Most self-proclaimed Christians only pray on Sunday at church when led by a pastor. More religious Christians also pray before each meal. The uber-spiritual Christians also pray each morning or evening with their Bible devotion. But what about Jewish customs?

When I first got into Judaism I was surprised that, as guests invited over to a family’s house for dinner, the prayer occurred after the meal. I’ve asked several Jews about this and have gotten back several responses ranging from the comical to the over-analytical. For example, one Jew told me that you thank God for the food afterwords to factor the rare situation that it was poisoned … in which case you could thank God personally to His face. Some Jews start to recite laws and commandments, which is fine… but then why would God command us to pray after the meal instead of before?

I read on a blog that a Rabbi had been consulted in the matter and answered “It is easy to eat the meal and then forget God’s blessings on a full stomach, so the Jews ate first and then stopped to thank God for the blessing.” I like that. I like it a lot. I’d add to it, though, that many Jews pray before and after the meal. Before the meal, you’re forced to stop and reflect on the goodness God provides. It turns out to be good for digestion, too, since it forces the people at the table to calm down and relax. After the meal, you’re faced with remembering God after being satisfied and brings a nice, formal closure to the event.

Thinking about this also reminds me of the account of Jesus and the ten lepers mentioned in Luke 17:11-19. Ten men with a fatal disease plead with Jesus to help them. Instead of giving them money or sprinkling pixy dust, he orders them to go see the priests. That’s it. But they knew scripture well enough to know what that meant. In Levitical law it states that when someone has disease and goes to a priest, it’s for examination. These lepers knew that a medical examination would be pointless unless they were healed of leprosy. That faith drove them to the priests who announced them clean and clear of the disease.

Only one of the ten came back to Jesus and the LORD makes a point of it.

Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

We need to be that 10% who thanks God after providing for us. This is especially true since, as His people, we set the example.

Just as important, let’s strive to thank our neighbors and the strangers who do small things for us. How many times have people slowed down in a parking lot to let you cross in front of them, or swept the floor after a meal so you wouldn’t be stepping on sticky crumbs, or opened the door for you… anything big or small should be recognized, appreciated and thanked since they took the time and thoughtfulness to recognize and show appreciation towards you. We need to make our gratitude known, too. A hearty smile with a look in their eyes while you say the words mean much more than mumbling “thanks” while you look at the ground. Don’t forget the classic hand-written thank-you notes and cards. With all the junk mail we get in the post box, a kind letter rekindles a feeling of humanity and warmth.

Praying before a meal instills patience and praying after a meal instills gratitude; these provide critical lessons in life we have the opportunity to practice to perfection three times a day.

For the past five years people have fussed at Best Buy for removing “Merry Christmas” from their advertising campaigns. Their spokeswoman, Dawn Bryant, claimed that they would continue to use the term “Holiday” because “Merry Christmas” was considered to be disrespectful to those who don’t observe that holiday. Guess what, boys and girls! They brought it back… but not alone. They love their Muslim friends so much, and see an open opportunity to treat the Muslim religion with as much commercialism and westernized care that they’ve been cashing in on with Christians for decades… so it’s Happy Eid Al-Adha! Oh, and since it would cause too much of an uproar if we didn’t also mention, even if only as a side note, merry christmas, happy hannukah and kickin’ kwanza too.

*sigh*

It’s a pretty nasty slap in the face of America overall, and even to Muslims who slobber all over the advertisement because of the recognition it claims to give. Any time commercialism grabs a holiday, no matter what the religion, the occasion becomes bastardized in an onslaught of commercials and advertisements. In this case Muslims are just another flock to fleece. I could only imagine how long it will be before we have an “It’s Eid Al-Adha time, Jareer Brown” or “How the Grinch stole Ramadan” special sponsored by seasonal Hajj flavored Coca~Cola with the slogan “Tastes like you were there!”

As to political correctness, I wish Best Buy kept it “Happy Holidays”. At least that way each person can leave it up to their own imagination what holiday is implied. That’s the way people want it in schools. Let the parents raise the children in the traditional way and make public education stick with the basic “R”s. As it currently stands, children are being indoctrinated about the Quran and Muslim faith while the Bible and Christianity are constantly under attack and there’s very little mention of Torah and Judaism in the schools because that might bring up a dirty Natzi past that, if discussed openly, could embarrass a few German exchange students.

BAH HUMBUG TO IT ALL! (Scrooge is both a hero and anti-hero; commendable for his disdain towards self-indulgent waste while reprehensible for his disregard towards humanity.)

The government should get out of the business of religion, stop promoting it and stop attacking it. The strict morals that coincide with the Muslim, Judaic and Christian faiths are similar enough that consensus could be made without compromise. I doubt any Muslim would argue against the 10 commandments even if they don’t accept them as word from God. Their precepts are reiterated throughout their scripture. If only they could stop executing jihad on every non-Muslim and nay-sayer we would get along muuuuuch better.

References
Snopes on Best Buy and Christmas
Snopes on Best Buy and Eid Al-Adha
Best Buy Bans Merry Christmas But Wishes Customers a Happy Eid Al-Adha in a National Advertisement
Best Buy Stands By Message Of Happy Eid Al-Adha Ad
Thanks, Best Buy for 2010 “Happy Eid Al-Adha” Wishes

Quran’s Message For Muslims Regarding Other Religions:
2:191 And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers.

2:193 And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah.

2:216 Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.

2:244 Fight in the way of Allah, and know that Allah is Hearer, Knower.

5:33 The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom.

Becoming Jewish from the stronghold of Christianity requires a continual examination of thought and a questioning of beliefs. I don’t see this as bad, but I need to be careful about what beliefs I allow into the picture. In that context, I see the need to retract some of my statements about Judaism and even Christ in my previous posts. Most of the retraction comes from semantics.

In baseball there’s a term called “sacrifice”. A batter deliberately hits the ball in a direction that will likely get caught, but far enough away from the other basemen that members of his team can advance to the next base. There’s also a religious term “sacrifice” which could involve killing an animal or human to pour that blood over something to appease a deity.

Since God forbids human sacrifice, and Jesus constantly referred to himself as the Son of Man (not Son of God), could it be that Jesus was giving us a message throughout his teachings that his death wasn’t for atonement or as a human sacrifice, but rather to advance people to God? Would I be at this point today, seeking out what God wants if it weren’t for someone hanging up for execution nearly 2000 years ago?

So what is spiritual success? For a teacher it’s leading people to God and enlightenment of the truth and a better life. For the individual it’s to live out the truth, to live a better life now and have an even better eternal life later.

How does anyone get spiritual success? John Macarthur Jr. said “Spiritual success requires commitment to others.” but the scriptures indicate it has to do with commitment towards God. People were committed towards the priests during Jesus’ day, but Jesus didn’t condone the acts of those people and even condemned the acts of the priests. Commitment towards the wrong person isn’t a path to success. So that brings me back to my search for God. The key to spiritual success is finding Him and being obedient to what He has to say. More often than not what I hear is theology and philosophy that people taught over the years directing towards self-inflicted suffering, which doesn’t equate to denying one sense to accentuate another. Fasting, for example, for the sake of suffering through it doesn’t get anyone anywhere but hungry. Fasting to deny that physical element of comfort that can impede on our search for the spiritual can make people more observant of the spiritual world around them.

I still have more searching to do… On a final note, is it possible to prosthelytize myself?