JUDAISMPRESENTATION BY: JESSICA,ARYAN, AND DELANEY

BASIC BELIEFS

Monotheistic

Believes that one G-d is the creator of all things and the judge of all people

Believes that they have been chosen to be G-d's people

Believes that through history, G-d has sent people to pass on G-d's message (prophets)

G-d wants them to follow the laws that were given to Moses (Ten Commandments)

THE NOACHIDE

LAWS

Jews believe that all people should follow the laws that were given to Noah after the great flood

1. Do not worship idols

2. Do not murder

3. Do not steal

4. Avoid sexual misconduct

5. Do not be cruel to animals

6. Avoid blasphemy

7. Worship only one G-d

COVENANT

Believe that G-d made a promise to care for them and that they are chosen to be G-d's people

The promise by G-d should be honored by Jews trying to live a good life in return

First covenant- made by Noah when G-d promised to never destroy the world again

Second covenant- made by Abraham when G-d promised to give him many descendants (renewed when Moses

was given the laws)

Covenant is regularly reaffirmed when the sons are circumcised, and their children have a bar mitzvah or a bat

mitzvah

PRAYER

"Hear O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord

alone. You shall love the Lord, your God, with all

your heart, and with all your soul and with all your

might." Deuteronomy 6: 4-6:5

Part of the Shema (important prayer that they are

encouraged to say daily)

It is written down on scrolls and placed in boxes

called mezuzah and tefillin

Mezuzahs are placed in doorways

Tefillin are worn by men during prayer

PRAYER CONT...

Believe that it is good for a family to pray together because it brings them together

Kavanah is the good intention behind a prayer, if a prayer is for selfish purposes,they believe they will be badly judged for it

Believe that prayer will deepen their relationship with G-d

Most Jews use a prayer book called a Siddur which contains prayers they can use at home and/or at the synagogue

Prayer begins with Shema, followed by the Amidah (18 benedictions)

Usually pray standing up but they may bow when referring to G-d the King

PEACE

Peace is very important for Jewish people

"Shalom" is used to say hello and goodbye

Always look towards an age of peace when G-d

sends his Anointed One (Messiah)

SYMBOLS

The Star of David (Magen David Adom) is an important symbol

in the Jewish faith

Represents how King David led the nation in 900 BCE

The Menorah (seven branches) is in most synagogues

Hanukiah (special nine-branched menorah) is used for Hanukkah

Tallit- specially made prayer shawl (has 613 strands to represent

the laws in the Torah) is traditionally worn my men

Kippah, sometimes called theYarmulke, is a traditional cap worn

on the male's heads (sign of humility)

TANAKH (THE WRITTEN TORAH)

"Blessed are thou, O Lord God of the universe, who has chosen us from all people and has given us Thy Torah."

Torah is the name given to the first five books of the Jewish Scriptures: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,Numbers, and Deuteronomy

"Torah" in Hebrew can mean direction, instruction, or teaching

Contains 613 mitzvot (rules) that were given to Moses

248 positive mitzvot

365 negative mitzvot

TANAKH CONT...

Other two parts of the written Torah are called the Nevi'im and

the Ketuvim

Nevi'im are the writings of the prophets and historical books about the

Kingdom of Israel

Ketuvim are the writings of the people of Israel, such as Psalms,

Proverbs, and the book of Job

The three sections put together form the collection of writings that

Christians call the Old Testament

THE TORAH

There is a large cupboard called aron hakodesh (ark) that stores

the scrolls of the Torah in a synagogue

Scrolls can be covered by a piece of cloth or stored in

wooden cylinders

The Torah scrolls have a small shield hung over them and a pointer

called a yad

They also have a set of bells placed on top to act as a

crown because the Torah is the teaching of the greatest ruler, G-d

THE ORAL TORAH

The Mishnah

Means "to repeat, to study"

Written down in 200CE

Has sections on marriage, divorce, buying and

selling, sacrifice, what makes you impure

Collected by Rabbi Judah the Prince

THE ORAL TORAH CONT...

Midrash are writings based on passages in the Tanakh

Stories about Moses, Jonah, David, and Noah

Attempts to find the meaning of the passages in the Tanakh

The Talmud

Completed about 300-500 years after the Mishnah

Represents the teachings of over 2,000 rabbis

Contains long stories that help people understand the way people

should live that are called Agadah

Also has laws and reflections on how laws could be applied called

Halakhah

HALAKHAH

Halakhah is a set of Jewish laws that means," the path that one walks".

These laws show the rules that a Jew must follow in order to live the Jewish lifestyle.

The laws explain rules such as

what you can or cannot wear

what you can or cannot eat

who you can or cannot marry

how to conduct business

how to observe holidays

It also explains that they must pray after eating or at least once or twice a day

SYNAGOGUE

Greek word "synagogue" means a place of meeting or assembly, in Hebrew it is "bet ha knesset"

Above the ark is the ner tamid, the eternal light that burns as a sign on G-d's eternal covenant, and two tablets reminding the congregation of the Ten Commandments

In the center of the synagogue is the bimah where the scrolls are taken to be read (Rabbi, Cantor, and other participating in the service usually sit here)

Synagogues have a cantor or hazzan who leads the sung parts of the service

RABBIS

"Rabbi" means teacher or master

Highly respected leader in the Jewish community

People who want to become rabbis must train for

several years to learn the teachings of

the Torah, the Talmud, and the Mishnah

Lead prayer and give a talk

Conduct services like weddings, burials, bar and bat

mitzvahs

FOOD

Although not everybody obeys, the Jewish laws on food are very important

"Kosher" means clean, pure, and fit

Kosher food is food that is fit for Jewish people to eat

Can eat meat if it has clean hooves and chews its cud (digests in four stomachs) and must be killed by a specially trained person

Ex) cows, sheep, goats,deer

Fish must have fins or scales

Ex) cod and trout

Birds of prey are not allowed but chicken, duck, and turkey are

Eggs and milk are kosher if they come from a kosher animal

Meat and any dairy product aren't allowed to be eaten together (cheeseburgers)

FESTIVALS

Yom Kippur

On this day of atonement, Jews try to become at peace with G-d

They ask forgiveness and accept that they need to change in order for that to happen

Prepare by having a meal and then beginning a 25 hour fast

Rosh Hashanah

Jewish New Year

Jews remember G-d as Creator for 10 days after New Year, the "Day of the Return"

They put in an effort to make things right and then on Yom Kippur, G-d is remembered as Judge

A shofar is blown every day, a month before

Yom Kippur

HANUKKAH

Hanukkah is a holiday that remembers the consecration of the Second

Temple in Jerusalem

There are 8 days and nights

On each day, one candle on the hanukiah is lit

The middle, and highest, candle is called the shamash

Pure olive oil with the seal of the kohen gadol (high priest) was needed

for the menorah in the temple

The oil was supposed to last only one night, but it actually lasted eight

and now there is the celebration of Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle

THE ORIGIN

Origins trace back to Abraham, who lived in about 2000 BCE

Started in what is now called Israel

The Tanakh is the Jewish bible and has three parts:

Torah- first five books

Nevi'im- prophets

Ketuvim- holy writing

ABRAM

Lived in the city Haran in modern day Iraq

He was wealthy and married a woman names Sarai

When he was 75, he and his wife left home to go and search for a

promised land that G-d had promised him

Name changed from Abram "high father" to Abraham "father of many"

Sarai changed to Sarah which means "princess"

Names were much more important than they are today

Believed that someone's name could reveal their character and/or what

they were expected to do with their lives

Name changes were thought to be part of the covenant

(agreement) between G-d and Abraham

ABRAHAM

Abraham was told to make circumcision the sign of the covenant

G-d told Abraham that he would have a son, they named him Isaac

Abraham believed that G-d told him to sacrifice Isaac but right before he

was about to kill him, and angel told him to sacrifice a ram that G-d had

provided instead

It was a sign to Abraham and his descendants that G-d didn’t

want human sacrifice but the obedience of his people

MOSES

Israelite who was adopted by the Egyptian royal family

He was angered by the enslavement of the other Israelites and killed the

slave master

Fled to the desert where he became a shepherd and married Zipporah

He saw a burning bush and believed that G-d was telling him that

he would become the leader of G-d's people to freedom

Went to the pharaoh and asked him to release the Israelites but

the pharaoh refused and G-d sent ten plagues

MOSES CONT...

During the tenth plague, the Angel of Death killed every first-born son, but it passed over the Israelites houses because they smeared lambs' blood over their doors showing that they were Israelites

Became Pesach (Passover)

Israelites escaped Egypt, this is now known as the Exodus

Moses led the Israelites for 40 years and on Mount Sinai he was given the Torah which included the Ten Commandments

Moses dies before he could enter the Promised Land

ELIJAH

One of the most important prophets

G-d told him to challenge the people who worshipped the queen's god, Baal, who was the chief god of Sidon

Took on 450 prophets of Baal and challenged them to a "test of strength"

Called upon their gods to set their sacrifices on fire and only Elijah's was engulfed by flames, a sign of one true G-d

It is said that Elijah never died and was taken straight to heaven on a chariot

They believe rabbis can communicate with him and that he will return before the Messiah comes to earth

THE WESTERN WALL

King David made Jerusalem the capital city of Israel

and wanted a temple built there (actually built by

his son, Solomon)

The temple was destroyed by invasion and rebuilt

The second temple was also destroyed by a later

invasion

In 66CE, the Jews rebelled against the Romans, who,

in return, set fire to the city in 70CE

They destroyed all of the temple except the

outside Western Wall

Today, the Western Wall is still an important place

MASADA

Masada is a hill 492 ft high that is in the middle of the desert in Israel

In 4 BCE, King Herod the Great built a palace on the top of Masada

Romans took control of it until the rebellion in 66 CE where a group

of Jews captured Masada and made it their base

In 72 CE, Romans spent months building fences and a huge rocky

pathway to get to the top

The Jews decided it was better to die free and so they set the fortress

on fire and ten men were chosen to kill the 960 people who lived

there

SUFFERING

Jews have frequently been the victims of prejudice and suffering

The Romans at the Western Wall and Masada

In 418, Bishop Severus of Majorca forced Jews to convert, street fighting broke out, the synagogue was burned

In 489, a Christian mob set fires to the synagogues in Antioch and threw the bodies of slain Jews into the fire

In 1096, the leader of the First Crusade, Godfroi Bouillon, swore to avenge the blood of Christ and leave no

member of the Jewish race alive

The Crusaders rounded up the Jews in Jerusalem, put them in the synagogue, and burned it to the ground

In the 1890s, Captain Dreyfus (who was Jewish) was wrongly accused of spying for Germany

A reporter decided that Jews would always be the victims in Europe and started the movement of Zionism (return to

the Middle East and restart the nation of Israel)

THE HOLOCAUST

"Holocaust" means a burnt offering. It refers to the suffering of the Jewish people in WWII

Adolf Hitler led the Nazis and banned Jews from parks, theaters, universities, and organized book burnings and

attacks against Jewish businesses

Rounded up the Jews and forced them to live in shtetles (ghettos)

Nazis set up concentration camps with the intention to remove all Jews by systematically murdering them

At a camp called Sobibor, 300 Jews managed to escape by stealing weapons and killing the guards

600 people rushed to the gates, but many were shot and some died when they stepped on land mines

Some very religious Jews refused to escaped because it would break the commandment, "You shall not kill."

Today, there is a statue to honor those who died in Sobibor that has the words "Never Again" carved into the stone

JUDAISM PRACTICED NOW

Judaism is not practiced the same as it was practiced in Israel. Instead, there are multiple types of Judaism, some

of which that are stronger than others.

In Israel, there are multiple secular Jews who do not really do much to observe Jewish traditions

Also Reform Jews who do not follow most Jewish laws

On the other hand, there are the ultra-orthodox Jews who follow a form of Judaism that is

extremely conservative

ORTHODOX JUDAISM

Believe that because the Torah came directly from G-d, it should not be

changed or adapted to modern life

They do not allow men and women to sit together in a synagogue

Rabbi and cantor are always male, women are not even allowed to read

from the Torah or lead the service in any way

Chassidism is a type of Orthodox Judaism that keeps itself separate

from the non-Jewish world

ORTHODOX JUDAISM CONT...

Orthodox Jews usually follow rules like keeping

kosher

Ultra- Orthodox children are not educated in

regular schools

Men often do not work for a living, preferring

to spend all of their time studying religion

Girls cannot have bat mitzvahs

REFORM JUDAISM

Believe Torah was written by the people and because times have

changed, the rules can change as well

Some follow the rules but it usually to stay connected to

their heritage, not because they believe G-d demands it

Women can be rabbis and cantors

Use musical instruments

OTHER TYPES OF JUDAISM

Conservative Judaism started in 1913

Compromise between Orthodox and Reform Judaism

Reconstructionist Judaism started in the 1960's

Modern approach that stresses involvement in the larger world, as well as Jewish traditions

Conservative and Reconstructionist services are usually spoken in both Hebrew and whatever language the

participants speak

Conservative,Reform, and Reconstructionist movements are more popular in the US than other places

JUDAISM PRESENT

Its divided into four major

religions movements represented

by synagogue membership

A small percentage of Jews identify with more or

less extremist, rightwing, cult-like movements (such

as Hasidism)

A large percentage of Jews identify themselves as

Jewish though they belong to no movement

Some do join the synagogue from time to time but

other prefer to remain "secular" for ideological

regions

WORK CITED

Wood, Cavan. Judaism. Raintree, 2003.

“What Is Hanukkah? - Info You Need about Chanukah.” Info You Need about Chanukah - Chanukah, 11 Dec. 2003,

www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-Is-Hanukkah.htm.

Torah: The Five Books of Moses. Jewish Publication Society, 1999.

www.rossel.net/basic04.html