Religious Leadership - Three Encounters of Eilat Interfaith Encounter:

Three Encounters of the theme of:  Religious Leadership in the Three Religions
Held on: May 31st, September 7th, October 18th:
 

The Druze Religion:

Religious leader of the community: Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif

Religious Council: Its members are Imams, who are a kind of judges. The Imam is ordained by the Druze Religious Court. The council includes 55 Imams from, different places, and has three mandatory meetings a year, in fixed times. Additional meetings are called according to the urgency of issues on the agenda. The head of the community is the chair of the council and has a veto privilege. The council has the authority to ex-communicate a community member.

The Imam: is dressed in special clothes. He has to grow a moustache and shave his head. He gives religious services, including guidance in schools.

The Religious Court: deals with marital issues such as divorce, inheritance etc.

A Sheikh: A religious person, allowed to deal with religious and social issues. The source for his authority comes from God.

In the Druze community 15% to 20% are religious people, but their influence is high and their power is strong in the community.


In Roman-Catholic Christianity:

The head of the "pyramid" is the Pope, under him the Bishop and then the Priest. The Pope is elected by the Bishop's Council. This hierarchy is fixed in all countries.

Bishop – responsible for a region; Archbishop – responsible for a larger region;

Cardinal – was a Bishop and was promoted to a high leadership position in the Vatican or other places. His role is a political role, parallel to a minister in a government. His authority is administrative-political.

The structure of the Church developed in the middle of the second century, in Turkey.


In Judaism:

The source of authority of religious leadership is in the Torah and comes from God.

During the period of the First Temple authority was divided: The Prophet – was mainly a guide and a preacher; The Judge; The Priest – of the priesthood family. During this time there were tensions between the different authorities. When the Kingdom was established, the authority of the tribe elders transferred to the king. There were tensions between the prophet and the priest and the king.

When the kingdom split, the first action of Yerovam the king of Israel (the northern kingdom) was to abolish the priesthood and appoint his own priests, thus annul the divine source of priesthood authority.

The prophet can come from all levels of society and his/her authority is accepted. We know of a level of prophet trainees that were accepted by the people.

The big change happened when the First Temple was destroyed and prophecy ceased. Only priests remained and with the foreign regime they got more authority. It was the time of flourish for the priesthood.

New leadership arises: writers who later were called rabbis – teachers and instructors.

During the Persian period a new body appears – Agrosia: 120 of wise-men, elders, Knesset Hagdola that led to the Sanhedrin of 70 elders-wise-men (Sens in Greek – elder).

The source of authority: "Moses received the Torah in Sinai, handed it to Joshua . . . and the prophets handed it to the people of Knesset Hagdola" (ethics of the Fathers).

Today too: a rabbi can only be ordained by an ordained rabbi.

Group's Coordinators: Mazal Katzir and Malca Levin


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