JUDAISM

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JUDAISM
THE SYNAGOGUE
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The Synagogue Sanctuary
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Contains the scrolls
The reading desk.
Inside the Synagogue
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The layout of the building is rectangular, with
seats arranged on three sides.  The fourth side
is the most important, it holds the Ark.  Almost
in the centre of the Synagogue is a raised
platform called the Bimah.  At the foot of the
Bimah is a group of seats reserved for elders of
the synagogue.
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The Bimah is used by the Rabbi to read the Torah
scrolls from.  It is raised so that the
congregation can see the Rabbi and he can see
them.
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The scrolls have crowns covering the top of the
rollers and a metal plate, called a breastplate
hanging around the crowns.  Covering the Torah
scroll is a decorated cover called a mantle. 
This is usually embroidered with a crown,
representing King David.
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Torah Scroll
What is a Torah scroll? The Torah contains the
Five Books of Moses, whose English and Hebrew
names are
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Chapter 28 of the Book of Exodus contains a
description of the garb of the High Priest. His
special clothing included a tunic (the Torah
mantle, or covering), a belt (the sash around the
Torah scroll), a mitre (the crown of the Torah),
and a breastplate. Each of these has been
reproduced in some fashion for dressing and
decorating the Sefer Torah.
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Rabbi" means "teacher" and, through preaching
from the pulpit, teaching classes, and individual
counselling, teaching is the primary duty of a
rabbi
Some prayers are said by everyone, and some are
recited aloud by the shaliach tzibbur, to which
the congregation responds "Amen." The chazzan
(cantor) is specially trained in the art of
Jewish music and liturgy for this role.
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Tallit - Before beginning to worship or pray the
devout Jew will often put on a prayer shawl. The
fringes on the shawl remind him of the many
commandments (613) of the Torah. He will first
cover his head completely with the Tallit.
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The Tallit is a prayer shawl, worn around the
neck during the service.   You can see the
tassels or fringes hanging down.  Each one
represents the laws Jews must follow in their
lives.  This comes from a commandment in the
Torah
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The Tephillin are two small boxes with leather
straps attached to them.   You can see them in
the picture next to the Siddur, the Jewish prayer
book.   The tephillin contain a small portion of
scripture from the Torah, called the Shema
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Phylacteries or Tefillin - Phylacteries are small
leather boxes that have long straps attached that
are worn on the left forearm and on the forehead.
Inside the boxes are passages from the
scriptures, including the Shema.
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Kippur or Yarmulke - On their heads the devout
Jew always wears the Yarmulke, a small skull cap,
which reminds them that they are always duty
bound to follow the laws of God at all times and
in all places.
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The Menorah The Menorah is the seven branched
candlestick which was placed in the temple in
Jerusalem, each home has a Menorah to remind them
of the temple and of their hope that one day it
will be built again
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The Mezuzah The Mezuzah is a small box fixed to
the doorpost on your house, according to the
command in scripture. If you look at a Jewish
house there will be a small box fixed to the
right hand side of the doorpost. Inside the
Mezuzah is a small piece of parchment with the
words of Deuteronomy 13-21 written upon it. You
need to look this up in the Bible in the Old
Testament.
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The Magen David The Magen David is the star of
David, this is the representation of the state of
Israel. It is more a political than a religious
statement. The state of Israel was recreated by
the United Nations in 1948.
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(No Transcript)
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Lev. 1113-19 These you shall regard as
detestable among the birds. They shall not be
eaten they are an abomination the eagle, the
vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the kite of any
kind every raven of any kind the ostrich, the
nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind
the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the
water hen, the desert owl, the carrion vulture,
the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and
the bat.  
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Kosher animals There are two things that tell if
an animal is kosher. Firstly its hooves are
completely parted at the bottom to form two horny
pads, and secondly if it chews the cud. Cows,
sheep, goats and deer are the common animals that
have both these features and so these are kosher.
Pigs, whilst they do have split hooves do not
chew the cud are so are not kosher, likewise
camels while they chew the cud only have
partially split hooves and so are also not kosher
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All Vegetables and fruit are kosher, but they
must be carefully checked for non-kosher foods
like insects. All dairy products are kosher (Must
be bloodless), but it must be checked that the
product does not contain any meat based products
(for example many cheeses contain rennet which is
made from the stomach of pigs or cows and thus
breaks two of the kosher rules (i) that meat and
dairy must be separate and (ii) that products
from the pig are treyfah). Also the kosher Jew
must to sure that the milk is only from kosher
animals (some farmers made a practice of topping
up cow's milk with pig's milk - this would make
the milk treyfah) All shellfish is treyfah.
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Boys After a boy child has been born a blessing
is said and eight days later the child will be
presented for the ceremony of circumcision. This
may take place in the synagogue or in the home,
or at the hospital. This is a very important
ceremony and the only reason for delaying it is
if the child is ill. The boy will be placed on
the lap of the sandek (A bit like a Christian
godparent). It is a great honour to be asked to
perform this service. The circumcision is
performed by the mohel , who may be a doctor but
does not have to be. The circumcision of boys is
a sign of the covenant that God agreed with
Abraham (more about Abraham).
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The ceremony of the Bar Mitzvah is a very
important occasion for the young Jewish male. The
ceremony, is normally held on the first Shabbat
after his 13th birthday.
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There are three main reasons why the Bar Mitzvah
is so important for every Jewish male

• The boy who has come of age is given the full
  religious responsibilities of the adult male. He
  is allowed to wear the ritual clothes the Tallit
  and the Tefillin, he can make up the minimum 10
  males who must be present for a service to take
  place (the minyan), and he can take part fully in
  the worship in the synagogue.
• At any time in the future he can be called upon
  to read from the Torah. All Jews consider this to
  be a great privilege.
• In many synagogues this is seen as a serious
  statement of faith by the young adult. They
  acknowledge their faith and acknowledge that the
  responsibility for their spiritual life now
  passes from their parents to them.

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. The Chuppah The whole of the wedding service
takes place under the Chuppah. This is usually a
canopy supported by four poles and normally
decorated with fringes and flowers. The chuppah
is a symbol of the home that the couple will set
up together after the marriage.
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. Signing the KETUBAH Before the bride enters
the synagogue the bridegroom will sign the
Ketubah, thus signifying the terms of the
contract for the marriage. The Ketubah is a "bill
of rights" for the woman since it sets out the
responsibilities of the husband, the wording of
the document is about 2000 years old.
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The groom now waits for his bride under the
chuppah, at a signal the bride enters in
procession. The bride will come with a collection
of close relatives and friends who take their
place on either side of the chuppah. As the bride
enters a special blessing is sung. The betrothal
blessing is recited over a goblet of wine and God
is praised for guiding humanity by giving laws
about marriage. The couple then drink from the
goblet and the groom places a ring on the right
index finger of the bride.
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The seven blessings of marriage are then recited.
These are called the SHEVA BARACHOTH After the
Sheva Baracoth a cup of wine is then drunk. The
bridegroom then symbolically breaks a glass under
his foot The priestly blessing is then said over
the couple the couple leave to sign the
registers.
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When someone dies the family does something which
non-Jewish observers would find very strange they
take hold of a garment that they are wearing and
tear it. This is an ancient Jewish customs and
helps to vent the anger that they are feeling at
the death of a loved one.
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A candle is lit and placed at the head of the
bed. One of the sons remains with the body and
quietly recites some of the psalms. From now
until the burial, the body would not be left
alone. Arrangements are made for the funeral, for
it is the tradition for the Jews to bury the
body, if at all possible within 24 hours of
death. The undertaker provides a simple coffin.
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The Holocaust
This took place during World War 2 when an
attempt was made to wipe out all the Jews in
Europe. Concentration camps such as Auschwitz
Belsen and Dachau were used. Approximately 6
million Jews died in these camps.
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The mass slaughter of a race of people is called
GENOCIDE. Think of an example of where this has
happened or may be happening today.