Judaism

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Judaism
At the outset, it is important to note that
there is a distinction between the Jewish people
and the religion of Judaism not all Jewish
people are religious. Many profess to be
atheists or agnostics. There are also Jews who
are religious, yet have converted to other
religions. Of the some 15 million Jewish people
in the world today

• around 4.5 million are in Israel
• some 7 million are in North America
• approx.1 million are in countries that were
  part of the former Soviet Union
• approx. 2 million are spread throughout
  European countries

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Is Jewish a Religious or Ethnic Identity?
Yes and no. Being Jewish can mean you are a part
of a religious movement. However, the great
majority of Jews become a part of the religious
movement through birth and not due to their
beliefs or actions. In this way, being Jewish is
like being a citizen of a religious movement. A
Jewish identity is automatically bestowed on the
babies of Jewish mothers. And this identity stays
with them throughout life no matter what they
believe or how they act. A person who was born
to a Jewish mother or has gone through the
conversion process is considered a Jew even if he
or she does not believe in Judaism and does not
observe Jewish practices. Thus, there are
non-religious Jews or secular Jews. A person who
was not born to a Jewish mother or has not gone
through the conversion process is not considered
a Jew even if he or she believes in Judaism and
observes Jewish practices. Thus, the conversion
process is a very meaningful because it is the
only way for a non-Jew to become Jewish.
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Abraham Father of the Hebrew people

• Lived near Ur in Mesopotamia (between Tigris and
  Euphrates Rivers)
• Obeyed a command by God to leave his relatives
  and take his wife and household westwards to the
  land God wanted him to have
• God appeared to him in a dream and told him that
  his descendants would be as numerous as the stars
  in the sky and the sands of the beach

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Abraham and Sarah

• Abraham was visited by three angels, who told him
  that by the following year his wife Sarah would
  be pregnant.
• Sarah was believed to be barren. She told Abraham
  to sleep with her servant Hagar, who bore him
  Ishmael. Perhaps, this is what God intended.
• Not so, eventually Sarah conceived and bore
  Abraham a son, who was named Isaac.
• Sarah regretted telling Abraham to be with Hagar
  and feared that Ishmael would take Isaacs
  inheritance. She pestered Abraham until he sent
  Hagar and Ishmael away.
• According to Islamic tradition, Abraham and his
  son Ishmael were the founding fathers.

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Abraham and Isaac

• While Isaac was still a boy, God commanded
  Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
• Abraham was going to follow through with it.
• God sent an angel to stop Abraham before he
  killed Isaac. This act of obedience was credited
  as obedience to Abraham.
• Abraham and God made a covenant (agreement).
  Abraham would make sure all his descendants were
  circumcise their sons, and God would bless them.
  This would be an outward sign of their
  cleanliness, holiness, and dedication to God.

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Sacrifice of Isaac (Brunelleschi)
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Moses
Moses was the greatest prophet, leader and
teacher that Judaism has ever known. In fact, one
of the primary Principles of Faith is the belief
that Moses prophecies are true, and that he was
the greatest of the prophets. He is called "Moshe
Rabbeinu," that is, Moses, Our Teacher/Rabbi.
Interestingly, the numerical value of "Moshe
Rabbeinu" is 613 the number of mitzvot that
Moses taught the Children of Israel! He is
described as the only person who ever knew God
face-to-face (Deut. 3410) and spoke directly to
God (Num. 128)
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Moses continued

• God spoke to Moses directly, in plain language,
  not through visions and dreams, as God
  communicated with other prophets. The story
  Moses is so central to the Jewish faith because
  of his leadership in the Hebrew exodus from
  Egypt, his founding of the nation of Israel, and
  his role as the person receiving the law of the
  Jewish people (the Ten Commandments the Torah).

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Key Leaders from Ancient Israel

• Abraham father of the Hebrew people set them
  on the path of monotheism different from
  neighboring tribes
• Moses giver of Gods law which includes Ten
  Commandments (called the Law of Moses)
• Joshua successor to Moses led the conquest of
  Canaan giving Hebrews a foothold in Palestine
• The Judges spoke Gods word
• David Greatest king of Israel in terms of
  pleasing God a man after Gods own heart
• Solomon Son of David, wisest man who ever
  lived, built the first permanent temple for God

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Deed Not Creed
Judaism is a religion that focuses on the
importance of the actions of the righteous,
rather than justification found in faith. The
correct actions for a Jew are spelled out in
the Torah. Whether one is an Orthodox, Reform,
or Conservative Jew, the unifying belief is that
the goal of all humanity is to live in such a way
as to perpetuate the betterment of self and of
society, therefore affirming ones standing
before Gods standard. If there is any one
religious principle that all Jews explicitly
affirm and teach, it is the unity and singularity
of God as He is revealed though the Torah
(Deuteronomy 64 Hear, O Israel The Lord our
God, the Lord is one.) This the Shma as it
is called is the cornerstone of all Jewish
belief. The Jewish life is one of duty and deed
it is what you do to improve the here and now
that matters the idea of storing up treasure
for heaven is unknown to the Jew. Jews believe
that they are born in grace, live in grace, and
that they will die in grace (sin is not a fact of
birth, it is a matter of choice).
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Whats the Purpose Then?
Tikun Olam Fixing the World the Jewish
believer is engaged in the literal process of
fixing a broken world. This is the ultimate
purpose of every Jewish believers life. Through
the observance of the law, the Jew will
contribute to the restoration of the nation of
Israel, preparing the way for the Messiah to come
and take his place in Gods kingdom on
earth Judaism is a faith that believes in the
renewal and change of the human being. Change is
hard and arduous but possible. We can remake
ourselves, because more than anything else, what
we are is a product of our own choice and our own
work. Rabbi David Wolpe
Olam Ha-Ba The World to Come Jews believe
that there is a world to come in which the
Messiah will reign, a world in which the Jewish
temple will be rebuilt and the nation of Israel
will be fully restored, instituting a world order
of justice and compassion.
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The Daily Life of a Jew
Mizvot the 613 dos and donts regarding the
daily life of a Jew none of the Mizvot deal
with beliefs, each of them deal specifically with
a particular action. Some look at the teachings
of the Mizvot and deduce that Jews are trying to
earn their way into Heaven by observing rules.
This is a gross mischaracterization of the Jewish
religion. It is important to remember that
unlike other religions, Judaism isnt focused on
the question of how to get into Heaven. Judaism
rather, is focused on our life on earth and how
to best live that life. Non-Jews frequently ask
me, do you think that you will go to Hell if you
dont do such-and-such? to which I always
respond that the question of where Im going
after death simply doesnt enter into the
equation when I think about observing the Mizvot.
We perform the Mizvot because it is our
privilege and our sacred obligation to do sowe
perform them out of a sense of love and duty to
our Creator, not out of a desire to get something
in return. Rabbi Izakson
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The Branches of Judaism
Reform Conservative
Orthodox
Orthodox Jews are the oldest, most conservative,
and most diverse group of religious Jews. Modern
Orthodox, hasidism and Ultra Orthodox share a
basic belief in the derivation of Jewish law,
even as they hold very different outlooks on
life. They attempt to follow the original form of
Judaism as they view it to be presented in the
Torah. They look upon every word in their sacred
texts as being divinely inspired.
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• Reform Jews are a liberal group, comprised of
  mostly North American Jews, although the movement
  started in the 1790's in Germany. They follow the
  ethical laws of Judaism, but leave up to the
  individual the decision whether to follow or
  ignore the dietary and other traditional laws.
  They use modern forms of worship. There are many
  female rabbis in reform congregations. Often
  this group is referred to as practicing
  contemporary Judaism.

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• Conservative Judaism began in the mid-nineteenth
  century as a reaction against the Reform
  movement. It is a main-line movement midway
  between Reform and Orthodox. Some of the more
  obscure or ancient traditions are not
  observed, however the goal is to avoid changing
  the religion to simply conform to cultural norms.

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The Messiah?

• Jews believe that the Messianic prophecies are
  not fulfilled in Christ
• 1) Build the third temple (Ezekiel 3726-28).
• Gather all Jews back to the land of Israel
  (Isaiah 435-6).
• Usher in an era of world peace, ending hatred,
  oppression, suffering and disease (Isaiah 24).

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Messiah continued

• Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel
  uniting the entire human race as one (Zechariah
  149).
• 5) Jews believe that the Messiah will be a
  prophet, and because prophecy can only exist in
  Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority
  of the world Jewry, Jesus was not a prophet
  (during the time of Ezra circa 300 B.C. this
  time the majority of Jews refused to move from
  Babylon to Israel, thus ending the line of
  prophets with Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).

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Messiah cont.

• He must be descended on his fathers side from
  King David (Genesis 4910 Isaiah 111). Of
  course, according to the Christian tradition
  Jesus was born of a virgin, and therefore the
  Jewish believer holds that Christ could not
  possibly have fulfilled this messianic
  requirement.
• 7) The Messiah will lead the Jewish people into
  full Torah observance. Deuteronomy 131-4,
  states that all mitzvahs (laws) remain binding
  forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is
  immediately identified as a false prophet(see
  Jesus words on this in John 145, 916, Acts
  322, 737).

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Jewish Life Keeping Kosher
Kosher follows dietary laws set out in the Law
of Moses (In determining whether a recipe you
want to post is kosher, bear in mind the basic
concepts of kosher food no mixing of dairy and
meat no pork or pork products no shell fish.
This also applies to food products containing
such ingredients. For example, a food coloring
made from a shell fish would be considered
unkosher and would taint the food in which it
might be used. Similarly, using, e.g., an animal
fat together with dairy ingredients renders the
product unkosher and taints even the implements
used in making it.
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Kosher

• If a recipe is not in keeping with these basic
  requirements, consider whether substitutions can
  be made to adjust it (e.g., substituting
  margarine for butter in a meat recipe). If you
  are unsure of how to make such substitutions,
  post the recipe and ask for suggestions as how to
  do so.

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Bar/Bat Mitzvah

• Bar/Bat Mitzvah (son/daughter of the
  commandment) Under Jewish Law, children are
  not obligated to observe the commandments,
  although they are encouraged to do so as much as
  possible to learn the obligations they will have
  as adults. At the age of 13 (12 for girls),
  children become obligated to observe the
  commandments.

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Bar/Bat Mitzvah

• The Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony formally marks the
  assumption of that obligation, along with the
  corresponding right to take part in leading
  religious services, to count in a minyan (the
  minimum number of people needed to perform
  certain parts of religious services), to form
  binding contracts, to testify before religious
  courts and to marry.

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Bar/Bat Mitzvah

• Although a Jewish girl or Jewish boy
  automatically becomes a Bar Mitzvah upon reaching
  the ages of 12 13 years, technically no
  ceremony is needed to confer these rights and
  obligations. The popular ceremonies are not
  required, and do not fulfill any commandment. It
  is a relatively modern innovation, not mentioned
  in the Talmud, and the elaborate ceremonies and
  receptions that are commonplace today were
  unheard of as recently as a century ago.

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Significant Jewish Holy Days

• Shabbat The Sabbath (or Shabbat, as it is
  called in Hebrew) is one of the best known and
  least understood of all Jewish observances. It is
  primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment.
  Shabbat is the most important ritual observance
  in Judaism.
• It is the only ritual observance instituted in
  the Ten Commandments. It recalls how God rested
  on the seventh day after creating the world.
• It is also the most important special day, even
  more important than Yom Kippur.

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Shabbat Sabbath

• "Shabbat" means to cease, to end, or to rest.
  Third Commandment Remember the Sabbath and keep
  it holy.
• People who do not observe Shabbat think of it as
  a day filled with stifling restrictions, or
  simply as a day of prayer
• Those who observe Shabbat consider it a precious
  gift from God, a day of great joy eagerly awaited
  throughout the week, a time when we can set aside
  all of our weekday concerns and devote ourselves
  to spiritual pursuits. The following are
  forbidden on the Sabbath

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• Sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves,
  threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding,
  sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, washing
  wool, beating wool, dyeing wool, spinning,
  weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads,
  separating two threads, tying, untying, sewing
  two stitches, tearing, trapping, slaughtering,
  flaying, salting meat, curing hide, scraping
  hide, cutting hide up, writing two letters,
  erasing two letters, building, tearing a building
  down, extinguishing a fire, kindling a fire,
  hitting with a hammer, taking an object from the
  private domain to the public, or transporting an
  object in the public domain. Also prohibited are
  travel, the use of electricity, buying and
  selling of goods or services, and other weekday
  tasks that would interfere with the spirit of
  Shabbat.

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Holy Days cont.

• Yom Kippur very important holiday of the Jewish
  year. Many Jews who do not observe any other
  Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and/or
  attend synagogue services on this day.
• "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement.It is a day
  set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the
  sins of the past year sins between man and God.
  On Yom Kippur, the judgments of God are entered
  into the books and then sealed.
• This day is, essentially, the last appeal, the
  last chance to change the judgment, to
  demonstrate repentance and make amends.

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• Rosh Hashanah In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means,
  literally, "head of the year" or "first of the
  year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the
  Jewish New Year.
• Little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of
  the holiest days of the Jewish year, and the
  American midnight drinking bash and daytime
  football game.
• Important similarity between the Jewish New Year
  and the American one Many Americans use the New
  Year as a time to plan a better life, making
  "resolutions."
• Jewish New Year is a time of introspection,
  looking back at the mistakes of the past year and
  planning the changes to make in the new year.

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• Passover Passover is the time when each Jew
  embarks on a personal journey from slavery to
  freedom.
• God performed many miracles and sent plagues upon
  Egypt until Pharaoh freed the Hebrews from
  slavery. God sent an angel to destroy all the
  first-born males in Egypt. Moses instructed his
  people to put the blood of a lamb on the door
  lintel and door jambs. The angel would know to
  pass over these homes and the first-born therein
  would be spared.
• Much like God delivered the Hebrew people from
  their enslavement in Egypt (passing over their
  firstborn, further convincing Pharaoh to free the
  Hebrews).

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Passover continued

• In order to guide Jews in their quest, their
  Sages carefully wrote an outline of 15 steps to
  freedom.
• It's called the Haggadah. The Sages say that
  Passover occurs on the 15th of Nissan (the Jewish
  month), to teach us that just as the moon waxes
  for 15 days, so too our growth must be in 15
  gradual steps. Think of these as 15 pieces of the
  Passover puzzle. Assemble them all and you've got
  freedom!

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Conquest of Israel

• The nation of Israel repeatedly fell into idol
  worship.
• The Jewish Bible (Old Testament of Christian
  Bible) tells how God allowed Israel to lose time
  and again against enemy armies as punishment for
  their infidelity.
• God allows the Assyrians to conquer Israel
  (Israel became a divided kingdom the northern
  ten tribes were still called Israel the tribes
  of Judah and Benjamin to the south and including
  the holy city of Jerusalem called Judah). The
  Assyrians killed many and uprooted their
  leadership and talented citizens sending them to
  far flung parts of the Assyrian Empire.

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Conquest and Return to Jerusalem

• The Israelites of Judah and Benjamin were taken
  in captivity to Babylon to lived under King
  Nebuchadnezzar.
• The best and brightest were trained to serve the
  Babylonian government. Among them were Daniel,
  the famous interpreter of dreams.
• The Medes and Persians supplanted the
  Babylonians. Daniel, by virtue of his God-given
  abilities, continued to serve as an administrator
  under the Persians. The Bible tells that he
  always remained true to God and prayed
  faithfully.

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The Return continued

• King Darius had sympathy for the Israelites and
  allowed them to return to Canaan even furnishing
  them with money and supplies to rebuild
  Jerusalem.
• The Jews, who chose to return (many preferred to
  remain in Babylon and were now speaking Aramaic
  not Hebrew), rebuilt the walls of the city and
  King Herod the Great built a new, spectacular
  temple for God.

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Prelude to the Great Revolt (66-70 C.E.)

• Israel had been ruled by Roman puppets since the
  beginning of the common era.
• They collected taxes from the people and gave
  them to Rome. They often collected more taxes to
  enrich themselves.
• In 63, Emperor Caligula pronounced himself a god
  and ordered that a statue of him had to be put in
  every temple in the Roman Empire.
• The Jews refused. They tried to pacify him to no
  avail Caligula raged against them. His sudden
  assassination saved the Jews from an early
  destruction.

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Great Revolt

• In 66, Roman procurator Florus steals vast
  quantities of silver from temple
• Jews kill Roman garrisons.
• Roman army of 60,000 attacks Galilee (kills or
  sells into slavery 100,000 Jews) survivors flee
  to Jerusalem to make a last stand.
• Roman army besieges Jerusalem. Jewish radicals
  called ZEALOTS, start killing any moderate
  leaders and rabbis major civil war in
  Jerusalem.
• Burn Jerusalems supply of food to force everyone
  to fight harder against the Romans.
• Summer of 70, Roman army breaches the walls of
  Jerusalem beginning a major outbreak of violence
  and death and destroy Second Temple.
• Estimated 1 million Jews died during Great Revolt

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Arch of Titus in Rome
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The Wailing Wall
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The Wailing Wall

• Western Wall of the Temple built by Herod the
  Great.
• Babylonians destroyed the original temple, the
  Temple of Solomon, when they conquered Jerusalem
  in 597 B.C.E.
• The Romans destroyed the Second Temple when they
  conquered Jerusalem. The West Wall is all that
  remains.
• Jews pray and shed tears at this wall over the
  destruction of the temple.
• From 70 C.E. until the 20th century (1900
  years!), when the Zionists established the nation
  of Israel, Jews had to pay for the right to pray
  at the Wailing Wall.

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The Jewish Diaspora (70 1948 C.E.)

• Period in which Jews spread our from Palestine.
• They traveled all over the Mediterranean world.

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Diaspora Centuries of Discrimination

• Christianity became the main religion of Eastern
  and Western Europe.
• Islam eventually became the main religion of the
  Middle East, North Africa, and temporarily Spain.
  Muslims were usually more decent to Jews than
  Christians. Jews living in Muslim lands just had
  to pay an extra tax.
• In most European locations, Jews were persecuted.

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Diaspora and Discrimination

• Jews were blamed for the Black Plague.
• Jews were blamed for Jesus crucifixion.
• Jews were hated for their financial success.
• The dietary rules and rituals of Judaism were
  scoffed at and thought to be akin to witchcraft.
• In Spain, after the Muslims were driven out, Jews
  had to convert to Christianity or were driven
  out. Inquisitors interrogated and tortured Jews,
  whom they did not believe to be true Christians.
• In Europe during the Renaissance, Jews were
  forced to live in ghettoes, poor neighborhoods,
  to keep them separate.
• Some Russians attacked Jewish people and their
  residences and burned their neighborhoods. These
  attacks are called POGROMS.

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Judaism The Tie that Binds

• Judaism saved the Jewish people during the
  Diaspora. It is was kept their religion and
  ethnic identification going.
• Following the Law of Moses, observing the holy
  days, and keeping the covenant made between God
  and Abraham kept the Jews as a people from
  extinction by hostile, prejudiced ethnic groups.

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Holocaust (1933-1945)

• Hitler began discriminating against Jews (banning
  Jews from certain jobs, forcing them to wear the
  Star of David on their clothing for
  identification) as soon as he came to power in
  Germany. He blatantly expressed his hatred and
  violent ideas toward Jews in Mein Kampf and his
  speeches.
• Some wealthy Jews in Western Europe saw the
  writing on the wall and escaped shortly after the
  rise of Hitler.
• The window of opportunity to leave soon began to
  close. European nations and America began to set
  quotas for the number of Jews it would allow to
  enter leaving multitudes of Jews trapped in
  Hitler dominated lands.

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After Holocaust

• Jews allowed by British to move back to Palestine
  in vast numbers (some Jews had been moving back
  since 1800s and living on kibbutzim small
  communal farms but set up quotas because large
  numbers of Muslims already lived there)
• 1948 Israel becomes a nation

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The Ten Commandments

• For Jews, they are rules to follow in their
  relationships with God and people.
• According to tradition, God carved five
  commandments onto two tablets.
• The first tablet deals a persons with
  relationship with the Divine (God).
• The second tablet deals with a persons
  relationship with other people.
• The Fifth Commandment honor father and mother,
  appears to deal with human relationships.
  However, rabbis teach that parents can be looked
  at as creators, and reflect a Jews relationship
  with God.

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The Ten Commandments

• 1. Belief in G-d
• This category is derived from the declaration in
  Ex. 202 beginning, "I am the L-rd, your G-d..."
• 2. Prohibition of Improper Worship
• This category is derived from Ex. 203-6,
  beginning, "You shall not have other gods..." It
  encompasses within it the prohibition against the
  worship of other gods as well as the prohibition
  of improper forms of worship of the one true G-d,
  such as worshiping G-d through an idol.
• 3. Prohibition of Oaths
• This category is derived from Ex. 207,
  beginning, "You shall not take the name of the
  L-rd your G-d in vain..." This includes
  prohibitions against perjury, breaking or
  delaying the performance of vows or promises, and
  speaking G-d's name or swearing unnecessarily.
• 4. Observance of Sacred Times
• This category is derived from Ex. 208-11,
  beginning, "Remember the Sabbath day..." It
  encompasses all mitzvot related to Shabbat,
  holidays, or other sacred time.
• 5. Respect for Parents and Teachers
• This category is derived from Ex. 2012,
  beginning, "Honor your father and mother..."