Ramadan Mubarak

I hear this all the time: Why do Jewish holidays keep changing dates? I'm sure my Muslim friends get the same question about Muslim holidays.

The Muslims and the Jews go by the lunar calendar as opposed to the solar calendar. To learn more about calendars I found this very interesting link.

So what is the difference between the Jewish, Chinese and Muslim calendars: Jewish holidays occur on the same day every year: the same day on the Jewish calendar! The Jewish calendar has a different number of days than the calendar you use because the Jewish calendar is tied to the moon's cycles instead of the sun's. The Jewish calendar loses about 11 days relative to the solar calendar every year, but makes up for it by adding a month every two or three years. The month of Adar is repeated and then the first one is called Adar Aleph and the second follows it with Adar Bet. As a result, the holidays don't always fall on the same day, but they always fall within the same month or two. The Chinese calendar (which is also lunar) works the same way, which is why Chinese New Year occurs on different days but is always in late January or early February. The Muslim calendar is lunar but does not add months, which is why Ramadan circles the calendar.

This year for the first time in many years Ramadan and Rosh Hashana begin on the same day.

Ramadan, for those of you not familiar with its meaning, is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. Muslims believe that during this month Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. At many mosques during Ramadan, about one thirtieth of the Qur'an is recited each night in prayers. By the end of the month the complete scripture will have been recited. During Ramadan Muslims fast while the sun shines. No food or drink during the daylight for the entire month.

When I finished my degree at a community college I transferred to a Catholic university. As a Jewish minority I thought I'd never find any friends at the university. But this university was inundated with international students, so obviously I was bound to make some new friends. But here's the thing, what does an Israeli Jew have in common with a devout Catholic? Well, come to find out - nothing. Turns out I had far more in common with my Muslim cousins* from the Middle East than I did with any Catholics. [* In Israel, Jews refer to Muslims as "our cousins" - referring back to Abraham our forefather]. So that's how I made friends with the Muslims from Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Jordan and Turkey. It was quite odd that while the entire world believes the Jews and the Muslims are at war with each other - here I was, enjoying the company of my good friends. This is also when I found out - not even all Muslims agree amongst themselves. When the Iraqi guy picked a fight with me, blaming the Jews for every suffering the Palestinians and Arabs have ever endured, all the other Arabs from Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt split into two groups. One group circled him and attacked him verbally in Arabic, and the other group circled me and apologised for his behaviour. Needless to say, I have a very positive view of Muslims since then.

I recall how during Ramadan my friend from Kuwait asked me to follow him outside and handed me some money, saying something that almost had me slapping him when I heard his first few words, "Look, you're a Jew and everyone knows that..." [Ok, you gave me money because you want me to open a savings account for you?] Then he proceeds to say, "Can you please go to the store and get me a bag of pretzels and a coke, because everyone will notice the Muslim buying food on Ramadan." So now I was becoming a religious messenger of a different type. He asked me to bring the snack to the men's bathroom because he didn't want to be caught by any of the other Kuwaities. He was afraid it would get back to his country if anyone found out he was eating during Ramadan. I had pity for him because I could only imagine how difficult it must be to concentrate on studying without eating or drinking and this guy had a deadline that day. So yeah, I confess to aiding a Muslim digress. Just another guilty feeling to add to many more.

I truly wish I had stayed in touch with all my Muslim friends from the university. But this was only the beginning days of the internet, and free email was not yet established and well known, so most students could not exchange email addresses to keep in touch. I imagine all of them returned back to their respective countries.

A year ago (Muslim calendar), I was on one of those frustrating projects, where everyone had to vent at least once a day about the stress and frustration with the job. I vented to a co-worker about never having any time to take a lunch break and being swamped with work. He agreed with me that it's getting really stressful. We talked for half an hour and then I said, "you know what, we should just go out to lunch together. Forget about the stress on this job!" He looked at me and said, "Sure. But can we do it in another month?" Shocked at his response I said, "Ok, look, you can't possibly be that stressed with work where you cannot even take a lunch break one time!!!" He laughed and said, "No. I can't have lunch because it's Ramadan."

I couldn't convince him to convert to Judaism just so we could have lunch. Stubborn Muslim. Embarrassed Jew. Perfect beginning for a new friendship.

To my dear Muslim friends around the world, including you, Mr. Nafie, I wish you Ramadan Mubarak. May the daylight seem short and may the month end soon.