Transcript Judaism - Ezellbible8

The Faith of Father Abraham
Antiquities of the Jews (a History)
 2000 BC – Traditional Date for Abraham
 1500-1350 BC – Disputed date for Moses and “Exodus”
 1450 BC – Writing of the Torah – first 5 books
 1000 BC – United Kingdom under King David
 960 BC – Solomon builds the First Temple
 722 BC – Assyrian Captivity of Northern Kingdoms
 600 BC – Babylonian Talmud - second most important Jewish book of
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literature is finished
587 BC – Babylonian Captivity of the Southern Kingdoms (in Exile –
distanced from homeland)
450 BC – Return to Jerusalem; Ezra rebuilds the Temple
332 BC – Conquered by Alexander the Great
167 BC – Invasion of Antiochus “Ephiphanies”
 164 BC – Maccabeen Revolt (Hannukah)
History Part II
 63 BC – Roman invasion by Pompey
 37 BC – 4 AD – Herod the Great rebuilds the Temple
 Called: The Second Temple
 66-70 AD – Jewish revolt against Roman rule
 Josephus captured – becomes Roman translator
 70 AD – Temple destroyed
 136 AD – Simon Bar Kochba executed; Jerusalem destroyed
 Diaspora – the fleeing of the Jews from Jerusalem
 200 AD – Mishna written down
 700-1100 AD – Islamic domination (tolerant)
 European Jews begin speaking a Heb/German mix = Yiddish
 1100-1500 AD – Christian persecution of Jews
 1933-1948 AD – World War II; 6 Million Jews executed (Holocaust)
 Israel becomes an independent nation-state
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What’s
In
A
Name?
YHWH – Judaism’s One God’s revealed name; it means “I am that I am”
 Judaism is Monotheistic
 When used in the Hebrew Bible, it often appears as “LORD”
 Tetragrammaton – the four-letter word for the Jewish God
 Biblical Names are often associated with the narrative of the character:
 “Adam” – man
 “Eve” - alive
 “Abraham” – father of many
 “Benjamin” – favorite son
 “David” – beloved
 “Isaiah” – the Lord is my salvation
 “Joel” – the Lord is God
 “Joshua” – the Lord’s help
 “Samuel” – the Lord Hears
 “Israel” – wrestles with God (Jacob’s name change)
 Judah- 1 of the 12 sons of Israel (Jacob); 1 of 2 remaining tribes after captivity
 Origin of the word “Jew”
The People of the Book
 The Hebrew Bible = TaNaKh
 Torah – the Teachings/Law
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613 Commandments
 Nevi’im – The Prophets
 Kethuvim – the Writings
 Major Stories:
 The Beginnings – story of origins
 The Patriarchs – the faith of the fathers
 The Law – the story of deliverance and expectation
 The Rulers – kings and judges who may or may not follow the Law
 The Exile and Captivity – the story of bondage; and why bondage
exists in the first place
 The Return – the story of coming back to the homeland
Themes
of
the
Hebrew
Bible
God is Creator of the World and Humans (in His Image)
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 Humans are Sinful
 Sin – to go against the life to which God has called
 The Law shows the life to which God has called a Jew
 Sin Must Be Paid For Via A Sacrifice System (Atonement)
 Atonement – to bring back into right relationship
 Holiness (uniqueness) of the Community of Chosen People
 Family and Community is Central
 Laws on Children, Sex, Marriage, Relationships, etc.
 God Will Save His People From Hardship
 Salvation – release from oppression
 The Reason for Pain is Often a Personal Sinful Error
 God Will Fulfill His Promises to His People Often At The Expense
of Other Peoples
 Abraham’s family and land (often violent taking of the land)
 Holy Land – Jerusalem (place God led Moses)
 A Future Deliverer Will Come (Messiah - anointed one)
Major Groups (circa 165 BC)
 Sadducees – group of priests living in Jerusalem
 Pharisees – group of teachers who believed in Hebraic
holiness and following the Law
 Rabbis - teachers
 Zealots – Jews who desired a “free” Jewish people willing to
use violent means to accomplish this goal
 Herodians – Jews who bent to the will of Roman rule and
preferred their rule to others
 Essenes – a private group of Jews living in community and
following seemingly odd practices
 Lived near Qumran – the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1950s
Jewish Beliefs
 Maimonides – Jewish medieval scholar
1. Belief in God
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One God, All-Knowing, Eternal, Creator, Just, and Loving
Justice – to do what should be done for a certain situation
Fairness - equality
Belief in Prophet’s Words
3. Belief in God’s Law to Moses
4. Belief in Future Messiah
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Belief in Resurrection of the “Good”
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A future deliverer will save the Jewish people
Understanding of a future “world to come”
Main Goal: Live a Torah life in order to live with God
Human Beings are Made in “God’s Image”
Belief vs. Practice
 Most Jewish people are more focused on orthopraxy (way of living)
than orthodoxy (way of believing)
 Most Central, Most Common Practice: Sabbath
 7th day of the week is without work
 Day = Sundown to Sundown (Friday night – Saturday night)
 Practice continues to this day
 Most Known Practice: Kosher Laws
 Holiness in diet is a reflection of holiness in life
 All meals must be eaten, prepared, and followed according to the Law
 Celebration of uniqueness and holiness
 Ex: No pork, Separate meat and dairy utensils, No shelled fish
 Other practices:
 Circumcision – 8 days after birth, reminder of the uniqueness of God’s
people
 Bar/Bat Mitzvah – Rite of passage into adulthood for Jewish boys
(bar) and Jewish girls (Bat)
Holy Days
 Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year
 Normally in the Fall
 Consider Obligations and Pay Off Debts
 Daily blowing of the shofar – ram’s horn
 Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement
 Along with Rosh Hashanah, called the High Holy Days
 Sins are “paid for” by the High Priest
 Sukkot – the Feast of Booths
 Families make tents to sleep out in the fields
 Ends the readings of the Torah from the year before
 Celebration of the Harvest
 Hanukkah – Feast of Dedication/Feast of Lights
 Rededication of the (Ezra) Temple
 Menorah – candle holder of 8 lights during Hanakkah
More Holy Days…
 Purim – celebration of Esther’s saving of the Jews
 Late-winter celebration
 Freedom from annihilation
 Passover – celebration of the Exodus from Egypt
 Seder – meal taken during Passover
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Thin bread, lamb, parsley in salt water, bitter herbs
Place for Elijah with a cup of wine
 The Exodus story is retold throughout the night
 Yom Hashoah – remembrance feast for the Holocaust
 April or May
 Shavuot - calling for fasting to remember the destruction
of both Temples
 Not widely observed anymore
“A People of Prayer”
 After the Temple and Diaspora, the Jews decided which practices
were most important.
 Two became central: Assembly and Prayer
 Assembly shifts from Temple to Synagogue
 After the Second Temple is destroyed the Jews shift their focus to
becoming people of prayer
 Synagogue – means “house of prayer”
 Some Jews give up and call synagogue buildings “temples”
 Practice shifts from Sacrifice to Prayer
 Prayer Aides:
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Tefillin – or “phylacteries”, small boxes containing scriptures bound to
the forehead with leather straps
Talit – prayer shawl
Zitzit – tassels attached to the talit (613 knots)
Yarmulke – or “yamaca”, skullcap worn to remember God’s holiness in
prayer
Mezuzah – small container of scriptures placed at the doorpost of the
house
Divisions of Judaism
 Orthodox – attempt to live according to the Law and react against
Culture
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Separation of Males and Females in Worship
Quorum – 10 Jews males must be gathered for an official meeting
Services conducted only in Hebrew
Only Males can be Rabbis
Males must keep their heads covered at all times
Some males must wear all black clothing at all times
Strict Kosher and Sabbath keeping
Hope and Pray for a Return to the Holy Land
 Conservative – moderate approach to Judaism
 Kept beloved traditions: Hebrew only worship, Sabbath keeping
 Often separate men and women in worship assemblies
 In the US, half of the practicing Jews are Conservative
 Often have a desire to have the Jews return to Holy Land
More Jewish Divisions
 Hasidic - group of Jews who attempt to lives as separately from
the world as possible
 Reform – began out of a desire to stop being persecuted in
Europe (especially Germany)
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Give up the desire to return to the Holy Land
Advocates for Cultural and Religious tolerance (or “acceptance”)
Men and Women do not sit separately in worship
Services are in Common Speech and Hebrew
Modern music is common in worship
Both Men and Women may become rabbis
 Reconstructionist – evolving form of Judaism that allows Jews
to adapt and interpret the Laws for modern and common
practice
 Newest of the branches of Judaism
The “Messiah”
 The Expectations for the Messiah vary:
 Religious Leader
 Political/Military Leader
 Social Reformer
 Mixture of the Above
 Theological Myth
 Nonexistent Ideal Human
 Failed Jewish Messiahs in History:
 Judas Maccabeus (fight led to temporary freedom, celebration
of Hanukkah, eventually executed)
 Jesus of Nazareth (peaceful, accused of blasphemy, executed
by the Romans, followers become Christians)
 Simon Bar Kochba (fight led to temporary freedom, many
Jews followed him as Messiah, forced to sacrifice to Zeus and,
then, executed)
Jewish Mysticism
 Mysticism – a religious desire to become “in tune” with the
higher power through emotional “breakouts”
 Kabbalah – group of Jews hoping to find a special revelation
from God
 The Zohar – book written by a Jewish rabbi in 1250AD
 The World emerged from “pure spiritual reality”
 Unity comes from 10 sefiroths – divine powers
 Sefiroths include wisdom, intelligence, love, etc.
 Sefiroths are God’s links to creation
 The more sefiroths shown in the world results in God’s presence
being able to exist in the world
 If more people practice the sefiroths, the “deliverer” will come and
bring all things back to shalom
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Shalom – Jewish concept of peace, harmony, rightness, and
completeness
The Problem with the Holocaust
 Anti-Semitism – the hatred of Jewish people because of the Jewish race
 Existed in most European or post-European countries after the 1500’s (including
the Americas): Could not hold positions in government, ghettos, etc.
 Attitude expressed by the German, Christian priest: Martin Luther
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Christians theologically viewed Jews as the “group who killed Jesus”
 After a embarrassing defeat in World War I and the depression that followed,
Hitler decided to pin the blame on the Jewish people (because they were a
“lesser race”)
 6 Million Jewish people are killed by the Hitler concentration camps
 Anne Frank: “…in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at
heart…”
 Faith Crisis: If God works for the good of His chosen people, has God turned
His back on the Jews?
 God let it happen: What kind of God would allow this?
 God made it happen: Is God this unjust and changing?
 God could not have stopped it: Is God worthy of following since he is
powerless?
 A Sin Caused This: What kind of sin deserves this punishment?
 Zionism - The Nation State of Israel is created, in large part, to appease the
slimming number of Jewish people