Consider This from NPR - What a Rare Holiday Overlap Means In a Time That Seems 'Catastrophic'

Episode Date: April 15, 2022

This weekend, followers of three major religions are observing some of their most sacred holidays. Many will do so together, in person, for the first time in years. Easter, Passover, and Ramadan all have their own symbolism and themes. And it's not a stretch to tie any of those themes to world events; from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine. We invited three faith leaders to tell us about the messages they're bringing to their congregations during a difficult time – and a holy time: Reverend Marshall Hatch of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, Senior Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick of Temple Beth Am in Seattle, and Imam Mohamed Herbert from The Islamic Society of Tulsa.In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

One of the most valuable things about organized religion can be the way it brings people together. We pray foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder. For Muslims like Imam Muhammad Herbert in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that closeness was missing during Ramadan the last couple of years. For Jews at Passover, a key part of the celebration is joining in a shared meal. Ruth Zlotnick is a rabbi in Seattle. Part of our Passover celebration, we say, let all who are hungry come and eat. There's a recognition.

It's, in fact, considered a wonderful act to invite non-Jewish folks to the Seder table in a recognition that the plight for freedom is a human plight, a universal plight. One of the uncomfortable lessons everybody learned during the pandemic is how to practice organized religion without that central practice of togetherness. Zoom christenings, bar mitzvahs, and funerals became routine. Reverend Marshall Hatch of Chicago had more Zoom funerals than he'd like to recall. It was just bizarre when we got the news that my sister passed and we couldn't embrace family members. We couldn't touch each other.

We couldn't hold hands and pray. And that makes holiday celebrations this year extra special. You know, we're all, you know, right there, right next to each other. And it's a big part of the prayer when we pray as Muslims, that ability to line up one person next to another person. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter how rich, how poor. And it really breaks down these barriers that we tend to put up around us,

especially in a hyper-individualistic society. Consider this. There is a rare alignment this weekend. Followers of three major religions will celebrate holidays, many gathering together for the first time in years. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the Wise app today, or visit wise.com.

T's and C's apply. It's Consider This from NPR. This weekend, three major religions are observing some of their most sacred holidays. People will celebrate, and in many many cases also mourn. Easter, Passover, and Ramadan all have their own symbolism and themes, and it's not a stretch to tie any of those themes to world events, from the pandemic to the war in Ukraine. We invited three faith leaders to tell us about the messages they are bringing to their congregations during a difficult

time and a holy time. Reverend Marshall Hatch is the senior pastor at the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church on the west side of Chicago. Rabbi Ruth Slotnick is senior rabbi at Temple Beth Am in Seattle. And Imam Muhammad Herbert is imam at the Islamic Society of Tulsa. I started by asking what was foremost on everyone's minds right now? Imam Muhammad went first. I think for us, really, one of the biggest things that's running on everyone's minds is what's next? I mean, what is really coming in the world, right? It seems as though we have bumped into world's firsts, you know, like multiple times in the past two or three years. And it really does create times of uncertainty, right? And so we find ourselves turning back to

our faith traditions to find those answers of how to kind of just understand the world around us, how to, you know, translate all of the noise that we're hearing, you know, day in and day out and how to turn that noise into action, right? Because if we're just people of feeling, whether that be feeling happy or sad, or when we feel nervous about, you know, the coronavirus, or when we feel nervous about the economy here in the United States, which seems to be coming to a major dip, you know, whatever it might be that, you know, we're kind of looking to our faith traditions to find the answer, to find, you know, some kind of solace. Rabbi Zlotnick, you're nodding right now.

Yeah, I'm nodding because I completely agree. And I think, you know, these times feel catastrophic to us, and they are catastrophic. But for all of our faith traditions, and certainly I can speak best about the Jewish faith tradition, our ancestors also lived in catastrophic times. And one of the reasons why I'm grateful to be a person of faith is because I know that there were others, my ancestors, who walked this path before me and who created ways to withstand the suffering around them, which helps me in my day-to-day life withstand the suffering around them, which helps me in my day-to-day life withstand the suffering around me. But I couldn't agree with the imam more that it's about helping us on an individual level to have the resilience to take step by step, but also not just to nourish our

souls, but to transform that into action. Reverend Hatch, I know this sense of catastrophe has been very personal for your congregation. You lost family members. You lost friends. The COVID pandemic really hit your community hard. Yeah, you know, the pandemic has been very real in our community, and it has exposed some of the disparity in access to health care and resources in a community like ours. We have felt it pretty heavily. And I think that what we've discovered, obviously, is that, you know, faith is really made for times like these. These are very uncertain times. And as the imam shared and the rabbi shared, these are times of, you know, catastrophe is one word and uncertainty is another. You know, what will be a new normal if there's going to be one? What does life look like going forward? And clearly, one of the reasons why faith is so important

is that if we ever needed faith, it's in a time like this to provide some stability in times of uncertainty. Yeah. As I was thinking about these three holidays, Easter, Passover, and Ramadan, I realized they all have themes of renewal. Can you tell us about how you're applying that specific idea to your observance this year? Absolutely. You know, for us, obviously, just like the other holidays, you know, as most holidays, they come every single year. And so Ramadan is really, it's the most special time of the year for us as Muslims. I think one of the realities of discipline and one of the realities of kind of like holding yourself back from, you know, basic pleasures is that you kind of take a step back and you realize all of the things that you

took for granted, right? And so now it's, you know, 1.45 p.m. here in Oklahoma. And I am exhausted, tired, fatigued. I need a coffee. Like, I need a couple coffees, right? And but I think to myself that in this moment, I mean, could you imagine being a young man or a young woman, you know, walking across train tracks in Ukraine trying to find a home? Like literally not having a home. And so I think this Ramadan, you know, a little bit more than others is this sense of kind of gratitude of the blessings that we have. And hopefully we can, you know, live a life of gratitude

for these blessings tomorrow as well. Reverend Hatch, Rabbi Zlotnick, how do you think about that theme of renewal in this particular moment? Yeah, sort of leading up into this season, interestingly enough, you know, the numbers in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations have been going down, you know, since the first of the year. And it seems that this season is coinciding for people to return to public worship. And so this has been a season. We've used the theme regathering. What a great word. Yeah, yeah. We've used that text, Rabbi, in the 107th Psalm about coming from the east and the north and the south and the west and regathering and let the redeemed of the Lord say so or testify that somehow we feel like we've been survivors through a horrendous pandemic. I will just add to that, that while there is the theme

of renewal for sure in the holiday of Passover, for me this year, Passover is all about the idea of overcoming, coming out of a dark and narrow place and entering a place of freedom and light. And so there's a recognition that it's not just about renewal, but it's about hope that we can overcome whatever forces are oppressing those who are most vulnerable. And of course, this year, it's those who suffered through COVID and the Ukraine war that's raging on. To conclude, I'd love it if you could give us a passage from your religion's sacred texts that is feeling especially meaningful to you right now in this moment. Rabbi Zlotnick, do you want to begin?

I will say I'm blessed to be serving a community in Seattle, Washington. And there's a psalm, it's Psalm 121 in Hebrew is Esa enai elhecharim me'ayin yabo ezri. I lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where will my help come? It will come from the Holy One, the Eternal. And for me, that's really helpful. I have to say that psalm has given me so much nourishment. Imam Herbert, what's a passage that has been particularly meaningful to you these days? We have a statement from the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, where he describes the ummah, the nation of Muslims. And he says, the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon him. He says,

you see the believers as regards to their being merciful among themselves, as showing love among themselves and being kind among themselves, resembling one body, so that if any part of the body is not well, then the whole body shares the sleeplessness and insomnia and fever with it. That we are here together as one people.

Reverend Hatch, do you want to have the last word? It's the Matthew 28 text that we reflect on, the fifth verse, the first message to the first witnesses of the resurrection of a new day for humanity, a new possibility is don't be afraid, fear not. And I've found that, you know, we've returned to that theme time after time as we've looked in the face of this pandemic that has caused just a tremendous amount of anxiety. And so the first thing to overcome is to overcome fear. And it's that word again, don't be afraid. Fear not. That was Reverend Marshall Hatch, senior pastor at the New Mount Pilgrim Church in Chicago,

Imam Muhammad Herbert, imam at the Islamic Society of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Rabbi Ruth Slotnick, senior rabbi at Temple Beth Am in Seattle. It's Consider This from NPR. Happy holidays. I'm Ari Shapiro.