origins of judaism
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Origins of Judaism. Basic Beliefs, Observances and Symbols. Basic Beliefs. Chosen People. Believe God chose Jewish people for a special responsibility Torah and mitzvot Passing special messages to the rest of the world Does not mean Jews believe they are better than other people. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Origins of Judaism
• Basic Beliefs, Observances • and Symbols
Basic Beliefs
• Monotheism• Most basic belief– Mono = one– Theism = belief in God • Midrash (Jewish legend)– Abraham smashed all father’s
idols and blamed the idols– Father responded, “They are just
wood and stone”– “If you really believe that idols
are only stone and wood why do you worship them?”
Chosen People• Believe God chose
Jewish people for a special responsibility
– Torah and mitzvot– Passing special messages
to the rest of the world• Does not mean Jews
believe they are better than other people
• Torah• Originally written in Hebrew– Written/read from right to left• Part of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible)– Torah
• First 5 books of Christian Bible – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
– Nevee’eem• Books of prophets like Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah
– Ketuvim• Writings like Proverbs, Psalms, Ester. etc
Messiah• Hebrew word = anointed– Christ = messiah (Greek)• Human being who will bring the
world to a time of complete peace in which every person will recognize and worship one God
• Messiah will gather all Jews to Israel, Temple rebuilt, resurrection of the dead
Observances• Prayers• Obligated to pray 3
times a days – morning, afternoon and evening
• Shema– Important statement of
Jewish belief• Amidah– Silent prayer to ask God for
certain things• Specialty prayers when
praying with a minyan
Tzedakah (charity)• Asked to give
certain percentage to charity
– Usually 10-15% of income
Kashrut (dietary laws)• Kosher – proper to eat• Only split-hooved animals
that chew cud• Certain types of fowl• Fish with fins and scales• Forbidden to mix dairy
and meat in same meal• Animals killed in specific
way
• Shabbat (the Sabbath)• Sundown on Friday til dark
on Saturday– Shabbat meal with challah
(braided egg bread)• Time set aside to rest– Symbolic of God’s 7th day of
rest• Refrain from creative acts
which change the state of the world
Bar/Bat Mitvah• Boy = 13 years plus
one day• Girl = 12 years plus
one
• Become responsible for observing all of mitzvot of Judaism
• Literally means ‘son (or daughter) of the commandments
B’nai Mitzvah• The first picture is my sister,
Brittany, and I holding a Siddur, our prayer book. The vast majority of the service is done using this book.
• Behind us is the Ark, which is open and you can see parts of four different Torahs inside it• I am wearing a Tallit,
which is received by men during the Bar Mitzvah - in order to read from the Torah, men must wear a Tallit, and since we are allowed to read from it for the first time during our Bar Mitzvah, we receive the Tallit then too
• The next photo is me reading my portion again - note that I am using a pointer (I'm sure it has a formal name), this is because even with the privilege of reading from the Torah, we still aren't supposed to touch the text/paper
• Marriage• Kiddushin = sanctification• Public ceremony to commit
themselves to each other– Ketubah = Jewish marriage contract
signed by 2 witnesses– Agree to cherish, honour and maintain
each other
• Bride wears veil –symbolic of Rebekah and traditions of modesty
• Marriage
• Takes place under a chapah = wedding canopy
– Represents home that bride and groom will create together
• 7 special blessings• Break the glass recalling destruction of
Temple
• Torah teaches that human beings were created when God took a clod of earth, formed it into a human figure and breathed life into it
• Shiva = seven– First seven days following the funeral– Mourners prohibited from excessive
grooming– Customary to cover the mirrors in the home– Allows mourners to focus on their grief• Recite the mourners Kiddish (prayer)– Reaffirms one’s belief in God even after
tragedy
Death• Tradition teaches that
body should be returned to earth as quickly and naturally as possible
– Do no permit cremation or embalming
– Use coffins made entirely of wood
– Most funerals take place within a day or two
– Body dressed in plain linen garments by Havra Kadisha = ‘the holy society’
Symbols• Synagogue• Jewish house of worship• Also serves as
community and education center
• Main services on Friday night and Saturday morning
• Rabbi is religious leader and speaks weekly Torah
• Bimah (raised platform) at front of the sanctuary
• Aron Kodesh (holy ark) which holds the Torah scrolls
• Ner Tamid (eternal light) above the Aron representing constant presence of God
Symbols
• Kippah• Sometimes called a
Yarmelka or skullcap• Signifies that human
beings are beneath, or dependent, on God
Tallit• 4-cornered garment
worn during morning prayers
– Tzitzit (fringes) tied to the corners
– To remind Jews of the commandments of the Lord
• Tallit Katan (small Tallit)– Small undershirt worn all
day
Symbols• Mezuzah• Attached to right side of
doorpost as you enter a room
• Has first 2 paragraphs of the Shema on it
– Prayer for peace in the home
Star of David• 6-pointed star only
popular in last 200 years• Named for King David,
who has shield with star on it
• Magen David (shield of David) appears on flag of the state of Israel
Holidays and Celebrations• Jewish Calendar• Lunar calendar– Every month begins with
appearance of new moon– Month is 29-30 days long– 12 month lunar year is
shorter than solar year– Every 2-3 years, Jewish
calendar adds a ‘leap month’ to adjust calendar
Tishri(sept-oct)
Heshvan(oct-nov)
Kislev(nov-dec)
Tevet(dec-jan)
Shebat(jan-feb)
Adar(feb-mar)
Nisan(mar-apr)
Iyar(apr-may)
Sivan(may-june)
Tammuz(june-july)
Ab(july-aug)
Elul(aug-sept)
• Based on number of years since creation
• Each day begins at sundown
Holidays and Celebrations• Rosh Hashanah
• One of two High Holy Days• Jewish New Year– Usually in Sept or Oct• Ram’s horn blown to
symbolically ‘wake up’ people to lead better lives
• Eat apples and honey as a wish for a sweet new year • Beginning of the 10 Days
of Repentance– End on Yom Kippur• Reflect on actions during
the past year, seek forgiveness and make a plan to improve
Holidays and Celebrations • Yom Kippur
• One of two High Holy Days• Day of Atonement– Marks end of 10 Days of
Repentance• Devoted to fasting and
prayer– Fast which lasts from sundown
to nightfall the following day• Ram’s horn blown to mark
end of fast
Pesach (Passover)• the Passover
• Israelites smeared lamb’s blood on doorpost
• To avoid 10th plague God sent to Pharaoh
– Death of all first-born Egyptian children
• Angel of death literally ‘passed over’ their homes
the Exodus• No time for the bread
they were preparing to rise
• Took ‘unleavened’ bread during their escape
• Jews today eat ‘matzah’ during Passover week
– Unleavened cracker-like bread
– Represents bread of poverty
Pesach (Passover)• Seder
• A pilgrimage festival during Nisan in late March or April
• Gather to share special meal
– Special foods to remind them about hardship of slavery and miracle of the Exodus
– Seder plate containing 5 (or 6) items of food
• Tell story of Passover from special book called a Haggadah
• Maror– Bitter herb – bitterness of slavery• Charoset– Mixture of apples, walnuts,
cinnamon and wine – mortar use to build Egyptian cities
• Z’roah– Roasted bone – Passover offering• Beitzah– Roasted egg – new life in springtime• Karpas– Green vegetable, dipped in salt
water – tears of slavery• Hazeret– Bitter vegetable – bitterness of
slavery
Hanukkah• King Antiochus, Syrian King, forbade Jews to keep Shabbat or keep traditions– Tried to force Jews to
worship Greek Gods– Destroyed the Temple– Inspectors destroyed
Torah scrolls and killed those who disobeyed
• Mattityahu (Mattathias) and 4 sons refused to obey King’s orders
– Fled to hills and fought against Syrians
– Led by Judah, called Maccabee• Hebrew for ‘hammer’, because
of his strength– Poorly equipped and outnumbered
but they WON• Defeated Syrians and
recaptured Jerusalem
Hanukkah• Festival of Lights
• Occurs in December– Giving gifts is common• Temple cleansed of idols
and rededicated• Small container of lamp oil
found, enough for 1 day– Burned for 8 days! Symbols• Menorah
– 8-branched candle holder– candle lit each night• Shamash– Nineth candle used to light other
candles• Driedel– Top used in spinning game
Judaism Today
• Western Wall• Only part remaining of
2nd Temple• Became holiest of Jewish
places• People write notes and
leave them in cracks of the wall
Jerusalem• King David– Made Jerusalem the Capitol in 996
BCE– Brought Tabernacle and Ark of the
Covenant• Solomon– Built Temple on Mount Zion to
replace mobile Tabernacle– Destroyed in 586 BCE by King
Nebuchadnezzer• Exiled Jewish popluation
• Temple rebuilt (516) and destroyed again (446)
Judaism Today
• Jewish Population• Today there are over 18 million followers of Judaism scattered throughout the world
• A large number of those people live in the Jewish nation of Israel
– Over six million live in the United States
Driedel Game• A driedel is a four-sided top. Each
side has a Hebrew letter on it: nun, gimmel, hay and shin. These four letters stand for the Hebrew words that mean “a great miracle happened there “.
• Nun:– Do nothing• Gimmel:– Take the center pile• Hay:– Take half the center pile• Shin:– Give half of your pile to the center
pilePlayers that lose all their tokens are out. The last player with tokens is the winner.
• The players sit in a circle. Each player receives an number of tokens (candy, nuts, coins) and puts 1 token from his/her pile into the center. Everyone takes turns spinning the dreidel. The letter on top when the dreidel stops spinning tells what to do.