Over the past 6 weeks dialogues and friends have gathered to observe prayer services in each other's sacred places. Below is a brief description of these two gatherings which have brought some of us into a mosque or synagogue for the first time, allowing us to step over the walls of silence and ignorance of the "stranger".
Following the summary are the brief comments given by Tom Cox, Vice President of The Dialogue Project. I pass them on as they truly reflect the essence of dialogue as we create it together.
Shalom - Salaam
Marcia
On April 28th about 30 dialoguers and friends visited Beit El Maqdies Mosque in Bay Ridge.We arrived a little before 7 pm. The women were covered as is Islamic custom. We entered the women's prayer service room and looked over material which had been presented, in English, explaining Islam and the traditional prayer service. The women's area contains a video monitor so the women may hear and watch the Imam during prayers.
The men mingled in the prayer area, a large comfortable room and set up tables where we would sit and observe the prayer and eat, (of course!). The mosque was bright and comfortable for prayer, covered in a plush light green carpet.
Once the tables were ready, the women joined the men in the prayer room, though we did not sit next to each other. Bassam introduced the Imams and their translators. A brief description of the five pillars of Islam was given and then wonderful pita pizzas and salads followed. Prayers began with a strong and beautiful call to prayer by the reciter. We were all provided with an english translation of the service. As I listened ( I do not understand any arabic) the chant entered my heart just where the Psalms of David reside, which we chant when welcoming the Sabbath (day of Rest) every Friday evening .
It was the same call - a call to leave behind that which is part of the crass, everyday world and go to a deeper, quieter place. I also remembered the calls to prayer which emanated from the mosques inside Jerusalem where I had lived for several years. In those years, when I heard those calls, I did not always catch their beauty or demand for refuge and peace. This night, in Bay Ridge, the first time a group of Jews and others had been invited into the mosque, the call to prayer brought us to a place of calm.
After the prayer service (about 22 minutes) we then "spoke" with the Imams through translators. Some questions referred to the text, and the meaning of being servants to Allah. Others asked about the text which referred to the worlds of paradise, obtainable through devotion to G-d, and the other choice, Hell. The prayers and the Imams stressed the call to peace inherent in the prayers. There was some discussion about Sunni and Shiitte Islam (which we hope to explore some more) One participant asked about the history of converting pagans and others to Islam, which brought some nuanced discussion. Thank you Dr. Saud (Ayman's Uncle and Bassam for providing the translation - no easy task translating for such learned Imams).
Around 9:15 we finished as the prayer room once again was to host the final evening prayer. Many of the worshippers told us that this was a new and gratifying experience - welcoming Jews and others into the mosque. We were invited back for more discussion and food! (And plans are underway for a gathering which will allow us to share Islamic/Jewish Music and dance as well as prayer).
This past Friday, May 31st the Park Slope Jewish Center welcomed around 40 dialgouers and friends of The Dialogue Project into the sanctuary for Sabbath Eve prayers.
The air was thick and heavy with humidity, heat and thunder storms threatened (and eventually arrived) as we came to share the evening along with the synagogue congregants and our children.
Before services (at 7:30) light food and drink greeted the guests and synagogue members who had arrived from work. After some mingling the Rabbi, and members of the synagogue gave two sanctuary tours leading the Muslim and Christian guests to the "bima" or altar to explain the Torah and the ark. The ark was opened to display the scolls (which are not taken out during a Friday Night service).
All guests were provided with a prayer book with the service in English and Hebrew. The Welcoming of the Sabbath began with words from the Rabbi and Tom. The service begins with the welcoming of the Sabbath Bride with song and meditation - a preparation to let the quiet and peace of the Sabbath enter. Eddie Ehrlich then led the body of the service. He spoke about the most central prayer in Judaism, the Shema - the delcaration of Jewish belief in One G-d. Eddie spoke about the words "Here O'Israel" relating to the people. He spoke lovingly of having both his dialogue community and his synagogue community together and emphasized our common humanity reflected in the prayer.
In the middle of the service the time for the Muslim prayer service came, so our Muslim guests went downstairs to pray while the Jews remained upstairs with the Sabbath Service. How wonderful to see Jews, Palestinians, Muslims and Christians praying in the same house! And just when all rejoined for the blessings over the bread and wine after the service, thunder began, drowning out our voices. One of our Supportive Others said "I felt as if G-d was clapping, "Hear you my children of Abraham, go to your rooms until you can do this on a full time basis - make peace, make prayer!".
More food, discussion. tips on keeping the children happy followed with questions about what is the Torah and what is the Sabbath exactly. We spoke about creating a text study group and other gatherings that will explore our traditions rituals.
At 10 PM, hot, full with prayer, food, and good feeling we said good bye.
May all are peoples know peace and share as we have.
Shalom - Salaam
Marcia Kannry Founder - The Dialogue Project
Tom's Comments about DialogueWelcome
Shalom and Salaam.
My name is Thomas Cox. I'm a member of The Dialogue Project.Welcome everyone, and a special welcome to those visiting, those new to dialogue, and those entering a synagogue for the first time.
I'd like to give great thanks to the Park Slope Jewish Center for hosting this special gathering today, for welcoming us to participate in this service.
It was over a year ago that we first gathered here at Park Slope Jewish Center, with a number of those now present in attendance. One hundred and fifty Jews, Arabs, Christians and others listened as two men, a Palestinian Muslim and a Jewish American, spoke of their friendship and dialogue. We want to thank the Park Slope Jewish Center for opening it's doors and hearts to dialogue in the comunity. And we want to thank Eddie Ehrlich, a member of our first dialogue circle, who will help lead the services tonight. Eddie so thoughtfully listens and challanges himself at each dialogue circle. Eddie, your spirit reflects the spirit of dialogue.
We members of The Dialogue Project come from many backgrounds. We include Palestinians from both Muslim and Christian traditions, Israeli and American Jews both practicing and secular, some from other nations of the Mideast, secular humanists, and members of various faiths and of no religious faith. Some, like myself, have yet to venture to the Mideast.
We come together in commitment to dialogue rather than conflict; to hearing each other rather than shouting each other down; and to the possibility that something might evolve from our gathering, something of a transformative nature.
As I've said, we come from many faiths and no faith, so I am speaking personally when I say that this transformative possibility is spiritual.
Belief in a living, loving, ever-present God in our midst allows some of us to connect spiritually even when our religious backgrounds are quite different.
Regardless of our spiritual beliefs, we honor the beliefs of those around us, and the presence today of this diverse group bears testimony to our honoring of the Jewish faith.
We also honor each other as individuals, and we demonstrate this through active listening, perhaps the most essential ingredient of dialogue. We are called on to listen so carefully that we be able to recall the essence of what has been stated, and occasionally we participate in exercises where we literally reflect back the thoughts of the previous speaker before we offer our own. We come together not to challange each other, but rather, we come as interested in knowing the experiences and traditions of the other, the other being be Jew, a Muslim, a Palestinian Christian, a humanist, or one of another following.
I'd also like to thank my own church, Park Slope United Methodist which, along with the United Methodist New York Council on Disaster Relief, has become a partner with the Dialogue Project.
Tonight we hope all will ask questions, borne of curiosity and a desire to understand. This is our opportunity to learn more of the history of the Jewish prayers and how these words have resonance for us all.
But before I return to my seat, I must offer a very profound thanks to the founding vision. The visionary who brought this into being, Marcia Kannry, the president of The Dialogue Project, has shown us her love of her own tradition and people, and also her love of the nation of Palestine and the Palestinian people, who share the holy land with her people. She has shown this love so clearly and joyfully that she has filled us all with it, and we have come to have a belief that this love is of a very practical nature, that this love is where peace will sprout and grow.
History has shown that conflicts come and go. Sooner or later the present conflict will end, and the antagonists will learn to live together. Is it too much to hope that some in our midst will be contributing to this new world of peace?
We are making a commitment to hearing the story of "the other," the experience and history of "the other," and in the process "the other" becomes a human being not so different from ourselves, and that person who we come to know and honor and treasure becomes our friend.
Thank you all for joining us tonight.
Page last updated June 3rd, 2002