Faces on Faith

By RABBI SUNNY SCHNITZER

One of my early childhood memories is the evening when members of a local Baptist Church came to our synagogue on a Friday night to sing, pray with our congregation and hear American religious pluralism extolled as a gift to the world And I recall going to their Sunday services instead of to our usual Sunday Hebrew School and listening to their prayers, their very spirited music, their language about God and a complementary sermon from their pastor I reveled in the expressions of spirit, passion and love for God contained in every moment I even got up and danced (something rarely, if ever, done in our decorous synagogue)

But it later became clear to me that these were courtesy visits That to be American meant to be respectful of each others’ “faiths” in public, even though in “private,” among our own, we might whisper that only one of us could be “right ” We were all “triumphalists ” We were the most loved as evidenced by the sacrifice of God’s son We were the chosen people We were the ones who replaced or failed to replace the “others ”

This ancient and still current approach focuses us on the differences, the uniqueness of various religious traditions Truth becomes a competitive commodity. There were boundaries being protected: we didn’t eat their food and we didn’t date each other It was all about boundaries

But, we are in the midst of a paradigm shift and “Deep Ecumenism” is a fundamental part of it My teachers of blessed memory, Rabbis Zalman Schacter Shalomi and Shaya Isenberg, head of the Jewish Studies department at the University of Florida, taught that when it comes to our dogmas, myths and theologies our “revelations” that divide us we miss the point of our most dearly held religious traditions The world’s religions are akin to a giant Venn diagram, the largest parts of the circles are where we are in agreement It is the smallest parts where there is intersection, tension and even conflict that challenge us

We have the choice to focus on the big parts of the circle When we go deeply inside in contemplation, meditation, prayer, devotion, blessing, we can understand each other’s traditions from the level of, as Rabbi Zalman called them, “system files ”

When considering the interactions of religions, we must ask first, where are we coming from? Are we “protectionists,” guarding our own borders, protecting our revelations? Are we “good citizens,” glorying in the various ways that people are spiritual? Do we believe that all religions are basically the same, with merely cultural differences? Or do we believe that while traditions may differ, they all have essentially the same goals, including the spiritual evolution of their participants?

The very word religion offers us a hint of our holy task Modern biblical scholars such as Tom Harpur and Joseph Campbell teach that religion is derived from the Latin religare, “re” (again) plus “ligare” (connect) We enter the realm of religion to reconnect with God, ourselves and with each other

So, the approach of “deep ecumenism” comes from a recognition that on this planet in this dangerous time, we need each other and we need each other to be the best Jews and Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, secular and New Age practitioners, we can possibly be We need to learn from each other We don’t have to become each other In fact we need each religious “organ” to be working at peak efficiency so that the “body” of humanity can be healthy Moreover, the very possibility of overcoming the internal and external conditions, the mindsets, that result in current crises depends on our ability to collaborate with others And that requires a deep understanding of each other’s spirituality A non-reductive way of thinking comparatively about each other’s spirituality and the right to exist as we are is crucial

We are human before we are Jewish or

Combine the solid sauce ingredients and blend them with the olive oil and lemon juice; salt and pepper to taste. The consistency of the sauce should be fairly loose.

In a small bowl, combine pepper, salt, oregano, parsley, crushed red pepper, garlic, oil, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar together, forming a coarse paste Spread paste evenly over both sides of flank steak Wrap flank steak with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours

Heat the grill to approximately 350-400°F Grill steak directly over coals for six minutes on each side Internal temperature of steak should reach 130-135°F for medium doneness

Let the steak rest for 10 minutes covered with foil

For optimum tenderness, cut flank steaks against the grain into 1/4-inch slices Serve with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and arugula pesto

Arugula pesto (makes about 1 1/2 cups)

2 cups fresh arugula, de-stemmed and tightly packed

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

Place arugula, nuts, garlic, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor Pulse until ingredients are chopped With processor running, slowly add the olive oil Add grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to the pesto after it is removed from the food processor

Island Worship

∫ Bat Yam Temple of the Islands

2050 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel (Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ), https://www batyam org/, https://www facebook com/batyamsanibel/

Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer

Sabbath service on Friday at 7 p m at the Jewish Federation of Lee & Charlotte Counties, at 9701 Commerce Center Court, Fort Myers, and via Zoom For Zoom links, email batyamsanibel@gmail com

∫ Captiva Chapel by the Sea

11580 Chapin Lane, Captiva, 239-472-1646, https://www captivachapel com/, www facebook com/Captiva-Chapel-By-The-Sea

Rev Dr Doug Dortch

Services will return for season in November. Videos of services from the past season can be found on the chapel's website and Facebook page

∫ Chavurat Shalom of Southwest Florida www chavuratshalomofsouthwestflorida org

Classes and discussion on Thursday at 11 a m via Zoom Torah Talk on the third Thursday of each month at 11 a m via Zoom Friday Shabbat service at 7:30 p m via Zoom Len Minsky Current Events discussion on Saturday at 11 a m via Zoom An informal “schmooze” session on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p m via Zoom For Zoom links, email ChavuratShalom@gmail com

∫ Sanibel Community Church

1740 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, 239-472-2684, https://sanibelchurch com/, https://www facebook com/sanibelchurch/

Pastor Jeramie Rinne

Sunday service at 10 a m in the SCC Sanctuary Sunday service at 4 p m at the Fort Myers Community Church, at 8440 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers Services will be recorded and posted on the SCC's YouTube channel on Monday

∫ Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ

2050 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, 239-472-0497, https://www sanibelucc org/, https://www facebook com/sanibelucc/

Senior Minister Rev Dr Mark Boyea

Sunday service at 10 a m at The Refuge Church, at 1901 Brantley Road, Fort Myers

∫ St Isabel Catholic Church

3559 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel, 239-472-2763, https://www saintisabel org/, https://www facebook com/stisabelcatholicchurch/

Father Edward Martin

Friday Mass at 9 a m Weekend Masses on Saturday at 4 p m and Sunday at 10 a m

∫ St Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church

2304 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, 239-472-2173, https://www saintmichaels-sanibel org/, https://www facebook com/saintmichaelssanibel/

Rev William “Bill” Van Oss

Service with optional healing prayers on Wednesday at 9 a m at the Peace Lutheran Church, at 15840 McGregor Blvd , Fort Myers Sunday service at 11:30 a m at the same location, followed by a coffee hour in Fellowship Hall

Christian or Buddhist or Muslim; we are human before we are male or female! And the crises we face today are not merely local, but planetary, affecting us at the species level well beyond the religio-cultural levels We are a species that needs to evolve in consciousness in order to respond to the crises which mainly result from our failures, so far, to “grow up ” Humankind’s greatest advances have come when our social systems embrace the gifts that each culture and religion bring to the table Real ecumenism comes from sharing at that evolutionary level More than ever before, we need each other

Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer is with the Bat Yam Temple of the Islands ˚