Judaism Powerpoint

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Judaism Powerpoint

• Rabbi Wayne Dosick

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Judaism is

• A 4000 year old tradition with ideas about what
  it means to be human and how to make the world a
  holy place
• (Rabbi Harold Kushner, To Life)
• A covenant relationship between God and the
  Hebrew people
• A celebration and sanctification of life
• A faith, a people, a way of life

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A 4000 year old tradition

• The Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel)
  origins of the Hebrew people (more than 3800
  years ago)
• Enslaved in ancient Egypt and freed by Moses
  (more than 3300 years ago)
• Hebrew monarchy in the Promised Land (The Land
  of Israel), ends 6th century BCE

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As a faith, Jews Believe

• In one God, creator of the universe, personal but
  non-corporeal
• In prophets of old especially Moses, through
  whom Torah was revealed to the Hebrew people
• In Torah (first five books of the Bible),
  containing religious, moral and social law which
  guides the life of a Jew
• the Hebrew Bible does not include the New
  Testament

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As a people, Jews are

• A nation in Diaspora (dispersed)
• 15 16 million in worldwide population
• United by a common heritage (an ethnic
  religion), divided in contemporary practice
• Orthodox
• Modern
• Chasidic (Ultra Orthodox)
• Reformed (18th century Germany)
• Conservative moderates, response to reform
• Reconstructionalism (20th century America)

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As a way of life, Judaism is based on

• 613 commandments found in Torah (Written Law)
• Talmud (Oral Law) commentary of ancient
  rabbis that elaborates on how to apply Gods Law
  in everyday life through
• Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher)
• Dress and other symbols
• Prayer and devotion to the one God
• The Temple and Temple rites
• Observance of Holy days
• Proper social relations between male and female,
  in business, judicial rulings, etc.
• Thus sanctifying life, blessing it in every way

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How does Judaism sanctify life?

• Life cycle celebrations
• Bris ritual circumcision, sign of the covenant
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah full adult status and
  responsibility within the religion
• Marriage - "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 122)
• Death funerals, mourning (sitting Shiva), and
  memorials (Yartzeits)

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How does Judaism sanctify time?

• The Jewish Holidays
• High Holidays
• Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
• Sukkot, the Festival of Booths (fall harvest
  festival)
• Simchat Torah celebrating Torah
• Chanukah, the Festival of Lights

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More Holy Days

• Purim (Lots) a carnival (commemorates events
  told in book of Esther)
• Pesach (Passover) commemorates the exodus
  from Egypt (events told in Exodus)
• Shavuot (weeks, Pentecost) commemorates
  receipt of Torah at Sinai
• Other, minor festivals
• Shabbat (Sabbath, 7th day, on Saturday) the
  Day of Rest

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How is Judaism related to Christianity?

• Judaism predates Christianity it is the
  foundation of Christianity but is not a part of
  it
• Jesus was Jewish, as were his followers and the
  Apostles
• Jews do not believe that Jesus was anything more
  than a good and wise man who lived and died 2000
  years ago Jews still await their messiah
• The Jewish messiah would not be divine. He would
  be a political figure who restores the Hebrew
  monarchy and causes peace to reign on Earth
• Jews are not concerned about salvation and the
  world to come

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What are Jews really concerned about?

• Tikkun Olam - repairing this world through
  justice and righteousness through deed, not
  creed
• The heart of Judaism is in the home and family,
  social responsibility and doing Mitzvot (good
  deeds based on Gods commandments)
• Through education and hard work we make our
  lives, the lives of others, and the world, what
  God intended it to be Holy!

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To Life!
To Life!
LeChaim!
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Web resources

• Judaism 101 http//jewfaq.org/ an online
  encyclopedia of Judaism, covering Jewish beliefs,
  people, places, things, language, scripture,
  holidays, practices and customs
• ReligiousTolerance.org on Judaism
  http//www.religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm
• This P0werpoint presentation available at
  http//www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel232/resource/
  judaism.ppt

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Jewish Symbols

• From Living Judaism
• by Rabbi Wayne Dosick

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Magen David

• Star of David
• Was on the shields of Davids warriors
• Symbol on the Flag of the state of Israel
• Used throughout the world as a clear and unique
  identifying symbol of Jews and Judaism

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Menorah

• Seven (or nine) branched candleholder
• One of the oldest Jewish symbolsone of the
  ritual objects described in the Torah
• Today the nine branched menorah is used in
  celebration of Chanukah
• The seven branched menorah is the authentic
  ancient symbol (one for each of the 6 days of
  creation and 1 for sabbath)

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Chai

• The Jewish symbol of life
• Expresses the hope and prayer for life, health
  and prosperity
• Popular Jewish toastLchayimTo Life

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Mazal Tov

• Means good luck or congratulations
• Particularly used for significant life events
  (ie. Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, birthdays, etc.)

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Amen

• Literally So be it
• Means I agree/affirm
• After a blessing it is customary for those who
  have heard the blessing to say Amen

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Shalom

• Means hello/goodbye/peace
• Comes from root word shalem which means
  whole/complete
• Peace comes when there is wholeness,
  completeness, unity.
• Pease is the eternal Jewish prayerworld peace,
  peace between people, inner peace, harmony.

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Modern Denominations of Judaism

• From Living Judaism by Rabbi Wayne Dosick

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Orthodox Judaism

• Mainstream Judaism
• Belief in the direct revelation of divine law
  which was recorded in the Torah
• It is eternal, unchanging, and the sole guide for
  life
• Carefully and strictly observe the commandments
  as the direct will of God
• Ultra-Orthodox assert that complete separation
  from secular society

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ChasidismSect of Orthodox

• Famous for their dress. From eastern Europe in
  the early 18th C. Emphasizes both contemplative
  meditation and fervent joy.
• Lubavitch Chasidism (Chabad) is contemporary
  American Chasidism

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Reform Judaism

• Early 19th C. Germany
• Assert authorship of Torah to Divinely inspired
  human beings
• Modern worship mostly in vernacular

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Conservative Judaism

• Response to Reform mid to late 19th C. Europe
• Agree that change was necessary but felt Reform
  had eliminated too many basic Jewish practices
• Motto is tradition and change
• Fiddler on the Roof

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Reconstructionist Judaism

• Early 1920s in US by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan
• Judaism is not merely a religion, but an evolving
  religious civilization, a peoplehood, a culture,
  as well as a faith community

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All of Judaism

• To accept Torah and fulfill its mitzvot
• To embrace the ethical mandate of Judaism
• To regulate existence to Judaisms rituals
  observances
• To support Jewish causes
• To be a devoted member of the Jewish community
• To maintain a bond and a sense of mutual
  interdependence with the Jewish Land
• To feel a connection to Jewish history
• To be committed to the creative survival of the
  Jewish future

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Jewish Literature

• From Living Judaism by Rabbi Wayne Dosick

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Torah

• Creation God Created the Universe and everything
  in it, The covenant was created between God and
  Humanity (specifically between God and the Jewish
  people)
• Redemption Israelites were saved from bondage in
  Egypt (in order to experience revelation)
• Revelation God gave his 613 mitzvot as a
  standard for conduct and behavior
• Mixed with ritual practices this provides the
  framework of lifestyle for all humanity.

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Torah

• Genesis (Bereshit) contains stories of creation,
  records the establishment of the covenant between
  God and the Jewish people, tells of the lives of
  the patriarchs and matriarchs
• Exodus (Shmot) account of Israelites enslaved
  in Egypt, the exodus from Egypt, the receiving of
  the 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai
• Leviticus (Vayikra) gives Gods ethical and
  ritual laws and specific instructions to priests
  on how to perform their duties
• Numbers (Bamidbar) recounts the of the
  Israelites through the desert and gives more of
  Gods ethical and ritual laws
• Deuteronony (Devarim) Moses reviews the laws and
  the people prepare to enter the promised land.

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Neviim

• 2nd section of the Hebrew Bible, prophets
• Not a soothsayer but rather a messenger of God to
  the people
• Prophets admonished the Jewish people for
  forgetting and forsaking Gods commands
• They called on the people to examine their lives
  and their conduct
• Neviim is divided in two sections early and
  latter prophets

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Neviim

• Early Prophets Joshua, Judges, Samuel (2), Kings
  (2)
• Latter Prophets
• Major Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
• Minor Prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah,
  Jonah, Micah, Nachum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
  Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

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Ketuvim

• 3rd section of Hebrew Bible, writings
• Contains wisdom literature, poetry, songs,
  narrative, history, religious philosophy, and
  love hymns12 books in total
• Books include Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Songs,
  Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel,
  Ezra, Nechemiah, Chronicles

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Tenach / Tanakh

• Hebrew name for Hebrew Bible
• Created by taking the first letter of each of the
  three sections of the Bible and making a word out
  of those three letters.
• T for Torah
• N for Neviim
• CH for Ketuvim

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Mishnah

• The first compilation of the Oral Law between 200
  BCE and 200 CE
• Collects all of the Jewish legal material from
  the post-Torah era.
• Divided into 6 orders (or chapters)
• Seeds, Festivals, Women, Damages, Holy Things,
  Purifications

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Gemara

• A compilation of the discussions,
  interpretations, explanations, and theological
  arguments about the Mishnah.
• New interpretations and new laws that arose after
  Mishnah from about 200-600 CE
• Contains both Jewish law and Jewish stories

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Talmud

• Is the combined Mishnah and Gemara
• Largest compilation of post-biblical law
• Remains the basic and central document of
  post-biblical law
• Talmud is studied
• For the practical application of its laws
• For its mind-expanding challenges in logic and
  reasoning
• For its total immersion in Jewish concerns
• For its wisdom and insights into the human
  experience
• And for the simple love of learning and growing