Title: Judaism: A Culture and a People
1Judaism A Culture and a People
2Judaism is not just a religion
- Judaism is a religion, but it is also a culture
and a people.
3A culture and a people
- Judaism does not represent any single race,
belief, or viewpoint, let alone values and
politics.
4The Torah
- Torah means teaching, instruction, or law
and is commonly known as the Law of Moses.
5Maps of Israel Over the Years
- The map of Israel changed many times since
Biblical Times.
6Most people around Abraham were polytheists
- Monotheism was a radical break with the common
philosophical understanding of the Divine at the
time.
7The Temple in Jerusalem
- Worship was centered on the temple in Jerusalem.
8The Western (wailing) Wall
- Though the temple was rebuilt, the religion
became more and more what it ultimately would
become, a religion of synagogues, where worship
consisted of study of Scriptures without
sacrifices.
9The Bible is divided into three sections
- The Torah is the first section, and includes the
first 5 books of the Bible. The Prophets is the
second section, and the Writings is the third.
10The Messiah
- An important idea of Biblical Judaism is the
concept of the Messiah.
11Kabbala Jewish Mysticism
- Kabbala is based on finding deeper meanings in
the words and letters of the Torah that point to
metaphysical realities.
12The Kabbalistic Tree of Life
- Kabbala a path of meditation
13Hasidism
- Hasidism was a devotional movement that started
in Eastern Europe through the teachings of the
Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name).
14Jewish-Danish Children Smuggled into Sweden
- The Holocaust has had a profound effect on
Christian-Jewish relations and dialogue.
15Orthodox Judaism
- Orthodox Judaism teaches full following of the
Law (Torah), and is traditional in theology,
forms of festival and worship.
16Reform Judaism
- Reform Judaism has roots in the German
Enlightenment, and is liberal in attitude, and
does not believe in following the Law
legalistically.
17Jewish Beliefs
- No dogma is as significant to most Jews as
participation in the Sabbath worship, festivals,
customs, and observances traditional to the
community.
18Moses Maimonides, 1135-1204
- A conventional touchstone for Jewish belief
delineation has been 13 principles of faith put
down by the great medieval thinker, Moses
Maimonides.
19Abraham Joshua Heschel
- Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), celebrated
the holiness in all things and the possibility of
an intense, passionate relationship between God
and humans.
20The Sabbath
- The Sabbath commemorates the Lords day of rest
after the work of creation, and is intended for
the rest and refreshment of both body and soul.
21Rosh Hashana Happy New Year
- Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year and is a
celebration of the creation of the world. It is
associated with the sweetness of life,
symbolized by honey and sweet bread.
22Passover
- Passover is a celebration of freedom recalling
the Exodus, parting of the Red Sea, receiving of
the law at Mt. Sinai, and entry into the Promised
Land.
23Chanukah
- Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the
Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E.
24Bar Mitzvah A Rite of Passage
- The term means son (bar) of the commandment
(mitzvah). For a girl, the term would be
daughter (bat) of the commandment (mitzvah).
25A Religion of Action
- Judaism is a religion of action more than beliefs.
26Modern Jerusalem
- In modern Israel, we see some negative issues
arising.
27The Letter of the Law
- On an internal level, the dark side of Judaism
has been in its focus on the letter of the Law
rather than the spirit of the Law.
28Deborah, the Judge
- On one hand, Jewish women have been celebrated in
texts and traditions as charismatic luminaries,
heroines, intellectuals, devoted wives and
leaders.
29Tradition
- It is the role of wife and mother that takes
center stage for women in traditional Judaism
most traditions regarding women revolve around
her role in the home.
30Jewish Wedding
- This attitude even comes out in modern weddings,
where the father gives away his daughter to the
groom.
31The Marriage Contract
- A woman could only get a divorce if the man
agreed to give her one. Pictured here is a
traditional marriage contract, called a Ketubah.
32First Female Rabbi Sally Priesand
- Today there are women ordained as rabbis and
cantors in Reform, Conservative and
Reconstructionist Judaism.
33Shekhinah
- Shekhinah, which is feminine, is the spirit of
God at the Sabbath, also known as the Sabbath
Bride.
34Center of Judaism
- For a long time, Judaism was centered on the
temple in Jerusalem in the land of Israel.
35(No Transcript)