Introduction to Judaism

1
Introduction to Judaism

• Unit 4
• HRT 3M1

2
Judaism is

• A 4000 year old tradition with ideas about what
  it means to be human and how to make the world a
  holy place
• (Rabbi Harold Kushner, To Life)
• A covenant relationship between God and the
  Hebrew people
• A celebration and sanctification of life
• A faith, a people, a way of life

3
A 4000 year old tradition

• The Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel)
  origins of the Hebrew people (more than 3800
  years ago)
• Enslaved in ancient Egypt and freed by Moses
  (more than 3300 years ago)
• Hebrew monarchy in the Promised Land (The Land
  of Israel), ends 6th century BCE

4
Jewish History Covenant with Abraham

• The Patriarchal Period (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob)
  was the time of the establishment of a covenant
  where in God agreed to love humanity and humanity
  agreed to love God rather than the many Gods of
  Polytheistic Mesopotamia.
• 1. Idea that Jews represented God's Chosen People
• 2. Idea of a Promised Land
• Link http//www.youtube.com/watch?v6djiZiN5oUw

5
Jewish History Slaves in Egypt

• Moses emerged as a liberator - born a Hebrew
  Slave and later adopted by the Pharaoh's family,
  Moses grew up in the imperial court.
• The story of Moses the Ten Plagues on the
  Egyptians in order to convince the Pharaoh to let
  the Hebrew people go

6
Jewish History Passover

• The tenth Plague called on the angel of death to
  descend on Egypt and take the first-born of al
  who lived in the region. God instructed Moses to
  tell the Hebrews that they could escape this
  plague by smearing lamb's blood over their doors.
  
• In this way, death would "pass over" their homes
  because the blood would be a sign that the house
  belonged to a descendant of Abraham. This event
  is celebrated in the Jewish festival of Passover.
• Link http//www.youtube.com/watch?vR2p5OJYuAOUf
  eaturerelated

7
Jewish History Covenant with Moses

• God provided his people with the commandments
  that would allow them to keep the covenant - the
  Ten Commandments emphasized the nature of God's
  existence as well as the laws that the people
  would need to follow in order to keep their
  covenant with God. The Passover, the Exodus, and
  the Ten Commandments serve as specific renewals
  of the covenant between God and the people.
• 1. Nature of God's existence
• 2. Law

8
Judges Kings

• The Jews lived a nomadic existence in the Sinai
  for forty years until they reached the land of
  Canaan. This marks the beginning of the biblical
  period of Judges and Kings.
• First the Jews were lead by people referred to as
  Judges - Judges were like tribal leaders or
  Chieftains who led the people through periods of
  crisis. Judges were charismatic (charming) and
  inspiring people, were either men or women, and
  helped the Jews establish a sense of identity.
• The Israelite Kings were Saul, David (a great
  political and spiritual leader!) and Solomon.

9
Jewish History The Temple

• In the 10th Century BCE King Solomon built a
  temple in Jerusalem that would serve as the
  centre of worship for the Jewish faith for the
  next millennium. However, after the death of
  Solomon, the kingdom broke up.
• In 586 BCE, Babylonian invaders captured Judah
  and destroyed Solomon's Temple. 10,000 Jewish
  community leaders were captured and sent into
  exile in Babylon. This event is known as the
  Exile or the Babylonian Captivity. They were held
  there until Cyrus the Great of Persia released
  them in 538 BCE, when he defeated the
  Babylonians.
• With the temple destroyed and the Jews dispersed,
  Jews had to find a new way to honour God - placed
  of worship, now know as synagogues, were created.

10
Jewish History The Temple

• With the temple destroyed and the Jews dispersed,
  Jews had to find a new way to honour God - placed
  of worship, now know as synagogues, were created.
  
• After the conquest of Babylon, the Jews were
  encouraged to return home. In 515 BCE, a second
  temple was
• completed.

11
The Diaspora

• By the third century BCE, the majority of Jews
  lived in the Diaspora, so they created new
  standards for their faith traditions.
• In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered much of
  the known world including Persia, Egypt and
  India.
• Thus Jews in those regions fell under the
  influence of Greek Culture, a process called
  Hellenization.
• Jews embraced Greek culture to the point that the
  Bible was translated into Greek.

12
Jewish History Maccabean Revolt

• In 168 BCE, the Greeks converted the Temple into
  a shrine to the Greek god Zeus - growing
  dissatisfaction with the Greek ruling culture
  amongst the Jewish population lead to a group of
  rebels, called the Maccabees, to lead a revolt
  against the Greeks.
• By 164 BCE, the Maccabees were in control of
  Jerusalem and the temple was restored. The
  Maccabees would rule until the Roman conquest.

13
Jewish History Roman Conquest

• In 64 BCE, Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans.
  By this time, several Jewish sects emerged. The
  growing sophistication of Jewish belief, combined
  with the harshness of Roman rule, lead to a
  renewed emphasis on the coming of the Messiah.
• Heavy taxation, unfair administration of justice,
  and Roman control of both the temple and the high
  priest soon proved too much for the Jews.
• In 66 CE, the Jews revolted and eventually gained
  control of the temple and a Roman fortress. Rome
  responded with force. In 70 CE, the temple was
  destroyed and the Jews were to once again reform
  their ways.

14
Judaism 70 CE Designing a New Way

• Temple ---- Synagogue
• Priesthood ---- Rabbis
• Tithes and offerings ---- Prayer
• Sabbath ---- Sabbath
• Community Festivals ---- Holy Days

15
As a faith, Jews Believe

• In one God, creator of the universe, personal but
  non-corporeal
• In prophets of old especially Moses, through
  whom Torah was revealed to the Hebrew people
• In Torah (first five books of the Bible),
  containing religious, moral and social law which
  guides the life of a Jew
• The Hebrew Bible does not include the New
  Testament

16
Judaism Belief and Observance

• Observance to follow or not to follow (the
  Torah and ritual boundaries)
• Belief to believe or not to believe (the
  central tenants of Judaism)
• Rabbi Maimonides Thirteen Articles of Faith

17
As a people, Jews are

• A nation in Diaspora (dispersed)
• 15 16 million in worldwide population
• United by a common heritage (an ethnic
  religion), divided in contemporary practice
• Orthodox (believe and observe everything)
• Modern
• Chasidic (Ultra Orthodox)
• Reformed (belief and observe a few things)
• Conservative (belief and observe most things)
• Reconstructionalism (20th century America)
• Non-Religious (believe nothing observe few
  things)

18
As a way of life, Judaism is based on

• 613 commandments found in Torah (Written Law)
• Talmud (Oral Law) commentary of ancient
  rabbis that elaborates on how to apply Gods Law
  in everyday life through
• Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher)
• Dress and other symbols
• Prayer and devotion to the one God
• The Temple and Temple rites
• Observance of Holy days
• Proper social relations between male and female,
  in business, judicial rulings, etc.
• Thus sanctifying life, blessing it in every way

19
The Jewish Shema

• The Shema (Shmah) is a very important prayer
  which Jewish people say 3 times a day.
• Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God the LORD Is
  one. (Deut 67)
• Jews think that the name of God is too special to
  write down sometimes it is written like this
  Gd or Adonai

20
How does Judaism sanctify life?

• Life cycle celebrations
• Bris ritual circumcision, sign of the covenant
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah full adult status and
  responsibility within the religion
• Marriage - "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 122)
• Death funerals, mourning (sitting Shiva), and
  memorials (Yartzeits)

http//www.youtube.com/watch?v27FSbztRPo8
21
How does Judaism sanctify time?

• The Jewish Holidays
• High Holidays
• Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
• Sukkot, the Festival of Booths (fall harvest
  festival)
• Simchat Torah celebrating Torah
• Chanukah, the Festival of Lights

22
More Holy Days

• Purim (Lots) a carnival (commemorates events
  told in book of Esther)
• Pesach (Passover) commemorates the exodus
  from Egypt (events told in Exodus)
• Shavuot (weeks, Pentecost) commemorates
  receipt of Torah at Sinai
• Other, minor festivals
• Shabbat (Sabbath, 7th day, on Saturday) the
  Day of Rest

23
Jewish Artefacts

• The Tallit is the prayer shawl
• The Kippah is the skull cap worn by men in the
  synagogue.
• The Torah is the Jewish Holy writing it is a
  scroll and is the same as the first five books in
  the Christian Bible.
• The yad is used to point to the words as it
  cannot be touched by hands.

24
Jewish Artefacts

• The Seder plate is used for Pesach- a celebration
• Matzah are crackers eaten at Pesach (Passover)

25
Jewish Artefacts

• Channukiah is the candlestick used at the
  festival of light- Channukkah.
• Mezuzah are fastened to door posts. They have the
  Shema written inside.

26
How is Judaism related to Christianity?

• Judaism predates Christianity it is the
  foundation of Christianity but is not a part of
  it
• Jesus was Jewish, as were his followers and the
  Apostles
• Jews do not believe that Jesus was anything more
  than a good and wise man who lived and died 2000
  years ago Jews still await their messiah
• The Jewish messiah would not be divine. He would
  be a political figure who restores the Hebrew
  monarchy and causes peace to reign on Earth
• Jews are not concerned about salvation and the
  world to come

27
What are Jews really concerned about?

• Tikkun Olam - repairing this world through
  justice and righteousness through deed, not
  creed
• The heart of Judaism is in the home and family,
  social responsibility and doing Mitzvot (good
  deeds based on Gods commandments)
• Through education and hard work they make their
  lives, the lives of others, and the world, what
  God intended it to be Holy!

28
To Life!
To Life!
LeChaim!
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vgRdfX7ut8gwfeature
related