Beyond Space & Time

A look into the religious traditions – seeking understanding.

Beyond Space & Time

At the heart of religion lies the belief in a transcendent reality that provides an overarching context for human life and all that it contains. Seen through religious eyes, this visible world is not the full story.Gwynne, Paul (2009) World Religions in Practice p. 27

Beyond Space & Time

Traditions diverge on the specific nature of God or the Other:• Is it personal or impersonal?• Is it one or many?• Is it masculine or feminine?• Is it fundamentally similar to or different from us?

Beyond Space & Time

Judaism

Exodus 20 – The Ten Commandments

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The Ten Commandments

The first 5 concern the vertical relationship between humanity and God.

The second 5 concern the horizontal relationship between human persons themselves.

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The Second Commandment

Holds the key to the Jewish understanding of the nature of divine reality.

You shall have no other gods before me.

Beyond Space & Time

The Second Commandment

Some early debate about this … the possible existence of other gods??

For the past 2000 years Judaism has been unequivocally monotheistic – exclusive belief in and worship of the one God.

Beyond Space & Time

The Second Commandment

Further elaboration:• The 13 Principles of the Jewish Faith• The Shema

Beyond Space & TimeThe 13 Principles of the Jewish Faith1. God exists.

2. God is one.

3. God is incorporeal.

4. God is eternal.

5. God alone should be worshipped.

6. God has communicated through the prophets.

7. Moses was the greatest of the prophets.

8. The Torah is the word of God.

9. The Torah is authentic and cannot be changed.

10. God is aware of all of our actions.

11. God rewards the just and punishes the wicked.

12. The Messiah will come.

13. The dead will be resurrected.

Beyond Space & TimeThe Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Beyond Space & TimeThe Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Verbally expressed

Literally worn on the body

Fixed to doorways

Constant reminder of the divine unity

Beyond Space & Time

Tefillin

Mezuzah

Beyond Space & Time

How do Jews conceive of the deity?

What images come to mind?

Jewish theology insists that any anthropomorphisms (referring to God’s hands, eyes, mouth, etc.) are metaphorical in nature and in no way imply that God is actually physical or bodily in some sense.

Gwynne, Paul (2009) World Religions in Practice p. 30

Beyond Space & Time

The Second Commandment

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.

See Exodus 20:4-5

Beyond Space & Time

The prohibition on the use of images achieves two things:

• Avoiding the worship of other gods• Avoiding flawed attempts to depict the one true

God

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The God of Judaism is truly transcendent and any attempt to to depict the Holy Other is doomed to failure.

Thus you will never see statues, paintings or similar realistic images in Jewish synagogues or homes.

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At the end of the synagogue which the congregation faces is a receptacle inside which are kept the scrolls of the Jewish scriptures – divine words not divine images.

Holy of Holies – Temple in Jerusalem – Ark of the Covenant

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Ark of the Covenant: long rectangular chest that is reputed to have contained the very tablets that Moses received from God on Sinai.

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The last Temple was destroyed by the Roman armies in August 70 CE. There is a legend that when the Roman general Titus entered the Holy of Holies – the inner sanctum into which only the high priest would go once a year on the Day of Atonement – he expected to find either immense treasure or a statue of some sort that portrayed the god of this stubborn people. Instead he found nothing; the room was empty. The God of Israel is one and transcendent, indivisible and invisible.

Gwynne, Paul (2009) World Religions in Practice p. 32

Beyond Space & Time

Tanach

A Jewish understanding of scripturesGwynne, Paul (2009) World Religions in Practice p. 70ff

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Feast of Sukkoth – Jews celebrate Simhat Torah [Rejoicing with the Law]- all scrolls are removed accompanied

by vigorous dancing and singing that sometimes even flows into the streets.

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Feast of Sukkoth – Jews celebrate Simhat Torah [Rejoicing with the Law]- the festive atmosphere and high-

spirited behaviour mark the day on which the annual cycle of scriptural readings comes to an end.

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Torah

teaching

instruction

law

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Torah

The first five books of the Jewish BibleGenesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

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Torah

Mix of narrative and commandment

lore and law

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The Books of Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers- Classical biblical stories of the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood, Abraham and his family, the escape from Egypt under Moses, the 40 years of wandering in the desert and the eventual arrival at the borders of the promised land.

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The Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy- A collection of divine laws that are binding

on Israel. - Rules and regulations that constitute the

holy covenant between God and his people

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TorahSo great was the concern to know precisely what the creator required that the rabbinic tradition undertook the task of identifying and enumerating each specific divine command in the Torah – traditional list of 613 mitzvot (commandments) that are considered to have been given to Moses.

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TorahTraditional belief – Moses was the author

Biblical scholarship suggests otherwise – four different editorial schools over time: Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomic and Priestly

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Yahwist

Dating back to about 1000 BCE

Uses the name YHWH for God

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Elohist

Dating back to about 1000 BCE

Uses the name Elohim for God

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Deuteronomic

Dating back to about 600 BCE

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Priestly

Dating back to the period after the return from Babylonian captivity (post 537 BCE)

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Thus the Torah is not a man-made literary construct, but divine thought expressed in human language. It may have been revealed in time and space but it had always existed in the mind of the creator from before creation itself.

Gwynne, Paul (2009) World Religions in Practice p. 71

Beyond Space & Time

Reading from the Torah

The honour of stepping up to read from Judaism’s most revered text is likened to an exile’s long-awaited return to his or her homeland …

Beyond Space & Time

Reading from the Torah

The reader is on holy ground when standing before the word of God and uttering their sacred sounds for their fellow worshippers.

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The Hebrew Bible

Consists of 24 books grouped into 3 sections:

Torah – Books of the Law -5 books

Neviyim – Books of the Prophets – 8 books

Ketuvim – Books of the Writings – 11 books

Beyond Space & Time

God had spoken his irrevocable word through the prophets, the greatest of whom was Moses.

Gwynne, Paul (2009) World Religions in Practice p. 74

Within Space & Time

We commence by looking at the sense of ethical duty found within Judaism and

we ask a number of questions:How is the human experience of the moral ought expressed within Judaism?

How does Judaism understand the basic nature and purpose of the moral life?

How does morality relate to transcendent reality?

What are the main sources of moral teaching?

Within Space & Time

The Ten WordsHow is the human experience of the moral ought expressed within Judaism

How does Judaism understand the basic nature and purpose fo the moral life?

How does morality relate to transcendent reality?

What are the main sources of moral teaching?

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AmosI 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 every-flowing stream.

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The Ten WordsWhile the sacrificial cult was considered a central part of official worship and a key expression of religious faith, what God ultimately wants is according to Amos, not external formalities but ethical integrity in both thought and action. There is no point in worshipping in the Temple while exploitation, oppression, and perversion of justice prevail outside.

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The Ten WordsThe strident call to justice and ethical behaviour is a common theme in the message of most of Israel’s prophets.

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The Ten WordsIf we consider the Psalms and Proverbs we find:

A person who is truly pleasing to God is not only “wise” but also “righteous” and “upright”.

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The Ten WordsIn a Jewish worldview the world stands on three things:

Torah

Divine Service

Acts of loving kindness

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The Ten WordsAs with Hinduism and Buddhism, the obligation to live a moral life is an indispensable part of Jewish religious practice.

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The Ten WordsIt is in the Torah’s extensive legal codes that the foundation of Jewish moral teaching is to be found … the duty to be ethical in one’s thoughts and actions is an integral part of Jewish religious life and its moral principles are ultimately derived from the 613 commandments that were distilled from the Torah by the rabbinic tradition.

Within Space & Time

The Ten WordsA Jewish moral view is different from other value sets. There are three distinct differences:

1. Right and wrong, goodness and evil, are defined not only in terms of human relationships but also in terms of the will of the creator

Within Space & Time

The Ten WordsA Jewish moral view is different from other value sets. There are three distinct differences:

2. Jewish morality is ultimately about faithful obedience to the divine will

Within Space & Time

The Ten WordsA Jewish moral view is different from other value sets. There are three distinct differences:

3. The final fate of every individual is determined by the divine judge who holds each individual morally accountable for their actions during life

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The Ten WordsJudaism sees the divine commandments as reliable guideposts on the way to humankind’s true destiny of eternal communion with God beyond death.

Further to this: it is about emulating the law-giver and creator-designer – Rabbinic tradition sees morality as an imitation of God, in whose image we are created.

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So what does God demand in terms of moral behaviour?• 613 Commandments• Psalm 15• Micah’s principles: “Act justly, love mercy and walk

humbly with God”• Isaiah’s principles: “Keep justice and do righteousness”• Habakkuk’s one: “The just man lives by his faithfulness”

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The Ten Words – the first tabletVertical relationship with God:

1. Requires belief in the existence of God

2. Emphasizes the unity of God

3. Reflects Jewish concern for the divine name

4. Sets aside one holy day of rest each week

5. Concerns respect for parents (parent / child relationship reflection of relationship between God and humankind)

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The Ten Words – the second tabletThe basic moral norms that underpin most human cultures and societies:

Murder, adultery, theft, lying, covetousness

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The Ten Words – the second tabletThe Ten words are only general moral norms, from which more specific positions on a range of ethical issues are derived, such as abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, war, contraception, and sexual activity.

These positions and teachings vary significantly within Judaism!

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The Ten Words Traditional teaching suggests that if there is a conflict between duty toward God and duty toward neighbour, it is the latter that should take precedence.

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If one of religion’s main functions if to provide ultimate meaning for existence, then the life-cycle rituals of the various

faiths are prominent examples. Key moments of the human journey are given

transcendent meaning via symbolic actions and words.

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B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

Eight days after the birth of a Jewish boy, family and friends gather together at the home or in the local synagogue to celebrate one of Judaism’s most ancient and distinctive rites.

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Prayer from a Jewish Circumcision RiteBlessed are you, King of the universe, who sanctified your loved one from birth and established your law with his descendants giving them the sign of the holy covenant. By this merit our living God, you commanded to save your loved one from the abyss, because of the covenant made in the flesh. Blessed are You, the maker of the covenant. Our God and God of our fathers, let this child grow up with his parents, and let his name be called (name). Let the father be happy with his progeny and the mother with her offspring.

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B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

Circumcision is not unique to Judaism• Egyptians – Sixth dynasty (2340 – 2180

BCE)• Common among Semitic peoples by

the end of the first millennium BCE

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Purpose of circumcision• Aid to hygiene• A means to suppress or enhance sexual

desire• A sign of social status• A passage to adulthood• A symbol of castration

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B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

For Judaism:• Act of trusting obedience to the Divine

command

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B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

Jews circumcise their male children because it is God’s will. The command is one of the earliest of the 613 commandments of the Torah (Gen 17:10-12a)

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Genesis 17:10-12aThis is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old.

Within Space & Time

B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

Clearly Circumcision is a sign of the sacred pact between God and his people

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B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

Identity

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B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

Jewish identity is conferred on both male and female by birth, not by ritual. Traditionally a child is considered Jewish if he or she is born of a Jewish mother.

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B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

The permanent mark left on the male body as a result of the act of circumcision carries strong connotations of identity.

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B’rit Milah – Covenant of Circumcision

This identity is further enhanced by the bestowing of a formal Hebrew name during b’rit milah.

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B’rit Milah – variations?Ashkenazi Jews – longer ceremony …

Reform Judaism (19th Cen) – opposed but have now restored the ritual

Orthodox & Conservative – additional childhood ceremonies

Orthodox – 3 years of age – hair shaved & weighed

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Like Judaism, Islam also believes in membership by birth and marks the beginning of human life with circumcision, an official naming, a gesture of redemption, the cutting of hair and its weight value donated to the needy.

Gwynne, Paul (2009) World Religions in Practice p. 124

Within Space & Time

A key element in religion’s claim to provide an answer to the riddle of life is its insight into the meaning of death.

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Resurrection of the BodyWithin most forms of Judaism it is imperative that the bodies of deceased Jews are prepared for burial in a manner that accords with Jewish Law

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Dressing the Body

The primary purpose of the hevra kadisha (holy society) is to insure that the bodies of deceased Jews are prepared for burial in a manner that accords with Jewish law.

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Dressing the BodyWhite shroud: identical for all Jews, stressing the equality of all persons before God.

Pants: have no pockets, emphasising the total severance from the material world.

Kittel (Jacket): represents humble contrition for sin and the fervent hope of God’s mercy.

Tallit (Prayer Shawl): with one tassel cut to symbolise the loss of life.

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Dressing the Body

Apart from obedience to the divine command, a prompt burial shows respect for the dead and provides psychological closure for the family.

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Death

Some variation –

Reform Judaism has permitted cremation as an option

Orthodox Judaism allow the ashes of Jews who have been cremated to be placed in a Jewish cemetery

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Death - Resurrection

Some streams of Jewish theology see human existence beyond death involving not only an immortal soul but also a resurrected body.

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Resurrection

A pre-existing Jewish concept!

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Resurrection

Sadducee party – maintained that it could not be part of Jewish belief since it is not expicitly mentioned in the Torah

Pharisees – accepted the notion on the basis of other biblical references – especially Daniel 12:2 which speaks of the last days

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Resurrection

Book of Daniel – written during the Maccabean wars (167 – 164 BCE)

The non-canonical books of the Maccabees also explicitly mention the notion of God raising the bodies of the dead on the last day

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Resurrection

The concept of resurrection originated in Persian Zoroastrianism

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Resurrection

After the destruction of the Temple in 70CE, the Pharisaic school prevailed and became the fountainhead for the new rabbinic form of Judaism.

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Resurrection – divergence of views

Orthodox Judaism emphasized the need to reserve the body for final resurrection.

Today they disapprove of processes that compromise the integrity of the corpse such as autopsy, organ donation, and cremation.

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Resurrection – divergence of views

Reform Judaism reject a literal understanding of bodily resurrection – consequently, cremation is permitted in Reform communities

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ResurrectionThe practice of burial follows logically from the doctrine of resurrection.

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Jewish Kaddish PrayerThe recitation of the Jewish Kaddish Prayer for a certain time after the funeral reflects the Jewish belief that the efforts of the living can benefit the dead.

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Jewish Kaddish PrayerMay His great name grow exalted and sanctified in the world that He created as He willed.

May He give reign to His kingship in your lifetimes and in your days, and n the lifetimes of the entire Family of Israel, swiftly and son. Amen

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Jewish Kaddish PrayerMay His great Name be blessed forever and ever.

Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, upraised and lauded be the Name of the Holy One. Blessed is He beyond any blessing and song, praise and consolation that are uttered in he world. Amen.

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Jewish Kaddish PrayerMay there be abundant peace from Heaven and life upon all Israel. Amen.

May He, who makes peace in His heights, make peace upon all Israel. Amen.

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Life after deathOlam haba is state of spiritual perfection beyond human imagination, like the joy of the Sabbath multiplied a million times. Sometimes described as the Garden of Eden. Only the holiest persons reach this immediately after death. For most, the prerequisite is a purifying process that the soul undergoes in a place known as Gehinom.

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Life after deathIn Hasidic Judaism there is a notion that is very similar to Hindu and Buddhist ideas of the cycle of samsara – a series of reincarnations – a reincarnation of the soul in various bodies over time until the required repentance is complete.

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Life after deathIn the predominant Jewish world view, the person lives and dies just once, with purification taking place at some point after death.

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FoodAs corporeal beings in time and space, our bodies need inner nourishment and external protection. These two ordinary aspects of daily life also constitute an important part of religious practice and are thus invested with extraordinary meaning.

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KosherLike Hinduism, Judaism qualifies as a “kitchen religion” – kosher is the common term meaning “fitting and proper”.

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KosherKosher can apply to a range of religious objects and processes, but in its narrow sense it refers to food that is fit for consumption according to Jewish law.

Food that is forbidden is designated as treifah, which literally means torn.

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KosherWhich foods? It is important to note that food is not rendered kosher by blessing prayers, even though the recitation of prayer at mealtimes is a vital part of Jewish practice and an expression of profound gratitude to the creator.

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KosherThe definition of kosher can be summed up in the following seven fundamental principles:

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Kosher - 1Animal type is vitally important. According to the Torah the only land animals that may be eaten are those that have a divided hoof and chew the cud. The Torah further specifies that the only marine animals that may be consumed are those with fins and scales.

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Kosher - 2The manner of death is relevant, at least for land animals and birds. The animal is kosher only if it has been slaughtered according to the proper method – qualified ritual slaughter – swift cut across the throat with a perfectly sharp knife. The principle behind this is the minimization of the animal’s distress and pain.

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Kosher - 3The Torah expressly forbids the consumption of blood which is regarded as a creature’s life source and thus properly belongs to the creature. Carcasses are hung so that as much blood as possible can be drained.

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Kosher - 4Certain parts of the animal are prohibited, in particular the hind quarters that surround the sciatic nerve and fat around the vital organs such as the kidney and spleen. This is a constant reminder to the Jewish people that their very existence springs from the acknowledgement of God’s primacy by a recalcitrant Jacob.

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Kosher - 5The Rabbinic tradition suggests that the passage from the Torah: “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” is interpreted to mean that the meat of land animals and birds must never be consumed at the same time as dairy products.

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Kosher - 6A consequence of Kosher 5 is that separate kitchenware is used to cook both food types. This could even mean a separate set of utensils, dishes, towels, and tablecloths used for meat and dairy foodstuffs.

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Kosher - 7A ban on grape products, such as wine and grape juice, that have been produced by non-Jewish sources. The aim of this law is once again to distinguish Israel from its polytheistic neighbours.

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Kosher

The Hebrew term for holy “kadosh” is etymologically related to the idea of distinction and separation. God is the epitome of holiness because God is utterly unique and unrivalled.

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Kosher Many of the biblical kosher laws appear to reinforce the difference between Israel and other peoples. The people of God are a holy nation in an unholy world, and the food laws emphasize their unique status and calling, setting them apart from the rest.

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Kosher These laws challenge the believer to exercise the virtues of self-discipline and self-control. They help the mind to channel desire in correct directions. So it could be argued that they are part of the call to moral goodness.

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Kosher – another viewHygiene and health are the real issues:Separation of meat from dairy – reduces cross-contamination

Inspection of the lungs – check for diseases

Ban on eating carrion or animals that have died from natural causes

Prohibition of pork – common source of trichinosis when not properly cooked.

It could be argued that religious dietary law has been built on ancient dietary prudence.

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Kosher - divergence

The level of adherence to the food laws varies considerably across Judaism – Orthodox and conservative Jews are more likely to practice kosher meticulously

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Symbolic foods – Seder mealCelebrates the escape of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.Horseradish & bitter herbs – the bitterness of slavery

Salt water – tears of sorrow

Mixture nuts, apples & wine – mortar used by the Hebrew slaves

Shankbone of a lamb – God’s outstretched arm to pass over the Hebrew homes

Green vegetable – for new life

A burnt egg – representing the Temple sacrifice

Four cups of wine – stages toward liberation

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Under the Huppah

The ritual of marriage is a rite of passage that is commonly invested with religious meaning and celebrated with religious ritual.

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Under the Huppah

The very first explicit commandment in the Torah is the duty to procreate.

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Under the HuppahThe two creation narratives powerfully highlight the twofold purpose of marriage in Judaism: companionship and procreation. Marriage is a divinely ordained partnership that fulfils the deep human need for intimacy and flows over into the generation of new human life.

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Under the HuppahIn Jewish theology the notion of kiddushin – a means of sanctifying each other in an exclusive and faithful bond of love in accordance with the will of God.

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Under the HuppahThis kind of language presupposes monogamy as the ideal form of marriage, and this is reflected in contemporary Jewish Law – this was not always the case:

Abraham, Jacob, David & Solomon

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Under the Huppah

The ban on polygamy is usually traced to the Ashkenazi Jews around 1000 CE – probably influenced by the surrounding Christian culture.

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Under the Huppah

Sephardic Jews living in Islamic lands were allowed to have more than one wife in accordance with Muslim law.

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Under the Huppah - some themes

Timing important issue for Jews … Tuesdays are considered auspicious since the Genesis Creation account declares “it was good” twice on the third day.

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Under the Huppah - some themes

Purification & a new start bride attends the mikveh or ritual bath on the eve of the wedding. On the day itself the couple fast and then confess their sins as they would do on the feast of Yom Kippur.

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Under the Huppah - some themes

Huppah The wedding ceremony is celebrated under an embroidered cloth canopy supported by four poles known as the huppah. The huppah represents the new home that the couple will create out of their mutual love.

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Under the Huppah - some themes

Huppah The huppah is open on four sides as a sign of hospitality to all.

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Under the Huppah - some variation

Orthodox Judaism insist that the married couple share the same Jewish faith in accordance with the explicit biblical prohibition on marriage to certain gentile nations.

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Under the Huppah - some variation

Reform Judaism will often allow such marriages provided the children are educated in the Jewish faith.

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Under the Huppah

Marriage is a fundamental duty for all Jews – an unmarried person is considered incomplete.

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Under the Huppah

The Sacred canopy, circling movements, and a sevenfold blessing are also features of Hindu wedding ceremonies.