Winter 09 - Fasting in Different Faiths

Fasting is an ancient practice still carried out regularly today by many faith communities. It is mentioned in the Bible, Quran, and the Hindu scriptures. Buddhism requires an ascetic lifestyle by its monks, including fasting. It was practiced by many of the ancient communities, including Native Americans and Africans. Certain lifecycle events in those communities, such as wedding, reaching puberty, and mourning are accompanied by fasting. Fasting for health reasons was practiced for thousands of years, and has well-known benefits.

Fasting is broadly defined as partial or total abstinence from food and drink for a certain amount of time. The amount of time and the types of food or drink fasted from differs tradition to tradition. Certain types of fasting exclude specific acts as well: such as wearing certain garments, shaving, or sexual intimacy.

Apart from religious and medical fasting, people also fast for political agendas, to raise awareness regarding a certain issue. This article focuses on fasting as a religious practice in the Abrahamic Faiths-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and synthesizes the insights from these three traditions regarding the benefits and purposes of fasting.

Judaism

According to the Jewish tradition, fasting is total abstinence from food and drink. There are two major fasting days in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av, but conservative Jews fast up to six days per year. Only Yom Kippur is biblically ordained, while the others are rabbinically ordained. Fasting on a Sabbath is prohibited unless it is Yom Kippur, in which case it is observed. Sexual relations are also prohibited on the two major fasting days.

Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, is the most important of the Jewish Holidays. It is the tenth and final day of the Ten Days of Repentance, starting with Rosh Hashanah. Every man and woman who is of age (above the age of bar/bat mitzvah) and whose health permits fasting, should fast on this day. The fasting lasts 25 hours, from sunset of the day to the nightfall of the other. In addition to total abstinence from food and drink, prohibited activities on this day include those prohibited on an ordinary Sabbath, such as striking fire and using tools. Additionally, leather shoes are not worn on this day, and women and men wear white garments, to remind themselves of burial shroud and the Day of Judgment. The mood is solemn, humble, and repentant, but also happy with the knowledge that repentance brings redemption. The day is spent at Synagogue services, and holds five prayers, compared to three on regular days and four on Sabbath.

Tisha B'Av is the ninth day of the month Av of the Hebrew calendar. Similar to Yom Kippur, this fast lasts 25 hours. Some Jews also observe additional prohibitions on certain daily activities. The mood is deeply sad.
In addition to those two major fasting days, there are minor fasting days, when fasting is from dawn to sunset. There are also fasts tied to certain occasions, such as fasting of the bride and groom before their wedding ceremony, fasting of firstborn, fasts of repentance of certain acts, or fasts to stave off an impending calamity. It should be noted that unlike some other traditions, the fasts in Judaism, specifically those that commemorate and mourn important events, are not ended with feasts.

Three purposes of fasting are commonly quoted by Jewish scholars.First is the atonement of previous wrongdoings: Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.14 (Joel, 2:12-13).

The second purpose of fasting is mourning, at individual and collective levels. Fasting and mourning has an implied connection .when a loved one dies, we do not feel like eating, food becomes insignificant to us. Also, we repent for the mistakes we did to that person, and seek forgiveness. The following verse is an example of individual mourning: When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men journeyed through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. (I Samuel 31:11-14)

Collective mourning for catastrophes that befell earlier communities is also an important dimension of fasting, such as the events mentioned in the following verses: On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. ( Jeremiah 52:12-13)

Mourning results in awareness in what is lost, and in rejoice when the loss is regained. It also creates a spiritual unity with earlier generations, and a renewed commitment to common goals.

The third purpose is one of gratitude. By abstinence from basic needs, one realizes his/her dependence on God, and appreciates all the sustenance provided by God to His creation.

Christianity

Fasting has different meanings in different Christian denominations. It is mostly a partial fasting, so practice widely differs.

Roman Catholics define fasting as reduction in food intake for one full meal and two small meals (morning and evening). Solid food intake between meals is not permitted. Abstinence is defined as avoiding meat for a particular day, and partial abstinence is consuming meat only once during a day. The regulations of fasting evolved several times according to the decrees of Vatican. According to today's regulations, there are two obligatory fasting days for Roman Catholics: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence. Voluntary fasting is encouraged and practiced. In addition to those, Roman Catholics also observe Eucharistic fasting, i.e. avoiding all food and drink except water for the duration of an hour before receiving the Holy Communion during the Mass, according to current regulations. Some Catholics still live by the older regulations, which prescribed fasting start time as the midnight of the previous day.

The Anglican Church follows a similar definition of fasting, but there is no distinction between fasting and abstinence, and regulations are less-specific. The Book of Common Prayer lists four periods as fasting days, which includes forty days of Lent and all the Fridays in the Year, except Christmas Day. There is no universal Anglican rule on fasting, so the provinces are free to choose what fasting days to recommend. Usually, fasting of the Lent and Fridays are observed. The measures of abstinence are left to the individuals.

In eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholicism, fasting is an important discipline to protect oneself from gluttony- indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste. Fasting is accompanied by almsgiving and prayers, and fasting without such acts is considered worthless. There are four main seasons of fasting, including Lent, but fasting continues throughout the year, on Wednesdays and Fridays. Fasting individuals cannot consume meat, dairy products, oil and alcoholic beverages, although precise definition of these categories differs in practice. Eucharistic fasting is observed from midnight of the previous day to Holy Communion. There are also periods during which fasting is prohibited.

While early Protestants frowned upon fasting as an external practice, currently fasting is widely acknowledged and encouraged as an important spiritual experience among Protestant churches. For example, Lutherans encourage fasting during Lent, while United Methodists fast from sundown-to-sundown on Mondays-to-Tuesdays and Thursdays-to-Fridays.
The Church of the Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints defines f
asting as total abstinence from food and drink, including water. The first Sundays of each Month is called Fast Sunday, during which members fast for two consecutive meals and donate the money saved as a result of fasting. The purpose of fasting, in this tradition, is achieving mastery of spirit over body. The members who want to solicit special help, including for earthly benefits, or those who want to become closer to God, are encouraged to fast.

Jesus warned his followers against fasting only to make others admire them. He suggested practical steps should be taken to fast in private:
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:16.18).

In this context, the overarching goal of fasting is bringing the individual closer to the Divine. According to Old Testament, Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights while he was on the mountain with God. (Exodus 34:28) and New Testament states that Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights while in the desert, prior to the three temptations (Matthew 4:2, Luke 4:2). Hence, spiritual preparation is an important dimension of fasting.

David practiced fasting for humbling his soul (Psalm 35:13). Abstaining from food helps one realize his/her inherent helplessness, and understand one.s place vis-à-vis the Divine. This motivation can be seen clearly, for example, in Isaiah 58:3-13, where Prophet Isaiah admonishes the believers and calls to the real meaning of fasting.

Understanding the situation of the poor and the needy is also an important motivation for fasting. In fact, in most churches, fasting is mentioned hand-in-hand with prayer and almsgiving. Fasting is the door to show mercy, and showing mercy to others is a petition to receive mercy from God.

Islam

In Islam, fasting is defined as total abstinence from food and drink, including water. Fasting also precludes sexual intimacy. Fasting individuals are expected to abide by the highest moral values, i.e. no lying, backbiting, or physically, verbally or emotionally hurting others.
Ramadan fasting is one of the five pillars- i.e. core practices- of Islam. It continues from dawn to sunset for 29 to 30 consecutive days (a full Lunar month), and is mandatory for every Muslim man and woman above the age of puberty. Sick, elderly, pregnant and nursing women have permission to not fast, and can make up for missed fasting days later by fasting an equal number of days, or giving charity to the people in need, if fasting poses health risk. Menstruating women cannot fast, and make up for it in a similar fashion. The ritual of fasting is defined in a precise manner in the Holy Quran, hence there is virtually no difference as to what it means and how it is practiced among Muslim communities.

In addition to Ramadan fasting, devout Muslims also fast on Monday and Thursdays, as well as on the 13th, 14th and 15th days of each Lunar month. Other voluntary fasting days include the day of Ashura (tenth day of Muharram), the day of Arafat (ninth of Dhulhijja), and six days of Shawwal.

The Quran, Holy Book of Muslims, states that fasting was prescribed by God upon the earlier faith communities, and proclaims the main purpose of fasting as achieving righteousness or God-consciousness.
The first and foremost purpose of fasting is to follow God's command of fasting. All benefits to be acquired by fasting, such as improving the health and understanding the helplessness of the poor people, cannot be the intention of the believer while fasting. Those are simply ways to understand the divine wisdom behind the command of fasting.

Many Islamic scholars have written on the subject of fasting. Bediuzzaman, one of the most prominent Islamic scholars, outlines nine purposes in .The Letters., and we will summarize some of them here, direct quotes appearing in italicized form below.

First of all, parallel to Christian and Jewish traditions, a major goal is to appreciate the bounties given by the Divine, which go unnoticed if not for fasting. Thereby, creating an atmosphere for sincere thanksgiving:
For at other times of the year, most of those who are not in difficult circumstances do not realize the value of many bounties since they do not experience real hunger. Those whose stomachs are full and especially if they are rich, do not understand the degree of bounty there is in a piece of dry bread.
A second purpose, more in line with Christian tradition, is to understand the situation of the poor through hunger and thirst, thus create compassion and facilitate giving of charity.

A third purpose is taming and humbling of the soul and protection against gluttony: The instinctual soul wants to be free and independent, and considers itself to be thus. According to the dictates of its nature, it even desires an imaginary dominicality and to act as it pleases..Thus, in the month of Ramadan, the instinctual soul of everyone, from the richest to the poorest, may understand that it does not own itself, but is totally owned; that it is not free, but is a slave.

Indeed, Muhammad, Prophet of Islam, hints that fasting from food helps curb inclinations to sins, such as lust: Whoever among you is able to marry, should marry, and whoever is not able to marry, is recommended to fast (Bukhari, Book of Marriage, Hadith 3; partial)

Other purposes pointed out by Islamic scholars include ethical perfection, focusing on spiritual needs and sacred text (rather than corporeal needs), creating bonds in the community through fasting and feasting together, and expiation for certain sins. The latter, related to the atonement in Judaism, is directly mentioned in the Quran as expiation of sins such as accidental killing a fellow human being and breaking of oaths to God: God does not take you to task for a slip (or blunder of speech) in your oaths, but He takes you to task for what you have concluded by solemn, deliberate oaths. The expiation (for breaking such oaths) is to feed ten destitute persons (or one person for ten days) with the average of the food you serve to your families, or to clothe them, or to set free a slave. If anyone does not find (the means to do that), let him fast for three days. (Holy Quran 5/89, partial)

As a result, the three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, share a large common ground in terms of faith and practices. Fasting is one of the common practices in three religions. While fasting to mourn is more specific to Judaism, fasting for atonement is more pronounced in Christianity and Judaism, fasting to facilitate charity, to gain mastery of soul, to achieve humility, and protection from gluttony is more of a common goal between Islam and Christianity. Finally, using the freed-up time to focus on studying the sacred text and prayer is more underlined in Judaism and Islam. The emphasis placed on each purpose is admittedly subjective, and mistake of misdiagnoses rests with the author of this article, as traces of all benefits and purposes can be found in all three religions.

by Joseph Clay

* The pictures in this article are courtesy of Reverend Sandy Clark.

References

• Fasting Spiritual Freedom Beyond Our Appetites (Lynne Baab)
• The Sacred Art of Fasting Preparing to Practice (Thomas Ryan, CSP)
• The Sacred Art of Fasting: Beginning to Practice (SkyLight Paths) (Thomas Ryan, 2005)
• Christian Fasting: A Theological Approach (Kenneth Berghuis, 2003)
• "The Letters" by Bediuzzaman
• "A Return to Fasting" by G.A. Maloney
• Online Bible, King James Version
• Fasting and Feasting in Three Traditions: Judaism Christianity Islam Interfaith Conversations Booklet #1 OF IND TY I Education for Service 1902 Edited by Kevin Corn University of Indianapolis 2006
• Online Bukhari translation
• Online Quran, Translation by Ali Unal
• Fasting Facts, Encyclopedia.com
• Fasting, Spirithome.com
• Fasting Traditions In Judaism

Winter 09 - Traveling the Way of Rumi in US

"Come, come, whoever you are, come again!"

On the evening of September 6th, the famous words of Rumi came alive at the Pacifica Institute Hall in Sunnyvale. The invitation had been closed a week before and the room was overflowing with attendees. Having read the article about this event in the San Francisco Examiner*, fans of Kabir Helminski were among the crowd. The theme of the night was "Traveling the Way of Mevlana in America".

Kabir Helminski has been a follower of Sufism for nearly 30 years since his first trip to Turkey in 1980. He did not speak a word of Turkish, then, neither did his host family speak any English. Yet, despite the language barrier, they came to understand one another. As in the words of Mr. Helminski, "The heart needs no translation".

Furthering his studies in Sufism, in 1980 Mr. Helminski became a student of late Shaikh Suleyman Hayati Dede, and was trained in the Mevlevi order. Ten years later, Kabir Helminski was appointed Shaikh of the Mevlevi Sufis by Dr. Celalettin Celebi, the head of the Mevlevi order at the time. Since then, Shaikh Helminski has translated a variety of important volumes of Sufi literature to English, including the works of Rumi.

During his stay in Turkey, Helminski came to experience an atmosphere of tangible love and he felt like he was being tuned. This love was real. He kept reminding himself that it might be possible to bring this new concept and experience of love back to US. He decided to dedicate his life to achieve that purpose and gradually assimilated some of the knowledge of love that is found in Rumi's teachings. Rumi always appreciates the beauty of any form of love. He sees any form of love as a stepping stone to a higher love.

While conversing with a shaikh, Mr. Helminski asked the shaykh how he decided whether someone had what it takes to make the journey of Sufism. The answer was remarkable, the Shaikh replied .I ask them what they love and if they love something, anything with devotion, they have what it takes, because that love can be transformed into a higher love for Truth.**

During his speech, Mr. Helminski informed the audience about dervish training. A dervish must complete 1001 consecutive days of training to master adab(manners) and patience. A typical day consists of daily prayers, short periods of meditation, Quran recitation, and learning a useful trade to sustain the dervish's life. Dervishes who have special talents in arts would be trained in painting, music, etc. A dervish in training could leave the tekke (dervish complex) during the day to take care of daily errands. However, he must return before the nightly prayer. If he failed to return on time, the dervish would restart his training from day 1 again. Even if it was the 1001st night, he would have to go back and restart his training.

Even though no one word is enough to capture the meaning of "adab", it can be translated as "manners, etiquette and thoughtfulness". It is what stands out the most in Sufi teachings. It leads to good character in the individuals, unity and coherence in the society. Adab should be reflected in every aspect of a dervish's life which includes dressing, eating, speaking, welcoming guests, etc. It is exercised in the form of sensitivity, courtesy, humility, respect-even for inanimate objects, and voluntary act for others. For example, it is usual to see a dervish voluntarily cleaning the soles of the shoes at the entrance of tekke (dervish complex), and aligning them for everybody. The language used by dervishes also transforms in the process to reflect adab: A dervish never "puts out" a candle but rather he "puts it into rest". Nor would he "close a door" but would "cover it". Also, a dervish who masters adab has difficulty using the word "I" since it is deemed to be ego centric. Instead he prefers other phrases that express humility to refer to himself, like "this poor person". This is what a dervish would try to master during his days of training.

Mr. Helminski ended the evening by reciting poems of Rumi. He also sang a hymn from Yunus Emre (a prominent dervish and poet) playing the traditional Turkish string instrument "saz", accompanied by his wife, Camille Helminski, who played the traditional drum.

After a short Q&A session, a gift was presented to Mr. Helminski by Pacifica Institute as a symbol of appreciation. The calligraphy on the gift meant "Light upon Light" in Arabic. Later, participants had a chance to talk with him personally around the stage during the book signing process.

Shaikh Kabir Helminski "travels in the way of Rumi" now in Santa Cruz, California, where he resides and trains the next generation of Sufis.

*Sufi leader to speak in Sunnyvale
**Love's Ripening-Rumi on the Heart's Journey

Winter 09 - The Ground We Share

It was August 8th, the evening of the "Interfaith Conversations Dinner" at the Pacifica Institute Community Center. The guest speaker was Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, who is a gifted musician, composer, writer, teacher and a monk from the Camaldolese Congregation

Two hours before the anticipated event, the phone rang and a warm voice on the other end asked: "Dostum, are you coming tonight?" It was a friendly reminder call about the event. The caller is more than a friend to me. Actually, "Dostum" in Turkish translates to a special someone, a friend you can share deeper experiences with in life and spiritually. Frankly, I had no idea what to expect from the evening. Thinking this might be an interesting experience, I got dressed considering what to wear or not to wear, too formal or informal and it was getting late.

When I arrived, cheerful greeters at the door had me wear a name tag. Seeing the smiling faces of the greeters calmed me before entering a room full of people whom I had never met. Upon entering the room I spotted one of my friends and sat down. Looking through the crowd, I tried to guess who might be the guest speaker. On the opposite end of the table, there was a middle aged man with a medium built. He was dressed very humble with a white-beige shirt, and had an unexplained glow on his face. This was the person I had been anxiously waiting to see for the past four weeks.

Fr. Consiglio shared his spiritual insights regarding his journey to God, his understanding of Islam, and his mystic music after a simple dinner. The title of his talk, which is also the title of a book about Buddhist Christian religions, was "The Ground We Share". According to him, every person has a mystic relationship with God. The source and the heart of each religion is this mystic experience, and we want to pass it on to others through dance and music. Yet, this personal experience changes during that transition. Thus, the ultimate tradition is different for each person, and this difference is so beautiful and interesting.

While we are living our own ultimate reality, we want to understand how others experience it. This could be accomplished by traveling through the center. In other words, we travel through the center by understanding our own depth in mystical experience. As we go deeper to the center, we converge. As we go shallow on the surface, we diverge. All the religions are undergoing the most radical, far-reaching transformation in history, and we are entering into a whole new era, the second axial period: a global network and a global spiritual community, in contrast to individual spirituality which was the highlight of first axial period. This is why we need dialogue more than ever which makes sense to me. I wanted him to talk more and more. I could not believe how he and I share the same core values and still we are so different in our personal experiences. I thought how well he verbalized the very intricate concept of spirituality so that the others could also resonate with him. I could sit there and listen to him all night.

Fr. Consiglio also shared some concepts that he learned from Islam, like the "99 Beautiful Names of Allah" and an anecdote. In one of his trips, he coincidentally met a Muslim man from Lebanon who was not aware of the utterance of 99 names of Allah, and eventually learned all about it from Fr. Consiglio.

In addition to being the prominent speaker of the evening, Fr. Consiglio was also a pleasant singer. He was accompanied by his friends, his guitar, and my untrained voice. Music really does bring people together.
After the presentation, there was some time allotted for questions and chitchat with others. Although I did not have a chance to approach him and get to know him better, I met some of the other wonderful people in the room. The volunteers at Pacifica Institute are doing their best to bring together the community and whole-heartedly trying to shed a little light in the darkness.

Before going home, I approached my friend and asked "Dostum, when is the next event?" She didn't know, however, I will definitely stay tuned for more "Interfaith Conversations".

by Ozgu Elci

Winter 09 - Not-So-Random Trip to Turkey

"You're going where?" asked one of my daughters when I told her I had been invited by Pacifica Institute to visit Turkey, along with a small group of other interfaith leaders in Southern California.

At the time (May 2006) I was the Executive Director of the South Coast Interfaith Council, based in Long Beach, with a membership of 140 faith communities including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Baha'i, Unitarian and others.
 
"That's random", my daughter continued. And, indeed, it seemed so for me at first, because I didn't know that much about Turkey. But as I started to read about its Christian and Muslim history, its East-West connection and its rich culture, as well as the teachings of Fethullah Gulen concerning dialog and understanding, it seemed a perfect destination. The trip did not disappoint at all. It was a "once in a lifetime" experience for me and I will always be grateful to Pacifica Institute for the unique opportunity.

"What was the highlight of the trip?" I'm frequently asked. All of us who went agreed that it was meeting the people, eating with them, visiting in their homes, schools and places of work, talking with them.
Yes, it was wondrous touring the sights in Istanbul including the Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Sultan.s Palace and a Bosphorus Boat Tour. We also went to Izmir, Antalya, Konya, Nigde, Pamukkale and the fascinating Capadocia. We saw beautiful beaches and mosques, put our feet in hot springs and went into deep rock caves.

We ate large portions of fantastic food wherever we went. I remember particularly the lentil soup, lamb and fish dishes, dolma, fresh fruits and baklava. Breakfast included every manner of bread, jams, olives, cheeses, cereals, eggs. One meal we ate was actually in a restaurant in a tree. And with every meal, and at every stop, there was tea. We were even served tea when our mini-bus would stop at a gas station!

Even so, it was the people who made the biggest impression. Kindness, generosity and hospitality were the characteristics of the Muslim families and individuals we met. One family I ate with in their home was a very conservative family, where the women were completely veiled and ate in a separate room, but embraced us warmly and took pictures with us when we left. Another family I ate with was a wealthy family in a single family home. The grandmother was fully robed; the mother wore a sequined head scarf and the teenage daughter, no scarf at all.

I was interested in why some women wore scarves and some didn.t. I was surprised that it was illegal to wear scarves when working in government offices or going to school. That made no sense to me. The women I talked with clearly stated that it was their choice to wear a scarf as a reminder of their relationship with God, not something required by their husbands.

A few topics seemed to be off limits: politics, the relationship with Kurds (we did have one Kurd as a guide) and the Armenians. But there was much else to discuss, including parenting and how they were inspired by Gulen.

I was inspired myself to write a "silly song" to the tune of "By the Sea" to thank our PI hosts. The refrain goes "By the sea, by the Sea, by the beautiful Sea, in Tur-key, in Tur-key, Oh, how happy we'll be."
...
"Christians here, Muslims there, we have all become friends, As we learn of the work of the famous Gulen."
"Homes are open, so are hearts. We have all been welcomed. "Tesekkur Ederim, Seni Seviyorum."

by Rev. Ginny Waganer

Rev. Ginny Waganer was the Execute Director of the South Coast Interfaith Council based in Long Beach at the time of the trip. She retired after 17 years of work and currently lives in Mountain View near her four grandchildren. She has been an ordained Lutheran pastor for 25 years.

Winter 09 - Turkey Trip Reunion Dinners

Their Fondest Memories

During the month of September the Pacifica Institute held two reunion dinners for the lucky members of the south bay community who had the opportunity to take a guided 10-day tour of Turkey during the summer. I had the pleasure of attending these dinners and listening to everyone's wonderful memories.

Being of Turkish heritage, I have always thought that I may have a slightly biased opinion about the beauty of Turkey. The reunion fast-breaking dinners proved me wrong! I have always known of Turkey's many awe-inspiring historical sites, the mouth-watering cuisine and the over-whelming urge of the older generation Turkish women have to feed others, but it was a remarkable experience to hear such great praises about Turkey from prominent members of the south bay.

The evening started off with everyone coming together again for the first time since their trip and continued with the dinner. It was great to see the camaraderie among everyone from various backgrounds, cultures, careers and religions. Most everyone didn't know one another before the trip, but now share a great bond. Finally, the evening wrapped up with a slide show of pictures from the trip, and a short speech by each person including their fondest memory from the trip. The common themes among everyone's comments were how grateful they were for the once-in-a-lifetime experience, the wonderful welcoming spirit of the Turkish people and of course the delicious food.

One of the most memorable moments was when Joanne, one of the ladies on the trip, explained the story behind the outfit she was wearing. She was visiting with one of the host family's daughter in Nigde and commented on how much she liked her blouse. The next day when they were leaving, the daughter handed her a gift wrapped package- it was the blouse that she had commented on the night before. This shows the generosity of the Turkish family and she says that she has now learned that you shouldn.t express how much you like a Turkish person.s belongings because they will literally give you the shirt off their back.

I have to say the funniest moment of the night was when Joey, a pastor who visited Turkey said that he was now "cool" like the Turkish men because he too can flip a "tesbih", a strand of prayer beads, with his hand. The tesbih is used after prayer, but many men carry it with them and have formed a habit of flipping it while walking or waiting. Turkish men, especially of the slightly older generation, have their own walking style; slightly hunched forward with both hands clasped behind their back, usually flipping and twirling a tesbih. It was funny and amazing to hear that a stranger to the Turkish heritage picked up on this.

The two comments that I think really mirrored the Turkish hospitality and welcoming spirit were two completely different examples. A professor visiting Turkey had forgotten his luggage at the home of a host family so one of the family members drove to the neighboring city to drop off the luggage at the airport. The professor was completely unaware of the entire situation until the reunion dinner. Another comment was made by a father who said that he had come to the dinner with his son, but had only seen him once or twice- if at all- during the two hours that they had been here. He said that this explains the Turkish hospitality perfectly; his son has been playing with the other Turkish kids, which he had never met before, for the past two hours and never felt the need or desire to leave and join his father.

After attending both reunion dinners I have decided that I too would like to visit Turkey- as a tourist. I have been to Turkey many times, but I hope to have the opportunity to see Turkey through a tourist.s eyes during one of my next trips. I would like to close with one of the remarks made during the evening: "Turkey is the gateway to Asia from the west and the gateway to Europe from the east. It is not a place that is neither/nor, it is a place that is both/and."

by Deniz Dogruer

Winter 09 - Editor's Message

Sharing Bread and WaterDear Reader,

September was the month of fasting, and the Pacifica kitchen was busier than ever. Not only were we sharing bread and water, but we were also sharing the friendships, the memories, and the joy. Many events have occurred within the last few months. This issue features most of them for you, if not all.
In September, Pacifica Institute arranged two reunion dinners for the participants of the summer trips to Turkey. It was emotional and sentimental to see how separate individuals became part of the same family through these trips under the roof of Pacifica. "Their Fondest Memories" is about the observation of these reunions. In addition, if you would like to know what Turkey looks like in the eyes of these beholders, Reflections includes an article written by Ginny Waganer who is a Pacifica Institute trip goer. "The Ground We Share" and "Traveling the Way of Rumi in US" mention two of the Interfaith Conversations. The article "Fasting in Different Faiths" synthesizes the insights from three traditions regarding the benefits and purposes of fasting.
Please stay tuned for the upcoming issues that will include the Friendship and Dialog Dinner, Gulen Conference, more interfaith conversations, and the Thanksgiving activities. In the meantime, kindly send us your feedback about this issue, or anything in general. (pacificasv@pacificainstitute.org) Enjoy!