My name is Maya Barton.  I am typically expressed as the everyday girl.  I have blue eyes and brown hair.  My family insists of my mom, my dad, my sister and my brother.  I am also (to what I think) very meticulous and extremely intelligent.

This upcoming month I am going on a trip to Jerusalem, the HOLIEST city, which is just around 32 North and 35 East!  During my trip I am going to visit a rabbi which is basically “a religious teacher” or more literally “the great one”!  A rabbi can answer questions that people have (of his community) about everyday life and or behavior.  A rabbi can also serve as a counselor, giving people advice and guidance on basically every subject possible…examples:  raising children and getting married.  Another job of the rabbi is to help people become better people.

The Jewish temple of worship is a synagogue or “the house of prayer”. Synagogues usually have a huge hall that people pray in (the main sanctuary).  I love coming here to express my inner thoughts. 

When I think of my religion, Judaism, I think about that we ONLY believe in our ONE God, meaning we are the monotheistic.  In contrast, polytheistic religions believe in MORE than ONE God. 

During my trip I saw very significant items that are key to the Jewish Religion.  The first object I saw was the menorah; this item is a seven branched candelabrum which is used in Jerusalem.  During the Hanukkah season there is a nine branched candelabrum, which is then lit by olive oil.  I also saw the Torah, which is a very essential document in the Jewish Religion, the inspired words of God.  Torah means teaching, instruction, scribe, or law in Hebrew.

During my visit I ran into an Islamic shopkeeper, he explained to me that he will soon be going on a hajj.  For those of you that don’t know what a hajj is, it is the pilgrimage to Mecca.  It is very essential to go on this during your life, because it is their submission to God.  A person must go on a hajj EVERY year, to fulfill their dreams of being submitted to and by God.

The shopkeeper added additional information about The Five Pillars of Islam; these are five duties present in every Muslim.  The duties are as follows:  Shahadah which is the profession of faith, Salah which is a ritual prayer, Zakah which is alms tax, Sawm is fasting during Ramadan and Hajj the pilgrimage to Mecca.  These are very important to the Islam Faith.

I hope you learned something new by reading my blog!

                                                                        --Maya Barton