Jerusalem, One city, 3 faiths: Intro-Chapters 1-4

I was really impressed by the way in which Armstrong set up this book.  Armstrong’s introduction immediately grasped my attention with her explanations of the reoccurring interconnected concepts; notion of god or the sacred, question of myth, and symbolism. I found her last remark of the introduction particularly interesting; it stated “it is not enough to experience the divine or the transcendent; the experience must then be incarnated in our behavior towards others.  All great religions insist that the test of true spirituality is practical compassion.”  I feel that this quote really depicts what I have taken away from the experience I had in religious school as a child. Throughout my Jewish education two of the reoccurring themes were “Tzedakah” and “Tikkun Olam”.   In Hebrew the literal translation for “tzedakah” is righteousness, however it is commonly used to mean “charity” and “tikkun olam” translates to repairing the world.

Everyday at the beginning of religious school class, the teacher would ask if we had any loose change to put in a box designated for tzedakah.  My grandfather would give my siblings, cousins, and I money before each class so that we would be able to participate in this ritual. As a young child, I didn’t really find meaning in putting the money my grandfather handed me nearly 2 minutes beforehand in a tin box.  However at age 13, I became a bat mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age ritual in which one is treated more like adults and begins to understand the Torah.  In honor of this special occasion I received a lot of gifts and money from family members and friends.  I decided to donate a portion of my money to an organization that helps plan special events and provide services for children of families affected by cancer.  At this point I really started to grasp the importance of tzedakah and began to realize that how rewarding it was to help others.  I engaged in other service projects and began to feel a sense of purpose in lending a hand to others. 

One of the most memorable and fun experiences I had was packing and delivering bags of food to underprivileged Jews living in Cleveland. I think my experience really exemplifies Armstrong’s quote. Every year I felt that I have been able to reach the divine by praying on Rosh Hashanah.  However, knowing that I was able to impact others and help them reach the divine allowed me to experience a sense of purpose on this extremely sacred day. 

Prior to reading this quote I understood the significance of helping others to the Jewish religion, and I assumed that it was also meaningful to other religions as well.  However, I was unaware of the fact that  this was a commonality among many (or all) religions. As we explore religions with contradicting beliefs, I think it is important to keep in mind as it will help us discover that there is maybe more common ground among different religious group that we thought beforehand.