Ch. 2 Judaism

A LIVING RELIGION!

Well, believe it!

Oh really?

Why study Judaism?

Why Study Judaism?

What does it mean to be Jewish?

• Not all Jews practice Judaism.

• Being a Jew has an ethnic and religious connotation

• There are ethnic Jews and Religious Jews. Religious Jews practice Judaism. An ethnic Jew may or may not practice. A religious Jew may also be an ethnic Jew, but it is just as likely for a religious Jew to be from another ethnic group.

Section 1 Summary (pg. 43)• The Biblical Period found the Jews living in occupied

Palestine or exiled to a foreign land.• The Rabbinic Period was a time of emerging

institutional structures in Judaism.• The Medieval Period Jews contributed much to the

emerging Western culture. This time was also marked by Jewish Persecutions

• The Modern Period reflects one of the most devastating times and of the most triumphant times in the history of Judaism. The Holocaust resulted in the murder of about 6 million Jews. Following this, the UN approved the return of Palestine to the Jews.

Biblical Period or 1800BCE to 323CE (pgs. 30-32)– Ca. 1800BCE=Abraham enters

Promised Land aka Canaan (also Fertile Crescent)

– Ca. 1250 BCE=Moses, Exodus, and reception of the Law

– Ca. 1200 BCE=Re-entry into Promised Land

– Ca.950 BCE=Construction of first temple in Jerusalem

– 586BCE=Babylonian exile and destruction of first Temple

– 537 BCE=Return from Babylonian exile

– Ca. 500BCE=Construction of Second Temple begins

– Ca. 331BCE=Jerusalem conquered by Alexander the Great

Idolatry-giving worship to something or someone other than the one true God.

Rabbinic Period/Classical Judaism or 323BCE to 625CE(pgs. 32-37)

– 323BCE Alexander the Great Dies

– 168BCE Antiochus IV demands that Jews cease their rituals in the Temple

– 165BCE Maccabean Revolt– 150BCE Septuagint compiled– 63BCE Romans Rule!– Ca. 10CE Hillel and Shammai (

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillel_Slovak

– 70CE Jewish Revolt ends and Temple destroyed.

– 130CE Jews banned from ever returning to Jerusalem by emperor Hadrian.

– 313CE Edict of Milan– 625CE Jerusalem falls to Islamic

Army

Diaspora-Hellenization-Septuagint-Saducees, Pharisees, and EssenesDead Sea ScrollsRabbiTalmud

Medieval Period or 638-1783CE (pgs. 37-41)

• Jewish Persecution– With the Muslims: “a

protected people”– In Spain both thriving

and persecution– Blamed for the Black

Plague

Monothesitic-Holy of Holies-Sephardim-Moses ben Maimon-Ashkenazim-Hasidism-

Modern Period or 1783CE-Present (pgs.41-43)

• The Age of Enlightenment and equality.

• Holocaust and the formation of the State of Israel.

Four Branches of JudaismReformConservative OrthodoxReconstructionist

Zionism

Sacred Stories and Scriptures (pgs. 45-47)

• Tanakh– Torah: GELND (2 torahs one

written and one oral)• 613 Laws or 248 positive laws and

365 negative laws• Mishnah or “teaching” is the oral

Torah that was eventually translated. Divided into six sections: agriculture (land of Israel), holidays, family life, relations with other people, sacrifices and dietary laws, and ritual purity.

– Nevi’im: Major Prophets like: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel or 12 Minor Prophets like: Amos or Hosea

– Ketuvim: writings like Job, Psalms, or Proverbs

Sacred Stories and Scriptures (pgs. 45-47)

• Talmud: Commentaries on the Mishnah.– Jerusalem: meh.– Babylonian: considered

more authoritative.

• Midrash: “to examine” or “to seek out”. A way of interpreting the Biblical text. Used to see how far the text can go? Used to help Jews see connections between Torah and everyday life.

Beliefs and Practices (pgs. 48-51)• Judaism in three words: God,

Torah, Israel!• GOD: God is good and created

our world to be good.• TORAH: the central source for

how to live as Jew. The Torah is literally God’s self-revelation to the people. Means literally “law” or “teaching”.

• ISRAEL: A chosen people and not just the place or the state of Israel. More a choice to accept God’s commandments and to live lives that are good. To be role-models for the rest of humanity.

Sh’ma-Ark-Mitzvot-Covenant-Halakhic-

Sacred Times(pgs. 52-61)• Tishri=Fall and Nisan=Spring• Rosh Hashanah and Yom

Kippur– Rosh Hashanah celebrates the

creation of the world (5774 years ago). It is believed that God judges you on this day for the sins you committed in the previous year.

– Yom Kippur means Day of Atonement (for sins). Ask for forgiveness on this day.

– The ten days between RH and YK are called the “Days of Awe” and it is a penitential period (fasting and repentance). Jews strive for repentance or turning back to the proper way of living, known as the Tishuvah.

Sukkot, Pesach, Shavuot, Hanukkah, and Purim (pgs. 54-56)

• Sukkot: Tishri. Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths. Begins five days after Yom Kippur and lasts for eight days. Commemorates the time when the Jews were in the desert for forty years and later, when in Israel, they had to protect themselves from the elements of harvesting.

• Pesach: Retells the story of the Exodus. The 1st major feast of the Nisan Cycle.

• Shavuot: means week in Hebrew and is celebrated 50 days after Passover. First, a wheat harvest feast now associated with the giving of the Torah to Moses on Sinai.

• Hanukkah: Festival of Lights during Tishri. A modern invention to be a counterpart to Christmas Season.

• Purim: Feast of Lots. Celebrates the victory of the Jews living in Persia in the 5th Century BCE.

Shabbat (pgs. 57-59)

• Celebrated weekly from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.

• A common greeting is Shabbat Shalom

• A Shabbat dinner is a weekly family ritual.– Includes braided bread

called Hallah, white tablecloth, candles (allowed to burn out), and wine.

– Concludes with Havdalah.

Sacred Places and Sacred Spaces (pgs. 61-65

• Synagogue– From the Greek meaning

“place of assembly”– Multidimensional:

House of: Prayer, Study, and Assembly.

• Land of Israel• Jerusalem

BimahMezuzahKosher