Judaism - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Judaism

RELS 110: World ReligionsSlide2

Love & Peace or Else

Lay down

Lay down

Lay your sweet lovely on the ground

Lay your love on the track

We're

gonna

break the monster's back

Yes we

areâ

Lay down your treasure

Lay it down now brother

You don't have time

For a jealous lover

As you enter this life

I pray you depart

With a wrinkled face

And a brand new heart

I don't know if I can take it

I'm not easy on my knees

Here's my heart you can break it

I need some release, release, release

We need

Love and peace

Love and peace

Lay down

Lay down your guns

All your daughters of Zion

All your Abraham sons

I don't know if I can make it

I'm not easy on my knees

Here's my heart and you can break it

I need some release, release, release

We need

Love and peace

Love and peace

Baby don't fight

We can talk this thing through

It's not a big problem

It's just me and you

You

can call or I'll phone

The TV is still on

But the sound is turned down

And the troops on the ground

Are about to dig in

And I wonder where is the love?

Where is the love?

Where is the love?

Where is the love?

Love and peaceSlide3

Possible exam questions

List as many of Moses Maimonides’ 13 principles as you can remember, and explain them in a sentence or two each.Slide4

Divine Name

Originally, the Israelites’ name for God was “Yahweh”, written as the consonants YHWH

Jews stopped pronouncing the name of God

They would substitute another word, either

The Name (“

HaShem

”)

LORD (all in capital letters to indicate it stands for the divine name, not the usual word for “lord”).Slide5

Monotheism in Judaism

first to develop monotheism

belief in 1 God

monotheism developed gradually from henotheism

Abraham thought there were many gods.

Jews worshipped 1 non-local godSlide6

Representations of God in Judaism

Jewish god is invisible

God claimed to be beyond imagination

unusual among surrounding

Judaism still prohibits images of God

“You shall not make for yourself a divine image with any form that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth below or that is in the water below the earth

.”

(Exodus 20:4)Slide7

The Chosen People

special relationship to God

God’s chose the Hebrews to be his people

“covenant”

developed into belief that this was in fact the only God,



strict monotheism.

Tension:

chosenness

and God for everyone

special mission

higher standard than other peoplesSlide8

An Ethnic Religion

Judaism has functioned both as an ethnic group and a religion

Many people today consider themselves Jews solely because of their familial relations and not because of any religious beliefs or practices they follow.

The rest of the world, in its turn, has tended to regard Jews the same way.

Compare Hinduism, Shinto, Daoism.

More so in Judaism because it has been a minority religion Slide9

The Sacred in History

Other religions had myths and legends, stories of creation and the interaction of important ancestors with the gods.

Judaism made these interactions a continuing saga of God’s relationship to his chosen people.

History doesn’t move in cycles; it is linear,

it had a beginning

It will some day have an end. Slide10

Orthopraxy

concern for the people’s ongoing relationship to God.

Not so much what individuals believed about God,

But how the community related to God.

most important facet of Judaism became not

orthodoxy

, or correct belief, but

orthopraxy, or correct practice. Slide11

Jewish Theology

Being a good Jew is mostly about following Jewish law, not about believing anything in particular about God.

theology (literally, the study of God) is not as important as in Christianity.

Still, Jews have at times articulated Jewish beliefs about God.

One of the most famous of these articulations is the “Thirteen Principles of Faith” authored by Moses Maimonides, a rabbi who lived in the twelfth century CE in Spain. Slide12

Thirteen Principles of Faith

God is Creator and Guide.

God is One in a unique Way.

God does not have a physical form.

God is eternal.

God and God alone is to be worshiped.

God is all-knowing.

God gives rewards and punishments.

God has revealed his will through the prophets.

Moses is the greatest of the prophets.

The Torah was revealed to Moses.

The Torah is eternal and unchanging.

The Messiah will come.

The dead will be resurrected.

(Moses Maimonides, 13th C.)Slide13

Blowin’ in the Wind

Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ425RKCqcoSlide14

Summary: Basic Principles of Judaism

Judaism is best known as the first monotheistic religion.

Jews developed the doctrine of monotheism gradually over their early history.

Judaism is both an ethnic group and a religion, and the two identities are brought together in the belief that Jews are “the chosen people.”

God is believed to be actively involved in historical events in Judaism, sometimes in a way that permanently changes the relationship between God and God’s people.

Judaism is a religion of orthopraxis, valuing ritual and the keeping of God’s laws over holding particular beliefs about God.Slide15

Judaism Part 1 – up to the Exile

1. What

is the significance of Canaan and where is it today?

2. What

is monotheism? How does it define Judaism?

3. What

was Abraham’s Covenant with God?

4. What

did Moses contribute to Judaism after his meeting with God on Mount Sinai?

5. What is the Torah

?

6. Who are Saul, David and Solomon, and what did they do to help establish a Jewish homeland?

7. What happened to the Israelites between the reign of Solomon and the building of the second Temple

?Slide16

Quiz funSlide17

Possible Exam Question

What, according to Proverbs, are the differences between the “wise” and the “foolish” in terms of their (a) thinking, (b) behaviour, and (c) fortunes?Slide18

The Jewish Scriptures

The Hebrew Bible is composed of many of the same books as the Christian Old Testament.

The Hebrew Bible consists of three major sections, the most important of which is the Torah, or first five books of the Bible. Slide19

The Jewish Scriptures

Torah or Pentateuch: Books of Moses

Nevi’im “prophets”

Ketuvim “writings”Slide20

The Jewish Scriptures

The Hebrew Bible was written between approximately 900 and 200 BCE.

The Talmud, which is an interpretation of the Torah, is regarded as authoritative by the Jewish religion.

The Talmud, sometimes called the “oral Torah,” brings the Torah into conversation with continuing events in the life of the Jewish people via the practice of

midrash

, or “reading scripture forward” to find its significance for present times. Slide21

Proverbs

Introduces us to the Material, convictions, worldview shared by Jews, Christians, Muslims alike.

Proverbs 12:15: “Fools think their own way is right; the wise listen to advice”

Same kind of thing we would say today. Sounds the same; meaning a bit different.

Divides people into two categories: Fool or wise.

An Observation – this is not a command.

Proverbs 12:16: “Fools show their anger at once; but the prudent ignore an insult.”

Two groups of people: (1) principled; (2) immediate moment.

Proverbs 12:19: Truthful lips endure forever; but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

12:21: No harm comes to the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.

12:22: Lying lips are an abomination; faithful are his delight.Slide22

Proverbs’ View of Reality

Concerns are universal, not nation-specific.

Israel is not mentioned at all.

Concerns are with this life, not the afterlife.

With the way of wisdom-created world.

Stresses importance of human choice

Like Islam:

Sayyed

Hossein

Nasr: Everything in the Universe is Muslim except for Man.

Wise=righteous will prosper; foolish=wicked do not.

God’s wisdom is reflected in the moral order, as in the physical order

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”

Wisdom begins by taking God into account.Slide23

Choice (in Proverbs’ worldview)

Not: a fork in the road, and no one to tell us one is right and one is wrong.

Rather: a beautiful intricate rug & a child with muddy boots.

It is

appropriate

to take the boots off.

We didn’t make the world; it was made a certain way we didn’t determine.

Will we respect the way the world is made?

Will we be insensitive, stupid, mean?Slide24

Judaism video 00-06

1. What is the significance of Canaan and where is it today?

2. What is monotheism? How does it define Judaism?Slide25

Game time!Slide26

Forever Young

May God bless and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy

May your feet always be swift

May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful

May your song always be sung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever

youngSlide27

Torah Case Study 1: Genesis 1-11

Creation: good, way good.

Paradise: everything ideal.

Flood (Noah)

Gen 8:21: I’m not going to curse them. Why? Not because they’re good, but because evil is their nature.

Believe in these stories: literally or not?

Some do, some don’t. Even early interpreters were divided.

These stories tell us important things about the human condition.

Important convictions are told by the way of story:

The Vision of Reality in Genesis 1-11 …Slide28

1. The universe is created by God and good.

Huston Smith on “the little word ‘very’ gives a lilt to the entire religion. The Jews refused to abandon the physical aspects of existence as illusory, defective, or unimportant. Fresh as the morning of creation, they were to be relished with zest.

In Jewish faith, there is a strict division of creation and creator.

Don’t worship nature (Mother Earth). She is sister earth, a creature, as we are.Slide29

2. Humans are created in the image of God

(Genesis 1:27) What does the “image” imply?

God rules all, so people are given rule over the rest of God’s earthly creation (Dominion, in 1:28).

OR: People are made with a capacity to enjoy God in ways other creatures cannot.

OR: people can serve God in ways other creatures cannot.

OR: People can reflect God’s character in ways that other creatures cannot.Slide30

3. Humans are created male and female

For companionship (2:18)

Propagation (1:28)

Marriage and family are divine institutions, part of the ‘order’ of creation.Slide31

4. Humans remain creatures

Humans remain dependent on God.

They need to recognize their limits.

One command, to remind of limitations

Tower of BabelSlide32

5. Human existence is spoiled

Human existence, and all creation, is spoiled by human pretensions of autonomy.

When they think they can make their own rules …

when they try to do what they themselves want, independently from God …

When humans choose their own interests, not those of creation …

Jews think people have an evil inclination (Genesis 6:5) and a good inclination, with a constant struggle.

People can overcome the evil inclination.

That’s why the solution is guidance regarding what to do. It is not beyond you.

Christians say humans cannot help but sin.

It is such a part of human nature.

A more pessimistic problem; a more radical solution.

Islam: forgetfulness is the problem; in principle we can do it, when reminded.

Adam repented and became a prophet.Slide33

5. Human existence is spoiled (continued)

Chaim

Pearl:

“Our stories imply that man has a tendency to sin. But that is very different from the concept that he has the destiny to sin.”

Moshe

Chaim

Luzzatto (kaballist):

“Man's

inclinations are therefore balanced between good (

Yetzer

HaTov

) and evil (

Yetzer

HaRa

), and he is not compelled toward either of them. He has the power of choice and is able to choose either side knowingly and willingly

.”Slide34

6. God’s commitment to the goodness of creation

God’s commitment to the goodness of creation is expressed both in divine judgement and in redemption.

He won’t allow it to be spoiled by humans.

God is merciful, compassionate, patient.Slide35

Possible Test Questions

What is meant by “Torah”?

What role does “Torah” play in Judaism?Slide36

Torah

Means “guidance, instruction, law”

Used for:

All revelation (all God says to humans)

The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exod., Leviticus, Numbers, Deut.)

Sum of all the commandments God is believed to have given Moses on Mt. Sinai. Includes:

“written Torah” in Exodus, Leviticus, some in Numbers and Deuteronomy

Supplemented by “Oral Torah”

Torah is to be the law for a whole community. A community cannon have various implementations. Not every detail is given (what is work?). Adapt Torah to new situations.

Includes

Halachah

and

Haggadah

.Slide37

Gotta Serve Somebody

You may be an ambassador to England or France

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance

You may be the heavyweight champion of the world

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you’re

gonna

have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re

gonna

have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re

gonna

have to serve somebody

You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stage

You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage

You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief

They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

But you’re

gonna

have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re

gonna

have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re

gonna

have to serve somebody

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk

You may be the head of some big TV network

You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame

You may be living in another country under another name

But you’re

gonna

have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re

gonna

have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re

gonna

have to serve somebody

You may be a construction worker working on a home

You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome

You might own guns and you might even own tanks

You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks

But you’re

gonna

have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re

gonna

have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re

gonna

have to serve somebody

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride

You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the sideYou may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hairYou may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heirBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebodyMight like to wear cotton, might like to wear silkMight like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milkYou might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat breadYou may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bedBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebodyYou may call me Terry, you may call me TimmyYou may call me Bobby, you may call me ZimmyYou may call me R.J., you may call me RayYou may call me anything but no matter what you sayYou’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebodySlide38

Judaism Part 2: Exile – Ghettoes

7

. What happened to the Israelites between the reign of Solomon and the building of the second Temple?

8. What are the three parts of the Hebrew Bible

?

9. How did the Jews fare under Roman rule?

10. How did Judaism change as it became synagogue-centered rather than temple-centered after 70 C.E.?

11. What is the purpose of the Talmud?

12. What impact did Islam have on the evolution of Judaism?Slide39

Judaism video 06-24

3. What was Abraham’s Covenant with God?

4. What did Moses contribute to Judaism after his meeting with God on Mount Sinai?

5. What is the Torah?

6. Who are Saul, David and Solomon, and what did they do to help establish a Jewish homeland?

7. What happened to the Israelites between the reign of Solomon and the building of the second Temple?

8. What are the three parts of the Hebrew Bible?Slide40

Quiz Game

Hebrew ScripturesSlide41

Possible Test Question

Discuss briefly the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) as a drama of the relationship of God with humanity.Slide42

1. Patriarchal Period

Abraham & Sarah

Isaac & Rebekah

Jacob &

Rachel&Leah

12 sons of Jacob (including Levi, Judah, Joseph) = the 12 tribes of IsraelSlide43

2. Egypt & the Exodus

Moses & Aaron

(typical protest against his call, but even more than usual)

Pharaoh doesn’t know God

PlaguesSlide44

3. Wilderness & Mt. Sinai

Moses & Aaron

Laws

Instructions for tabernacle carried out: sanctuary

How unbelieving Israel was – God kept coming through

Jews see this as their past, but also their present.

E.g., Abraham gets promises of people & land, but does not possess people or land.

Or: story of wilderness: don’t be like that generation in the wilderness because of their unbelief.

Warning of prosperity and danger of pride. Depend on God. Don’t adopt religions of other nations.Slide45

4. Conquest & Settlement

Joshua & Judges (Also Deborah, Gideon, Samson, Samuel)

People who deliver them when they cry out from oppression.

A repeated cycle.

Finally they demand a king.Slide46

5. United Monarchy

Kings: Saul, David, Solomon

Saul disobeys God.

The lineage is taken from him.

God makes a commitment to David (2 Samuel 7):

Your sons will be on the throne forever

Solomon builds the temple in Jerusalem.

Has women trouble; foreign gods.Slide47

6. Divided Monarchy

Northern Kingdom (Israel)

Capital came to be in Samaria

Various dynasties

Southern Kingdom (Judah)

David captured Jerusalem

Davidic dynasty: 400 years.

Assyrians captured Samaria in 722 BCE.Slide48

7. Judah Alone

Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 587 or 586 BCE.

After a series of prophets had warned them to reform their ways.Slide49

8. Babylonian Exile

Nebuchadnezzar (-538) captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple.

Deported Jewish population to BabylonSlide50

9. Postexilic Period

Persian king Cyrus conquered the Babylonians

Cyrus allowed Jews to return to their home land.

Ezra (scribe), Nehemiah (rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls)

515 BCE- Second Temple period beginsSlide51

Drama of the relationship of God with

humanitySlide52

Quiz Game

Ancient History of JudaismSlide53

Possible Test Question

Summarize the message of the following prophets to their contemporaries and the themes in their prophecies that are important in Judaism:

Amos

Isaiah.Slide54

Prophecy

Prophet: intermediary figure

convey messages from supernatural world to humans

intuitive mediation, not inductive mediation (divination).

divine commission (e.g., Amos, Jonah).

more than foretelling the future

Social justice: important but not what makes them prophets

“We can’t bear to hear the Lord directly; you go and tell us what he said.”

prophets in Israel:

Moses (prototype)

Samuel (also a judge)

Nathan (a court prophet; 2 Samuel 11-12)

Elijah – Ahab &

Naboth

(1 Kings 21)Slide55

David & Nathan

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, 12 1 and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; 6 he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! ” 2 Samuel 11:27-12:15.Slide56

Amos, c. 750 BCE

first prophet with written book

Shepherd from South (Judah) with message for the North (Israel)

Foretold destruction of Northern Kingdom

Offended people by parodying and dismissing their piety.

Alas for you who desire the “day of the Lord” (when deliverance would come)Slide57

Amos’ Message

denounces Israel’s

neighbours

for crimes against humanity.

delights Israel, then moves on to condemn Israel, too.

“You have no special immunity.”

Are you not like the Ethiopians to me,

O people of Israel? says the Lord.

Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,

and the Philistines from

Caphtor

and the

Arameans

from

Kir

? Slide58

Amos’ Message

Amos 3:1-2 – your special relationship means a special responsibility:

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

You only have I known

of all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities. Slide59

Amos’ Message

Pronounced pending doom on religious people lacking a social conscience.

Chapter 6: beds of ivory, sing idle songs, drink wine, but are not grieved.

Amos 5:21-24

I hate, I despise your festivals,

and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals

I will not look upon.

Take away from me the noise of your songs;

I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

But let justice roll down like waters,

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Slide60

Summary of Amos

Insistence that God is concerned about justice for all nations (Edomites, etc.)

Israel’s special relationship entails special responsibilities.

Religious worship was acceptable only when they practices social justice.

Only when they had compassion on the poorSlide61

“Major” Prophets

Two of the “major” prophets are assigned for this course.

The difference between “major” and “minor” prophets is the length of the books.

Isaiah: active before 722 BCE (for over 40 years)

Commissioning – told in Isaiah 6: vision of Lord in the temple; seraphim; Holy, Holy

Holy

.

Whom will I send? I will. Nobody will listen.Slide62

Isaiah 1:10-17

Sodom & Gomorrah were sinful cities (see Genesis 18&19) destroyed before Isaiah’s time.

Who are Sodom & Gomorrah for him? Sinners in general? Jerusalem.

Expect the same kind of

judgement

as S&G.

Your offerings are abominations; learn to do good & seek justice.

God is looking for justice; failing that he is not interested in religiosity of people who oppress.

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom!

Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord;

I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts;

I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand?

Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile;

incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation—

I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates;

they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.

When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you;

even though you make many prayers, I will not listen;

your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes;

cease to do evil, learn to do good;

seek justice, rescue the oppressed,

defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Slide63

Ethical Monotheism

Modern scholars have called the religion of the prophets “ethical monotheism”

contrast to Torah

against Temple cult

God not interested in religious ritual.Slide64

Isaiah 5

Song of the Vineyard

Produced sour grapes – I can’t do anything for it anymore.

Looked for righteousness; found oppression.

F

or

the vineyard of the Lord of hosts

is the house of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are his pleasant planting;

he expected justice,

but saw bloodshed;

righteousness,

but heard a cry! Slide65

Isaiah 11:1-9

Paradise restored, when Davidic king is reinstalledSlide66

International Holocaust Memorial Day

www.nfb.ca/film/behind_the_swastika_nazi_atrocities

/

Slide67

Review

Amos, c. 750 BCE, Shepherd from the South (Judah) with a message for the North (Israel)

Amos’ Message

Insistence that God is concerned about justice for all nations (

Edomites

, etc.)

Israel’s special relationship entails special responsibilities.

Religious worship was acceptable only when they practiced social justice.

Ethical Monotheism

Isaiah: before 722 BCE

Isaiah 6: Commissioning in the temple.

Isaiah 1:10-17: God is looking for justice rather than religiosity.

Isaiah 5: Song of the Vineyard. Looked for righteousness; found oppression.

Isaiah 11:1-9: Paradise restored, when Davidic king is reinstalled.Slide68

Judaism video 24-34

9. How did the Jews fare under Roman rule?

10. How did Judaism change as it became synagogue-centered rather than temple-centered after 70 C.E.?

11. What is the purpose of the Talmud?

12. What impact did Islam have on the evolution of Judaism?Slide69

Psalms: Origins and Use

What sorts of things happened in the ancient temple?

Feasts, hymns, individual sacrifice, confession, vows.

Psalms were composed / adopted by professional singers in the temple.

Appropriate psalms were performed to suit occasion of the community’s or individual’s worship

What would be the kind of ceremony at the temple, at which each Psalm would have been used?

“I was glad when they said to me, let us go up to the house of the Lord.” (triumph)

“Have mercy on me, O God; blot out my transgressions” (confession)Slide70

Psalms: Origins and Use

Each guild of singers (Asa, Korah, etc.) had its own repertoire of psalms.

In time, collections of psalms were assembled into a scroll. Thereafter, used as private as well as community devotion.

People for 2000 years have found in the Psalms what they wanted to say but couldn’t find the words. A treasured collection.Slide71

Psalms: Themes / Worldview

It is fitting and right for God’s creatures to celebrate his goodness.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;” (Ps 92:1).

Humans are all part of God’s created order

Whereas human beings are frail and mortal, God is eternal, faithful, merciful.

Human life is full of trouble, from which God alone can deliver.

God is righteous and will enforce justice in the world.

This is both a hope for the righteous and a cause for celebration for the whole world.

God’s presence is to be enjoyed at his Temple. He himself is the true reward.Slide72

Possible Test Question

How do the major groupings of Judaism today differ in practice and beliefs?Slide73

Oral Torah

Halakhah

Tells people what they should do.

Spells out precise terms of Israel’s obligations under the covenant.

Haggadah

Narratives, illustrating and encouraging proper behaviour.

Collections of “Oral Torah” include:

Mishnah

Talmud(s) – Babylonian and Palestinian

Midrashim – commentaries on biblical books, containing both

halakhah

and

haggadah

.Slide74

Mishnah

A collections of laws – hard reading – concise, formulaic.

Majoring in minors: E.g., Don’t do any work: What constitutes “work”? The main classes of work are … separating two threads.

This is how we serve God – by submitting every detail to Him.

Most famous section: Avot (or Aboth, or Pirke Avot)

Near the beginning of Avot: On three things the world stands: On Torah, Worship (Service) and Loving Deeds

It is our part to be faithful, even if we don’t understand.

The fear of God comes before wisdom.Slide75

The Jewish Diaspora

dispersion from the land of Israel,

transition from temple and sacrifice to synagogue and scripture.

Jews settled throughout Europe and the Middle East,

split into Ashkenazim and Sephardim, with different languages and customs.

mystical tradition, Kabbalah, developed in Middle Ages in Europe.

stigmatized minority religion in Europe led Jews

to develop Hasidism

look forward to coming of Messiah

redefine Judaism to make it fit European cultureSlide76

Cultural Context of Judaism

minority religion

anti-Semitism

most viciously from Christians who blamed Jews for the death of Jesus.

prevented from

owning land

Certain professions

segregated neighborhoods, “ghettoes”.

Persecution

Holocaust: Nazi Germany eradicate European Jews claiming racial inferioritySlide77

Judaism Part 3: Hope for return, Talmud, Hasidism, Forms of Judaism, Choice

11

. What is the purpose of the Talmud?

12. What impact did Islam have on the evolution of Judaism?Slide78

The Jewish Diaspora

PracticeSlide79

Judaism video 35-

13. What is the role of education in Judaism?

14. What are the diverse roles of the synagogue today?

15. What is the importance of the Jewish Sabbath?

16. What are the most sacred of the High Holy Days during the Jewish religious year?

17. What three laws take precedent over the preservation of a human life?

18. What does being kosher mean?

19. How does Jerusalem serve as a central theme in Judaism?

20. What is the Zionist movement? What was its main goal?Slide80

Judaism in America

More Jews now live in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world.

Jews immigrated to the United States in two major waves:

1. from Germany, mid 19

th

century

2. from Eastern Europe and Russia, late 19

th & early 20

th

centuriesSlide81

Modern Judaism

Premodern

Rabbinic Judaism

“Ultra-Orthodox”

embraced every aspect of life

offered haven from gentile restrictions

modern world lets Jews share its citizenship.

modern forms of Judaism draw line between secular and religious

allow Jews to participate in both worlds.

Forms of modern Judaism each

preserves an essential core of Judaism.

Reform

Conservative

Orthodox

ReconstructionistSlide82

Ultra-Orthodox

Recapture

premodern

Reject separation: secular and religious

no compromises with the secular world

Jewish way of life, totally separate not only from the gentile world but also from modernizing forms of Judaism.

segregating every aspect of life is governed by supernatural belief and traditional ritual.

Some Jerusalem neighborhoods: close off the streets to traffic every Friday in strict observance of the Sabbath

deprivatizing

Judaism

rejects pluralism

only one truth, one way of life, to which all Jews must

to keep the covenant—only one way

does not permit a Jew to parcel out his or her life into separate

Nor does it permit men and women to redefine their gender roles in new and ‘liberating’ ways. Slide83

Reform

European Enlightenment: Jews are human, too!

Secular states: how to be Jew and citizen?

Partial assimilation

centre

of Judaism is ethics

ritual practices and belief in supernatural phenomena are negotiable.

User vernacular languageAbandon kosher

Reject Talmud as revealed truth; it’s human tradition

Reject idea of messiah;

it’s a

messianic age

Reject return to Israel; it’s

religiouse

community

Accept and embrace change in Judaism

men and women sit together for services led by a female rabbi

May have mixed marriage who celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas

extended this ritual, now called the bat mitzvah (daughter of the commandments, or covenant), to female children as well.Slide84

Orthodox

Reaction to Reform Judaism

Continues

premodern

Judaism

Resists change

Revealed Torah is unchanging

Prayers in HebrewLiteral MessiahInsist on Talmud

“Next year in Jerusalem”

neither rituals or supernatural beliefs are negotiable, but it is still permissible for Jews to live some parts of life (education, employment, etc.) in the secular world.

male and female worshippers must be segregated, and the rabbi is necessarily male.

knitted

yarmulke

(skullcap worn at home and at work);Slide85

Conservative

historically ethnic people that included but was not limited to the religious dimension

Orthodox way of life; reform worldview

Liberal regarding thought; conservative regarding following Torah and Talmudic law.

rituals are not negotiable, but supernatural beliefs are.

ordaining women for more than two decades, some Conservative synagogues still choose to separate their congregations by gender

May drive to synagogue every Sabbath

extended bar mitzvah to female children as

well, , now called the bat mitzvah (daughter of the commandments, or covenant

)Slide86

Reconstructionist

less

prominent than the three main strands of modern Judaism,

America

in the 1930s by

Mordecai

Kaplan.

almost completely secular

the

religion of Jewish civilization,

not supernatural ; embodiment

of the ideals and group identity of a culture.

traditional

rituals was an important means of preserving the identity

of

Jewish civilization.

improving

the individual’s life and working for the progress of society.

Small numbers.Slide87

Judaism in America

PracticeSlide88

Judaism Part 5

19

. How does Jerusalem serve as a central theme in Judaism?

20. What is the Zionist movement? What was its main goal?Slide89

Zionism & the State of Israel

Zionist Movement inspired creation of state of Israel.

first leader of Zionist Movement: Theodor Herzl, a secular Jew.

Other possible Jewish homelands were considered by the Zionist Movement.

Israel came to be in present form through series of directives from Great Britain & UN and persistent conflicts with Arab neighbours.

Religious and political conflict persist within Israel today, not only between Jews and non-Jews, but between different sorts of Jews.

Any Jew anywhere in the world is welcome to move to Israel and become a citizen.Slide90

BBC’s Birth

of IsraelSlide91

Zionism & the State of Israel

PracticeSlide92

Jewish Practice

Jews pray and worship both at home and at synagogue.

Communal prayer requires the presence of a

minyan

(ten Jews).

The Sabbath is the most important Jewish holiday and is celebrated every week as a day of rest.

A portion of the Torah is read each week in synagogue services.

Jews respect certain dietary rules known as the laws of kashrut (kosher).

Many Jews do not pray regularly, observe the Sabbath, attend synagogue, or keep a kosher diet, but they are still regarded as Jews.Slide93

Jewish Rites of Passage

Jews bring their children into the covenant that God made with Abraham through special services for infants:

brit

milah

for boys and naming services for girls.

Sons are welcomed into the covenant as infants via circumcision.

Jews mourn the deaths of their close relatives by sitting

shivah

and reciting a special prayer for a year after the death.Slide94

Bar Mitzvah

Coming-of-age services (bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah) mark a transition into religious adulthood for Jews.

The many obligations placed upon Jews according to Jewish law are reserved for adults, but traditionally Jewish children become adults at a comparatively young age: thirteen.

The bar mitzvah service officially recognizes a boy’s religious coming-of-age.

After his bar mitzvah, a Jewish boy, if he is observant, is expected to wear tallit and tefillin and to pray three times a day.

Recently, coming-of-age services have been established for girls (bat mitzvah).Slide95

Marriage

A Jewish marriage contract is called a “ketubah.”

Jewish weddings include seven blessings and the breaking of a glass to commemorate the destruction of the Second Temple, and take place under a canopy.Slide96

Judaism Part 4: Holidays

15. What is the importance of the Jewish Sabbath?

16. What are the most sacred of the High Holy Days during the Jewish religious year?

17. What three laws take precedent over the preservation of a human life?

18. What does being kosher mean?Slide97

Jewish Holidays

lunar calendar, corrected each year to stay synchronized with solar calendar.

major Jewish holidays are both seasonal celebrations and commemorations of historical events.

most recently created Jewish holiday: Yom

Hashoah

, commemoration of Holocaust and those who died in it.Slide98

“High Holy Days”

The most important holidays

begin with Rosh

Hashanah

New Year’s; usually in September.

blowing of the shofar, ram’s horn.

must attend synagogue so names will be put down in book of life for next year.

happy day, celebrated with sweet foods like apples and honey.

Yom Kippur

“Day of Atonement”

most solemn day of the year

10 days after Rosh Hashanah.

adult Jews

fast from sundown to sundown

attend synagogue

collectively apologize to God for all the wrongs they have committed in the past year.Slide99

Minor Jewish Holidays

minor Jewish holidays commemorate events in Jewish history.

Hanukkah

December.

most famous

became important, to give Jewish children a holiday full of gifts and lights like Christmas

Purim

Late winter

honours Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai,

fended off a persecution of the Jews in Mesopotamia.

Book of Esther read aloud in the synagogue.

Whenever the villain, Haman, is mentioned, the congregation reacts with boos and hisses and the grinding sound of noisemakers called

graggers

.

Carnivals: Children dress up as heroes and villains of the tale or in other costumes. games, mask making, and dancing.Slide100

Jewish Holidays

PracticeSlide101

Women in Judaism

Women have played important roles in Jewish history as recorded in the Hebrew scriptures.

Many Jewish laws do not apply to women.

The laws of

niddah

, or sexual purity, are a special obligation for Jewish women.

Jewish marriage law protects a woman’s rights in marriage but limits her opportunities for divorce.

Jewish feminists have recently challenged and often changed Jewish tradition to make more room for female participation, leadership, and equality with men.Slide102

Midterm test question possibilities for Judaism

Multiple Choice (on textbook and lectures)

Passage Identification (on scripture readings and lectures):

Proverbs, Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Amos, Isaiah

Paragraph questions (on lectures and textbook)

Discuss briefly the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) as a drama of the relationship of God with humanity.

What is in each of the three parts of the Jewish scriptures?

What, according to Proverbs, are the differences between the “wise” and the “foolish” in terms of their (a) thinking, (b) behaviour, and (c) fortunes?

What view of human nature and potential is reflected in the first three chapters of Genesis?

What is meant by “Torah”? What role does “Torah” play in Judaism?

Summarize the message of the following prophets to their contemporaries and the themes in their prophecies that are important in Judaism: Amos, Isaiah.

How do the major groupings of contemporary Judaism differ in practice and beliefs?

List as many of Moses Maimonides’ 13 articles as you can remember, and explain them in a sentence or two each.Slide103

Covenants

Formal arrangements establishing terms of relationship between two parties, based on solemn undertakings of obligations by one or both parties

Divine covenants reflect:

Divine concern for relationships with humanity

Divine involvement in historySlide104

Covenants

Abraham Heschel:

“Judaism is a religion of history, a religion of time. The God of Israel was not found primarily in the facts of nature. He spoke through the events in history. While the deities of other peoples were associated with places or things, the God of the prophets was the God of events..."

“The term, ‘God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob’ is semantically different from a term such as ‘the God of truth, goodness, & beauty.’ Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob do not signify ideas, principles, or abstract values.  Nor do they stand for teachers or thinkers…  [They] are not principles to be comprehended but lives to be continued.” 

“To be a Jew is to renounce allegiance to false gods; to be sensitive to God’s infinite stake in every finite situation; to bear witness to God’s presence in the hours of God’s concealment; to remember that the world is unreedemed.”Slide105

Divine Covenants

Made with

Abraham & his descendents

Israel at Mt. Sinai

In a sense, a reaffirmation – they swear they will keep the ordinances

David and his descendents (2 Samuel 7:12-16)

Prophets themselves had prophesied. A covenant cannot fail, if begun by God.

On the throne forever. Even if interrupted, it must have a future. Basis for hope for Messiah in Judaism.Slide106

Sanctuaries of Israel

Where did people worship?

Patriarchal Period: Altars at sites of theophanies

Wilderness Period: Tabernacle /tent of meeting

Courtyard with bronze altar

Holy place: lampstand (menorah), table, altar of incense

Most Holy Place: Ark of the covenant and mercy seat

Solomon’s Temple (1st Temple period) on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem

Resembled tabernacle

Destroyed 587/586 by NebuchadnezzarSlide107

Sanctuaries of Israel

Second Temple (includes Herod’s Temple) 515BCE-70CE

God was said to dwell (Gen. 25) above the ark of the covenant

Did they think he actually was confined there?

Some unsophisticated people probably did.

Others said God cannot be contained there, yet he has chosen to meet his people there, in the appointed place.

It came to be seen that sacrifices were only to be made in Jerusalem. Therefore festivals also must be celebrated in Jerusalem: 3 pilgrimage feasts:

Tabernacles, Weeks, Passover.

(Only priests could enter the temple. People could only go to the surrounding court.)Slide108

Sanctuaries of Israel

Synagogues: Meeting places for people, not dwelling.

Perhaps already in exilic period, at least in post-exilic period.Slide109

Common convictions of Abrahamic

Faiths

(Covenant, Faith, Monotheism)

There is, at the root and heart of all that exists, distinct from all that exists, but creating and sustaining a goodness that is both personal and awesome: the goodness of the living God.

Human beings are moral beings who can do good or evil, right or wrong.Slide110

Quotations from Abrahamic Faiths:

Abraham

Heschel

, Jewish philosopher:

“

There is only one way to wisdom -- awe. Forfeit your sense of awe, let your conceit diminish your ability to revere and the universe becomes a market place for you.

” (Abraham)

“There is no worship, no music, no love if we take for granted the blessings or defeats of living. No routine of the social, physical, or physiological order must dull our sense of surprise at the fact that there is a social, a physical, or a physiological order.” (God in Search of Man)

Samuel Johnson, 1751

“

nothing can afford any rational tranquillity, but the conviction that, however we amuse ourselves with

unideal

sounds, nothing in reality is governed by chance, but that the universe is under the perpetual

superintendance

of Him who created it; that our being is in the hands of omnipotent Goodness, by whom what appears casual to us, is directed for ends ultimately kind and merciful; and that nothing can finally hurt him who debars not himself from the Divine favour.”

Koran 56

“

You surely know of the First Creation. Why, then, do you not reflect? Consider the seeds you grow. Is it you that give them growth, or We? If We pleased, We could turn your harvest into chaff, so that, filled with wonder, you would exclaim: ‘We are laden with debts! Surely we have been robbed!’”Slide111

Common convictions of Abrahamic Faiths

3. God has communicated with human beings (“revelation”).

Jews, Christians, Muslims all believe in divine revelation, though with differences in method, recipients, when.

The world is good, but our practical experience is that something has gone wrong, so he will try to fix it. One way is to communicate to help us fix it.

Seyyed

Hossein

Nasr:

Although the starting point of the conception of man in Christianity as Islam is different, the end result is in this sense the same, in that both believe in the necessity of revelation to save.

Jews view the Torah as a gift.Slide112

Common convictions of Abrahamic Faiths

4. God has intervened in human history in extraordinary ways to achieve his purposes (miracles)

Miraculous divine interventions:

Revelation of Torah; Exodus

Incarnation of Jesus

The angel Gabriel reveals Qur’an to

Muhammed

Of course, they knew the laws of nature, i.e., what is normal. That’s how they could know otherwise is miraculous.

He doesn’t do it all the time, or it would be normal. But he can act in ways out of the ordinary.Slide113

Common convictions of Abrahamic Faiths

5. History will have a happy ending

It is inevitable that the righteous triumph

God is good; God is unstoppable.

Hallelujah Chorus: celebration of the triumph of God

Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent

reigneth

. (Revelation 19:6)

The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)

KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:16)