Project Report
| Mar 21, 2016
Young East and West Jerusalemite women on Feb. 4th
By Dr. Yehuda Stolov | Executive Director
On February 4, 2016, another encounter was held in Jerusalem, between East and West, in the lobby of the Dan Panorama Hotel on French Hill. It was attended by Yael, Shani, Shira and Eftikhar.
After a brief update, we talked about the head covering that Jewish and Arab women wear. We discussed its meaning, reasons, and the ability of a woman to choose to cover her head or not. Also we talked a little about the age of marriage, events and celebrations. The encounter was conducted in both Hebrew and in Arabic in an attempt to bridge the language gap and understand each other even when we are not proficient in both languages. The atmosphere was positive and we managed to hold a fascinating discussion.
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Dec 29, 2015
Jewish-Muslim encounters in TAU despite violence
By Dr. Yehuda Stolov | Executive Director
30.11.2015
In our morning session this week, we read the third chapter of the laws of Shema in the Mishneh Torah. We discussed the requirements of washing and cleanliness for prayer in Judaism and Islam. We compared how in both Judaism and Islam one can use dirt or other materials to clean their hands in the absence of water. We also talked about what speech is considered "holy" and thus not fit for being said in a bathroom or other environments. We read several ahadith from Bukhari discussing the importance of washing before praying and the spiritual benefits that is said to bring.
In the afternoon session we reviewed Chapter 3 of the laws of idolatry in Mishneh Torah as one of our regular members missed the previous session. We talked about the different ways and forms of worship used, and the Jewish and Muslim perspectives on monotheism and worship. We concluded with reading a few ahadith and discussing the attitude towards heresy and non-mainstream views in early Jewish and Muslim societies.
7.12.2015
Our group is in the process of becoming an official student group, and we've received a lot of support from the Cymbalista Jewish Center and the Arabic and Islamic Studies department to continue our project. This week we discussed the laws of Hanukkah. We read the description in the Mishneh Torah of the reason for the holiday and then the laws of lighting the Hanukkah lights and reciting the Hallel prayer. We discussed the differences between biblical and rabbinic holidays.
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Dec 17, 2015
Re-launch of TAU Youth Interfaith Encounter
By Dr. Yehuda Stolov | Executive Director
The group began as the initiative of a couple of yeshiva alumni and Muslim girls, all students at the Tel Aviv University, after we realized that both groups were interested in learning more about the other religion. From March-May 2015 (spring semester) we met weekly, for some ten times, for 60-90 minutes in a group of 3-4 students. Everyone involved really enjoyed the experience, and this year we decided to expand it to accommodate the interest of friends. This semester (October-January) we have two different groups that meet on Mondays, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each for 60-90 minutes, with 4 students in each group. Since the beginning of the semester we met for three times.
The encounters are text-based, and primarily involve studying Maimonides's Mishneh Torah and ahadith from the Sahih Bukhari collection, on similar subjects. Last year we studied principles of faith. This year the two groups are studying laws of prayer and laws of idolatry. The group is geared towards religious students who are comfortable with religious texts and concepts. We are happy to expand, but are only actively seeking students who would fit the group dynamic (usually having a religious background or familiarity--we are mostly yeshiva students or Muslim students from religious families). In addition to the regular curriculum, the meetings offer the opportunity for us to share and compare religious traditions and stories (for example about the creation of the world, or how prayer is carried out).
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