abrahams table report ct
DESCRIPTION
Abrahams Table Report ConnecticutTRANSCRIPT
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Abrahams Table Panel Series
PEACE ISLAND INSTITUTE Connecticut
Interfaith Affairs
2013-2014
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2 | P a g e
THE STORY OF NOAH
Th
e story
of
No
ah
On Thursday, January 24th, PII Connecticut held its first Abrahams
Table about the story of Noah. The featured speakers of the panel, which was
moderated by Reverend Lisa Hahneman, were Rabbi Dr. Herbert Brockman,
Pastor William Goettler and Dr. Nazif Muhtaroglu.
The first speaker, Dr. Brockman, gave an explanation on the story of Noah in
Judaism. He expressed that ten generations after creation, the world was
filled with violence and the good was replaced by not good. The float,
according to Judaism, was a punishment by God; however, Noahs story
teaches that God refused to give up humanity.
Secondly, Pastor William Goettler summarized Christian point of view on
Noahs story. He stated that the float was a result of Gods frustration on
people, but at the end God promised that such a punishment would not be
repeated.
Last speaker of the night was Dr. Muhtaroglu. He told that Noah is described
as one of the most significant prophets in Islam. He stated that one chapter
in Quran is named as Noah, where it is emphasized that the duty of Prophet
Noah was to deliver the Divine message to people and warn them before a
punishment turns up.
After the speakers completed their speech, participants had the opportunity
to raise their questions and to have a discussion for an additional 15-20
minutes. During the discussion, it was emphasized that Noah was defined as
righteous in his generation and he had a relative perfection among his people
according to Judaism and Christianity, whereas in Islam he was considered
as a Prophet who is the messenger of God.
Coffee and tea serving followed the panel. The participants enjoyed Noahs
pudding, a traditional dessert made in commemoration of landing of Noahs
ark. Being a mixture of grains, fruits and nuts, Noahs pudding symbolizes the
harmony in diversity.
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3 | P a g e
Ho
w d
o w
e un
derstan
d
peace?
HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND PEACE?
On Thursday, April 30th, PII Connecticut held an Abrahams Table on
understanding of peace. The panel, moderated by Maria La Sala, brought
together three distinguished speakers including Rabbi Dr. Yehezkel Landau
from Hartford Seminary, Reverend Dr. Frederick J. Streets from Yale
University Divinity School and Imam Roland Cinari from The Albanian
Mosque in NY.
The first speaker, Rabbi Dr. Yehezkel Landau, gave an explanation of peace
in Judaism and included explanations of why there is no peace in our lives
today. He noted that in order to start peace in the world, we must first obtain
inner peace within ourselves. Dr. Landau advised that we should seek peace
and pursue it, referring to Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, an educational visionary
and social activist of the Middle East/Turkey as well as Rabbi Abraham Isaac
Hacohen Kook, the Bediuzzaman of Israel.
The second speaker, Reverend Dr. Frederick J. Streets also explained peace,
how he saw and understood it in the religion of Christianity and offered
valuable points to improve our understanding of peace. Dr. Streets stated
that people act according to what they fundamentally believe rather than
what they value, suggesting that our society today is in a struggle to
understand a peaceful world compared to the struggle to understand a non-
violent world.
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4 | P a g e
Ho
w d
o w
e un
derstan
d
peace?
The last speaker, Imam Roland Cinari, summarized the understanding of
peace in Islam and stated that reconciliation is the best way to achieve peace.
He referred to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his methods
of resolving disputes; reconciliation, a method the prophet preferred even
during a war to make peace. He stated that if you want to win over someones
heart, violence will not be able to do it, but affection will. Imam Cinari ended
his speech with a verse from the Quran which also takes place in both Torah
and Bible in a similar fashion: If anyone slays a person, it would be as if he
slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved
the life of the whole people. Imam Cinari notes that this verse simply teaches
us that the concept of peace is same in all of Abrahams religions.
After our panelists had defined their understanding of peace, guests were
given the opportunity to ask their questions. Besides, an interactive
discussion was held regarding ways to promote a peaceful environment in
our daily lives. The panel was followed by coffee break where guests
continued their one on one conversation.
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5 | P a g e
SACRED DAYS AND TRADITIONS IN ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS
Sacred d
ays an
d trad
ition
s in
Ab
raham
ic religion
s
On Thursday, July 25th, Peace Islands Institute of Connecticut
organized the third Abrahams Table Panel for this year. The panel brought
together three highly distinguished speakers representing different
abrahamic religions including: Rabbi Eric Polokoff of Bnai Israel in
Southbury,
Reverend Calvin Robinson of First Baptist Church in Milford, and Dr. Fetih
Can a Post-Doctoral fellow from New York. Each of the speakers presented
their views on the topic of Sacred Days and Traditions in Abrahamic
Religions. The event was moderated by Reverend Hilary Greer of St. Marks
Chapel.
Rabbi Eric Polokoff, put great detail into the concept of calendars and their
importance regarding how we understand time. He provided a detailed
description of the sacred days in Judaism, including the days of Rosh
Hashanah (The New Year) and Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). He
noted that sacred observations occurred in homes and synagogues, and
included the command to hear the traditional Shofar. Rabbi Polokoff
performed a demonstration of the Shofar, from the horn of the ram, and
explained how its sound relates to the call for repentance. Later he stated
that festive meals including apples and honey were prepared for the sacred
days. Apple and honey were noted to be very important in Judaism due to the
verse Underneath the apple tree I found love. (Songs 8:5)
Reverend Calvin Robinson, also started his talk with calendars and how the
calendar had been started over with the birth of Jesus. Reverend Robinson
explained the holy days of Christmas, Easter and Good Friday in his talk and
noted that Christmas was represented by the birth of Jesus, while Good
Friday represents his death and Easter his resurrection.
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6 | P a g e
Sacred d
ays an
d trad
ition
s in
Ab
raham
ic religion
s
Some traditions that were mentioned by Reverend Robinson were the
worships, carols and plays that were put on by children in Christmas, the
sacred day that was celebrated with anticipation. He noted that the three
Abrahamic religions all shared heroes including but not limited to David,
Joseph and Joshua, referring to them as conquerors. He also noted that we all
believe in One God of Abraham that we have no one else to trust our mind
body and soul.
Dr. Fetih Can, gave a short presentation on two sacred days in Islam: Eid al-
Fitr (Feast of Breaking the Ramadan Fast) and Eid al-Adha (Day of Sacrifice).
Dr. Can noted that the sacred holiday of the Ramadan Eid, consisted of a feast
to mark the end of Ramadan (30 days of fasting) and Fitr (alms giving), which
is help given directly to the poor that must be done during Ramadan in order
for fasts and other deeds to be accepted. The Day of Sacrifice concludes the
Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca and one of the five pillars of Islam, it is
during this time that the animals are sacrificed and the meat obtained is
shared, 1/3 is for yours to keep and the remaining 2/3 must be given to
family and the poor. Dr. Can noted that sacred days in the Muslim religion are
to remind us of who we are, allow us to identify with the poor and to
understand our social responsibilities. Dr. Can also noted that sacred days
allow us to make our relationship with God stronger.
After the panelists had presented the sacred days and traditions in each
religion, guests were given the opportunity to ask questions and also to
answer the questions asked by the speakers. At sunset, Adhan, the Islamic
call to prayer was demonstrated allowing the Muslim guests to break fast and
for everyone else to join and experience the moment with them as they
enjoyed dinner while discussing their favorite holidays.
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7 | P a g e
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
In h
on
or o
f Mo
the
r's day
On October 3rd 2013, Peace Islands Institute of Connecticut hosted the
fourth Abrahams Table Panel for this year at the First Presbyterian Church
in New Haven, CT. After the guests shared a meal together, three
distinguished speakers spoke about the significance of neighbor
relationships across the Abrahamic faiths. The speakers of the night were
Reverand Hilary Greer of the St. Marks Episcopal Chapel in Storrs,
Connecticut, Omar Bajwa from Yale Universitys Chaplains Office, and Rabbi
Michael from the Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven, Connecticut.The
fundamental points of the stories shared by the speakers during the evening
were to highlight the importance of keeping strong bonds with ones
neighbors and the universality of the golden rule. Similar views were shared
on striving for positive relationships with neighbors of not only the same
segregation; but also with ones belonging to different faiths, or no religious
practice. The markings of the speakers pointed the condemning views of each
faith on being distant with neighbors and not getting to know them better. It
was suggested that the relationships with others was made a mirror of ones
relationship with the Creator and the path leading to God was not a straight
one but rather a triangular one passing through others. After the panelists
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8 | P a g e
In h
on
or o
f Mo
the
r's day
IN HONOR OF MOTHERS DAY
In honor of Mothers day, on Thursday, May 15th, Peace Islands Institute
CT held an Abrahams Table at Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church
of Christ in New Haven, CT.
The speakers of the event were Rabbi Leah Cohen, Director of Slifka Center at
Yale, Mrs. Annette Streets, of Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of
Christ and Mrs. Nuray Yurt, Director of Peace Islands Institute New Jersey.
In the beginning of her speech, Rabbi Cohen stated that she intended to
highlight the differences rather than the commonalities between the three
religions: women in the Torah play an oppositional role. In the Torah,
according to Rabbi Cohen, it is obvious that women were in some ways
submissive and were not people of authority. However, as seen in the stories
of Puah and Shifra, women were challenging authority for a cause, which was
righteous. We again see the same concept in stories of the daughters of
Zelophehad. Rabbi Cohen concluded her speech with a message: the Jewish
tradition honors, as an expression of faith, the challenging of authority for a
higher cause.
Mrs. Streets initially provided a brief introduction to the basic tenets of
Christian belief, which also helped the audience to understand the background
of Jesus arrival, and the people living in his time. Subsequently, showing the
audience a painting of first century Christian church fathers, she reiterated the
fact that, as an African American woman born in the 20th century, she would
have almost nothing common with them but their beliefs in God and Jesus.
Following the example of Esther and many other women of faith in Bible,
according to Mrs. Streets, women have many ways to show their devotion.
Women may function as pastors or take part in the core leadership in the
churches.
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9 | P a g e
In h
on
or o
f Mo
the
r's day
Mrs. Yurt also started her speech with a basic tenet of Islam: every individual
is responsible to learn the fundamentals of religion. Therefore, men and
women are encouraged to be educated, as the first revelation to the Prophet
is the command: Read. Furthermore, Mrs. Yurt gave the example of Mary
the Saint, one of the women who has an individual chapter in the Quran
named after her. In Saint Marys time, women were denied to have any sort
of education. However, she broke the boundaries and attended the religious
studies in her time. Mrs. Yurt, then, gave examples from Muhammads wives:
Khadijeh- a successful businesswoman in her time, who also proposed to
Muhammad for marriage herself; Aishe- a prominent scholar figure in Islam
both during the Prophets time and after his death. Besides, Mrs. Yurt
brought an interesting fact to our attention: in the Quran, men and women
are always acknowledged separately in the same sentence, introducing
respect for women during a century in which women previously had no
rights.
This pleasant evening concluded following the Q&A session and individual
conversations made over the desserts.
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10 | P a g e
So Th
at Oth
ers May Live:
Ch
arity in A
brah
amic R
eligion
s
SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE:
CHARITY IN ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS
On Thursday, July 10th, Peace Islands Institutes held an Abrahams table
discussion on charity in Abrahamic religions. The concept of charity from a
broad perspective was discussed under the title: So that others may live. Dr.
Ayse Kubra Coskun from Yale University moderated the panel and our
distinguished speakers were: Rabbi Dana Bogatz, Rev. Nicolas Mumejian, and
Aida Mansoor. Speakers provided very interesting details about how charity is
understood and practiced in each respective religious tradition.
Rabbi Dana Bogatz is the chaplain for Brownstein Jewish Family Service. She
spoke about charity in Jewish tradition and said that charity was also called
Sadaqa which came means righteous. She mentioned a ladder of
righteousness with 8 steps. The first being a person who gives money with
regret, and the eighth being a person who helps someone find a job therefore
he/she can look after his/her own family. Rabbi Bogatz mentioned that the
most important thing was giving the charity and helping somebody, even
though you gave it with or without regret. Rabbi Bogatz concluded by saying
that most Jews give charity by multiples of 18. The significance in being the
number 18 is that it is the symbol of life.
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11 | P a g e
So Th
at Oth
ers May Live:
Ch
arity in A
brah
amic R
eligion
s
Rev. Nicolas Mumejian, Managing Editor of The Muslim World journal,
described the charity as a virtue. Rev. Nicolas mentioned that charity should
become a habit, it shouldnt be thought as an action that happens once. He said
that a person having such a wonderful habit of giving charity would
unconsciously have a sincere and pure heart.
Aida Mansoor, the President of Muslim Coalition Connecticut, said that charity
is very important in Islam. Aida mentioned there are two types of charity in
Islam: One is Zakat, which is mandatory for a Muslim and means giving a
percentage of the wealth to the needy yearly (if the believer is financially
capable); The second type is a volunteer charity which is mentioned several
times in the Quran and Hadith in various forms: from good manners, to effort
and time spent for a good cause. Aida concluded by saying that giving charity
is a way of purifying your wealth and heart.
At the end, there was a questions & answers part, which was followed by the
iftar dinner.