Shofar (by Alphonse Lévy) Caption says: “To a good year” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Tonight Jews (and some non-Jews) begin their celebration of Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year. For Jews the day is both a celebration of the New Year as well as a reflection on the prior year – in anticipation for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
With the middle east ablaze in righteous indignation, faux religious anger, and blatant religious and ethnic hatred, today seems an appropriate time to reflect on the source of all this resentment and rage.
Make no mistakes about the holy fire engulfing the region of the world that gave birth to the world’s three greatest monotheistic faiths – the timing of these events is no accident. Do not allow yourself to be confused: the epicenter of Faith – the Middle East and Jerusalem – is on fire. Manipulations of a young people troubled about their futures – and political power-games of the ‘peace through strength’ crowd – are and ever have been the match that ignites the flames.
High Holy Days (Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana, and Passover for Jews; Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fatir for Muslims) are frequently tagged by radicals in both religions as days to respond to (real or alleged) slights with violence.
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