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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Worship
Honorable Mention, 2019 Barbara T. Christian Literary Award, given
by the Caribbean Studies Association Winner, 2017 Clifford Geertz
Prize in the Anthropology of Religion, presented by the Society for
the Anthropology of Religion section of the American
Anthropological Association Finalist, 2017 Albert J. Raboteau Prize
for the Best Book in Africana Religions presented by the Journal of
Africana Religions An examination of the religious importance of
food among Caribbean and Latin American communities Before honey
can be offered to the Afro-Cuban deity Ochun, it must be tasted, to
prove to her that it is good. In African-inspired religions
throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States,
such gestures instill the attitudes that turn participants into
practitioners. Acquiring deep knowledge of the diets of the gods
and ancestors constructs adherents' identities; to learn to fix the
gods' favorite dishes is to be "seasoned" into their service. In
this innovative work, Elizabeth Perez reveals how seemingly trivial
"micropractices" such as the preparation of sacred foods, are
complex rituals in their own right. Drawing on years of
ethnographic research in Chicago among practitioners of Lucumi, the
transnational tradition popularly known as Santeria, Perez focuses
on the behind-the-scenes work of the primarily women and gay men
responsible for feeding the gods. She reveals how cooking and
talking around the kitchen table have played vital socializing
roles in Black Atlantic religions. Entering the world of divine
desires and the varied flavors that speak to them, this volume
takes a fresh approach to the anthropology of religion. Its richly
textured portrait of a predominantly African-American Lucumi
community reconceptualizes race, gender, sexuality, and affect in
the formation of religious identity, proposing that every religion
coalesces and sustains itself through its own secret recipe of
micropractices.
The Shabbat Evening Siddur is the first siddur designed
specifically for synagogues, minyanim and families striving for
authenticity, sincerity and creativity in their traditional Friday
night davening. Color photographs, a precise translation and
inspiring commentary by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Rabbi Yehuda
Sarna, a special study section, and an innovative graphic layout
bring out the beauty, convey the power, and enrich the experience
of welcoming Shabbat.
Muslims are required to pray five times a day, but for too many of us these are little more than physical movements devoid of any spirit or divine connection? In contrast, the Prophet characterised prayer as “the spiritual ascent (mi'raj) of the believer.” In a modern world of constant distraction, how are we to achieve the communion with the Divine that prayer is supposed to be? How can we reach the state of the Prophet who would ask his Companion Bilal to give the call to prayer with the expression: “Give us repose through it, O Bilal.”
The present short but valuable work provides us with the answer. Dr Bassam Saeh, a scholar of the Arabic language, casts a refreshing new perspective on prayer in the modern context. With practical examples, and in contemporary idiom, he charts a path for the seeker of God’s pleasure to attain a deeper sense of consciousness and devotion in prayer. The short chapters of this work are designed to be read and reread as constant reminders for us to renew our commitment to the Divine in our prayer.
30 Selected lectures The Festivals and Their Meaning collects
thirty of Rudolf Steiner's most important lectures on the festivals
of the year. He identifies and illumines the true meaning behind
Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, and Michaelmas,
emphasizing their inner spiritual and outer cosmic aspects. Steiner
shows that the festivals do not only commemorate great historical
events and truths of the Christian tradition; they are in
themselves--each year--spiritual events that manifest in seasonal
and natural rhythms and carry a significance that grows and deepens
with the development of human evolution. CONTENTS Christmas
Introduction by Ann Druitt The Christmas Festival: Heralding the
Victory of the Sun Signs and Symbols of the Christmas Festival The
Birth of the Sun-spirit as the Spirit of the Earth: The Thirteen
Holy Nights Christmas as a time of Grievous Destiny The
Proclamations to the Magi and the Shepherds On the Three Magi The
Revelation of the Cosmic Christ The Birth of Christ within Us
Easter Easter: The Festival of Warning The Blood Relationship and
the Christ Relationship The Death of a God and Its Fruits in
Humanity Spirit Triumphant The Teachings of the Risen Christ
Easter: The Mystery of the Future Spiritual Bells of Easter, parts
1 & 2 Ascension and Pentecost The Whitsun Mystery and Its
Connection with the Ascension Whitsun: The Festival of the Free
Individuality World Pentecost: The Message of Anthroposophy
Whitsun: A Symbol of the Immortality of the Ego The Whitsuntide
Festival: Its Place in the Study of Karma Whitsun Verse Michaelmas
Michael Meditation The Michael Inspiration: Spiritual Milestones in
the Course of the Year A Michael Lecture The Michael Impulse and
the Mystery of Golgotha, parts 1 & 2 Michael and the Dragon The
Creation of a Michael Festival out of the Spirit The Michael Path
to Christ
"The Goodly Word: Al-Kalim al-Tayyib"-written by the renowned
fourteenth century jurist, Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya-is one of the most
referred to works on prayer and the merits of prayer. Exclusively
based on what the Prophet Muhammad himself said and did, "The
Goodly Word" includes prayers for every moment of the Muslim's
life. It is presented in a bi-lingual edition so that the exact
prayers of the Prophet can be read in the original Arabic. "The
Goodly Word" has been translated into English by the late Ezzeddin
Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies, two distinguished scholars who
have also translated "An-Nawawi's Forty Hadith" and "Forty Hadith
Qudsi", both published by the Islamic Texts Society.
This photographic picture book shows how Hanukkah menorahs are made
step-by-step.
In a world that increasingly sees religion as a source of violence,
this book explores resources from within religious traditions that
might help build peace. Drawing from the rich textual histories of
Christianity and Islam, the contributors mine their faith
traditions for ways of thinking and ways of being that help shift
perceptions about religion, and actively contribute to the growth
of peace in our troubled times. Not content with retreat into
religious exclusivism, these essays are an act of sharing something
held dear. In sharing, the thing offered no longer remains the
possession of the one who offers, and so these essays are an act of
vulnerability and trust-building. In sharing precious things
together, in giving and receiving, peace becomes not only a matter
of dialogue, but also shared commitments to ways of being.
In this, his most recent work, Martin Lings discusses the
significance of the pilgrimage to Mecca, made annually by several
million Muslims, in the light of the tradition of Abraham. Drawing
upon his own experience of performing the pilgrimage first in 1946
and then in 1978, as well referring to the traditional sources, he
considers the timeless spiritual meaning of the Hajj, which was
proclaimed and established by Abraham and Ishmael and renewed by
the Prophet Muhammad, in the context of its long history and comes
to some surprising conclusions.
The Jewish coming-of-age ceremony of bar mitzvah was first recorded
in thirteenth-century France, where it took the form of a simple
statement by the father that he was no longer responsible for his
thirteen-year-old son. Today, bar mitzvah for boys and bat mitzvah
for girls are more popular than at any time in history and are
sometimes accompanied by lavish celebrations. How did bar mitzvah
develop over the centuries from an obscure legal ritual into a core
component of Judaism? How did it capture the imagination of even
non-Jewish youth? Bar Mitzvah, a History is a comprehensive account
of the ceremonies and celebrations for both boys and girls. A
cultural anthropology informed by rabbinic knowledge, it explores
the origins and development of the most important coming-of-age
milestone in Judaism. Rabbi Michael Hilton has sought out every
reference to bar mitzvah in the Bible, the Talmud, and numerous
other Jewish texts spanning several centuries, extracting a
fascinating miscellany of information, stories, and commentary.
The life and times of a treasured book read by generations of
Jewish families at the seder table Every year at Passover, Jews
around the world gather for the seder, a festive meal where family
and friends come together to sing, pray, and enjoy traditional food
while retelling the biblical story of the Exodus. The Passover
Haggadah provides the script for the meal and is a religious text
unlike any other. It is the only sacred book available in so many
varieties-from the Maxwell House edition of the 1930s to the
countercultural Freedom Seder-and it is the rare liturgical work
that allows people with limited knowledge to conduct a complex
religious service. The Haggadah is also the only religious book
given away for free at grocery stores as a promotion. Vanessa Ochs
tells the story of this beloved book, from its emergence in
antiquity as an oral practice to its vibrant proliferation today.
Ochs provides a lively and incisive account of how the foundational
Jewish narrative of liberation is remembered in the Haggadah. She
discusses the book's origins in biblical and rabbinical literature,
its flourishing in illuminated manuscripts in the medieval period,
and its mass production with the advent of the printing press. She
looks at Haggadot created on the kibbutz, those reflecting the
Holocaust, feminist and LGBTQ-themed Haggadot, and even one
featuring a popular television show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Ochs shows how this enduring work of liturgy that once served to
transmit Jewish identity in Jewish settings continues to be
reinterpreted and reimagined to share the message of freedom for
all.
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