

In the first paragraph of
the Fatwa, there is a central focus
on one element of communal worship that appears impossible to observe on one’s
own. So the Fatwa begins: “In light
of the masjid being shut down due the COVID-19 crisis and the upcoming Eid
prayers, the Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) Council encourages that Muslims pray
Salat al-Eid (daily prayers of Eid) in their homes with their own families (or
individually in case one is living by oneself), and there is no need for a
khutbah….” After reviewing various precedents in the way of case law, as in
Jewish legal process, so the Fatwa ends:
“All our four schools of law state that attending the khutbah of Eid is not
obligatory, nor is the khutbah a requirement of the Eid prayer, it is not
required to give khutbah in every home. The Fiqh Council encourages masjids to
live broadcast Eid khutbahs, and all families pray their individual
congregational prayers at a given time, and then, after they finish their own
Eid prayers, they can listen to the live khutbah as a general reminder. And
Allah knows best….”


So I wrote a letter to
Ismail and to another Muslim friend asking of the underlying meaning of khutbah, receiving insight, as well,
into another word for the Imam’s talk, khatira.
After asking about my wellbeing and that of my family, Ismail humbly offered a
gift of wisdom, itself seeming to come to me as the imam’s khutbah: “Indeed, Ramadan this year has been quite different
from years past, to say the least. But very good still. There is always a
silver lining in what we may perceive as undesirable or unwelcome, even if it
is a pandemic. If only we had the wisdom to be patient long enough to see it....”
Saying Ameen, Ameen to my friend’s khutbah,
I read with delight his response to my questions of a Hebrew-Arabic cognate,
and so I share with you:

It is also used to mean the sharing of a thought or an insight. So a "khatira" can be a pondering upon any subject, or an insight, that might be of interest to a person. Their sharing it with others is also called a "khatira". A "khatira" can grow into a "khutba", and conversely, a "khutba" can be reduced to a "khatira". Incidentally, a "kitab" is a book but can mean a letter as well. It is taken from "kataba", to write.”
I thought of a phrase that often
comes to me in the gathering of imams and rabbis to learn together that Ismail
and I help to coordinate, ahl
al-kitab/people of the book. Clearly, the link is obvious between
the Arabic and Hebrew root meaning to write. As I shared with Ismail, it may be
most obvious in the word for the marriage contract, the Ketubah. While I have not made a cognate connection with the word khatira, I find a meaningful symbolic
connection. It would seem to be parallel, as a talk emerging from one’s own
thinking and wrestling about a matter of importance, to the meaning of d’rasha. The English word “sermon” does
not convey the depth of meaning held in either khatira or d’rasha. D’rasha derives from lidrosh/to search, to seek. In truth, one can only give a d’rasha, and so a khatira, if they have done their own seeking, then to share with
others the fruit of their seeking, the living words distilled from their own
encounter with God’s word, with the words of others, with life.

In our shared way of seeking to
balance the challenges of this time, of law and spirit, health and holiness,
yet striving to see the good in the challenge, the “silver lining” of which
Ismail warmly suggested awaits us, so we come to places of deeper meaning. In
the way of our seeking, meaning emerges as new fruit blossoming; new
understanding distilled in the holy words of a khutbah or khatira, a d’var Torah or a d’rasha. Offered in the approach to the holy week that comes with
the moon’s turning for both Jews and Muslims, Ismail’s good wishes still speak
as words of blessing for all of us: “Hope this clarifies the distinction
between the three words. Be well and Eid Mubarak to you too and to all your
family! And looking forward to meeting in person again at some point in time in
the near future.”
In the way of good wishes for a
blessed Eid and a good yontev, may all of us be together in
person again in the near future, always connected, though, in words both written and spoken that bridge from
heart to heart and house-to-house.
Rabbi Victor H. Reinstein
Rabbi Victor H. Reinstein
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