My brother's keeper

Today we receive news that Yemen, Iran, Bahrain and Algeria saw protest demonstrations. Let's hope there'll be no violence and deaths. There is great unease in our local scene as the unstable situation in Egypt would influence Israel; and now we hear that a liberal Egyptian politician has declared Egypt's 30 yr peace treaty with Israel "is over". Where is this taking us? Meantime the Palestinian cabinet has been dissolved today - an obvious reaction to what's happening regionally - in preparation for "massive changes'. Political earthquakes rocking across the Middle East. Could be a good thing - but nonetheless frightening for the rest of us.

Today's 1st reading is about Cain and Abel - a classical fraticide story. The popular interpretation is that Abel's murder was committed out of jealousy (God preferring Abels' sacrifice to Abel). But some rabbinic scholars claim it was actually a quarrel over women to be taken as wives. In the end, it boils down to religious strife - or rather our perception of religious practice. Both brought sacrifices to God possibly with the idea "My way to God is better than yours".* When "my way" is not better than "your"s, than I want to destroy "your way" so that "my way" remains the only way. Explains alot of the religious strife in our region. And Cain utters his famous words "Am I my brother's keeper?" Well ... are we?

Today we commemorate Ss. Cyril and Methodius, two brothers who went on to be great missionaries in Eastern Europe. They invented the Cyrillic script and made many other contributions in the intellectual and religious worlds. St. Valentine on the otherhand is a rather vague figure with scarce historical facts, but is more remembered today that the great missionaries Cyril and Methodius.

*http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/966629/jewish/When-Religion-Causes-Conflict.htm