An Interfaith Feast

[Guest guest]

At joyous feast, a spirit of peace

Event connects several faiths

By Michele Morgan Bolton

Boston Globe Correspondent

October 4, 2007

Sharon, Massachusetts, U.S.

 

Richa Magan took a leap of faith this summer when she

agreed to chair an event marking the unusual confluence

of the Jewish holiday Sukkot and the Muslim holy

month of Ramadan.

 

It happens once every 32 years, and this year, the 17-

year-old's own Hindu festival of Navaratri also

converged. How could she say no?

 

The Sharon High School senior had never as much as

gone grocery shopping on her own, she now admits.

Yet, on Sunday, after many, many trips to BJs and

Costco [stores], and hours poring over religious dietary

regulations, Magan and others from Interfaith Action

Inc. brought more than 400 people together at Temple

Israel to share food and partake in a deeply spiritual

program.

 

" I sat up late many nights trying to figure out how to

make Southeast Asian food kosher, " Magan said.

 

With song, dance, prayer, and food as the common

denominators, those who attended didn't seem so very

different from one another, despite their differing dress

and traditions.

 

The program, Sharing Sacred Seasons: A Community

Gathering, was sponsored by the nonprofit corporation's

Youth Leadership Program. It is run for, and by, teens

and young adults in town who seek common ground

amid diversity.

 

Sunday's dinner was supported by the [Jewish] temple

and the Islamic Center of New England, also in Sharon

[Massachusetts].

 

Over the course of three hours, students shared traditions

and cultures from the solemn Muslim sunset prayer to

the daily Ramadan dinner to break the fast to the

traditional sit-down meal that drew all ages and honored

all dietary regulations.

 

Magan's research revealed new facts about her own

tradition. " I knew we couldn't eat meat, " she said, " but

there is a whole group of Hindus who can't eat garlic or

onions. " It's one of many realizations that proved how

important it is to learn about one another, she said.

" We're here to get rid of all assumptions. "

 

Fasting during Ramadan presents a particular challenge

for Tehreem Zaidi, a member of the Sharon High

football team. But it's one he willingly endures.

 

" Sometimes, my friends are like, 'Just drink a little

water, no one will know,' or, 'Take the fries, no one will

know,' " Zaidi explained. " But it's more like an honor to

show God how grateful I am for everything he has done

for me. Ramadan means so much to me I can't put it into

words. "

 

Much of Sharing Sacred Seasons' activities were based

in the temple's sukkah, a tent-like temporary dwelling on

a back patio where Sukkot, a joyous feast of the harvest,

is celebrated as a community.

 

" It's called the sukkah of peace and I've always

wondered what that meant, " mused Rabbi Barry Starr.

" Perhaps it is a place where all of us can be together to

share traditions and become friends. "

 

" Our world needs moments like this where people can

come together in dignity and understanding, " he said. " I

hope the peace we establish here will spread throughout

the area, and the world. "

 

The Rev. Scott Euvrard, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows

parish in Sharon, agreed: " We have the chance to build

bridges that could be models for larger settings. This is a

town of tremendous religious diversity. "

 

A spirited round of the garba, a Hindu dance performed

during the nine-day festival of Navaratri that worships

female divinity, was irresistible to Sylvia Weiss, a

longtime Temple Israel member.

 

" I felt it was important to be here, " she said. " And I just

love to dance and that was so much like our [Jewish

dance] Hava Nagila. "

 

" Because of my name, everyone thinks I'm a terrorist, "

confided Abdul Samma, who was born in what is now

Tanzania to Indian parents.

 

He came to America in 1959 intending to bring what he

learned back home, but eventually decided to stay. [....]

With words that call to mind those of civil rights leader

Martin Luther King Jr., he added: " We must recognize

each other not because of the color of our skin, but by

the character. "

 

Fear is what separates people, believes Janet Penn, who

is Interfaith Action's executive director.

 

" And it's easy to fear when you don't know someone, "

she said. " My goal is to say, 'Hey, can we have a

conversation?' It's about learning how to disagree and

still sit at the table. "

 

Tabitha May-Tolub is the program director of the Youth

Leadership team that put the evening together.

 

" These kids are leading the way and showing adults how

to live, " she said. " They are asking the questions that we

are afraid of. They don't think about the impossible.

They don't dream about it; they do it. "