Transcript Origins of Judaism

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
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
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
Observances
Tzedakah (charity)
• Asked to give
Prayers
certain percentage
• Obligated to pray 3 times a
to charity
days – morning, afternoon
– Usually 10-15% of
and evening
income
• Shema
– Important statement of
Jewish belief
• Amidah
– Silent prayer to ask God for
certain things
• Specialty prayers when
praying with a minyan
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
• Kiddushin = sanctification
• Public ceremony to commit
themselves to each other
Marriage
– 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
Death
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
–
–
–
–
• 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’
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
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
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
Symbols
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
•
Tradition – lego version
Holidays and Celebrations
Jewish Calendar
• Lunar calendar
Tishri
Heshvan
– Every month begins with
(sept-oct) (oct-nov)
appearance of new moon
– Month is 29-30 days long
Shebat
Adar
– 12 month lunar year is shorter (jan-feb) (feb-mar)
than solar year
– Every 2-3 years, Jewish
Sivan
Tammuz
calendar adds a ‘leap month’
(may-june) (june-july)
to adjust calendar
Kislev
(nov-dec)
Tevet
(dec-jan)
Nisan
(mar-apr)
Iyar
(apr-may)
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
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
Pesach (Passover)
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
• 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
• Tell story of Passover from
special book called a
Haggadah
• Karpas
– Green vegetable, dipped in salt water
– tears of slavery
• Hazeret
– Bitter vegetable – bitterness of
slavery
• King Antiochus, Syrian King,
forbade Jews to keep
Shabbat or keep traditions
Hanukkah
– Tried to force Jews to worship
Greek Gods
– Destroyed the Temple
– Inspectors destroyed Torah
• Mattityahu (Mattathias) and 4
scrolls and killed those who
disobeyed
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!
• Menorah
Symbols
– 8-branched candle holder
– candle lit each night
• Shamash
– Nineth candle used to light other
candles
• Driedel
– Top used in spinning game
Jerusalem
• King David
– Made Jerusalem the Capitol in
996 BCE
– Brought Tabernacle and Ark of
the Covenant
Judaism
Today
• 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)
Western Wall
• Only part remaining of 2nd
Temple
• Became holiest of Jewish
places
• People write notes and leave
them in cracks of the wall
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
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 “.
Driedel Game
• The players sit in a circle. Each
player receives an number of
tokens (candy, nuts, coins) and
puts 5 tokens 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.
• Nun:
– Do nothing
• Gimmel:
– Take the center pile
• Hay:
– Take half the center pile
• Shin:
– Give half of your pile to the center
pile
Players that lose all their tokens are out.
The last player with tokens is the winner.
The End