NewGround’s Iftar event on Thursday August ninth offered a reminder of how close Muslims and Jews can be. Two-hundred and fifty Muslims and Jews gathered at the Westside Jewish Community Center to celebrate Iftar, one of the religious observances of Ramadan, one of the holiest events on the Muslim calendar, an event where people gather as a community to break their fasts.

I was so excited to attend this event; I had always wanted to attend an Iftar, but the opportunity had never come up. I thought that this one in particular would be great—the bringing together of two different religious groups for a meal that meant so much to one group, both religiously and for their community, would be so significant and special.

The evening began with an exercise used in NewGround’s annual fellowship program—a silent question and answer game. People formed pairs, then questions would be asked, and then a minute of silence would follow before one of the two would answer, after which the other would have their minute. We saw how difficult it can be to stay silent, but how rewarding it is to truly listen. During the minute of silence, some of us smiled, some of us nodded our agreement, and all of us learned a little about active listening.

We then heard from various community leaders about how NewGround has impacted them. Rabbi Sharon Brous from IKAR told an old story about two people meeting in the woods, and without any idea of how to get out, they take each others hands and go in a direction that neither had come from, because “together we will find a way out of here”.

I thought of that proverb all night. When two of the young women involved in the Muslim-Jewish High School Leadership Council spoke about their strong feelings about their futures as leaders in their communities, I thought of what we were all there for. We were there to learn, but more than that, we were there to celebrate a special event, and to help lead each other out of the woods.

When we all sit down for a meal, there are so few differences. We all pray before eating, we all know the hunger pains from a long fast, and we all know what we want most—to be able to celebrate together. By coming together with events like the Iftar, we can continue to really do that.

-Chelsea Price, Iftar attendee