Judaism: A Culture and a People

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Judaism A Culture and a People
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Judaism is not just a religion

• Judaism is a religion, but it is also a culture
  and a people.

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A culture and a people

• Judaism does not represent any single race,
  belief, or viewpoint, let alone values and
  politics.

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The Torah

• Torah means teaching, instruction, or law
  and is commonly known as the Law of Moses.

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Maps of Israel Over the Years

• The map of Israel changed many times since
  Biblical Times.

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Most people around Abraham were polytheists

• Monotheism was a radical break with the common
  philosophical understanding of the Divine at the
  time.

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The Temple in Jerusalem

• Worship was centered on the temple in Jerusalem.

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The 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.

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The 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.

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The Messiah

• An important idea of Biblical Judaism is the
  concept of the Messiah.

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Kabbala Jewish Mysticism

• Kabbala is based on finding deeper meanings in
  the words and letters of the Torah that point to
  metaphysical realities.

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The Kabbalistic Tree of Life

• Kabbala a path of meditation

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Hasidism

• Hasidism was a devotional movement that started
  in Eastern Europe through the teachings of the
  Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name).

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Jewish-Danish Children Smuggled into Sweden

• The Holocaust has had a profound effect on
  Christian-Jewish relations and dialogue.

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Orthodox Judaism

• Orthodox Judaism teaches full following of the
  Law (Torah), and is traditional in theology,
  forms of festival and worship.

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Reform Judaism

• Reform Judaism has roots in the German
  Enlightenment, and is liberal in attitude, and
  does not believe in following the Law
  legalistically.

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Jewish Beliefs

• No dogma is as significant to most Jews as
  participation in the Sabbath worship, festivals,
  customs, and observances traditional to the
  community.

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Moses 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.

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Abraham 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.

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The 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.

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Rosh 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.

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Passover

• 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.

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Chanukah

• Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the
  Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E.

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Bar 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).

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A Religion of Action

• Judaism is a religion of action more than beliefs.

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Modern Jerusalem

• In modern Israel, we see some negative issues
  arising.

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The 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.

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Deborah, the Judge

• On one hand, Jewish women have been celebrated in
  texts and traditions as charismatic luminaries,
  heroines, intellectuals, devoted wives and
  leaders.

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Tradition

• 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.

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Jewish Wedding

• This attitude even comes out in modern weddings,
  where the father gives away his daughter to the
  groom.

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The 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.

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First Female Rabbi Sally Priesand

• Today there are women ordained as rabbis and
  cantors in Reform, Conservative and
  Reconstructionist Judaism.

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Shekhinah

• Shekhinah, which is feminine, is the spirit of
  God at the Sabbath, also known as the Sabbath
  Bride.

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Center of Judaism

• For a long time, Judaism was centered on the
  temple in Jerusalem in the land of Israel.

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