A note from Arthur Waskow Philadelphia, Pa. May 24, 2005 At just the moment of history when religious conflict, violence, terrorism, and war have reemerged bearing lethal dangers for our different communities and our shared planet, God has given our spiritual and religious traditions a gift of time:
During October 2005, a confluence of sacred moments in many different traditions invites us to pray with or alongside each other and to work together for peace, justice, human rights, and the healing of our wounded earth.
To begin with, two strands of time that are celebrated in two communities now often at odds with one another are this fall woven together in a way not seen for decades: The sacred Muslim lunar month of Ramadan and the sacred Jewish lunar month of Tishrei, which includes the High Holy Days and Sukkot, both begin October 3-4. And there is more: October 4 is the Saint's Day of St. Francis of Assisi (who almost alone of all Christian leaders of his generation opposed the Crusades and studied with Islamic teachers, as well as connecting deeply with all the creatures of the earth); October 2 is Gandhi's birthday, and is also Worldwide (Protestant) Communion Sunday. In mid-October, there are important Buddhist and Hindu festivals.
There is much that we could do to heal the world during this sacred season made up of sacred times:
* Perhaps in groups of congregations -- a church, a synagogue, a mosque, a temple -- each congregation could host one meal for members of the others, after nightfall on any of the evenings of Ramadan.
* Jews could invite Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus into the Sukkah, a leafy hut that is open to the wind and rain. Traditionally, "sacred guests" are invited in and the ancient Rabbis taught that during Sukkot, blessings are invoked upon "the seventy nations" of the world. Traditional prayers implore God to "spread the sukkah of shalom" over us. These are perfect rubrics for peacemaking among the children of Abraham and all humanity with each other and with all the earth.
* Muslims could invite other communities to join in celebrating some aspects of Eid el-Fitr (the feast at the end of Ramadan), and Jews and Christians could (as in Morocco) bring food to the celebration of the end of Ramadan's fasting. It marks and underlines the month-long commitment to fast so as to offer food and life-abundance to God as a sacrifice, and to focus on devotion to God instead of to material success.
* Churches could invite Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus to join in learning about and celebrating the teachings of Francis of Assisi. He was one of the few Christians of his day who opposed the Crusades, who learned in a serious way from Muslim teachers, and who was deeply dedicated to kinship with the earth and all living creatures.
* Synagogues could invite Muslim scholars and spiritual leaders to teach on Rosh Hashanah when Jews are reading Torah passages from the saga of Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, Sarah, and Isaac, how it is that Muslims understand that family story. Then there could be open discussion of the differences, the similarities, the wisdom held in each of the versions of the story.
*Synagogues could set aside a time during Yom Kippur or the Shabbat just before, or another special time during the month, to read and discuss the Torah's story (Gen. 25: 7-11) of the joining of Isaac and Ishmael to bury their father Abraham, and then to achieve reconciliation at the Well of the Living One Who Sees Me. They could invite Muslims to join in some part of the day or in the break-fast (by Muslims called Iftar) at the end of the day.
* Our communities could together take some action during the month to protect human rights, heal the earth, and seek peace in the whole region where Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah sojourned.
And from sunrise to sunset on the day that for Muslims is one of the fast days of Ramadan and for Jews is the fast day of Yom Kippur -- October 13 -- Christians and indeed all Americans could also observe a Fast for Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal.
All of us could learn from the passage of Isaiah that in Jewish tradition is read on Yom Kippur morning. God, speaking through Isaiah, says, "Do you think the fast that I demand this day is to bow down your head like a bulrush? No! The fast I demand is that you feed the poor, house the homeless, clothe the naked, and break off the handcuffs on your prisoners."
So in our own generation, we could encourage those who join in this Fast to take visible steps in the world to " Seek peace, Feed the poor, Heal the earth."
A call to all Americans to join in an October 13 fast and to create shared multireligious local and regional events during the month was initiated by The Shalom Center, with The Tent of Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah. It has been endorsed by the National Council of Churches, the Islamic Society of North America, Pax Christi, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal and its rabbinic affilate Ohalah, the Jewish Committee for Isaiah's Vision (an ad hoc committee made up of more than one hundred rabbis and other Jewish leaders), and a number of local and regional groups.
Learn more...
--------------------------------------------------------- * Rabbi Waskow is director of The Shalom Center. To explore your own involvement with the October effort, please write Office@shalomctr.org
For further information see: -- www.shalomctr.org www.tentofabraham.org
