2009-01-07T01:05:01Z No Author Copyright 2009, No Author SPHPBLOG
Eman and Shira answer questions from the SAR students about their experience this summer in The Balkans on the Vision Program. ]]> http://www.abrahamsvision.org/sarweblog2006-07/index.php?entry=entry061215-105257 2006-12-15T00:00:00Z 2006-12-15T00:00:00Z
Eman and Shira, fellows on the Vision Program in the summer of 2006, come to speak to the SAR students about their experience in group process. They spoke about the challenges of working in group process in Conflict Resolution. ]]> http://www.abrahamsvision.org/sarweblog2006-07/index.php?entry=entry061215-105025 2006-12-15T00:00:00Z 2006-12-15T00:00:00Z
The most meaningful moment which I experienced during the class was when Ibrahim spoke about how he felt like he was a sinner and turned to G-d for help. He said that he cried a lot and asked G-d to let him change. However, while he was asking G-d for the ability to change, he knew at the same time that he was a human being and that he would not truly be able to change. I was able to relate to this experience of Ibrahim’s in a very meaningful way. Often, I feel so strongly the desire to change, to become more compassionate and caring. Sometimes, I even call out to G-d. However, thus far I have only experienced the harsh realization that change is beyond the horizon and not in my control.

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Ibrahim Abdelbaky, a New Yorker orginally from Egypt, spoke with the SAR students about his experience in Mecca for the voluntary pilgrimage called Umrah. He began his talk by asking the students about their feelings when visiting Jerusalem. This was an excellant segway for Ibrahim to explain his experience in Mecca on this holy pilgrimage. (For more information about Umrah, click on, http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news ... ce_id=1125)
Ibrahim worked as a history teacher and tour guide for Italians in Cairo before moving to New York City four years ago. ]]> http://www.abrahamsvision.org/sarweblog2006-07/index.php?entry=entry061109-182809 2006-11-10T00:00:00Z 2006-11-10T00:00:00Z
However, I really enjoyed Ibrahim’s visit. Partially because he wasn’t anyone famous or extremely righteous or brave, he was a regular human being who tries his best to follow the entire Qu’ran and to best the best Muslim he can be but again he is only human and like me he makes mistakes. He was an interesting person to listen to and even though I didn’t really relate to him, his story and his life was very realistic to me.
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In Judaism as well as in Islam, the topic of whether we as followers of G-d are given free will is a highly contested theological issue by great scholars of the religious texts.

According to Judaism, we have free will, yet in Exodus (1-20, 23) it says that when Pharaoh had to decide whether or not to allow the Jews to leave Egypt, G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not allow the Jews to leave. Now this seems as if it was predetermination or Gods will that Pharaoh would not allow the Jews to leave Egypt, not Pharaoh’s free choice.

In her book, Studies in Shemot, Nehama Leibowitz comments on this apparent contradiction in religious beliefs. She brings a variety of commentaries¬¬¬ including Rashi, Rambam and Ebin Ezra to help in her overall explanation of how Pharaoh truly had freedom of choice.

To begin, every man has the freedom to choose to do good or bad. He has equal opportunity to both nothing forcing him either way besides his own mind and his own. However, once he makes this first decision it is as if it sets off a chain of events that will happen in the future. This is because, through making his first decision not to allow the Jews to leave Egypt, it became harder and harder for him to turn around and choose the other option, which was to allow the Jews to leave, when the same situation presented itself again.

This difficulty of going back to do the right thing is caused by G-d. When G-d created man he built this flaw into him. He made it so that if the same bad action was performed over and over, the action would become irresistible to him and it is therefore difficult for him to change his ways. This flaw is what the Torah refers to when it speaks of G-d hardening Pharaoh’s heart.

Although this flaw is built into man, it was at all times Pharaoh’s decision whether or not to allow the Jews to leave Egypt. G-d’s action only made it harder for him to correct his mistake but it was his choice to continue how he had started.

In short, at the beginning Pharaoh had equal opportunity to allow the Jews to leave Egypt or not allow the Jews to leave Egypt. G-d had no influence at all. Once Pharaoh made the decision not to allow the Jews to leave once and then again it became easy for him to choose to say that he would not allow the Jews to leave Egypt each time Moses came to ask for Pharaoh to allow them to leave. It was however harder and harder for Pharaoh to allow the Jews to leave because each time he said no, the answer became more and more irresistible.

Thus we have freedom of choice and so did Pharaoh, it is only our previous actions that affect or present decisions not any supernatural force such as G-d literally hardening our hearts.
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There is another aspect to Muslim prayer. This is called Dua, which is personal and additional prayer. This is at no specific time during the day, rather is just a personal conversation with g-d at any given time when you wish to speak to him. It might be to say a quick thank you or to request something in the moment; it essentially has no guidelines. This too is comparable to Judaism. This form of prayer has no rules and also can be done at any time during the day. Although it has no official title in Judaism, it basically is just a conversation between you and g-d whenever one may feel the desire or need to do so.

The ritual prayer has both its advantages and disadvantages. Its advantages are that it is the recognized and accepted version of prayer. One wanting to thank g-d may want the more traditional and accepted version. It is clear what should be said and when one should say it. One may find this easier because they appreciate the guidelines that Salah lays out. On the other hand there are those people that become annoyed at all rules and regulations about what to say and when to say it. There are those who want to thank g-d in their own style. Furthermore the amount of times one has to pray and the amount of things one has to say can prove to be an incredible inconvenience. For example a Muslim probably doesn’t enjoy the fact that they have to wake up at dawn or in the middle of their workday stop to say the required prayers. Though there are these drawbacks, they are apparently disregarded, seeing how so many Muslims do these ritualistic prayers every day.


To learn more about Prayer in Islam click on
http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithworship.html]]> http://www.abrahamsvision.org/sarweblog2006-07/index.php?entry=entry061005-172752 2006-10-05T00:00:00Z 2006-10-05T00:00:00Z
Every year after Rosh Hashanah a week is spent in anticipation of the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur. Though it is associated amongst younger children as the day on which we do not eat, Yom Kippur provides extraordinary opportunity for purification.
What I find most ironic about Yom Kippur, is that while it is considered to be a “cleansing holiday”, the day is of the dirtiest days of the year. Prohibited from basic cleansing activities, we come to pray to God on the holy of holy days with unclean faces, un-brushed teeth and smelling filthy. This prohibition of physical cleansing is, in my opinion, the essence of the day, and the essence of Judaism.

Throughout my childhood, I have repeatedly been told “It’s what’s on the inside that counts.” This philosophy is a focal point of Jewish law. A central belief of the Jewish people is that when one passes away, their soul, or, “neshama” rises to the heavens to live in the afterworld. The more beautiful one’s “neshama”, the more reward obtained in the afterlife. The beauty of a “neshama” is not that of physical beauty, rather the beauty of a pure soul. Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei, considered to be the holiest day of the year, is the ultimate exemplar of this notion. I first realized this a few years ago when I smelt the body odor of the chazzan crying out to God to absolve us of our sins. He ignored his physical beauty and was concerned only with the cleansing of his spiritual insides.

Yom Kippur is a day of cleansing relationships, be they between man and man or man and God. The “for the sin I have sinned before you” portion of the designated Yom Kippur prayer lists a category for every sin possible, giving one the opportunity to cleanse oneself from every type of wrongdoing. Leading up to Yom Kippur one also asks for forgiveness in order to cleanse relationships.
Yom Kippur Provides a time to “clean our slate” of Sins and begin a new attempt to accurately live according to the Jewish guidelines. After Yom Kippur a person is overcome by the feeling of purity.

Although we are prohibited from physical cleansing, I view the Yom Kippur service as an extended shower of our souls. Yom Kippur is a time to live up to the philosophy that the “inside counts”. Although the fast is hard and the service is long, the spiritual cleansing is gratifying.


To learn more about Ramadan click on http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/MSA/events/Ramadan.html
To learn more about Yom Kippur click on
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/YomKippur.htm]]> http://www.abrahamsvision.org/sarweblog2006-07/index.php?entry=entry061003-172251 2006-10-03T00:00:00Z 2006-10-03T00:00:00Z
For some people Yom Kippur is perhaps the climax of a long one month or whole year period of self cleansing. For me, however, it is not the pinnacle of a long process of purification but rather a single day of self cleansing which stands by itself. I probably experience this holiday as a single day of purification, and not a whole month process, because I have not been successful in controlling my actions and behaviors significantly. In my prior experience in life as a child, purification, a process in which one cleanses themselves of sin and bad motives, was not a very difficult process. In fact, it was almost a non-existent process because a natural state of purity existed and there was not much of a need for purification. In contrast to my childhood, currently the process of purification is necessary to my spiritual growth despite the difficulty of accomplishing this feat. As I mentioned above, the altering of one’s behaviors and actions are an essential part of purification. For me personally, this is something that I have toiled with a lot. I often feel that because of my nature and certain moods that I go through, I can not control my actions and a certain level of internal movement is missing. In order to truly purify oneself, one must recognize their shortcomings and sins and realize that internal change is needed for spiritual growth. Judaism has attempted to enable human beings to go through this process by establishing a month that focuses on reflection on one’s actions and alteration of one’s actions. As a result of feeling that my failure in altering my actions came from G-d, it was difficult for me to be active in any part of the purification process without feeling despair that I would not be able to change myself in the end of the day. Yom Kippur, however, changed my perspective slightly and instilled hope for the future. In this regard, it was a day of purification that stood by itself. At a certain point on Yom Kippur I came to the realization that internal change was not only necessary but possible as well. All of the stumbling blocks that have been preventing me from changing and purifying myself could be surpassed if I would really believe that I could change and that G-d could help me. This realization, by itself leaves me with hope that change can be achieved in this new and up-coming year. This realization is the first step in a greater process of purification, and has been aroused and revealed through the experience of Yom Kippur.
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On Yom Kippur, I can’t help but constantly think about the fact that God truly has my life in his hands and that at any second he can decide if I live or die. This idea greatly worries and frightens me. It makes me think and reflect about all the things I have done wrong, and whether all the things I have done right will be enough to cancel out the bad things. I worry if my prayers are meaningful enough, and if God will forgive me. I stand in synagogue with a lump of fear in my heart, thinking about whether God is writing my name in the book of death at that moment.
Along with the worry and fear comes guilt. Guilt about all the sins I have committed the whole year, guilt about the choices I have made, guilt about the places I have gone. I can’t help but feel like a bad person and it’s hard for me to focus on the good deeds I have done. When reflecting on my past year, I always think of how I will make this year one filled with good deeds and very few sins. Yom Kippur is somewhat a time of cleansing for me, cleansing of my past year, and a renewing of my “record”. After Yom Kippur I feel as if I am a new person with a clean slate, ready to be a better person. I feel as all my sins have been washed away and I am getting another chance. It is a great feeling and I am very grateful to God for giving me this opportunity to “cleanse” myself.

After learning about Ramadan and how it is often viewed as a time of purification and cleansing, I discovered that Yom Kippur is too a time of cleansing for me. Despite the feelings of fear, worry, and guilt Yom Kippur for me is also a day of opportunity to do better and start over. This similarity of cleansing and purification between Ramadan and Yom Kippur, shows us yet another similarity between Muslims and Jews.
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