Shabbat Flowers ~ and an Elul Story

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.
    He browses among the lilies. 

Song of Songs 6:3

Chodesh Tov!

Blessings in the new month of Elul! （though already as I am posting this we are already well into the month and almost the full moon!!)  

The sixth month on the Hebrew calendar is a time of repentance and return to God, a time of preparation to meet our Messiah and crown Him as King, in anticipation of the Fall Feasts of Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur,  culminating with tabernacling with Him,  as One with each other at the Feast of Sukkot! 

Also in this month it is said to be a time of drawing near to the beloved and a time when `the King is in the Fields`.  The verse above from Song of Songs is also associated with Elul. *

* The 4 letters from the first letter of each word of the  verse,  spell out the word ELUL in the Hebrew! 

 I find that in this month the LORD speaks to me in intimate ways and even shows how He is hearing my heart and bringing things to pass in a way that is very .... Elul!

That`s the only way I can describe it! So let me give it a go with the Elul Story about the Shabbat Flowers!

Since I returned to celebrating the Shabbat, here in Japan, I always love to buy flowers on Friday afternoons to welcome the Shabbat. The joy of walking home with flowers through the city is a great delight.  I experience it as a wonderful time,  bathed in His love, like a child excited to give flowers to her Daddy or a wife to her husband on their special day.  Yeshua says keep My commandments, abide in My love, and make my joy complete!

So on with the story, 

When I  buy flowers on Friday afternoons,  I also try to  picture how it must be in Israel, the women scurrying to do their shopping and greeting one another with their bouquets on their way to their homes for Shabbat.  This picture of the city filled with joy for Shabbat and for honoring the beloved Yeshua, the LORD of Shabbat, bubbles up in my heart with joy!!   I have longed for my city that we would honor God`s Shabbat and the women would be out on the streets like that on Friday afternoon, doing their shopping to make a special meal for the family, and in the flower shop greeting each other with, Shabbat Shalom! In Japanese,

 シャバット・シャローム！

I have been going to the same flower shop that is close to where I live, and have developed a friendly relationship with them.  Over the years have shared a little about Shabbat with he staff since they always see me on Friday,  a few have asked about that!

Recently God has opened a door and answered a prayer to share about Shabbat in the local church.  They are a small congregation who loves Israel and has become interested in returning to do the things of God and connecting to our Jewish root in the faith, as `one new man` in Messiah.

We had our first Shabbat last month, and already the second one this past Shabbat which was also the beginning of the month of Elul.

This church is right down the street from the flower shop where I buy flowers, so I was excited both times to order a `delivery` of Shabbat flowers to the church to have for our Shabbat to honor the LORD  and make a beautiful table for our celebration.

The first time when I placed the order I asked if they could write `Shabbat Shalom` in Japanese on the card. And they did.

Then when I came again the next time I once again asked if they could write the same message.

When I came into the flower shop later that afternoon, I saw the arrangement was in the glass case, and the words `Shabbat Shalom` on the message card filled my heart with joy!!

It was like a first `drop` from Heaven of the glimmer of the vision of the Shabbat being honored in Japan! ( I shared a little about this vision of Shabbat in Japan in an early post HERE).   And more than that, it is the LORD of Shabbat, Yeshua,  being honored in Japan when we observe Shabbat we say clearly that we are giving honor and praise and glory to the God of the Bible, the God of Creation, the God of Israel who invites us all to be a part of His glorious Kingdom through Messiah Yeshua!!

Glory to His Name!!  Oh LORD how we pray for all the nations to know you, the Holy One, and the Maker of Heaven and Earth, Saviour of all the world..., maybe it will be one Shabbat bouquet at a time!!

Hence I call it an Elul story, as it takes place in this month of repentance and return! A month when `the King is in the fields` and where we seek the face of the beloved from the `fields` where we are and may He meet us here!

With love to all and to all be God`s Love!!❤️

Love, Shayndel

He has brought me to the banquet house
    and his banner over me is love.

Song of Songs 2:4 

pS i just found the post where I first had the prayer/vision about Shabbat in Japan, amazingly it was 6 years ago!! Thank you LORD for hearing my prayer and bringing such encouragement in this Elul!! I pray for multiplication and seeing it come about more and more by the power of Your Ruach Ha Chodesh, even to be a revival of the Shabbat Shalom ・Teshuvah kind!!

Quoting from the post, this line below: 

I am so excited for when the people of Japan will know ADONAI and will celebrate the Shabbat, and on Friday afternoons people will greet each other in the town with シャバット・シャローム ,
 Shabbat Shalom! As they scurry to buy food and flowers and prepare for Shabbat!

 

Happy Tu B`Shevat!

 In days to come Jacob will take root,
    Israel will bud and blossom
    and fill all the world with fruit.

Isaiah 27:6

 💛

Yes! The grapefruits are Jaffa Sweetie from Israel.  At Tu B`Shevat we were able to find them in our local supermarket in a small city in the South of Japan! Baruch HaShem! The prophetic verse is already coming to pass as Israel sends her delicious fruit out into the world.   I am so thankful to receive them here.  I remember the very first time I saw an Israel fruit in our local supermarket in Japan (HERE!), it was also Tu B`Shevat!! Once we open our hearts to love and pray for Israel, Heaven hears and God sends fruit!  The land of Israel becomes closer and closer, and we too get closer to our return.

But you, mountains of Israel, you will shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit for My people Israel; for their return is near. 

Ezekiel 36:8

Taste and see how good the LORD is.  

 15 Shevat, 5783

Happy Tu B`Shevat!

Love, 

Shayndel

 PS adding a verse with `my word` this year, inheritance, and how beautiful to go with the fruit of Tu B`shevat in all its prophetic splendour, and there will be a `sowing of Shalom`! Thank you LORD! We speak it forward on this very Tu B`Shevat today as the sap courses through the trees and they awaken in spring, and your Ruach courses through the spirit of your people to return to our inheritance in You!

For there will be a sowing of shalom: the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its increase, and the heavens will give their dew. I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.   

Zechariah 8:12

כִּי-זֶרַע הַשָּׁלוֹם, הַגֶּפֶן תִּתֵּן פִּרְיָהּ וְהָאָרֶץ תִּתֵּן אֶת-יְבוּלָהּ, וְהַשָּׁמַיִם, יִתְּנוּ טַלָּם; וְהִנְחַלְתִּי, אֶת-שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם הַזֶּה--אֶת-כָּל-אֵלֶּה

 

Parsha Yitro--Ten Commandments and Two 5-Strand Challah

 Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness that ADONAI had shown to Israel, since He had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.      Exodus 18:9

Yitro is the name in Hebrew of this week's (* last week's, by the time I am posting!!)  Parsha, named for Moses' father-in-law Jethro.  Jethro was a Midianite priest and former idol-worshiper who became a believer in the one true God, after hearing the wonderous things the LORD did for the Children of Israel,  that He parted the Sea and He set them free.  Jethro also had a good advice to Moses not to do everything himself, but to hire good men to help him.＊

I used my "Mt. Fuji and Ten Commandments" Challah cover this week in honor of the parsha.  The Challah cover is also a visual "prayer" that here too where we are in Japan the people will hear and be transformed by the truth of the one true God and receive His word and Salvation! 

For this week I made 2 five strand challah to make 10 strands total to represent the Ten Commandments!  For the Challah-cast this week (HERE, or see "screen" below!)  I show how to braid a five-strand challah.  My brother, who has been watching my weekly challah-casts, has been telling me to put in more of the making of challah and less talking!! (I did the challah making, as per his request,  but there is also still a lot of talking, sorry Jim, I'm working on it!)

In the parsha Moses tells the children of Israel not to be afraid of the thunder and mountain quaking, but  that they have to Fear the Lord and not go astray (Exodus 20:20).   God Himself tells them several times in the book of Exodus and later throughout the Torah, that if they fear Him and observe all His commandments He will not bring upon them the diseases "that He brought upon the Egyptians". 

²⁶ He said, “If you diligently listen to the voice of Adonai your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His mitzvot, and keep all His decrees, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I am Adonai who heals you.”                                                             Exodus 15:26

He also made this clear in the ten plagues, where the plagues were judgement put upon the people of Egypt and yet didn't touch the Children of Israel who were all in one accord to follow His ways.

He is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow.  May we Praise Him,  and fear Him and not go astray.  Observe His statutes with delight. And may the diseases not come near our tents (Psalm 91:10).  May more and more people say Yes to His Salvation.

Did you know that at the time of the giving of the Torah, it is said in an  account in the  Mishnah(Sifrei Devarim 343) that all the nations were given the chance to receive the Torah and the Ten Commandments.  But all said no on certain commandments that they couldn't abide by, and after that only Israel said YES, and their YES was without  questioning the specifics of what they would have to do, they put all their faith in Him and said Yes, we will do all that You ask.  The other Nations all were said to have said no to one or the other commandment, and turned down His offer of the TORAH on those things that didn't agree with them.  For one nation, "no murder" was unacceptable, it was their way of life, they just couldn't commit.  For another, no adultery--- out of the question as that was part of their way of life (I am not naming nations! but so it is said!).  And so on! Only Israel  gave their reverential and unequivocal YES, acknowledging that that HE is their Master and Creator and Sovereign King, and they agreed to receive the Torah.

 We are given the choice each day anew to say Yes, LORD, we will do ALL that you ask us to do because You are our God.

Seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all else will follow.

Blessings and Love,

S h a b b a t   S h a l o m !  !

♡

＊Thank you Hobbyloes! I added this line from your comment:)!

Shayndel (doing Challah Cast as Joanne!)

Light and dreidel -- Sharing Hanukkah

"Light and Dreidel"  is the name of a small community exhibition and workshop I had at a community gallery this past Sunday,  to share about Hanukkah.   Visitors were invited to  make a "dreidel" and enjoy an afternoon of  relaxed meeting , fellowship,  playing the dreidel game,  and learning a little about the festival of Light, which is Hanukkah!

A dreidel is a special game that is played at Hanukkah with a four sided spinning "top" that has four Hebrew letters written on it to represent "A Great Miracle Happened There", and as you know that is the Hanukkah miracle of the light that the pure oil that miraculously lasted long enough for 8 nights that should just have been enough for one .  

I love Hannukah,  though I must say I don't quite know how to spell it.

You can make a dreidel in two ways at the workshop, either out of paper clay or using origami paper "straws".

Of course, the idea of making a paper clay dreidel comes from the song! Which we sang.  In Japanese and English!

And the idea for the  dreidel craft from straws, comes from a creative Jewish Mom's blog, and it is This Post.  I love her creative and colorful Hannukah ideas, and when I saw it  I had an inspiration for my "Made in Japan" variation here, which is to use origami paper to make "straws".

Just roll the origami paper first into "straws" and enjoy all the variegated patterns and colors to make a dreidel decoration of many colors or many different colored dreidels. Because we were reading the Parsha about Joseph, it made me think of "Joseph and the many colored dreidels".

Please tune in  for a related Challah-cast from this week, all new,  HERE!

The original special edition challah in the header above will just be for the days of Hanukkah! It spells the letters on the dreidel which as you know stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There"!

Much love and Hanukkah blessings!!

♡

Shayndel

I was so happy to share about making a dreidel with the children!!  A few adults made one too, and when you make a dreidel as an adult, you feel like a child again!!

This paper clay dreidel was made by an adult who stopped by.  We found a new idea, to make the letters on the dreidel out of cut origami paper.

As part of the "light" theme, a photo that I took in Israel , Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee

, and of the Menorah that will go in the Holy Temple.

A Great Miracle Happened There--this is what the letters on the dreidel stand for, Nes Gadol, Haya, Sham.   Sharing about the miracle of Hannukah at a small community exhibit here in Oita.  This Origami craft Menorah I made inspired by this creative Hannukah Craft HERE that uses Straws to make an adorable menorah.

Reading the Hebrew letters from Right to Left, they stand for "Nes Gadol Haya Sham", a great miracle happened there.  The dreidels in Israel have one difference, there it says "A great miracle happened HERE"!

This little girl made her first dreidel.  She made it out of clay!

Sharing Hanukkah with children was a complete joy!! This is one of the new friends I made! She took home a little dreidel after we read together from the Little Dreidel book.

Reading this book, with a Japanese translation handy, that I translated last year with the help of my Japanese teacher!!  Its a fun book because it is all in "verse" to the Dreidel song tune, so even if the words aren't all understood, the pictures and the "song' are fun to share!

Another craft using origami paper rolled into "straws" inspired from this Dreidel Craft HERE!  Thank you to Creative Jewish Mom for the inspirations on her blog!

Sea of Galilee sunrise♡

Yeshua, You are welcome in this place!!

♡

And He called a child to Himself, set him in the midst of them, and said, 
"Amen, I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you shall never enter the kingdom of heaven.  
Whoever then shall humble himself like this child, this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in My name, 
welcomes Me.

Matthew 18:2~5