Tri-Faith News and Updates

Today bloggers around the world are participating in Blog Action Day for climate change to get the message out that climate change is one of the most important issues facing us in the world today.  The implications of climate change transcend all boundaries of nationality, gender, religion and politics, and only by working together can humans address this issue and hope for success and survival.

People of the Abrahamic faiths have a shared belief that humans have been entrusted by God with the care of the earth.  We have a special responsibility as individuals and faith communities to commit ourselves to the effort to repair the damage already done and avoid behaviors which negatively affect the climate.

Sukkot is a Jewish Festival being celebrated this week to mark the final harvest of the year.  This year the Union for Reform Judaism is urging everyone to spend some time learning more about our food supplies, to consider how we can live healthier and greener lives while being ever more appreciative of God’s bounty in our lives.

The Union for Reform Judiasm publishes a daily reflection called “Ten Minutes of Torah”, which covers Torah passages from a wide variety of perspectives.  To subscribe to the daily email go to http://www.URJ.org.  The Torah is the first five books of scriptures sometimes referred to as the Old Testament by Christians.  Because it is a fundamental scripture to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, studying Torah is something all people of the Tri-Faiths are called to do.

Breast cancer does not discriminate based on religion and the battle against this deadly disease is supported by people of all faiths.  Temple Israel will host the premiere of a new work “A Righteous Soul” by composer Jonathan Leshnoff in a concert by the Aeon Ensemble on October 18.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an initiative that began in 1985 by major charities to promote early detection via mammogram. In the belief that there are always new ways to support breast cancer awareness, Jonathan Leshnoff, associate professor of music at Towson University in Maryland, has been commissioned to premiere a new composition, entitled A Righteous Soul, at a concert on Sunday, October 18, at Temple Israel, 7023 Cass Street.

            Leshnoff wrote the composition for the Aeon Ensemble, an all-female, Omaha-based oboe, viola, and piano trio, that will perform at the 5 p.m. Women of Valor Concert with Cantor Wendy Shermet of Temple Israel.

.           Acquiring an international reputation as one of America’s most gifted young composers, Leshnoff was asked to write the composition in memory of Omahan Florence Eisenberg, the sister of William Nerenberg, who is Leshnoff’s manager. Nerenberg is one of the commissioners of the music together with George Eisenberg, Florence’s husband; St. Paul Methodist Church; and Temple Israel.

            Named by the Baltimore Sun in 2006 as an “artist to watch,” Leshnoff, 34, is currently riding the crest of a wave of popularity that has resulted in international performances of his works by the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Iris Chamber, Buffalo, Tokyo Philharmonic, Madrid, Kansas City symphony orchestras, the National Gallery (in Washington, D.C.), Curtis Institute of Music (in Philadelphia), and National Repertory Orchestras, according to Leshnoff’s website.

            Three recordings devoted exclusively to Leshnoff’s music are scheduled for release on the Naxos American Classics label. One recording will be premiered by Michael Stern and the Iris Chamber Orchestra. The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and violinist Charles Wetherbee will perform the second release featuring Leshnoff’s violin concerto. The third disc features Leshnoff’s chamber music.

            Other recent works by Leshnoff, who is originally from New Jersey, include a double concerto performed by the Curtis Symphony at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, a string sextet for Concertante premiered at Merkin Hall in New York City, and a quartet for viola, harp, flute, and percussion by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.  

            He has also been named the composer-in-residence with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

            All proceeds will be used to support breast cancer awareness. A reception, sponsored by the Women of Reform Judaism, an auxiliary of Temple Israel, will follow the concert. Dr. Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Eppley Institute, and director of the Eppley Cancer Center, has been invited to speak at the event.

            Tickets, for sale in advance (call 556-6536) or at the door, will cost $18 per person and $10 each for students. Patron tickets will also be available.

Yom Kippur (yawm KIP-er), the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn and important of the Jewish holy days. The number of worshippers attending synagogue on this special day is often double or triple the normal attendance. Yom Kippur is a day of fasting, prayer and introspection with central themes of atonement and repentance.  

In Jewish tradition, God records each person’s fate in the “Book of Life” on Rosh Hashanah; however, that judgment is not “sealed” until Yom Kippur. During the “Days of Awe” (10 days starting on Rosh Hashanah and ending on Yom Kippur) Jewish people focus on those actions that can change an unfavorable decree: repentance, prayer and good deeds (usually charity).  

Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. This year (2009 on the Gregorian calendar) Yom Kippur begins at sunset on September 27th and ends at nightfall September 28th.

Yom Kippur begins with Kol Nidre, a prayer asking for absolution from vows, and ends with the Neilah prayer. In between is an extensive liturgy that runs the emotional scale from the solemn to the celebratory.

Most of the work and other restrictions found on Shabbat also apply on Yom Kippur. In addition there are five other prohibitions specific to Yom Kippur: eating or drinking, washing and bathing, anointing one’s body, wearing leather shoes, and engaging in sexual relations.

Perhaps the best known of these restrictions is the practice of fasting. For a 25 hour period usually beginning 30 minutes before sunset on September 27th and ending after nightfall on the 28th, observant Jews refrain from eating and drinking (including water).

Following the conclusion of Yom Kippur families and friends gather for a light “break-fast” (not to be confused with breakfast) meal. Customs governing the first food and drink after the Yom Kippur fast vary.

Thanks to our friends at Common Tables for this explanation.  The greeting in the headline is usually translated as “May you be sealed for a good year in the Book of Life.”

This is a weekend of special celebrations for members of the Tri-Faith.

 Tonight our Jewish members celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the new year and the beginning of the Days of Awe leading up to Yom Kippur later in the month.  As the sun goes down, let us pause for a moment to be with them in spirit. Rosh Hashanah is seen as the symbolic anniversary of the creation of the world.  Worship in synagogue services includes the blowing of the shofar or ram’s horn, and there are special foods eaten by tradition including a sweet challah bread and apples dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet new year.  The traditional greeting is “Shana Tova” in Hebrew.

Also tonight, Omaha Muslims are gathering for the first annual Community Iftar dinner sponsored by the Islamic Center of Omaha.  I saw Azhar and Bilal at Borders on Wednesday when they were meeting with colleagues planning the final details and only a few tickets were left.  It will be a fund raiser for the renovation of the Islamic Center which is currently closed for construction.  Iftar is the dinner where Muslims break the fast during Ramadan.  Tomorrow night, they will complete the Holy Month and celebrate Eid-al-Fitr on Sunday. The traditional greeting is “Eid Mubarak.” As our Muslim friends celebrate with their community tonight and their families for Eid, let’s join in wishing them all blessings of the season.

 Join me in a prayer of thanksgiving for all we receive from the God we share.

The holy month of Ramadan began in the U.S. on August 21.  Observant Muslims fast during the day.  As one friend explained, “for a few hours we get to experience the hunger that the poor feel all the time.”  At the end of the month, Muslims make a charitable commitment to of a prescribed percentage of their wealth, so fasting helps remind the believers of the needs that exist in the world.

At night, Muslims break the fast with a dinner known as Iftar, often shared with friends and neighbors. Iftar dinners are often opportunities to invite interfaith friends to share dinner and learn more about Islam and Muslims’ faith and practices like the Friendship Dinner sponsored on August 27 by the Niagara Foundation.

When greeting a Muslim friend during the month of Ramadan, the standard greeting is “Ramadan Mubarak”.

The World Council of Churches held a youth gathering outside Geneva.

The three-week course, which had the theme “Building an Interfaith Community”, was attended by young Christians, Jews and Muslims from all over the world.

 Students heard presentations on Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and on the contributions of each of the religions to peacemaking. Daily morning prayers were prepared alternately by the Christian, Jewish and Muslim participants, and the group attended services in a church, synagogue and mosque in Geneva.

 Religion is so often seen as a barrier to peace, but peace is a central theme across the religions and a good basis for discussions about interfaith community-building, says Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur.

Read the complete story here:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article//theres-value-in-diversit.html