Multifaithworld.org

By Amy Loewenthal, RRC Rabbinical Student, Multifaith Initiatives Intern in Israel

I was an honored guest on Palestinian bus #21, heading for Beit Jala. Clutched in my hand were the unneeded Arabic language directions to the conference hotel. Within minutes of my boarding, two different mothers adopted me, shifted their families around and gave me a seat, hard candies, and endlessly repeated directions of where to get off the bus and how to get to the hotel.

A warm prelude to a two-day multifaith text study conference co-sponsored by the Interfaith Encounter Association and the Hope Flowers School:

 http://interfaith-encounter.org/ ; www.hopeflowersschool.org/

“The Binding of Isaac/Ishmael in Judaism, Christianity & Islam,” held just a few days before the holiday of Eid al Adha, the commemoration of the near-sacrifice of Ishmael, was attended by 35 participants. The majority were Palestinian men from Hebron, while a few Palestinian women, a few Israelis and internationals rounded out the group.

From the Torah

Rabbi Yoran Dorani, chief rabbi of Nokdim, presented the Torah story of Isaac’s binding. We explored two voices that Abraham heard – an internal instinctive voice that tells a father to protect his son; and an external voice from G-d which Abraham incredulously listened to, wondering how he could be called to do the  unthinkable.

Rabbi Yoran Dorani, Chief Rabbi of Nokdim

What does it mean to hear G-d’s voice urging you to commit a violent act? We agreed how wrong it is to use a religious text to justify violence. I expressed my hope to see a unified Jewish response to Jews who commit violence “in the name of Torah” – to see public condemnation of such acts, and a statement that perpetrating the violence is not serving G-d, but serving only some distorted inner need. The concept of kherem (excommunication) could be brought into effect against people like Baruch Goldstein.

From the Koran

Fadeela Eswed, a clinical psychologist, standing in for an Imam unable to attend, presented the Koran’s Akedah, the binding of Ishmael, while consulting a copy of the Koran on her PDA.

Fadeela Eswed, Clinical Psychologist

The Koran story is similar to the Torah story: The knife which Abraham puts to Ishmael’s neck is suddenly stopped. G-d, through an angel, praises Abraham and rewards him with wisdom in the form of a large white sheep from heaven, a substitute for Ishmael. Eid Al Adha, the feast to begin a few days after the conference, is commemorated by sacrificing a sheep. Part of the meat is given to the poor and part is kept for a festive meal.

We continued our earlier discussion: discerning a moral voice from among multiple voices. Ms. Eswed sees a number of patients in her practice who feel that G-d is speaking to them. She understands this as a sign of mental illness, because the era in which G-d spoke directly to people ended long ago.

Connecting back to the need to discern a moral voice from among conflicting voices, we spoke about how life in community can serve as a corrective for people who might tend toward violence.

Several of the Muslim members of our group explained that when Abraham heard G-d’s request, he consulted with Ishmael about how to proceed. Ishmael said he was willing to be sacrificed. This illustrates three basic values: a) People should not act by force, but rather by convincing each other; b) Parents are obligated to imbue their children with good values through persuasion; c) People should consult with each other. The principle of Ijma was mentioned: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ijma

We discussed historicity of traditional texts, and how to proceed when an event described in traditional texts did not correlate with archeological evidence nor with external writings. We discussed communal and social norms. We cited support within our texts for honoring and celebrating diversity. We discussed the universal desire for peace and for a good life.

Peace Inside, Violence at Home

During the conference, some of the men who came from Hebron began receiving text messages about violence in their home town. Dozens of settlers from Kirya Arba shot at Palestinians at close range, threw stones, attacked Palestinian houses and set fire to trees in the hours after a settler house was evacuated by Israeli riot police.

A number of Palestinians were hospitalized in Hebron, and men under 45 years old from the West Bank were now not being allowed into Jerusalem. I felt horrified and ashamed, and I wondered how I now appeared in the eyes of these nice people from Hebron who I was studying and eating and singing with. Among them seemed to be a sense of casual resignation. There was gently cynical teasing among the men about who was old enough to merit entering Jerusalem. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/05/hebron-settlers-shooting-israel-palestinians

Despite concern over what was happening in Hebron, the conference continued. Besides text study and discussion, we ate together, sang and danced and drummed together, and played Shesh-Besh and cards.

How to Bring this into the “Real World?”

I left the conference feeling a beautiful sense of hope but also a great sadness. There was so much good will in the conference rooms. If it was up to us, we could have solved the conflict in a few days. But how does what was happening inside the hotel relate to the larger picture? How can the desire of so many people for peace translate into real change? How can this meeting of the minds grow hands and feet and become actualized? The distance between the conference and the “real world” was heart-breaking.

I returned to my house before Shabbat and decided to begin the custom of dipping the challah in Palestinian olive oil, in addition to salt, to symbolize hope for a peaceful coexistence. (This idea was inspired by At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden by Yossi Klein Halevi.) I purchased a Koran. Ms. Eswed asked me about where she might be able to obtain a Torah written in Arabic. I took her email and have begun to research this question for her.