Transcript judaism - Faith Cathedral Deliverance Centre

JUDAISM
1
RECAP
Who is a Jew?
The dictionary’s definition of a “Jew”
is a person belonging to a
continuation through descent or
conversion of the ancient Jewish
people.
However , the word “Jew” comes from
the name of Judah, one of the twelve
sons of Jacob and one of the twelve
tribes of Israel.
2
RECAP CONT’D
The name “Jew” originally referred
only to those who were members
of the tribe of Judah, but when the
kingdom was divided after the
reign of Solomon (1 Kings 12), the
term referred to anyone in the
kingdom of Judah, which included
the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and
Levi.
3
RECAP CONT’D
Today though, many believe that a
“Jew” is anyone who is a physical
descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, regardless of which of the
original twelve tribes he/she
descends from.
Judaism is not a race
Judaism is not a race because Jews
do not share one common ancestry.
4
RECAP CONT’D
Judaism is not a nationality
Although today Israel is often called
the Jewish homeland, being Jewish is
not a nationality because Jews have
been dispersed throughout the world.
You don’t have to be born in Israel, to
practice Judaism.
5
RECAP CONT’D
Judaism is both a cultural and
religious identity
Cultural Judaism includes things such
as Jewish foods, customs and rituals.
Religious Judaism includes
beliefs of the Jewish religion.
the
6
RECAP CONT’D
If a person is not born Jewish, that
person can be converted to Judaism
by studying with a rabbi and
undergoing the process of conversion.
They must complete the conversion
process in order to be considered a
member of the Jewish Religion.
7
RECAP CONT’D
The different branches of Judaism
have varying requirements for
conversion, it is safe to say that the
conversion process is very
meaningful for whoever decides to
undertake it.
8
9
The different branches of Judaism
is dependent on where a person
came from, or how strong their
belief is. A person from Spain,
North Africa and the Near East is
considered Sephardic.
A person from Eastern and
Western Europe in countries like
Italy, France, Poland, Russia and
Germany was considered
Ashkenazi.
10
In Europe, Ashkenazi people were
mostly Orthodox, or very traditional,
religious Jewish people.
Until recently, all Jewish people were
Orthodox, but in the last 100 years or
so, Jewish people have branched out
into other types of Judaism, such as:
Conservative
Liberal
Hellenistic
Reform
Messianic
Zealot.
11
12
Orthodox Judaism has the strictest
adherence to traditional Jewish
practices and beliefs. It originated in
response to the innovations in Jewish
practice introduced by the Reform
movement.
13
This group believes that both the
written (the first five books of the
Hebrew Bible) and the oral Torah
(the interpretive Talmud –a sacred
text) are of divine origin,
containing the exact words of God
without any human influence as
they were divinely given to Moses
on Mount Sinai. Jews were strictly
required to obey this revelation.
14
The religious observance include
daily worship, traditional prayers,
study of the Torah, dietary laws, and
gender segregation in the
synagogue.
The Hebrew language is essential in
Orthodox religious practices. There
is strict observance of the Sabbath.
15
Over the century different Orthodox
sects have arisen. One distinction
within the group is in regard to social
engagement. Some sects of Orthodox
Judaism claim the Jews, as the people
of God, should live completely
segregated from Gentiles, whereas
other Orthodox sects believe Jews can
keep the Torah and live in the
secular world simultaneously.
16
Most Orthodox Jews adhere to a
traditional style of clothing with strict
guidelines.
Orthodox Judaism as it exists today, is
an outgrowth that extends from the
time of Moses to the time of the
Mishnah and Talmud, through the
development of oral law and rabbinic
literature, until the present time.
17
The term “Orthodox” Judaism only
emerges as a result of the growth of
new branches of Judaism. It views
itself as the continuation of the
beliefs and practices of normative
Judaism as accepted by the Jewish
nation at Mt. Sinai and codified in
successive generations in an ongoing
process that continues to this day.
18
 Orthodox Judaism is the only
movement that has preserved the
mystical foundations of Jewish
theology, referred to as Kabbalah
Conservative.
 This is a branch of Judaism that allows
for modification in Jewish Law when
authorized by Conservative Rabbinate.
It also believe that the monotheistic
religion of the Jews having its spiritual
and ethical principles are embodied
chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud.
19
 It moderates between the traditional
Orthodox and the progressive Reform
branches. It was formed in the midst 19th
CE.
 Because of the diverse religious practices,
spanning between Orthodoxy to Reform, it
is difficult to determine a uniform
theological position consistent within the
movement.
 It has become the largest Jewish association
in the United States of America.
20
21
Liberal Judaism is one of the two
forms of Progressive Judaism found
in the United Kingdom, the other
being Reform Judaism. Liberal
Judaism, which developed at the
beginning of the twentieth century
is less conservative than the United
Kingdom Reform Judaism. It
considers itself the sister movement
of North American Reform Judaism.
22
 Liberal Judaism reverences Jewish tradition,
and seeks to preserve all that is good in the
Judaism of the past. But it lives in the
present. It stresses the full equality and
participation of men and women in every
sphere of religious life; and places; emphasis
on ethical conduct above ritual observance; a
pride in combining the Jewish heritage with
full participation in the civic life of the
country; and an awareness of one’s duty not
only to the Jewish people and the State of
Israel, but also to the entire human family,
each one of whom is created in Divine image.
23
24
25
This branch of Judaism traces its roots
to Great Britain in the mid 19th
century.
It is said that the Hebrew Christian
Alliance and Prayer Union in Great
Britain in 1866 for Jews who wanted to
keep their Jewish customs but take on
Christian theology.
26
The Messianic Jewish Alliance of
America (MJAA), started in 1915,
was the first major U.S.
group
‘Jews for Jesus” now the
largest and most prominent of the
Messianic Jewish organization in
the U.S. was founded in California
in 1973.
27
Messianic Jew Accept Yeshua
(Jesus of Nazareth) as the
Messiah promised in the Old
Testament. Some
argue that
Jesus’ apostles were the first Jews
to accept him as Messiah. They
observe
the
Sabbath
on
Saturday, along with traditional
Jewish holy days, such as
Passover and Sukkot.
28
Messianic Jews hold many beliefs in
common with evangelical Christians,
such as the virgin birth, atonement,
the Trinity, inerrancy of the Bible, and
the resurrection.
Many of them are charismatic and
speak in tongues. They baptize people
who are of the age of accountability.
For them, Baptism is by immersion.
29
30
They practice Jewish rituals,
such as bar mitzvah for sons
and bat mitzvah for daughters,
say kaddish for the deceased,
and cant the Torah in
Hebrew at worship services.
31
32
The conquests of Alexander the
Great in the late 4th century BCE
spread Greek culture and
colonization – a process of cultural
change called Hellenization –
over non-Greek lands. This gave
rise to the Hellenistic age, which
sought to create a common culture
in the Alexandrian empire based
on that of 5th and 4th century BCE
Athens.
33
 The period is characterized by a new
wave of Greek colonization which
established Greek cities and Kingdoms
in Asia and Alexandria in Egypt, Africa.
 The inroads into Judaism gave rise to
Hellenistic Judaism in the Jewish
diaspora which sought to establish a
Hebraic-Jewish religious tradition
within the culture and language of
Hellenism.
34
Consequently, there was a general
deterioration in relations between
Hellenized Jews and other Jews. Thus
the King at that time banned certain
Jewish religious rites and traditions.
Then the Orthodox Jews revolted against
the Greek ruler leading to the formation
of an independent Jewish kingdom,
known as the Hasmonaean Dynasty
which lasted from 165 BCE to 63 BCE.
35
36
37
The journey of the Jewish People
began nearly 4000 years ago in the
ancient Middle East with Abraham and
Sarah.
Judaism is what gives the
journey meaning and purpose.
The faith and values which drive the
journey provide a compelling vision of
where we want to get to and offer such
direction as we can make out.
38
 Reform Judaism is Judaism’s most positive
response to the terrain of the last 200 years.
When the Jewish people emerged from the
ghettos of Europe, so frightened of what they
found that they have rebuilt ghetto walls’.
 Some recognize the new reality but are
determined not to be changed by it. Reform Jews
are those who don’t underestimate the challenge
of modernity but can also see that it offers new
ways of understanding and thinking which help
them grow and add to the meaning and purpose
of the journey.
39
It is Judaism for those who wish
to journey on, carrying with
them the wisdom they have
acquired over nearly four
millennia and continuing to be
enriched, as they always have
been in the past, by the best of
what they encounter on the way.
40
Reform Judaism is living Judaism. It is
a religious philosophy rooted in nearly
four millennia of Jewish tradition,
whilst actively engaged with modern
life and thought. This means both an
uncompromising assertion of eternal
truths and values and an open, positive
attitude to new insights and changing
circumstances.
41
It is a living, evolving faith
that Jews of today
tomorrow can live by.
and
42
TO BE CONTINUED…
43