19 — Shabbat Mincha: Opening, Ashrei and Uva LeTzion

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Part 19 of 26

Intention

For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, Blessed be He, & His Divine Presence – with awe & love & love & awe – to unify of the Name of [letter] Yud, Hei with Vav Hei with a Complete Unity in the name of all Yisrael. Behold we come to pray the Afternoon Service, that was instituted by Yitzhak / Isaac our Patriarch, peace be upon him, with all of the Mitzvot / commandments included in it, to repair its source in a high place, to give serenity to the One Who Formed us and to do the will of our Creator. May the goodwill of our Adonai, our God, be upon us. [Oh, God] establish our handiwork for us. And our handiwork establish (two times) (Tehillim / Psalm 84)

Psalm 84

How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

My soul yearneth, yea, even pineth for the courts of the LORD;

My heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God.

Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself,

Where she may lay her young;

Thine altars, O LORD of hosts,

My King, and my God—

Happy are they that dwell in Thy house,

They are ever praising Thee.
Selah

Happy is the man whose strength is in Thee;

In whose heart are the highways.

Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs;

Yea, the early rain clotheth it with blessings.

They go from strength to strength,

Every one of them appeareth before God in Zion.

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;

Give ear, O God of Jacob.
Selah

Behold, O God our shield,

And look upon the face of Thine anointed.

For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand;

I had rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God,

Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the LORD God is a sun and a shield;

The LORD giveth grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts,

Happy is the man that trusteth in Thee.

The daily offering

[The Daily Offering (Numbers 28:1-8)] And the Adonai Spoke to Moshe saying: Command the Children of Israel and say to them – My Offering – Bread for the Fire Offering is My pleasing aroma – Be careful to offer it in its [proper] time. And you shall say to them this is the fire-offering that you shall offer to the Adonai – perfect sheep of one year [old], two daily as a Regular Burnt Offering. One sheep you shall do in the morning and the second sheep you shall do in the afternoon. And a tenth of an Ephah (a measure) of fine flour for the gift offering mixed with pressed oil – one-fourth of a hin (a measure). A regular burnt- offering [like] that was done on Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma – a Fire-Offering to the Adonai. And its libation – is a quarter of a hin (a measure) for one sheep in the Sanctuary – pour a libation of old wine for the Adonai. And the second sheep you shall do in the afternoon like the Meal-Offering of the morning and like its libation do as a fire-offering – a pleasant aroma to the Adonai.

Incense — the Torah passage

You are the Adonai, Our God, that our Forefathers burned before You the incense spices at the time that the Holy Temple stood – like You commanded them through Moshe, Your Prophet, like it is written in your Torah.

And the Adonai said to Moshe – Take for yourself spices- balsam sap / Nataf / & onycha / Sh-h'elet & galbanum / H'elbona, spices & pure frankincense / Levona – each shall be of equal weight. And you shall prepare it (the spices) as incense – a compound, the work of a spice mixer, blended (or salted) pure & holy. And you shall grind from it very well, and you shall take from it, before the [tent of] testimony – in the Tent of Meeting – that I shall meet with you there – holy, holy it shall be for you. And it says – and Aharon shall offer as incense, the incense spices each & every morning when he cleans the lamps he shall offer it. And when Aharon Ascends, he shall offer the incense – a regular incense offering before the Adonai – throughout your generations.

Verses after the incense

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. LORD of hosts, happy is the person who trusts in You. LORD, save! May the King answer us on the day we call. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the LORD, as in the days of old and in former years.

Ashrei — Psalm 145

Happy are those that dwell in Your house, they will yet praise You forever. Happy is the people for whom this is so, happy is the people that the Adonai is their God.

I will extol Thee, my God, O King;

And I will bless Thy name for ever and ever.

Every day will I bless Thee;

And I will praise Thy name for ever and ever.

Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall laud Thy works to another,

And shall declare Thy mighty acts.

The glorious splendour of Thy majesty,

And Thy wondrous works, will I rehearse.

And men shall speak of the might of Thy tremendous acts;

And I will tell of Thy greatness.

They shall utter the fame of Thy great goodness,

And shall sing of Thy righteousness.

The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion;

Slow to anger, and of great mercy.

The LORD is good to all;

And His tender mercies are over all His works.

All Thy works shall praise Thee, O LORD;

And Thy saints shall bless Thee.

They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom,

And talk of Thy might;

To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,

And the glory of the majesty of His kingdom.

Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,

And Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

The LORD upholdeth all that fall,

And raiseth up all those that are bowed down.

The eyes of all wait for Thee,

And Thou givest them their food in due season.

Thou openest Thy hand,

And satisfiest every living thing with favour.

The LORD is righteous in all His ways,

And gracious in all His works.

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him,

To all that call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him;

He also will hear their cry, and will save them.

The LORD preserveth all them that love Him;

But all the wicked will He destroy.

My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD;

And let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever.

But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for ever. Hallelujah.

Uva LeTzion — A Redeemer Shall Come to Zion

And a redeemer will come to Zion, And unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, Saith the LORD. And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

You are holy, enthroned upon the praises of Israel. And one calls to another and says: Holy, holy, holy is Adonai of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. They receive from one another and say: Holy in the highest heavens, the dwelling of His Presence; holy upon the earth, the work of His power; holy forever and for all eternity is Adonai of hosts—the whole earth is full of His glory.

Then a wind lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing: Blessed is the glory of Adonai from His place. They lift themselves opposite the seraphim and, facing them, give praise and say: Blessed is the glory of Adonai from the place of His Presence. Adonai shall reign forever and ever. His kingdom is established for all ages, and His sovereignty for every generation.

Blessed is our God, Who created us for His glory, separated us from those who go astray, gave us the Torah of truth, and planted eternal life within us. May He open our hearts through His Torah, place in our hearts love and awe of Him, so that we may do His will and serve Him wholeheartedly. May we not labor in vain or bring forth for confusion.

May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our ancestors, that we keep Your statutes in this world and merit to live, see, and inherit goodness and blessing in the days of the Messiah and in the life of the World to Come, so that my soul may sing praises to You and not be silent. Adonai my God, I will thank You forever.