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Interfaith light in the darkness
By Tamara Miller
rabbi, chaplain
Several months following the tragic and untimely death of Officer Stephen Johns at the Holocaust Museum on June 10, 2009, I brought together Rev. John McCoy, the officer's pastor, and Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of Ohev Shalom, The National Synagogue.
Rabbi Herzfeld was aware of my involvement with the Johns' family the afternoon of the fatal shooting. He requested that I set up a meeting with Zakiah Johns, the officer's widow. Rabbi Herzfeld had a personal and special delivery. His congregation on upper 16th Street NW had written letters of condolence to the Johns family and had collected "tzedakah" (charity) for the Stephen Johns Memorial Fund.
On a rainy morning in August, Rabbi Herzfeld, Rabbi Weiss, an activist Orthodox rabbi from New York, and I met at the Word of God Baptist Church in Southeast DC. We were welcomed by Pastor McCoy, Pastor Shirley Cobb, Zakiah Johns and her father.
We sat around a wooden table, held hands and prayed for Zakiah. We talked about the pain that is caused by one's inhumanity to man. Rabbi Weiss offered an insight about suffering and redemption and brought comfort and meaning to the tragedy that darkened an already cloudy day. He drew parallels between the Jewish people and the African American communities. He initiated a song that we all learned quickly. The words are from the Jewish prayer book:
"Because of my brothers and friends, Because of my sisters and friends. Please let me pray, please let me say. Peace to you!"
We spoke of harmony and reconciliation. We shared the continuing story of evil and bigotry. We vowed to pursue freedom from hate in our lifetimes.
Our togetherness lit a spark of friendship and hope. How could we make this loss matter?
"Zakiah, I asked, "Do you have any Jewish friends?"
"No," she answered.
"Well" I replied."I guess I have been designated to be your first Jewish friend."
Fast forward to January 16, 2010, the Saturday evening of Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
This time both congregations came together to sing gospel and Hasidic music inside Ohev Shalom synagogue. We raised our voices to the promise and the dream that Dr. King professed decades ago when I was a high school student: "We shall overcome some day."
Overcoming hatred is a lifelong pursuit. Overcoming tragedy is a testimony to the human spirit within each of us Can a light be revealed in this darkness?
Yes. The message is clear. The restoration has occurred. The lamp inside of us has been rekindled.
Ner Adonai Nishmat Adam "The human spirit is the lamp of God" (Proverbs 20:27)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that he had a dream and that one day it will come true. "But it will only be a dream until there is change in me and you."
Rabbi Chaplain Tamara Miller ministered to the family of Stephen Johns on June 10, 2009, in the hospital corridors of George Washington University Hospital. She has a private practice in spiritual counseling in downtown DC.
By Tamara Miller |
January 29, 2010; 11:13 AM ET
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Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | January 29, 2010 7:51 PM
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Another interfaith apps for interfaith iPhones:
The Five Step Method to Deprogram/"Deflaw" 1400 years of Islamic mumbo jumbo.
Are you ready?
Using "The 77 Branches of Islamic "faith" a collection compiled by Imam Bayhaqi as a starting point. In it, he explains the essential virtues that reflect true "faith" (iman) through related Qur’anic verses and Prophetic sayings." i.e. a nice summary of the Koran and Islamic beliefs.
"1. Belief in Allah"
aka as God, Yahweh, Zeus, Jehovah, Mother Nature, etc." should be added to your cleansing neurons.
2. "To believe that everything other than Allah was non-existent. Thereafter, Allah Most High created these things and subsequently they came into existence."
Evolution and the Big Bang or the "Gib Gnab" (when the universe starts to recycle) are more plausible and the "akas" for Allah should be included if you continue to be a "creationist".
"3. To believe in the existence of angels."
A major item for neuron cleansing. Angels/devils are the mythical creations of ancient civilizations, e.g. Hittites, to explain/define natural events, contacts with their gods, big birds, sudden winds, protectors during the dark nights, etc.
No "pretty/ugly wingy thingies" ever visited or talked to Mohammed, Jesus, Mary or Joseph or Joe Smith. Today we would classify angels as fairies and "tinker bells". Modern devils are classified as the demons of the demented.
"4. To believe that all the heavenly books that were sent to the different prophets are true. However, apart from the Quran, all other books are not valid anymore."
Another major item to delete. There are no books written in the spirit state of Heaven (if there is one) just as there are no angels/"pwtfft"s to write/publish/distribute them. The Koran, OT, NT etc. are simply books written by humans for humans.
Prophets were invented by ancient scribes typically to keep the uneducated masses in line. Today we call them fortune tellers.
Prophecies are also invalidated by the natural/God/Allah gifts of Free Will and Future.
"5. To believe that all the prophets are true. However, we are commanded to follow the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) alone."
Mohammed spent thirty days fasting in a hot cave before his first contact with Allah aka God etc. via a "pretty wingy thingy". Common sense demands a neuron deletion of #5. #5 is also the major source of Islamic violence i.e. turning Mohammed's "fast, hunger-driven" hallucinations into horrible reality for unbelievers.
Accept these five "cleansers" and we guarantee a complete recovery from your Islamic ways!!!!
Posted by: ccnl1 | January 29, 2010 1:18 PM
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For all interfaith iPhone apps:
Abraham founder/father of three major religions was either the embellishment of the lives of three different men or a
mythical character as was mythical Moses, the "Tablet-Man" who talked to burning bushes and made much magic in Egypt.
Many of the 1.5 million Conservative Jews and many of their rabbis have relegated Abraham to the myth pile along with most if not all the OT.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFE35540C7A8CDDAA0894DA404482
Posted by: ccnl1 | January 29, 2010 1:14 PM
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Posted by: ccnl1 | January 29, 2010 1:06 PM
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Tzedekah is not "charity." It does not come from "caritas." It's root meaning is justice or righteousness.