Judaism
1. Central beliefs
There is a God
There is only ONE God
Monotheistic religion
God created the world, but it will not last forever
There is only one universe
God cares for the world and all of its creatures
Creed
The existence of God, the creator There is only one God
God's unity: There is only universe
God's incorporeality: God is all-knowing
God's eternity: God is eternal external to time
The obligation to worship god alone
The truth of the words of the prophets
The superiority of the prophecy of moses
Torah
The Torah as God's revelation to moses
The immutability of the Torah
Unchanging
God's omniscience
Retribution in this world and the next
Punishment OR reward
The coming of the Messiah
The resurrection of the dead
The Shema
“Hear, O Israel, the lorad is our god, the lord is one
MOST important statement of Jewish beliefs from the Torah
Two fundamental concepts
God is their god
Jewish are the "chosen people"
2. Institutions
Leaders
Rabbi
Current Rabbis: Yitzhak Yosef (Sephardi chief) and David Lau (Ashkenazi chief)
Creator
1800 BCE. Abraham, father of Judaism
Denominations
Reform Judaism
Founders
Moses Mendelssohn
Rabbi Abraham Geiger
less concerned with traditional purity laws and kosher
food, and with the desire to return to Isreal
Men and women can sit together in the synagogue
as long as one parent is Jewish, the child is Jewish
Individualism
encouraged, but the person must decide what beliefs and
practices key to his/her spiritual life
Strongly stress the Tikkum Olam
Conservative Judaism
Founder
Rabbi Zacharias Frankel
follow some kosher laws
Men and women can sit together in the synagogue
Discourages marriage to non-jewish people
Interpreting the Torah
Follow many but not all of the 613 commandments
of the Torah, abide to the sabbath
Needs of the community come beforre the individual wants/needs
Orthodox Judaism
Did not become a sect until reform Judaism emerged
Keep kosher and observe the sabbath and other Jewish holy days
Men and women do not sit together in a synagogue
If the mother is Jewish the child is jewish
Jewish can only be passed down by the mother
Interpreting the Torah
believe the entire Torah
strict observance of the sabbath and religious holy days
believe in helping others and sense of community between members
prefer to stay within the Jewish world, shunning outsiders
Hasidic
live in exclusive communities
reject the modren world
Communion with god
Prayer
Good deeds
Humility
Joy
Emphasizes singing, dancing, and grooming.
black clothes, tassels, complete body covering, beards
Strict observance of Jewish law
3. Divine God
God
Yahiveh
Jehovah
Lord
Center of all creation
Source of everything
Monotheistic
Demands good and punishes evil
created the universe
many covenants with God
10 commandments
613 commandments of the Torah
4. Sacred Text
Hebrew Bible
Tanakh
old testament or hebrew bible
written over a period of 1000 years
includes history, faith, laws, and myths
contains the prophets and the writings
the most important section in the Tanakh is the
Torah
Torah
means revelation, teaching, or instruction
first 5 books of the hebrew scripture
Genesis
Myth and story of creation
Exodus
story of Moses leading Israelites back to Canaan
Leviticus
rituals and ceremonies during temple worship
Numbers
story of faith growth, while wondering for 39 years to the promise land
Deuteronomy
outlines the 613 laws Jewish people have to follow
Kosher
Marriage
Murder
family
The Torah scroll
The five books of Moses on parchment
Most SACRED object in Jewish life
essential of worship
kept in a place f honour and read at specific times
the Holy ark
The Holy ak
symbolizes the covenant between the Jews and God
The Halakhah
oral Torah
Pharisees believe Moses received a written and oral Torah
Consists of the Halakhah
"the path" of jewish life
ways to apply the commandments
very detailed oriented
Pharisees were strict about following the laws of ritual purity
The Talmud
commentary on Tanakh written by Rabbis
collection of written jewish law and oral
collection of materials used to settle problems concerning the obligations
Divided into 2 sections
The Mishnah
a collection of oral laws from ~200 CE
The Gemera
collection of discussions on the Mishnah
5. Rituals
Festivals
Passover/Pesach
held during March or April
Represents the 10 plagues
blood
frogs
lice
flies
wild animals
pestilence
boils
fiery hail
locusts
darkness
Death of first born
family gather to retell the story of Exodus
Jews do not eat anything Chametz
leavened
commemorates the rush that the hebrews left egypt
eat foods that remind the Jews of slavery
Maror
bitter herb
bitterness of salvary
Charoset
mix of apple, walnuts, cinnamon, and wine
mortar
Z'roah
roasted bone
sacrifice
Beitzah
roasted egg
new life
Karpas
Parsley, dipped in water
tears of slavery
Matzvah
unleavened bread
haste
wine
gods promise
Rosh Hashanah
september or early october
2 day festival commemorating the creation of the world
day of judgement
God records this judgment in his book of life
starts 10 days of repence
jews request forgiveness from God
ends with a blowing of a shofar
shofar=rams horn
Yom Kippur
ending of Rosh Hashanah
most important religious day
the book of life and God’s judgments are finally sealed on this day
spend the day seeking reconciliation with God and atoning for sins
is marked by a 25 hour fast
No signs of comfort or luxury are allowed on this day
Hanukkah/ Chanukkah
Jewish festival of lights held in December
Commemorates the miracle of the menorah in the temple
after the Maccabean Revolt
light a candle for each of the eight days of Hanukkah on a candelabrum
Menorah has 9 branches,
8 for night of Hanukkah
1 for lighting the other candles
shamus candle
Milestones
Brit Milah or Bris
circumcision
preformed 8 days after birth
initiates the infant into Judaism
Mohel preforms the circumcision
People who attened
Parents
Family
God parents
Friends
two things emphasized through the prayer
isreal lives on through its bloodline
god remembers the covenant made with Abraham forever
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Bar Mitzvah
for a girl
Usually have it on their 12th birthday
Bat Mitzvah
for a boy
Usually have it on their 13h birthday
marks the first performance of a mitzvot
child is responsible for chanting the Aliyah and Haftarah
marriage
Betrothal
Developed over time as a way of ensuring that the husband treats the wife respectfully and meets his obligations
Torah provides little guidance with the procedures of a marriage
Conservative Judaism
Do not allow non-Jewish and Jewish to get married
A movement is started to accept this type of marriage
Death ceremony
Kaddish is recited by the oldest son
Sometimes the daughter, if you do not have a son
Kaddish is recited for 11 months, morning and evening
Sit Shiva
for seven days after burial
intense morning
mourners wear somber clothing and a torn garment to express their grief
They do not work or attend to anything
focus on family life during grieving times
people give you food
do not have to focus on cooking and focus on family
Food
Kosher
Guidelines
Certain animals are not eaten
kosher slaughter
can not combine with milk
Can eat
animals with cloven hooves and chews its chud
cattle, sheep, goats, deer and bison are kosher.
may eat anything that has fins and scales
Can not eat
flesh, organs, eggs, and milk of the forbidden animals
camel, the rock badger, the hare, and the pig
lobster, oyster, shrimp, clams, and crabs
birds of prey or scavengers
preparation
Shechita
ritual slaughter
painless, one quick swipe across the throat
all blood must be removed
broiling
soaking and salting
72 hours to complete the process
Can not be eaten with dairy
kosher food...
Hygienic
drainage of blood prevents growth of bacteria
Moral lessons
Jews are taught to be sensitive to others feelings
National reasons
Jewish highly stress the Tikkun Olam (repairing the word)
mystical
Jews are holy people and have a holy diet
discipline
if a person can be disciplined in what he/she eats, they can be disciplined in life
6. Objects
Menorah
Symbol of the nation of Israel
Subtopic
symbol of our mission to be "a light unto the nations"
Sages emphasize that the light is not violence
the Ner tamid (eternal flame) symbolizes the menorah
Tzitzit or Tallit
Torah commands to wear tzitzit at the corners of
garments as a reminder of the mitzvot
Thread should be blue or turquoise
Today the tzitzit are all white
complex procedure for tying the knots
Tillit is worn under the shirt, with the tzitzit hanging out
Chai
refers to the living God
reflects Judaism's focus on the importance of life
commonly worn as a necklace or other jewelry
Important concept to the Jewish culture
Yarmulke
YAH-mick-kuh
head covering
sign of respect to cover their heads during prayer
Covered head is a reminder that God is always above them
Rams horn
Symbolizes when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac
instead he killed a ram instead of his son
Magen David
Represent the shape of king David's shield
thought to bring good luck
Appears on the flag of the state Israel
Mezuzah
Consent reminder of Gods presence
Reminder of Gods mitzvot
found on the doorposts of traditional Jewish homes
everytime you pass through a door with a mezuzah, you touch it and kiss the fingers that touched it
expresses love of God and his mitzvot
reminding yourself of the mitzvot contained within you
7. Morality and Laws
dietary laws
kosher
ten commandments
I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not
have any strange gods before Me
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day
Honor thy father and mother
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not commit adultery
Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods
Torah
contains 613 commandments or mitzvah
daily life
family
personal hygiene
diet
Moral principles
healing the world
Tikkun Olam
charity
kindness to all