it. After the candles are lit she waives her hands over them three times then covers her eyes before saying the blessing. As the mother waves her hands over the light it is to symbolically spread the light. Then as she covers her eyes this is to prevent her from fully enjoying the light until it has been blessed. It is at this point that the rabbis say that the Sabbath has officially started, as the mother opens her eyes to fully enjoy the lit candles.

ONM: As the candles are lit the woman covers her eyes in reverence to the Glory of God. As she is waving her hands it is representative of spread God’s glory of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The candles also represent His eyes (Revelation 1:14).

Prayer: Bah-ruch ah-tah Ah-doh-nai Eloh-hay-nu Meh-lech hah-oh-lahm ah-shair ki-d’shah-nu b’Yay-shu-ah ha-Mah-shee-ahch or hah-oh-lahm. Ah-main.*

Translation: Blessed art thou O Lord our God, King of the universe who has made us holy in Jesus the Messiah, the light of the world. Amen.*

The Bread

Rabbinical: Two loaves of bread are generally used on the Sabbath called Challa. It symbolizes the double portion of manna that fell in the desert on the Sabbath (Ex. 16:22). In some traditions a cover is put over the two loaves. This represents the dew that covered the ground and prevented the manna from getting dirty (Ex. 16:14). Some of the breads have sesame seeds on it, and this is to represent some of the dirt from the ground that might have been picked up along with some of the dew. The bread is broken and not sliced with a knife because it symbolizes the day when all weapons of war will be done away with at the coming of the messiah (Isaiah 2:4).

ONM: Yeshua's (Jesus) body is representative of the One New Man. He was born in the Bethlehem (Hebrew: Beit-lechem - House of Bread). The Hebrew word for bread (lechem) has three meanings: bread, food and grain. So not only was He born in the House of Bread, but put into a trough where food/grain was put for animals to eat out of. In John He is a called the Bread of Life (John 6:48), and then He tells the disciples at the Passover to take the bread and eat it for it was His body broken for all.(Luke 22:19). Not only is the bread twisted together three times and raised three times, but is also baked with a coating of egg. This represents the trinity, and on the third day Yeshua rose for us. The shiny egg coating represents His glory that shines forever.

Prayer: Bah-ruch ah-tah Ah-doh-nai Eloh-hay-nu Meh-lehch hah-oh-lahm hah-moh-tsee leh-chehm min hah-ah-rehts. Ah-main.

Translation: Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe who brought forth the bread from the earth. Amen.

The Wine

Rabbinical: The cup of wine is called the Kiddush, or cup of sanctification which comes from Ex. 6:6 "I will bring you out". The fruit of the vine has always symbolized the joy of God’s provisions in our everyday lives as told in Psalm 104:15. The blessing is recited over the cup to usher in the Sabbath.

ONM: The cup of wine represents His blood (Luke 22:20) and also represents the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28). Without blood we would not have life, and without His blood being shed for us we would not have life in Him.

Prayer: Bah-ruch ah-tah Ah-doh-nai Eloh-hay-nu Meh-lehch hah-oh-lahm boh-ray p’ree hah-gah-fehn. Ah-main.

Translation: Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe who filled the fruit of the vine. Amen.

The Shofar

Rabbinical: According to the Mishnah (the first writings of the Oral Torah), the shofar is used for the announcing of a festival, mustering of troops for a war, warning of danger, and assembling the people in the midst of battles, and for coronations of kings and priests.

Rabbi Isaac acknowledges in the Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah 16b that “If the shofar is not sounded at the beginning of the New Year, evil will befall it the end of the year. Why so? Because the accuser (satan) has not been confused…”

ONM: In Exodus 20:18, the Hebrew word for sound is kol (pronounced coal) and the Hebrew word for trumpet is shofar. It also means voice, and God is the voice of the shofar. This is why Ephesians 6:12 tells us "…we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm." Therefore, we blow it to clear the air spiritually with His voice, yet, we also use it to welcome our Lord Yeshua’s presence into our home.

Traditionally there are four types of sounds that are blown according to the rabbi's. Though I list these different ways, please always be led of the Lord as to how He wants you to sound it.

1. Tekiah (Blast)– one long blast
2. Teruah (Alarm) – 9 staccato notes (Should sound like someone crying - signifying a plea for mercy).
3. Shevarim (Broken)– 3 short notes
4. Tekiah Gadolah (The great blast) – This is played for as long as possible.

* = Walk With Y’shua Through the Jewish Year, Janie-Sue Wertheim and Kathy Shapiro; Purple Pomegranite Productions