House of Prayer in the Jerusalem kehilla

The interreligious House of Prayer, which began on September 5, ended on September 11 after a week of events that left a deep impression on all those who participated in them. Within this framework, on Wednesday, September 7, there was an interreligious prayer, directed by the Christians on the subject of forgiveness: we sang songs from the three religions (with the participation of a Coptic Orthodox choir). In an atmosphere of prayer and mutual respect, we took time to think about forgiveness: we heard two parables, the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) and the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18), afterwhich there was a Christian reflection (Father Rafic) and the possibility to respond by a Jew (Rabbi David Menahem) and a Muslim (Shaykh Ihab Balha).

On Thursday evening, there was a Sufi dhikr ceremony in the presence of a Muslim cleric and with the participation of musicians and dervishes. On Friday evening, all were invited to participate in the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer in the Zion Community. Quite a few members of our kehilla went to the prayer together with a group of Franciscan monks. On Saturday evening, the closing meeting was a prayer about the soul and Jerusalem with the participation of Rabbi Benny Lau and Rabbanit Hadassah Froman. At the end of the evening, at almost midnight, Muslim clerics sang Sufi songs for almost an hour.

On Sunday evening, all were invited to come and be guests at the Sunday mass in our kehilla. Quite a few guests came, especially from the Zion Community, and this was a chance to thank the organizers of the House of Prayer, especially Rabbi Tamar Elad Appelbaum and Yair Harel, who invested so much in the common House of Prayer. This interreligious event opened up unexpected horizons and will give much food for thought in the weeks and months to come. Day after day, we sat together, men and women from the three monotheistic religions, we sang and we prayed, one next to the other, one for the other, each one in his or her own religious language, without confusion and without blurring the boundaries. We emerged from this week, each one more rooted in his or her religion, and at the same time, our mutual respect and friendship grew. We can only hope that we might succeed in spreading this atmosphere to those around us so that love conquers hate and friendship surpasses alienation.

View a video on the event here