Hanukkah Light in the Darkness - Day 5

We need more light in the darkness.?

The following essays are my inner thoughts in these dark days, published for the celebration of Hanukkah, the holiday we, Jewish people, celebrate for the past 2187 years (yes, in 164 BCE the Jewish people, in the Land of Israel, also known as Zion, were able to yet again have their religion freedom in the temple).

Day 5 - Is it a religious war?

I have my opinion about religion. And it is not a popular one.

I have my own share of history with religion. I was born in a religious family, raised in a religious city and schools, went to a Yeshiva, married and started my family life in a religious settings. That religion of course is Judaism, but more specifically, Modern Orthodox Jewish.?

There are many beautiful things about being religious. Being Modern Orthodox means a few things, that helped me learn about our nation's history, while living in the modern world, with our hopes into the future.

Most Jewish people value education and the power of knowledge. And to learn both about our heritage, theological learnings, and modern studies such as science, math, languages and more, our school day was pretty long. Starting at 6AM we would pray the morning service (praying for peace), then have half a day of religious studies. Then another midday prayer (praying for, you guess it, peace), and after lunch we would study the general studies till evening. Then, for the third time, the evening prayers. And this time too, we would pray for peace. After dinner we would study some more, this time pages from the Talmud with our Havruta, a study buddy. We finished the day with homework, somewhere around 10PM at night.

Our teachers and Rabbis made sure we also learn about the world around us. Not enough in my opinion, but at least to learn what the other two main religions in Israel are all about. We learned a bit about Christianity, and a bit about Islam.

There are many differences between the Abrahamic religions, but one of the biggest differences is that Judaism does not advocate for the rest of the world to be Jewish. On the contrary, it is discouraged to become Jewish, and people who want to convert usually go through many tests and discussions to really show they are serious about the conversion and lifestyle. The other two religions, on the other hand, not only that they don’t discourage conversion, their dogma is that everyone around the world must believe in their religion. Everyone else is an infidel.

Christianity had used the power of the sword for centuries, and under said sword, unimaginable (to modern eyes) number non-believers, Jews and Muslim alike, lost their lives. These days, Christianity matured into a peaceful religion that uses the power of convincing.?

Islam is still in a different place. I’ve seen and met online a few peace-loving Muslim practitioners and leaders. But compared with the number of Muslim people, almost a quarter of the entire world population, these voices are so small that they drown in the torrents of voices who still think they live in the seventh century.?

I have my opinion about religion. And it is not a popular one.

And it’s not only on Islam or Christianity. It’s about Judaism as well.

But my opinion does not make me less Jewish. I am still as Jewish as we come. You know why? Because those who hate Jews and want us dead don’t care how much Judaism we practice. They don’t care if we are good people or bad people. They don’t care if we are the most devout people or if we don’t practice even one iota.?They don't care.