Learning.

Someone in Relief Society made a comment today that really bugged me- it was something along the lines of, “We’re the only religion whose people are truly devout- we are “Mormons” every day of the week, not just on the Sabbath.” People who are ethnocentric like this {their-own-religion centric, I suppose} really bother me, especially given the time of year & the chance we have to observe other religions practicing what they believe so thoroughly. Once again, I really appreciate the opportunity to be surrounded by people who may not practice the same belief system as I do, but are still equal in their devotion & faith. With each of the holidays described below, I feel a sense of community & connection. When you get down to it, the "divide" is really not incredibly wide…

The Upper East & West sides of Manhattan have large Jewish populations. It was really cool on my run yesterday {pre-rain storm} to see all of the families walking to/from Synogogue. Yesterday was the holiest year on the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur {“the day of atonement”} is a day in which Jews seek to atone for the sins of the past year. On Yom Kippur, man has his last chance to demonstrate repentance & make amends for the year. Yom Kippur atones for sins between man & God, not against another person. Reconciliation must be sought with this person prior to Yom Kippur. This day is a “complete” Sabbath, meaning that there is no work performed & a complete fast is observed {for a complete 25 hours}. Most observant Jews I know either took most of Friday off, or left early so that they could be observant. Mike & I made the trip down to Century 21 yesterday afternoon to return a shirt he had recently purchased, and were surprised to find the store closed. We were shocked! But then again- they close for the Christian observance of Christmas, so of course they should close for Yom Kippur as well. We’re learning.

This time of year is also significant on the Muslim calendar due to the holiday of Ramadan. I’m going to quote Wikipedia on this one so that I give it the justice it deserves.

Ramadan is an Islamic religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when the Qur’an revealed. The name "Ramadan" is taken from the name of this month; the word itself derived from an Arabic word for intense heat, scorched ground, and shortness of rations. It is considered the most venerated and blessed month of the Islamic year. Prayers, fasting, charity, and self-accountability are especially stressed at this time; religious observances associated with Ramadan are kept throughout the month.

The most prominent event of this month is the daytime fasting practiced by most observant Muslims. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat and perform fajr prayer. They break their fast when the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib is due.

During Ramadan, Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam as well as refraining from lying, stealing, anger, envy, greed, lust, sarcastic retorts, backbiting, and gossip. Obscene and irreligious sights and sounds are to be avoided; sexual intercourse during fasting hours is also forbidden. Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to their God. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of peace and calm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, sacrifice, as well as sympathy for those who are less fortunate, intending to make Muslims more generous and charitable.

I'm sure many of us thought fasting was just a "Mormon" thing, right? Sure, we do it once a month, but can you imagine doing it day in & day out? I think it's amazing.

In the end… we’re not really all that different.