Week in Religion
President Barack Obama visited the Middle East this week, and he started his trip in Israel. The trip took place a week before Passover, which begins this year on March 25 at sundown. Israel is home to 41 percent of the world's Jewish population. Another 41 percent live in the U.S., according to Pew Center estimates. This means that Israel and the U.S. are each home to ever 5 million Jews. Canada and France have the next biggest Jewish populations, with 350,000 and 310,000 respectively. Israel is the only country in the world where the majority of the population is Jewish.
Survey Says
Almost three-quarters of American Catholics are happy with the selection of Francis as pope, according to a Pew survey. Seventy-three percent of American Catholics said they were happy with the man elected pope. Of those 73 percent, 31 percent said they were "very happy." Forty-one percent believed that selecting a Latin American pope was a major change for the church.
Good Book?
"The Bronfman Haggadah" by Edgar M. Bronfman, illustrated by Jan Aronson
A beautifully illustrated contemporary Haggadah for the Passover Seder, as interpreted by the world-renowned philanthropist and Jewish leader Edgar M. Bronfman. This Haggadah will inspire and delight all ages. The author’s creative approach weaves together meaningful readings, from the nineteenth-century abolitionist Frederick Douglas to a lesser-known poet, Marge Piercy. Bronfman captures the young reader’s imagination when each child, teenager, and adult assumes the role of a character in the Exodus story, or perhaps to become one of the story’s narrators. Watercolor paintings, created specially for this book, illustrate its main parts: the Seder plate’s symbolic foods, the parting of the Red Sea, the forty-year journey, the giving of the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, to name a few. "The Bronfman Haggadah" is a welcome addition for the avid collector, as well as to be used as the Haggadah of choice to enrich the Passover Seder experience with its refreshing interactive approach.
-- Amazon.com
Quote of the Week
"The message of Passover remains as powerful as ever. Freedom is won not on the battlefield but in the classroom and the home. Teach your children the history of freedom if you want them never to lose it." - Jonathan Sacks
The Word
Seder: The ritualized dinner held in Jewish homes on the first night or first two nights of Passover. The word seder means “order” in Hebrew. It commemorates the Jews’ escape from slavery in Egypt as described in the book of Exodus, and it features special foods and the reading of the Haggadah, a compilation of biblical passages, prayers, hymns and rabbinic literature.
-- ReligionStylebook.com
Religions Around the World
The religious makeup of Egypt, according to CIA World Factbook:
Muslim: 90 percent
Coptic: 9 percent
Other Christian: 1 percent
GateHouse News Service
Week in Religion
President Barack Obama visited the Middle East this week, and he started his trip in Israel. The trip took place a week before Passover, which begins this year on March 25 at sundown. Israel is home to 41 percent of the world's Jewish population. Another 41 percent live in the U.S., according to Pew Center estimates. This means that Israel and the U.S. are each home to ever 5 million Jews. Canada and France have the next biggest Jewish populations, with 350,000 and 310,000 respectively. Israel is the only country in the world where the majority of the population is Jewish.
Survey Says
Almost three-quarters of American Catholics are happy with the selection of Francis as pope, according to a Pew survey. Seventy-three percent of American Catholics said they were happy with the man elected pope. Of those 73 percent, 31 percent said they were "very happy." Forty-one percent believed that selecting a Latin American pope was a major change for the church.
Good Book?
"The Bronfman Haggadah" by Edgar M. Bronfman, illustrated by Jan Aronson
A beautifully illustrated contemporary Haggadah for the Passover Seder, as interpreted by the world-renowned philanthropist and Jewish leader Edgar M. Bronfman. This Haggadah will inspire and delight all ages. The author’s creative approach weaves together meaningful readings, from the nineteenth-century abolitionist Frederick Douglas to a lesser-known poet, Marge Piercy. Bronfman captures the young reader’s imagination when each child, teenager, and adult assumes the role of a character in the Exodus story, or perhaps to become one of the story’s narrators. Watercolor paintings, created specially for this book, illustrate its main parts: the Seder plate’s symbolic foods, the parting of the Red Sea, the forty-year journey, the giving of the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, to name a few. "The Bronfman Haggadah" is a welcome addition for the avid collector, as well as to be used as the Haggadah of choice to enrich the Passover Seder experience with its refreshing interactive approach.
-- Amazon.com
Quote of the Week
"The message of Passover remains as powerful as ever. Freedom is won not on the battlefield but in the classroom and the home. Teach your children the history of freedom if you want them never to lose it." - Jonathan Sacks
The Word
Seder: The ritualized dinner held in Jewish homes on the first night or first two nights of Passover. The word seder means “order” in Hebrew. It commemorates the Jews’ escape from slavery in Egypt as described in the book of Exodus, and it features special foods and the reading of the Haggadah, a compilation of biblical passages, prayers, hymns and rabbinic literature.
-- ReligionStylebook.com
Religions Around the World
The religious makeup of Egypt, according to CIA World Factbook:
Muslim: 90 percent
Coptic: 9 percent
Other Christian: 1 percent
GateHouse News Service
