Rachel of Velveteen Rabbi has exquisite and incisive insights.
Judaism and Islam are closely related and I loved reading her take on taharah and tumah (purity/impurity) and the ways in which it corresponds to our concepts of tahara and hadath.
(Just as in Judaism, Islamic notions of purity and impurity are not judgments about one’s personal value.)
Advertisement
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
April 23, 2009 at 4:06 am
Rachel Barenblat
Thank you so much! I’m delighted that you enjoyed the post — and delighted also to be reminded of another place where our two traditions have some similarity. I love that there’s a linguistic overlap, too; I’m guessing that Hebrew and Arabic share a word-root there. I think the root of taharah is ט ה ר (t / h / r)…
April 23, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Maximus mercury
Loved this – thx for cross posting. One powerful line: ” the holy encounter isn’t always gentle”. This is so universally true & deserves a discussion all its own. (very relevant for instance when newcomers to the Quran are jarred by the stern Tone in places.) another key aspect of the rabbi’s post is her mention of serving those who have died. In islam too this is such a crucial part of life & the rules are so clear & important that you have to live the concepts just as the Rabbi has concluded.
You asked me abt motherhood. My mind and spirit & heart are still reeling, though my body has mostly recovered. And it really touched me how the Rabbi put her finger on the inextricable connection between body & spirit. Moreover, I learned abt the holiness of that condition when I went into labour & my mother told me to pray for everything of importance bc it is a qabooliat ka waqt.
Sorry abt bad editing. Am writing on my phone. You are bookmarked on it!