Reality check: Konrad Adenauer Foundation brings Muslim leaders to Holocaust sites
‘Stand up firmly for justice’
Following is a statement issued by the Muslim leaders who visited Auschwitz and Dachau last month.
“O you who believe, stand up firmly for justice as witnesses to Almighty God.” (Holy Qu’ran, al-Nisa “The Women” 4:135)
On Aug. 7-11, 2010, we the undersigned Muslim American faith and community leaders visited Dachau and Auschwitz concentration camps where we witnessed firsthand the historical injustice of the Holocaust.
The meaning of the shofar, and the how-to
Sounding the shofar in the synagogue on Rosh HaShanah is the high point of my year.
No other mitzvah in Judaism is so dependent on a personal skill or entails such high drama. And, at least for me, no other mitzvah renders quite the same sense of achievement and fulfillment.
I often hear people talk about the awakening power of the sound of the shofar — how awesome a moment or how inspiring an experience it is for them to hear it. For me, it is both a very public and an intensely personal experience.
