The Holiday of Yom Kippur, and Ramadan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Holiday of Yom Kippur, and Ramadan - Essay Example Despite the international tension and dividing events, some people among the Muslim and Jewish community still attempt to seize this occasion of similar holidays to narrow this gap in order to reach across the political divides to find a common ground, even if it is through the spiritual links between the religions of both communities. The Holidays of Yom Kippur and Ramadan both have spiritual roots, yet for different religions. Yom Kippur is a Jewish holiday whereas Ramadan, which ends with eid-ul-fitr, is for Muslims (Blass 22); both of these involve fasting but in different patterns. Each of these holidays is in a period which is not fixed in the Gregorian calendar; rather, it has roots in their traditional calendars. Both Muslims and Jews follow a lunar calendar, yet their calculations are not the same. This determines the fact the Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday for Jews, falls during the Muslims holy Month of Ramadan only once in almost three decades. The literal meaning of word Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. This Jewish holiday begins 10 days after Rosh Hashanah. The Biblical reference to this holiday is â€Å"You should do no work throughout that day. For it is a Day of Atonement ("Yom Kippur") on which expiation is made on your behalf before the Lord your God. Indeed, any person who does not practice self-denial throughout that day shall be cut off from his people " Leviticus 23:27. Ramadan, on the other hand, is the 9th month of Islamic calendar (Cornell 21). It is compulsory for all adult Muslims as the month of fasting. It is said in the Quran: â€Å"O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation† Al-Baqara [2:183]. Yom Kippur is a 25 hour fast, this holiday ends in a day (Escobar 53), whereas Ramadan is a whole month of fasting from dawn till sunset everyday. Both of these, although, are celebrated according to the Jewish and the Islamic calendars. Since both of these

Phaedrus by Plato Essay Example for Free

Phaedrus by Plato Essay Of all the dialogues of Plato, this has got to be one of the most impressive of all. A display of conversations that did not rely on just mediocre questioning and explanation about a single topic. Walking around the country and providing conversations on just about whatever happens to them, the Phaedrus and Socrates walking conversation displays relevant matters and enlightening words. Tackling the topic of love was the initial subject that the two had taken into consideration. Talking about philosophies of love and their own takes on how love is, Socrates and Phaedrus showcase their sides by explaining what love is to them. Thus, this conversation about love ruled most of their walk. Along the way they tackled more enlightening matters The dialogues last part tackles about writing books and its capabilities to impart goodness on a person. They explain their considerable thoughts on books. In part 229c-230 b, Socrates reflects an affirmative belief on stories of myths such as the story of Bores and Orithyia. Socrates showcases his reasoning that he doesnt have enough time as well for himself to give explanation about such occurrence that happened in the place where the story was foretold thus he results to might as well be believing in it. He believes that skeptics dont have the luxury of time challenging and explaining the truth about other creatures, monsters and occurrences as well. Thus Socrates concludes that seeking out for truth with regards to said stories is ridiculous. He believes that even those people of science that tends to explain everything will also have such a difficult time on proving such claims and that there are more important matters other than challenging these stories. The conversational walk that Socrates and Phaedrus had in the dialogue displays amenable reasoning and provides ample knowledge upon readers.

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In this novel the presentation of the father is portrayed as a father protecting his son’s innocence. It’s almost as if the man is placed on this planet for one major purpose to protect and keep his son alive. The burnt man passage gives the reader an insight into a world that has absence of culture and civilization in the post-apocalyptic world that both the boy and man inhabit, the role of the boy and the father are further established for the reader and many of the techniques that become typical of McCarthy’s style in the novel. Structurally the burned man scene is one of the horrific episodes that occur in the novel and it is the first to take place, foreshadowing, future horrific episodes that will take place later on in the novel. This essay will be exploring these ideas in more depth looking closely at how the father and boy are portrayed in this part of the extract. The passage begins with a typical series of simple sentences describing the boy and the man. †they went on the boy was crying. He kept looking back† McCarthy’s style of writing mainly consist of short, clear an...

Natural Disaster and the Decisions That Follow Essay

In the hurricanes’ wake, Nationwide received more than 119,000 claims collectively worth $850 million. Although dealing with those claims was difficult, even more difficult was Rommel’s later decision to cancel approximately 40,000 homeowners’ policies. Nationwide received a huge amount of mediaattention as a result, almost all negative. In reflecting on the decision, Rommel said, ―Pulling out was a soundbusiness decision. Was it good for the individual customer? No, I can’t say it was. But the rationale wassound.â€â€"Hurricanes aren’t the only weapons in nature’s arsenal, and the insurance industry is hardly the onlyindustry affected by nature. Consider the airline industry. American Airlines has 80,000 employees, 4 of whommake decisions to cancel flights. One of them is Danny Burgin. When weather systems approach, Burgin needs toconsider a host of factors in deciding which flights to cancel and how to reroute affected passengers. He arguesthat of two major weather factors, winter snowstorms andsummer thunderstorms, snowstorms are easier to handle because they are more predictable. Don’t tell tha t toJetBlue, however. On February 14, 2007, JetBlue wasunprepared for a snowstorm that hit the East Coast. Dueto the lack of planning, JetBlue held hundreds ofpassengers on its planes, at JFK, in some cases for aslong as 10 hours (with bathrooms closed!). To the stranded travelers, JetBlue’s tepid offer of a refund was just as outrageous.

Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” Essay

In Arthur Miller’s â€Å"A View from the Bridge†, the character of Alfieri can be described as the ‘hidden leading role’. He bears several roles, most of them more significant than assumed by the casual reader. His dual-role onstage as a character who interacts both with other characters and the audience provides him with the responsibility of bringing about some understanding to the events of the play, while his background makes him the vital link between two conflicting cultures. Alfieri is the symbolic bridge between American constitutional law and Italian social law. The son of a Sicilian, he was raised in America and pursued an education in American law, providing him with a suitable dose of both backgrounds. Like a bridge, Alfieri connects with both shores. Like a bridge, Alfieri leans on the solid foundations of both cultures. But also like a bridge, Alfieri is elevated above, and therefore watches more often than he interferes. Hence the title â€Å"A View from the Bridge†. The whole play is Alfieri’s perception of the events that took place. It is almost a secondary source – that is, a collection of primary sources with his personal interpretation mixed in at relevant moments – but it isn’t a complete secondary source, because there are significant times during the play when Alfieri himself is involved. Alfieri provides vital continuity at points in the play when the story cannot be told in any way other than narration. One example is on page 31, once the cousins have arrived and all the characters have been introduced, Eddie visits him for legal advice, for a legal way to prevent a Catherine/Rodolfo marriage. Alfieri provides literal descriptions of a storyline which, up until now, has been conveyed only through physical actions and behaviour. His eyes were like tunnels, describes Eddie’s single, unchangeable aim, whereas †¦but soon I saw it was only a passion that had moved into his body, like a stranger describes how clear it was to Alfieri that Eddie was possessed by his motive. There is also an element of foreshadowing in my first though was that he had committed a crime – this phrase also reiterates that the events of the play have already taken place. There are further examples of continuity to promote understanding, provided by Alfieri, throughout the play. Give some of these. As mentioned earlier, the play is Alfieri’s story, told by Alfieri. As such, and based on the important ‘bridge’ position he maintains, he has attempted to present the story from a reasonable, objective point a view, a point of view that would suit his position. However, he is awestruck by the events that played out, and tells much of the story as a legend. On page 4, †¦every few years there is still a case, and†¦the flat air in my office suddenly washes in with the green scent of the sea, the dust in this air is blown away and the thought comes that†¦another lawyer†¦sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course is reflective of this. Alfieri considers the Eddie Carbone case to be a case of exception, one that triggers the romantic feelings he describes in the quotation. As a result, even though one of Alfieri’s roles in the play is to bring about some form of understanding to a potentially incomprehensible storyline, this quotation shows that the character of Alfieri is not an emotionless, â€Å"robot-like† narrator, but a real human, with a natural tendency to tell magnificent stories with an element of excitement. This can also be seen in his closing remarks on page 64, where he ‘admits’ to mourning Eddie. He’s only human, and he’s torn between sympathy and pity. He is a bridge between two cultures, and he cannot make a choice to devote himself completely to one side. It is the job of a bridge to link two sides together. Similarly, it is his job to maintain a link between the American and Italian cultures, yet he is torn between the two. Here we truly see Alfieri’s dual-character, making him both a narrator and a character.