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Praise the sun origin6/17/2023 The rulers of Mali established the Muslim religion that had come out of Arabia and was sweeping throughout Africa. The new Mali Empire, larger and more wealthy that the former empire of Ghana, reached from the Atlantic Ocean to the Niger River and north to the Sahara Desert. By 1180, however, a group of rival tribes united as the nation of Mali, ravaged Ghana, and put an end to its empire. Because her uncle, Leo Hansberry, was a professor of African history at Howard University and, perhaps, because one of his students was Kwame Nkrumah, who led Ghana to independence, Hansberry's major geographical focus here appears to be on the history of Ghana, known prior to its independence as "The Gold Coast." The Ashanti, originally a part of present-day Ghana, were people within the Ghana Empire whose ascendancy was based on the iron and gold found within this wealthy country. Ruth "affects" or "puts on" a tea party voice, purposely sounding pretentious in order to make Walter leave her alone.Īlways in his voice there is a quality of indictment a description of Walter, who has grown increasingly accusatory about the bleakness of his financial future.Īshanti Beneatha's reference to the Ashanti people, along with George Murchison's references to the Songhay Empire, Benin, and the Bantu language, shows that Hansberry herself had some knowledge of the African continent and its culture. ![]() MARC GELLMAN is the senior rabbi of Temple Beth Torah in Melville, N.Y., where he has served since 1981.Affecting tea party interest Because Ruth is overwhelmed by her own concerns (mainly, that she might be pregnant), she becomes annoyed and therefore sarcastic when Walter tries to involve her in his conversation about the lives of wealthy whites. It is the sobering truth that everything we have in life, including life itself is ultimately a gift - a loving loan from the God of life and death. Blessed is the name of the Lord.” I like the children’s prayer better, but it comes to the same bracing spiritual point.įaith - true, mature faith - challenges us to accept and love not just a God who gives things to us but also a God who takes everything away. The very last words I say at a Jewish funeral at the edge of the grave are: “God has given, and God has taken away. ![]() It helps to remind me that we are always in God’s care and that at night we drift off into that hazy land where hope and fear mingle. In my searches I found an interesting but unsubstantiated factoid: that President John Adams said this prayer every night before he went to sleep. If I live another day, I pray the Lord to guide my way.Īnd then, I found a much longer version, which goes something like this: Some have also tried to blunt the fear of death in this prayer by adding one additional line to the short version: One version of the prayer I found omits the scary reference to “if I die before I wake” with this emendation: “As a nursery rhyme, it first appeared in 1840 in London Jingles by J.G. The “White Paternoster” was “first found in print in Thomas Fleet’s New England Primer, the first edition is from 1737,” Cara writes. However, Cara writes that the above version is a combination of two prayers. ![]() “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John” was once the best known prayer in England, used more often than the Lord’s Prayer. The most convincing theory comes from a visitor to an Internet site Glory to God for All Things, brings up commenter Anam Cara, who offers this learned suggestion: The language is not Old English-y enough. Some say it is an Old English prayer, but I am not sure. J., via Like the parable of the long spoons, which I discussed recently, this is also a famous spiritual gem whose origins are obscure. ![]() Q: As I approach my 74th birthday, I recall saying a nightly prayer as a child:
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