One God
The Muslim believe in one God, called Allah in Arabic. The root of this Arabic word for God is identical to the root of the Jewish word for God.
The Jews believe in one God. Names of God in Judaism. The name of God used most often in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה). It is frequently anglicized as Jehovah and Yahweh and written in most editions of the Bible as "the Lord" owing to the Jewish tradition of reading it as Adonai ("My Lords") out of respect.
The Christians believe in one God. God has many names mentioned in the Bible. It would be a blog on its on.
All three religious groups believe that there is only one God
Divine Assistance
Jewish history, as recorded in the Old Testament, views such divine intervention or assistance as a given. The Passover angel, Red Sea parting and manna from heaven are but a few examples of what God has done for them in the past, is doing right now and will continue to do in the future.
Psalm 88 reflects that confidence: "O Lord, my God, by day I cry out; at night I clamour in your presence. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my call for help" (Psalm 88:2-3).
The Muslim prayer of supplication can be equally intense, but more general in its direction. These petitions focus rather on submission to the will of the Beneficent and Merciful One. They ask for divine help to stay the course, for guidance and for aid following Allah's plan during the midst of adversity.
All three religious groups believe that God comes to our assistance, and their members pray accordingly.
Daily Prayer
A practicing Jewish person is expected to utter acclamations of praise or a berakah prayer at least 100 times daily. A brief exclamation, "Blessed are you, Lord," acknowledges with adoration and gratitude the major and minor gifts from God received each day: for example, sleep and water, air and food, friends and work, health and medicine, a rainbow and a sunset.
An invocation before eating and a gathering with several others for small-group daily prayer in the synagogue are likewise common elements of the Jewish tradition.
Muslims must pray five times a day with each prayer requiring five to 10 minutes. These occur at dawn, afternoon, later afternoon, following sunset and at night.
The prayer is recited facing Makkah or Mecca, the sacred spot where Muslims maintain that the Angel Gabriel first spoke to Muhammad. The believer kneels on a prayer mat, if possible, with forehead touching the ground. The posture and words convey a sense of submission, adoration and trust.
Christians who follow the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours pray seven times a day as the Psalm
suggests. This covers the Office of Readings, Morning, Evening and Night Prayer, plus three brief Daytime Prayers. Others probably observe a more informal pattern of morning and evening prayers with a grace, blessing or prayer before meals.
All three religious groups have a shared value of daily prayer.
Weekly Worship
Muslims the day of the week is Friday
Jews the day of the week is Saturday
Christians the day of the week is Sunday
All three religious groups observe a weekly day set aside for public prayer
Fasting
Christians, following the example of Jesus who fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, recognize the need for some fasting or self-denial in their lives. In the early centuries, Wednesdays and Fridays were generally observed as days of fast.
In more contemporary times, the Lenten season from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday is the extended period (40 days, if you count only weekdays) of Christian self-denial. That generic type of fasting takes many forms, but has as its purpose to recall the sufferings of Jesus and to purify or prepare our hearts for the Resurrection.
Jewish persons practice a strict and total fast on Yom Kippur, the major holy day in the fall, with no eating or drinking from sundown to sundown. They do it for reconciliation or cleansing from personal sins or misdeeds. Many also fast in August on Tisha B'av, in mournful memory of the Temple's destruction.
Muslims fast during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which is based on lunar calculations.
The Ramadan fast makes Christian or Jewish fasts seem like child's play. For the Muslim, the fast begins with a light meal before daybreak, then no water, food or drink until after sunset. Moreover, during that time there is to be no sexual intercourse, tobacco, backbiting or lying.
Ramadan is for Muslims a long, hard month. Nevertheless, the fast helps them to obey God, be more sensitive to the sufferings of others, develop self-discipline and appreciate their unity with all other Muslims fasting at the same time in similar fashion.
All three religious group fast.
Almsgiving
The following words of Jesus in Matthew 25 can make any Christian uncomfortable. I was, he observes, hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, ill and in prison, but you did not care for me. "What you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me" (25:45).
In response, Christians try to share a portion of their time, talent and treasure with others, especially the poor, sometimes giving to individuals and sometimes channeling contributions to group efforts. For example, at our Syracuse Cathedral, an emergency center provides nearly 500 households each month with food donated by several local parishes. For a dozen years now, volunteer laypersons have funded and staffed a program that provides a hot breakfast every Wednesday to about 100 homeless men. The church subsidizes at great expense our school whose student body is mostly non-Catholic, black and drawn from below-poverty-level-income homes.
Muslims would applaud this almsgiving. The Prophet said, "He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbor remains hungry by his side." Every Muslim has the duty to pay a specified tax, the proceeds of which are used for good causes or for the poor.
These alms can be given directly, but Muslims are encouraged to give secretly. That prevents the giver from feeling superior and the poor person from being embarrassed.
Jewish persons likewise approve of such sharing with others. Early sections of the Hebrew Scriptures remind the Chosen People of their obligation to care for landless and thus poor persons—especially widows, orphans and strangers. A local rabbi, following that injunction, co-chairs the interfaith fund-raiser in Syracuse and dishes out food for a project that feeds a hot meal each afternoon to 200 homeless people.
All three religious groups support almsgiving.
Holy places
Muslim - Ten Things Muslims Must do During the Mecca Pilgrimage. In the largest gathering of people in the world, over two million Muslim pilgrims make the annual journey to Mecca, Saudi Arabia each year.
Jews - While Solomon's Temple stood, Jerusalem was the centre of the Jewish religious life and the site of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, and all adult men who were able were required to visit and offer sacrifices (korbanot) at the Temple.
Christians - Pilgrims are eager to visit the Holy Land and follow the footsteps of Christ and his apostles. Most of the pilgrimage sites are listed as World Heritage Sites, such as the Old City of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a symbol of Spanish Christians' struggle against Muslims. Pilgrims, especially those who take the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, travel on foot to reach their destination.
All three religious groups observe a weekly day set aside for public prayer
Fasting
Christians, following the example of Jesus who fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, recognize the need for some fasting or self-denial in their lives. In the early centuries, Wednesdays and Fridays were generally observed as days of fast.
In more contemporary times, the Lenten season from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday is the extended period (40 days, if you count only weekdays) of Christian self-denial. That generic type of fasting takes many forms, but has as its purpose to recall the sufferings of Jesus and to purify or prepare our hearts for the Resurrection.
Jewish persons practice a strict and total fast on Yom Kippur, the major holy day in the fall, with no eating or drinking from sundown to sundown. They do it for reconciliation or cleansing from personal sins or misdeeds. Many also fast in August on Tisha B'av, in mournful memory of the Temple's destruction.
Muslims fast during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which is based on lunar calculations.
The Ramadan fast makes Christian or Jewish fasts seem like child's play. For the Muslim, the fast begins with a light meal before daybreak, then no water, food or drink until after sunset. Moreover, during that time there is to be no sexual intercourse, tobacco, backbiting or lying.
Ramadan is for Muslims a long, hard month. Nevertheless, the fast helps them to obey God, be more sensitive to the sufferings of others, develop self-discipline and appreciate their unity with all other Muslims fasting at the same time in similar fashion.
All three religious group fast.
Almsgiving
The following words of Jesus in Matthew 25 can make any Christian uncomfortable. I was, he observes, hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, ill and in prison, but you did not care for me. "What you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me" (25:45).
In response, Christians try to share a portion of their time, talent and treasure with others, especially the poor, sometimes giving to individuals and sometimes channeling contributions to group efforts. For example, at our Syracuse Cathedral, an emergency center provides nearly 500 households each month with food donated by several local parishes. For a dozen years now, volunteer laypersons have funded and staffed a program that provides a hot breakfast every Wednesday to about 100 homeless men. The church subsidizes at great expense our school whose student body is mostly non-Catholic, black and drawn from below-poverty-level-income homes.
Muslims would applaud this almsgiving. The Prophet said, "He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbor remains hungry by his side." Every Muslim has the duty to pay a specified tax, the proceeds of which are used for good causes or for the poor.
These alms can be given directly, but Muslims are encouraged to give secretly. That prevents the giver from feeling superior and the poor person from being embarrassed.
Jewish persons likewise approve of such sharing with others. Early sections of the Hebrew Scriptures remind the Chosen People of their obligation to care for landless and thus poor persons—especially widows, orphans and strangers. A local rabbi, following that injunction, co-chairs the interfaith fund-raiser in Syracuse and dishes out food for a project that feeds a hot meal each afternoon to 200 homeless people.
All three religious groups support almsgiving.
Holy places
Muslim - Ten Things Muslims Must do During the Mecca Pilgrimage. In the largest gathering of people in the world, over two million Muslim pilgrims make the annual journey to Mecca, Saudi Arabia each year.
Jews - While Solomon's Temple stood, Jerusalem was the centre of the Jewish religious life and the site of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, and all adult men who were able were required to visit and offer sacrifices (korbanot) at the Temple.
Christians - Pilgrims are eager to visit the Holy Land and follow the footsteps of Christ and his apostles. Most of the pilgrimage sites are listed as World Heritage Sites, such as the Old City of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a symbol of Spanish Christians' struggle against Muslims. Pilgrims, especially those who take the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, travel on foot to reach their destination.
All three religious groups go on pilgrimages
Holy Book
Jews - The Hebrew Scriptures, referred to by Christians as the Old Testament, are called the TANAKH
Muslims - The Qur'an is the holy book for Muslims
Christians - The Christian holy book is the Bible
All three religious group have a holy book.
Abraham
Jews hold Abraham close to their hearts.
Christians hold Abraham close to their hears
Muslims hold Abraham close to their hearts
All three religious groups hold Abraham in great esteem.
In the Quran, Mary is the only woman's name mentioned. Moreover, Surah 19, one of the longest chapters in the Quran, carries the title "Maryam: Mary." It is said that in our times as well Muslims have a special place for Mary in their devotional lives.
Jesus is the focal point for Christians. He is their teacher, healer and savior. He is a model for them. He is divine, the Son of God and the one who revealed the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.
Mary's frequent appearances in the New Testament make her a necessary ingredient of Christian life. The honor given to Jesus' mother by Roman and Orthodox Christians is well known, although some Christian traditions tend to find that honoring excessive.
Respect and affection for Jesus represent a real challenge for Jewish people. They reject him as the long-awaited Messiah. They also disapprove of his divine claims and his teachings about the Trinity.
Still, he was born of a Jewish mother, grew up in a Jewish home and prayed regularly in a Jewish synagogue. He also frequently cited the Hebrew Scriptures, and many of his words are consonant with Jewish religious principles.
Mary, likewise, grew up in a Jewish home, practiced Jewish religious traditions and, according to some scholars, would have been of the house and lineage of David. Her famous Magnificat (Luke 2:46-55) bears a close resemblance to Hannah's prayer of praise in 1 Samuel 2 of the Old Testament.
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