Thursday, October 06, 2011

Syncretism


Tempting as it might be to imagine that these tea-lights and yartzeit candles were lit by Jews, I think its more likely that their presence at the Steve Jobs memorials are evidence of syncretism, or the merging of distinct religious traditions.

And in fact, our custom of lighting a yartzeit candle, no matter how deeply ingrained it may have become, is believed to have Christian origins.

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