The following series of winter religious holidays was written by Religion Transcends writer Jackie Walker for the Winter 2009 issue of Relate magazine. Relate’s mission is to inspire teen girls to pursue their dreams with confidence and to teach them to be an example for others in their speech, life, love, faith and purity. Religion overviews may have Christian overtones to make the content relatable for the Christian teen audience.

If you’re putting the finishing touches on a winter wonderland of figgy pudding, jingling bells, and neatly wrapped presents, you’re in good company. Each year, about 93% of Americans celebrate Christmas. That’s more than 9 out of every 10 people in the United States!

Of course, Christmas comes in a variety of packages: Santa and his sleigh, Jesus and his manger, the Grinch and his itty-bitty heart. So just what is the real Christmas story? And what are some of the holy nights that the other 7% of Americans are celebrating this winter?

Set aside those gingerbread cookies and read this holiday list (we checked it twice!).

Judaism

Holiday: Hanukkah

Date: December 12-19

Main Players: The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem

The Story: Compared to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Hanukkah is a less important holiday. But some Jewish families do celebrate it. As history tells, the Jews had a holy temple in Jerusalem. The Greek army seized the temple in 168 BC and destroyed many items like the menorah, a golden candle holder. In 165 BC, after the Jews had cleaned up the temple, they held a dedication ceremony to give some honor back to the building. They looked for oil to light the menorah but found only enough for one day. By some miracle, the oil lasted for eight whole days! The temple was later destroyed in 70 AD; all that remains are fragments like the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. But Jews today remember the night they took the temple back and witnessed the miracle of the oil.

Traditions: Some Jews give presents on Hanukkah, but for the most part Hanukkah involves two traditions:
-Jews light a menorah in their homes. It has 9 candles, one for each night the menorah stayed lit and one candle to light the others. They light one candle each night for eight nights.
-Kids play games like spinning the dreidel. This is a top with four sides that say “Nes, Gimel, Hay, and Shin” which together mean “a great miracle happened there.”

Other installments in this series:
-Buddhism: Bodhi Day
-Christianity: Christmas
-Islam: Ashura
-Hinduism: Vasant Panchami (to come)

Other holidays this winter:
-Islam: Hijra (December 18)
-Wicca: Winter Solstice (December 21)
-Shinto: Gantan-sai (January 1)
-Baha’i: World Religion Day (January 17)
-Buddhism/Confucianism: Chinese New Year (February 14)

Created by Religion Transcends, 2009

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In June, Catholic bishops got together to revise an outdated letter, adding new language about the importance of sharing the story of Jesus with others. The revisions called for Christians to share their faith with Jews, without “proselytizing” the Jewish people.

Though the pope has said that Jews are God’s chosen people according to Biblical covenants, some Jews think this new language implies they need to convert to Christianity to go to Heaven.

Judaism: Anger over conversion attempts

Jewish groups including the American Jewish Committee and rabbis from all three major movements of Judaism wrote a letter to the bishops. They wrote that their relationship with Catholics is at risk thanks to the revised statements.

The Jewish leaders said they wanted to be able to have dialogue with Catholics without Catholics trying to convert them to Christianity.

Hinduism: Anger over conversion attempts
In 2008, violence erupted all over India between Hindus and Christians, much of which continues today. The violence concerned Christians’ attempts to convert Hindus in the country, where Hinduism is the major religion. Learn more about the Hindu argument here.

So what do you think? Do other religions have a right to be angry at conversion attempts? Should Christians continue to convert others? Is there a way to share your beliefs without proselytizing?

Created by ReligionTranscends.com, 2009

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Alon Nil, 25, of Tel Aviv is offering to take prayers from Jews around the world and place them at the Western Wall – via Twitter. To offer prayers, you may visit his Twitter account, @thekotel, and tweet a prayer. Alon will print the prayer and stuff it in the wall.

What is the Western Wall?

The Western Wall (aka “the Kotel”) is a section of the walls remaining from the second ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, destroyed in 70 CE. Because God’s presence was thought to reside in the Holy of Holies in the Temple, the place is still considered sacred by Jews today. Jews from around the world come to the wall to offer prayers and mourn.

Use this interactive site to learn more about the Temple (this site has everything!).

Missed Religion Transcends lately?

Visit @religionblogger for more from Religion Transcends…more often.

Created by ReligionTranscends.com, 2009

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The Pew Research Center published results of a prayer survey a few weeks ago. After talking to 35,000 Americans, they determined that the following percentages of members of various religions/denominations pray at least once a day:

OVERALL

60% of Americans say they pray daily

CHRISTIANS

Jehovah’s Witnesses: 89% pray at least once a day

Mormons: 82%

Evangelical Protestant Christians: 78%

Black Protestant Christians: 80%

Orthodox Christians: 60%

Mainline Protestant Christians (Methodists, Lutherans, etc.): 53%

Catholics: 58%

MUSLIMS: 71%

BUDDHISTS:  45%

HINDUS: 62%

JEWS: 26%

See the results in graphic form at the Pew site.

It appears women over the age of 65 are the most likely to pray. People with the least amount of income also seem to pray the most (for money, perhaps?).

Of course, the poll doesn’t explain Pew’s definition of “prayer.” And certain factors come into play (e.g., meditation may be more important than prayer for many Buddhists) that affect the results. So it should be kept in mind that prayer may reflect religiosity but is not an exclusive factor in determining religiosity. What do you think about the results?

Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends

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Following is a post from guest blogger, Rabbi Jason Miller. Visit his blog at http://blog.rabbijason.com. 

Tonight begins the festival of Shavuot, the holiday in which the Jewish people celebrate the revelation of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Perhaps, the questions about the revelation of the Torah (when, what, how, if, and to whom) are the questions that divide the Jewish people today more than any other questions. The divisions among the modern denominations of Judaism all stem from the question of how the Torah was revealed to the Jewish people. The way in which individuals in the Jewish community consider the event that occurred at Mt. Sinai several millennia ago has vast implications for their approach to the Jewish faith. The sheer magnitude of that event, however, should force us all to transcend denominational differences and feel the power of community – whichever community we choose.

Never has the spiritual force of revelation affected me more than it did on the early morning of May 31, 1998. I had recently graduated college and was spending Shavuot at a local synagogue, where I served as the youth director. The assistant rabbi decided that the congregation would offer an all-night Tikkun Leil Shavuot (study session) and then a dawn service just before 5:00 in the morning.

It was a memorable night with many opportunities for Torah study with several wonderful teachers including three eighth-grade day school students. With delicious snacks and caffeinated beverages, about thirty of us managed to stay up the entire night. We decided to hold the minyan outdoors in the courtyard so we could enjoy the sunrise while we prayed.

The Torah service that morning took on new meaning for me. The Torah was paraded around and I had the sense that we really were at Sinai claiming what God had lovingly gifted to us. As I stood at the Torah for my aliyah, the sky began to get dark again. The Torah reader pronounced, “On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning…” As the words “thunder” and “lightning” were uttered, a huge thunderstorm ensued. The Torah reader managed to get out a few more words, chanting “…and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.”

At that point, the sky opened up and the heavy rains began. We grabbed the Torah and ran inside where the Torah reading was completed. As I wiped the raindrops from my glasses, I remember thinking that this must be divine revelation. This was the epitome of holiness. This existential experience was full of awe and majesty, thunderclaps, and lightning bolts. Best of all, it was shared with community.

This was a liminal moment in my life. That experience has had a lasting effect on my life in the decade since. Being shaken by the thunder, seeing the lightning, and hearing the words of our Torah convinced me that I really did stand at Sinai. We were all there together. As a community.

That was my revelation. What was revealed to me? The power of community. Was I really at Mt. Sinai several thousand years ago? Maybe not physically there, but with this community, during that early morning storm it was as if I were there. And that is the message of Sinai. A community gathered to receive a gift from God. How that gift is interpreted thousands of years later should not take away from the magic of that moment.

At a time when some segments of the global Jewish community do not recognize other segments as Jewish, let us put aside our denominational differences and hearken back to Sinai. One Torah was given to the entire community. Let us stand again at Sinai with our brothers and sisters, and feel the power of community.

Rabbi Jason Miller was ordained as a Conservative rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2004 where he was the first Gladstein Rabbinic Fellow and also received a Master’s Degree from the William Davidson School of Jewish Education. He is currently the Rabbi of Tamarack Camps, a Jewish camping agency. Additionally, he serves as the director of ATID (Alliance for Teens in Detroit), a Conservative Jewish high school program for teenagers in Metro Detroit, and leads Congregation T’chiyah. He serves on several committees of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and is a board member of JARC, a community-based Jewish residential services agency for individuals with developmental disabilities. He is an alumni of the STAR Foundation’s PEER (Professional Education for Excellence in Rabbis) program, which focuses on spiritual leadership, communication and practical skills for non-profit management. He is also a fellow in CLAL’s Rabbis without Borders fellowship. Rabbi Miller writes and lectures about modern technology’s effect on Jewish life, particularly the impact of the Internet on the global Jewish community. His blog is at http://blog.rabbijason.com; follow him on Twitter.com: @rabbijason.

Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends

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Pope Benedict XVI is in the Middle East this week. He was supposed to talk about peace and reconciliation. SUPPOSED to…

The Nazi issue

But then, according to CNN, “the pope’s spokesman issued an unsolicited denial that Benedict XVI had ever been a member of the Hitler Youth, only to have to retract that denial within a couple of hours.”

The pope had, indeed, been involuntarily enrolled in Hitler Youth while growing up in Germany. When the issue first came up 10 years ago, the pope claimed he had never actively participated in the group and is anti-Nazi.

But just talking about his enrollment stirred up the public.

Then today, the pope refocused on the peace process, particularly surrounding unrest in the West Bank.

The West Bank issue

The West Bank is an area between Jerusalem and Jordan. Jordan controlled the region for about 2000 years. In 1967, Israel captured it and still maintains a military presence there. Here’s a map.

Palestinians have control of a small portion of the territory, ceded to them by Jordan. Either way, a majority of inhabitants in the West Bank are Palestinians. And many of them want an independent state — separate from Israeli control/occupation.

In 2002, Israel built a wall between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (city of Jesus’ birth, in the West Bank). Israel used it for protection against bombings and raids. Palestinians saw it as an illegal wall keeping them out of Jerusalem.

Today, the pope said that wall could be torn down – if Israelis and Palestinians would tear down the walls in their hearts. His speech seemed to throw a line to Palestinians who want to see the wall go. But it also seems to serve as a reminder that the wall can only be removed if peaceful negotiations supercede violence.

So what do you think? Is the pope for or against Israel? Palestine? Neither? Is he on the side of peace?

Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends

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Recently, 58 clergy and lay leaders from Conservative Judaism demanded a strategic plan for the future of the movement, according to Religion News Service.

In response, Rabbi Steven Wernick will replace now-retired Rabbi Jerome Epstein as executive vice president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. The Conservative movement lost ground under Epstein, as Jews transferred out of the movement and other Jews transferred into Reform Judaism. The synagogue hopes the movement will be see revived interest under Wernick.

What are the different branches of Judaism?

In the United States, there are three main movements: Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. (Visit this site to learn about movements in Israel and the UK.)

Orthodox Jews observe Jewish laws and practices strictly and pay special attention to their history, particularly that spelled out in the Torah. For them, all laws needed throughout life were given to Moses.

Reform Jews sought to combine Jewish law with the facts of modern life. Many see themselves as more current and relevant than Orthodox Jews. For them, laws can change and new laws can be revealed as time goes on.

Conservative Jews (including Wernick and Epstein) fall in the middle. They follow traditional Jewish law but will accept changes that jibe with that tradition.

Two other Jewish denominations

Though not as large as the aforementioned big three, two other branches of Judaism exist in the States: Humanistic and Reconstructionist.

Reconstructionist Jews may observe Jewish rituals and practices, but mostly because it’s cultural. They don’t believe in God as a personal God who chose the Jews as His people. 

Humanistic Jews follow Jewish cultural practices but do not pay much attention to the Jewish religion, sometimes believing God doesn’t exist at all.

What is Kabbalah?

Kabbalah is Jewish mysticism – in other words, those who practice Kabbalah are more concerned with experiencing unity with God than becoming knowledgeable about Jewish practice, tradition, and literature. For them, the experience of meeting with the divine is key. Learn more on ReligionTranscends.com.

Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends

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Following are some upcoming (and current) religious holidays.

JUDAISM:

Passover (or Pesach): April 8-April 16

Commemoration surrounding Passover relates to Exodus 1-15. In the Exodus portion of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), Moses tells the story of his and the Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt. God inflicted 10 plagues on the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The 10th was the plague on the firstborns. In this plague, God said he would pass over the houses in Egypt and all firstborn sons within those homes would die. But he told the Israelites to  put blood of lambs on their doorways and he would pass over their homes. After this came to pass, the Israelites were led out of Egypt. Today, Passover is a remembrance of both God’s sparing the Jews and the Jews escape to freedom. Learn about specific Passover rituals and traditions online.

CHRISTIANITY:

Holy Week: April 5-April 11; Easter April 12

Holy Week marks the last week of Lent, just before Easter. Events during Holy Week commemorate events leading up the crucifixion of Jesus:

• -Palm Sunday (April 5): Last Sunday marked the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
• -Spy Wednesday (April 8): This isn’t really celebrated, but this marks the day when Jesus’ disciple Judas Iscariot betrayed him to the chief priests; read about this in the Bible’s New Testament.
• -Maundy Thursday (April 9): Thursday commemorates the Last Supper which led to the Christian ritual of communion or the Eucharist. Jesus was initially commemorating the Passover feast (the Jewish seder).
• -Good Friday (April 10): Friday commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion.
• -Holy Saturday (April 11): This is the night before Easter; Christians, particularly Catholics, often attend worship services on this night.

Holy Week leads up to Easter Sunday, April 12, when Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Learn more about Easter online.

SIKHISM:

Baisakhi: April 14

Learn about this Sikh holiday on ReligionTranscends.com.

Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends 

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Some religious leaders are concerned that students in theological seminaries (including future rabbis and pastors) aren’t learning enough about sex and gender issues, according to a recent program from Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.

According to the program: “The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality is a nonprofit group that helps promote sexual health in faith communities. The Institute recently studied 36 seminaries across denominational lines. The study found an ‘overwhelming need’ to better educate and prepare future religious leaders in the area of human sexuality.”

While seminaries may discuss sexual harassment, pastors say these additional topics might be important to learn about, in order to be prepared to minister to people of all sexual orientations or to know how to counsel those with sexuality-related problems:

• Teen sex
• Infidelity
• Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, including gay marriage and gay clergy
• Cohabitation

Others argue that it’s not the seminary’s job to provide such education – it should be learned on the job. Regardless, the Religious Institute received a grant to introduce sexuality courses to seminaries and practicing ministers.

What do you think? Would you go to your religious leader for help regarding issues of sexuality? Do you expect your leader to have the knowledge to counsel on such issues if necessary? If so, where should they learn about sexual topics?

Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends

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Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of lights, which began yesterday. Lasting 8 days, the holiday celebrates light conquering darkness (in particular, it celebrates the day the Jews conquered the Greeks and reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks who had desecrated it). 

Though the holiday doesn’t typically receive as much participation and significance as Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah, many Jews still practice lighting the menorah and other holiday traditions. The menorah is a candle-holder with 9 candles in it (one for each night of Hanukkah plus a “servant” candle). Tonight, 2 candles will be lit, as today marks day 2 of Hanukkah. 

In New York City, locals kicked off Hanukkah with the lighting of a giant menorah (12-feet high). The ceremony was dedicated to Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, formerly of Brooklyn, and his wife Rivka who were killed in Mumbai during the terrorist attacks at the Taj Mahaj Palace in Mumbai, India, on November 28. 

(As an aside, the rabbi and his wife are survived by two small boys, one of whom was at their side when they were killed. To learn more about them or to help them this holiday season, visit the Holtzberg relief fund Web site.)

Happy Hanukkah!

Copyright 2009 Religion Transcends.

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