To Differ Is Divine

In this episode, Rabbi Raachel and Bishop Sam look to the scriptures of Judaism and Christianity to explain the importance of embracing spiritual permeability as a way to explore our own faith and to understand and be enriched by the faith traditions of others. They visit Mt. Sinai, the Tower of Babel, Jewish and Episcopal worship services, corporate and individual prayer, and the idea of translation–both literal and figurative.


Episode 2 Notes
We’ve aggregated helpful resources and additional information about the religious writings, practices, symbols and thinkers discussed in this episode. We hope you’ll take the time to read them and learn a little bit more about an unfamiliar faith tradition–or maybe even your own.


God Was in This Place and I, I Did Not Know - Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
This is the book referenced by Rabbi Raachel when she spoke about Mt. Sinai as an always-on transmitter to which we are not always attuned.


The Tower of Babel
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

(Genesis 11:1-9, New Revised Standard Version)


Tzitzit, Tallit and Worship
The "strings" Rabbi Raachel referenced are what are called tzitzit, the fringes on the corners of the tallit (prayer shawl) worn during worship. In many Jewish communities, it is a custom to wrap the tzitzit from a corner of the tallit around a little finger, which is then raised to point out the Torah scroll on its return to the ark after reading during the worship service: "THIS is the Torah, which Moses placed before the Children of Israel, by the mouth of God, by the hand of Moses."


The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.


Jacob
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went towards Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’

Genesis 28:10-17, New Revised Standard Version)


The Burning Bush
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

(Exodus 3:1-6, New Revised Standard Version)

To Differ is Divine grew out of the ongoing interfaith conversations between Bishop Sam Rodman, the bishop diocesan of North Carolina, and Rabbi Raachel Jurovics, the Diocese’s rabbi-in-residence and former leader of Yavneh: A Jewish Renewal Community in Raleigh. As Rabbi Raachel says, “If God wanted us all to be the same, we would all be the same. If it serves the divine purpose that we differ in our religious practices, then we have a responsibility to respond to that with an open heart.” In this first episode, they explore what we’re calling spiritual permeability, the invitation to look at the texts and practices of our respective faith traditions as a conversation between different expressions of God. Embracing spiritual permeability invites us not only into the life of the Spirit but into a dialogue as people of faith in a time of great divisions in the world. We believe these conversations are part of the divine gift.



Episode Notes: To Differ Is Divine
We’ve aggregated helpful resources and additional information about the religious writings, practices, symbols and thinkers discussed in this episode. We hope you’ll take the time to read them and learn a little bit more about an unfamiliar faith tradition–or maybe even your own.


Ma'Ariv Aravim
Ma’ariv Aravim is the first blessing before the Shema and generally the opening prayer of the Evening Service, or Ma’ariv. It is considered to be the parallel prayer to Yotzer Or, which is recited in the same place during the morning service (Shacharit). Just as Yotzer Or speaks of the coming of light, Ma’ariv Aravim speaks of the coming of darkness. These are considered the first preparatory blessings for the recitation of Shema and affirm our appreciation for God's Creation. Ma’ariv Aravim is a praise of God for bringing on the darkness, controlling the day and night, for ordering the stars in heaven, and for the seasons. While it is preferable to recite Ma’ariv after dusk, it is permissible to recite this blessing any time after sunset, even if dusk has not occurred yet:

Calendar of Saints
Like a few other Christian denominations, The Episcopal Church recognizes saints. Some–the St. Luke’s, St. Mary’s and St. Matthew’s of the early Church–are included in the Book of Common Prayer with special collects (prayers), psalms and other readings from Scripture assigned to them. Others who have been added to the calendar of saints within the last couple centuries, including familiar names like Pauli Murray, are included in Lesser Feasts and Fasts, a liturgical resource where you can find prayers and a short biographical sketch for each person commemorated. New commemorations may be added to the calendar with the approval of two General Conventions, the triennial gathering of The Episcopal Church. Unlike the Catholic church, evidence of miracles is not required for inclusion, just exemplary Christian witness.