Sunday 5 April 2015

Religion and prayer

So a lot of people have been wondering what it's like for a Jew volunteering in a christian organisation and this weekend seemed like the perfect time to write about it. 

I want to start by writing about Passover. On Friday night I hosted my first Seder meal. It was a wonderful experience and probably my most memorable Seder. We had to make our own matza, try to cook in someone else's kitchen with unusual ingredients and figure out what to do for some of the more unusual items on the Seder plate. 

Yes, that is a carrot for the lamb bown and chillis for the bitter herb :)

We had a wonderful evening. I found a great Haggadah online written by an American rabbi. It's all in English with only the blessings in Hebrew. It was the perfect compromise between tradition and making it accessible for those who had never experienced it before. Instead of traditional hallel (the songs of praise) one of the other volunteers lead worship. This included the two Christian songs I know from RSY-netzer. We all had a lovely evening and I am so greatful that I was able to share my tradition with my friends.

I have also had the chance to watch a volunteers worship session organised by some of the world race team. It really made me think about how I do prayer, particularly in the context of a youth movement. The worship night was, in many ways, quite similar to an RSY service. We all sat in a circle with acoustic guitars (and a ukulele) to sing. There were also some noticeable differences. There was no obligation to join in with the singing. It struck me when we first sat down that one of the people leading said 'please feel free to join in, read your bible, write in your journal or do whatever worship is to you.' Many people chose to do one of these things or just sat quietly. People were also free to get up, move about and find there own space. There was no standing or sitting for certain parts and no set prayers. People behaved however felt right for them. I love tefillah (prayer) on RSY but it was interesting to see how other people did it. I look forward to continuing to learn about other people beliefs and I hope that I can continue to teach people about my own.

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