A religion of observances
A few years ago,
after walking past the Manchester Jewish
Museum on Cheetham Hill Road, I decided to go in for a visit. As I am wont
to do, I had seen a plaque celebrating Dr Chaim Weizmann who
once lived in Manchester and went on to become the first president of Israel,
there was much to the history of the Jews in Manchester, I thought. [Wikipedia:
History of the Jews in Manchester]
In my mind, I thought
I knew a lot about Jews and Judaism, I was knowledgeable as an outsider but
hardly informed. I had learnt from the Christian bible how the feasts of Judaism
related to Christian festivals, teachings derived from the customs and
traditions of Judaism giving some context of how Christianity is by terms a Middle
Eastern religion that just happens to be so radically westernised.
Difference without
indifference
In church last
Sunday, during the sermon, the preacher said we should consider our
relationships with other religions, seeing first the person before their
beliefs, accepting we are in the quest for some spirituality and that we should
not claim either superiority or inferiority in relation to other belief
systems, for we each in our ways are seeking and worshipping God.
As Judaism celebrates
Rosh Hashanah which is the Jewish
new year from this evening that would culminate in the feast of Yom Kippur, between them in the
space of 10 days is Yamim Noraim;
the Days of Awe or the Days of Repentance, the preacher recommended we visit a
website, Judaism 101 to learn more about
this root Abrahamic religion.
Through a shop window
of Judaism
One could consider it
an occasion of propinquity that as I switched on my television and was scanning
for something to watch off my Amazon Fire Stick 4K, there was a television
programme on Amazon Prime called Jewish Law which happened
to be a documentary about Orthodox Jews in Manchester, filmed in 2004. They then
numbered about 30,000 living in the Prestwich area of Manchester.
In three episodes
which covered families, major feasts, religious practices, the management and
regulation of kosher, and mitzvahs or commandments, there was a lot to learn,
though this would require second and consequently more viewing to get a
better grasp of things, the attention of particularities and details made
everything seems so onerous except for within the community itself.
And I never knew
Seeing how meat products
should not touch dairy that in some households they had separate cooking
sections to handle each, like having two separate cooking hobs, ovens and fridges
was an interesting revelation. The ceremony of circumcision, without the whole
detail was just as moving.
The commandment that
Jews should not eat blood meant that eggs were first cracked into a clear glass
and viewed from underneath before use. A boy’s hair was not cut until they were
3 years old, when a ceremony that included prominent people in the community
cutting a snip of hair whilst contributing to a piggy bank. The act of mourning a
close relation does include renting one’s clothes.
Of intrigue and
interest
If you thought
Judaism was dull, you need to see the revelling during the feast of Purim that was initiated when
Esther in the bible mediated on behalf of her people preventing their total
annihilation by the Machiavellian hand of Haman. The mitzvah includes getting
drunk.
None of this begins
to demonstrate the intricate observances of Judaism, but it should pique one’s
interest enough to explore this religion in that is probably close to its
fourth Millennium. The building of the Manchester Jewish Museum which is Grade
II listed is currently under renovation, but the museum artefacts and documents
are in temporary residence at the Manchester Central Library.
To all my Jewish
friends, Happy Rosh Hashanah! Shalom!
