Judaism

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Chapter 2

• Judaism

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Let Us Pray

• Instill in me, O Lord, the wisdom
• You gave the people of Israel
• I am your God you are my people.
• Grant me a steadfast heart
• During my struggles.
• Lead me in your ways.
• May I abide in your house
• Now and forever.
• Amen.

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Chapter Outline

• Judaism is the religion of a particular
  peoplethe Jewish people, or the people of
  Israel
• Jewish beliefs, practices, and identity emerge
  out of historical encounters with their God
• Jews celebrate their communal relationship with
  God in weekly Sabbath and seasonal holy days
• Jews link major events in their life cycle with
  their identity as a people in covenant with God

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To Be a Jew Means . . .

• To be born of a Jewish mother, or
• To convert to Judaism
• What does this traditional definition say about
  what it means to be Jewish?
• Is this definition different from how someone is
  identified with other religions?
• What does this definition suggest about the role
  of beliefs in Judaism?

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Covenant Finding God in History

• Central to Judaism are the beliefs that
• God is present in history, and
• God has established an agreement with the Jewish
  people to be faithful to them forever.

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Covenant Finding God in History

• Do you find any indications that God continues to
  be manifest today?
• A covenant is an agreement between God and
  people. God laid out a framework for how people
  were to be faithful to the covenant in the Ten
  Commandments. What do you think God requires of
  people today?
• Deism is an understanding of God popular during
  the Enlightenment period in Europe. It accepts
  that God created the world but then stepped aside
  and has had no involvement in human affairs since
  then. Are you a deist? Why or why not?

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Exodus ThemesLiberation and Ethical Monotheism

• What forms of slavery do people need to be
  liberated from today?
• What would you personally and the world community
  do differently if you and it strove for
  liberation?
• Does belief in one God by definition imply that
  people try to live a moral life?
• What are some moral principles that flow from
  belief in one God?

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Prophets of Israel

• Characteristics of the biblical prophets
• They confront the status quo and commonly
  accepted beliefs.
• They are at first reluctant to speak.
• They live outside of the establishment.
• They suffer because of their message.
• Their message is challenging.
• They call people to do what God tells them,
  otherwise there will be trouble.
• They rebuke people for putting their faith in
  other things (military might, wealth) besides
  God.

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Prophets of Israel (Continued)

• Characteristics of the biblical prophets
• They proclaim that God demands justice,
  especially for those who are poor, suffering, and
  outcast.
• They preach hope in the midst of darkness.
• Name some people today who embody some of the
  characteristics of a prophet. How do they?
• What types of prophets do we need today?
• Read about some of the biblical prophets. What
  issues do you think they would address today?

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The Books of the Hebrew Bible

• The Hebrew Bible contains thirty-nine books, the
  earliest parts of which may date to the eleventh
  century B.C.E. Around 100 C.E. Jewish scholars
  settled on the following thirty-nine books as the
  Hebrew Bible.
• Torah (Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch)
• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

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Books of the Bible, contd

• Neviim (Prophets)
• Joshua
• Judges
• I Samuel
• II Samuel
• I Kings
• II Kings

• Latter Prophets
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Ezekiel

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• Ketuvim (The Writings)
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Job
• Five Scrolls
• Song of Songs
• Ruth
• Lamentations
• Ecclesiastes
• Esther
• Daniel
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• I Chronicles
• II Chronicles

• The Twelve Minor Prophets
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachai

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History of Israel during the Biblical Era

• Age of the Patriarchs (c.1800-1500B.C.E.)
• Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and the Twelve
  Tribes of Israel
• The Exodus (c.1250 B.C.E.)
• Moses
• Period of the Judges (1200-1000 B.C.E.)
• Joshua, Gideon, Samson, and others
• United Kingdom first temple built (1000 B.C.E.)
• Saul, David, Solomon

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History of Israel during the Biblical Era
(Continued)

• Divided Kingdoms (Judah and Israel) Age of the
  Prophets (c.925-586 B.C.E.)
• Jeremiah, Micah, Joel, and other prophets
• Babylonian Captivity (586-537 B.C.E.)
• Beginning of Second Jewish Commonwealth (536
  B.C.E.)
• Maccabean/Hasmonean Revolt against Greeks (167
  B.C.E)
• Rome destroys Temple end of Jewish nation until
  1948 C.E. (70 C.E.)

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Talmud The Rabbis Interpret the Scriptures

• The Talmud contains commentary about biblical
  passages made by the great rabbis of Jewish
  tradition. For instance, one rabbi discussing
  Deuteronomy 3220 might say that the Jewish
  people are Gods children only when they obey the
  commandments. Another rabbi appeals to the same
  passage to claim that God loves his children even
  when they lack faith. Another debate would center
  around whether or not there was rejoicing in
  heaven when the Egyptians perished in the Red
  Sea. (According to one rabbi, God forbade the
  angels to rejoice in the deaths of any of his
  creatures.)
• 1. Look through the Hebrew Bible. Choose one
  brief passage and describe three or four
  different ways it could be interpreted.

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Anti-Semitism
Anti-semitism has come to mean specifically
anti-Jewish attitudes and practices.
Anti-semitism has been either explicit or
implicit in some Christian-dominated communities
since the fourth century. Write an essay about
anti-semitism using the following terms

• Zenophobia
• Holocaust
• Shoah

• Ghetto
• Pogroms
• Crusades
• Inquisition

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Branches of Judaism

• Read about the following expressions of Judaism
• Orthodox
• Hasidic
• Conservative
• Reform
• Reconstructionist
• Describe basic differences among them.
• What do you think is the appeal of each of these
  branches of Judaism?
• If you were to choose, which branch would you
  join?

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Judaism Study Sheet

• According to traditional Jewish law, a Jew is
  anyone born of a Jewish mother or anyone who
  converts to Judaism. This reflects key concepts
  of the Judaism
• Peoplehood To be Jewish means to identify with
  the Jewish peoplepast, present, and future.
  Specific beliefs are secondary to identification
  with the community.
• History/Tradition For Jews, God is found less in
  nature (as in religions of India and Southeast
  Asia) and more in human historyin particular the
  story of the people of Israel beginning with
  Abraham.
• Covenant Jews view themselves as a people with
  whom God made an agreement or covenant. God
  promises always to remain faithful to the
  covenant Jews struggle to be faithful as well.

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Judaism Study Sheet (Continued)

• Scripture Sacred writings tell the story of the
  making the covenant, occasions of breaking it and
  struggles to keep it, and Gods fidelity to it.
  The Hebrew Bible (TANAKH) consists of three
  sections
• --Torah (first five books or the Penteteuch)
• --Prophets (books about preachers who called the
  people to covenantal fidelity, morality, and
  justice)
• --Writings (150 psalms, wisdom literature, and
  additional stories)

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Judaism Study Sheet (Continued)

• Key Figures in Early Jewish History
• Abraham patriarchal ancestor of the Jews
  monotheism and the covenant
• Moses the leading prophet, or spokesperson for
  God the Exodus and ethical monotheism
• David the Greatest Jewish king, despite his
  faults nationhood and Messiah
• Rabbis When the Temple and the nation were
  destroyed in 70 CE, kept Judaism alive
  synagogues and Talmud

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Judaism Study Sheet (Continued)

• Modern Jewish Movements
• In the late 1700s European Jews could leave the
  ghettoes, giving rise to three movements
• Reform (hold onto essentials only)
• Orthodox (hold onto traditional ways as much as
  possible)
• Conservative (conserve more than the Reform
  movement)
• (early 1900s, Reconstructionist movement began)

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Judaism Study Sheet (Continued)

• Major Jewish Holy days
• Sabbath a weekly remind of Gods sovereignty
  celebrated as much in the home as in the
  synagogue
• Rosh Hashana in autumn, Jewish new year and
  beginning of the high holy days
• Yom Kippur Day of Atonement ten days after Rosh
  Hashanah
• Sukkoth soon after the high holy days a harvest
  festival when tents are erected and traditionally
  lived in
• Hanukah feast of rededication of the temple when
  the Maccabees drove out the Greeks
• Passover a spring festival commemorating the
  Exodus

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Judaism Study Sheet (Continued)

• Celebrating the lifecycle
• Jews have ceremonies celebrating key events of
  the life cycle, such as
• Circumcision
• Bar and Bat/Bas Mitsvah
• Marriage
• Death

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Concluding Prayer

• Let us pray
• You are my life and my salvation,
• O Lord.
• Create in me a temple
• Where your holy presence abides.
• Help me to welcome the stranger.
• May I find joy in your commandments.
• Let me walk in your ways
• All the days of my life.
• Amen.