How Other Religions Act - Personal Statement Example

Rabbi Winokur explained Jews don't eat pork, either, but they have a different way of determining what meat is clean.

Islam forbids dead meat, blood, and the flesh of swine. Jews eat only land animals with a split hoof that chew their cud, and birds that are not scavengers, and fish that have fins and scales. One thing that is the same is that Jews use a very sharp knife and cut across the animal's throat to keep it from feeling pain. But one thing that is different is that, although the Jewish slaughterer must be a holy man, Jews do not require that he pray before killing an animal. I wonder how it is possible for kosher meat to be halal, but that is a question for another day (and another religious leader!). Also, Jews do not mix milk and meat at all, so that Jews can't eat something like a cheeseburger.

I knew that the Jewish holy day is Saturday, not Friday as it is for Muslims, and the holiday starts the night before. The Rabbi said the Friday night service is a very happy one, where the congregation sings songs to welcome what they call the Sabbath Queen. The day of rest is like a gift that God gives to his people, so the Jews like to treat its coming like a visit from royalty. I also learned that this Friday night service is a little shorter than the Saturday ones, so it is considered very "family-friendly" and there would probably be many children attending.

However, they would say some of the most important prayers. I learned about the Shema, which is a prayer that announces there is only one God, just like in Islam. Another difference between Jews and Muslims is that Jews only pray three times a day instead of five, and sometimes they combine their afternoon and evening prayers into one longer service. Inside the sanctuary, I found that Jewish people face Jerusalem when they pray; Muslims face Mecca, but as Americans, we are both looking to the east!

There is an ark with a beautiful door where they keep their Torah, the holy book. However, they did not take it out on Friday; it is usually read on Saturday mornings and on important holidays. Over the ark, there is an "eternal light" that should never go out, to symbolize the eternal light of their holy book. One really big difference is that men and women worshipped together; families would all sit together, which we don't do in Islam. This was because I was in a conservative synagogue. In an orthodox synagogue, the women would have to sit behind a barrier or on a balcony.

Another important difference is that Jews never kneel or prostrate, although they still do plenty of standing up and sitting down. However, while praying in Hebrew, there is some similarity in how the congregation sounds! The rabbi asked me not to write during the service because writing is considered work and Jews do not work at all on the Sabbath. So, I could not take very good notes about what was going on! Also, I was asked to wear a yarmulke to cover my head in the sanctuary. I did not have to if I felt uncomfortable, since I wasn't Jewish, but they would like me to.

After the service, everyone went out into the hall where tables had suddenly appeared covered with food! (They have non-Jewish helpers to do some of the work.) There was a benediction over the wine and all the adults had an l cup to drink; however, I do not drink wine. Fortunately, they had grape juice for the kids. Then they said another benediction over the bread, which is a special braided loaf. After that, there were plenty of treats: brownies and cookies and little pastries. Some of the people were very friendly and wanted to know what I thought of their synagogue (it's beautiful) and whether I was thinking of converting (no).

They answered all my questions. All my life I have had some interest in how other religions act, and I have always wondered about whether Jews are very different from Muslims. I think that we probably are not so different and that if we could look at the things that we all believe in (one God, for instance), that we should have an easier time living in peace together.