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DEL.ICIO.USAll the richer for the wear
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fridays are always special days in the life of World Pilgrims’ Journeys. We get to celebrate Jumah, the Friday afternoon Muslim communal prayers, and the Friday evening Jewish Shabbat Service welcoming in the Sabbath. In this case we were able to travel from a Muslim country to a Jewish one in between the services.
We had a relaxed morning as many of us were up late last night either out at the Aquaba Disco Club or talking with each other late into the night on the hotel terrace. By now we have chalked up many deep conversations, group jokes, and collected enough information about our various quirks and habits that we can tease each other a bit. We have become uninhibited enough that we can sing and tell jokes into the bus microphone as well as share our more serious faith stories.
And so when we gathered for our private Jumah Service in the hotel conference room at 11 a.m., the experience was all the richer for the wear. The Christian and Jewish women covered their heads with shawls or scarves and stood shoulder to shoulder with their Muslim sisters, who guided us with gestures and nudges in the correct prayer movements and stances. One of our Pilgrims, Imam Salahud-Din Hanif, called us to prayer and Imam Plemon El-Amin gave a message.
He focused on the unity of all human beings, referring to the Q’uran’s teachings that all people were created from one soul and were created as different nations so that we could get to know one another, rather than compete with or attack one another. Making prayers followed the message. We ended with everyone hugging and wishing one another “Salam”.
After the Jumah service we boarded our bus to cross the border into Eilat, Israel. We had to go through a security check and have our bags x-rayed. Then we walked through “no one’s land” that separates the borders of Jordan and Israel. Some people chose not to have their passports stamped with an Israeli stamp as it could prohibit travel to some Muslim nations in the future. We met another tour bus when we all got through and headed to our hotel, which was right on the beach of the Red Sea. The scantily clad sunbathers were quite a contrast to the modestly dressed men and women of Jordan.
We then went to the Ketura Kibbutz where we attended a Shabbat service, which was conducted entirely in Hebrew. Now it was time for the Christian and Muslim men to cover their heads with yarmulke to join with their Jewish brothers in worship. It was a very lively service with much singing and full of people of all ages.
People were very welcoming to us and following the service we had dinner in the Kibbutz dining hall. At our tables were young college-aged people who were attending the Arava Institue for Environmental Studies, an interfaith and multi- national school which holds that “Nature Knows No Borders.”
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