Origins of Judaism

Basic Beliefs, Observances and Symbols

Basic Beliefs

Monotheism• Most basic belief

– Mono = one– Theism = belief in God

• Midrash (Jewish legend)– Abraham smashed all father’s

idols and blamed the idols– Father responded, “They are

just wood and stone”– “If you really believe that

idols are only stone and wood why do you worship them?”

Chosen People• Believe God chose

Jewish people for a special responsibility– Torah and mitzvot– Passing special

messages to the rest of the world

• Does not mean Jews believe they are better than other people

Torah• Originally written in Hebrew

– Written/read from right to left• Part of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible)

– Torah• First 5 books of Christian Bible – Genesis,

Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy– Nevee’eem

• Books of prophets like Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah– Ketuvim

• Writings like Proverbs, Psalms, Ester. etc

Messiah• Hebrew word = anointed

– Christ = messiah (Greek)• Human being who will bring the

world to a time of complete peace in which every person will recognize and worship one God

• Messiah will gather all Jews to Israel, Temple rebuilt, resurrection of the dead

ObservancesPrayers• Obligated to pray 3

times a days – morning, afternoon and evening

• Shema– Important statement of

Jewish belief• Amidah

– Silent prayer to ask God for certain things

• Specialty prayers when praying with a minyan

Tzedakah (charity)• Asked to give

certain percentage to charity– Usually 10-15% of

income

Kashrut (dietary laws)• Kosher – proper to eat

• Only split-hooved animals that chew cud

• Certain types of fowl• Fish with fins and scales

• Forbidden to mix dairy and meat in same meal

• Animals killed in specific way

Shabbat (the Sabbath)• Sundown on Friday til

dark on Saturday– Shabbat meal with challah

(braided egg bread)• Time set aside to rest

– Symbolic of God’s 7th day of rest

• Refrain from creative acts which change the state of the world

Bar/Bat Mitvah• Boy = 13 years plus

one day• Girl = 12 years plus

one

• Become responsible for observing all of mitzvot of Judaism

• Literally means ‘son (or daughter) of the commandments

B’nai Mitzvah• The first picture is my sister,

Brittany, and I holding a Siddur, our prayer book. The vast majority of the service is done using this book.

• Behind us is the Ark, which is open and you can see parts of four different Torahs inside it • I am wearing a Tallit, which

is received by men during the Bar Mitzvah - in order to read from the Torah, men must wear a Tallit, and since we are allowed to read from it for the first time during our Bar Mitzvah, we receive the Tallit then too

• The next photo is me reading my portion again - note that I am using a pointer (I'm sure it has a formal name), this is because even with the privilege of reading from the Torah, we still aren't supposed to touch the text/paper

Marriage• Kiddushin = sanctification• Public ceremony to commit

themselves to each other– Ketubah = Jewish marriage

contract signed by 2 witnesses– Agree to cherish, honour and

maintain each other

• Bride wears veil –symbolic of Rebekah and traditions of modesty

Marriage

• Takes place under a chapah = wedding canopy– Represents home that bride and groom will

create together• 7 special blessings• Break the glass recalling destruction of

Temple

Torah teaches that human beings were created when God took a clod of earth, formed it into a human figure and breathed life into it

• Shiva = seven– First seven days following the funeral– Mourners prohibited from excessive grooming– Customary to cover the mirrors in the home– Allows mourners to focus on their grief

• Recite the mourners Kiddish (prayer)– Reaffirms one’s belief in God even after tragedy

Death• Tradition teaches that

body should be returned to earth as quickly and naturally as possible– Do no permit cremation or

embalming– Use coffins made entirely

of wood– Most funerals take place

within a day or two– Body dressed in plain linen

garments by Havra Kadisha = ‘the holy society’

SymbolsSynagogue• Jewish house of

worship• Also serves as

community and education center

• Main services on Friday night and Saturday morning

• Rabbi is religious leader and speaks weekly Torah

• Bimah (raised platform) at front of the sanctuary

• Aron Kodesh (holy ark) which holds the Torah scrolls

• Ner Tamid (eternal light) above the Aron representing constant presence of God

Symbols

Kippah• Sometimes called a

Yarmelka or skullcap• Signifies that human

beings are beneath, or dependent, on God

Tallit• 4-cornered garment

worn during morning prayers– Tzitzit (fringes) tied to

the corners– To remind Jews of the

commandments of the Lord

• Tallit Katan (small Tallit)– Small undershirt worn

all day

SymbolsMezuzah• Attached to right side of

doorpost as you enter a room

• Has first 2 paragraphs of the Shema on it– Prayer for peace in the

home

Star of David• 6-pointed star only

popular in last 200 years• Named for King David,

who has shield with star on it

• Magen David (shield of David) appears on flag of the state of Israel

• Tradition – lego version

Holidays and CelebrationsJewish Calendar• Lunar calendar

– Every month begins with appearance of new moon

– Month is 29-30 days long– 12 month lunar year is

shorter than solar year– Every 2-3 years, Jewish

calendar adds a ‘leap month’ to adjust calendar

Tishri(sept-oct)

Heshvan(oct-nov)

Kislev(nov-dec)

Tevet(dec-jan)

Shebat(jan-feb)

Adar(feb-mar)

Nisan(mar-apr)

Iyar(apr-may)

Sivan(may-june)

Tammuz(june-july)

Ab(july-aug)

Elul(aug-sept)

• Based on number of years since creation

• Each day begins at sundown

Holidays and CelebrationsRosh Hashanah• One of two High Holy Days• Jewish New Year

– Usually in Sept or Oct• Ram’s horn blown to

symbolically ‘wake up’ people to lead better lives

• Eat apples and honey as a wish for a sweet new year • Beginning of the 10 Days

of Repentance– End on Yom Kippur

• Reflect on actions during the past year, seek forgiveness and make a plan to improve

Holidays and Celebrations Yom Kippur

• One of two High Holy Days• Day of Atonement

– Marks end of 10 Days of Repentance

• Devoted to fasting and prayer– Fast which lasts from sundown

to nightfall the following day• Ram’s horn blown to mark

end of fast

Pesach (Passover)the Passover

• Israelites smeared lamb’s blood on doorpost

• To avoid 10th plague God sent to Pharaoh– Death of all first-born

Egyptian children• Angel of death literally

‘passed over’ their homes

the Exodus• No time for the bread they

were preparing to rise• Took ‘unleavened’ bread

during their escape• Jews today eat ‘matzah’

during Passover week– Unleavened cracker-like bread– Represents bread of poverty

Pesach (Passover)Seder• A pilgrimage festival during

Nisan in late March or April• Gather to share special

meal– Special foods to remind them

about hardship of slavery and miracle of the Exodus

– Seder plate containing 5 (or 6) items of food

• Tell story of Passover from special book called a Haggadah

• Maror– Bitter herb – bitterness of slavery

• Charoset– Mixture of apples, walnuts, cinnamon

and wine – mortar use to build Egyptian cities

• Z’roah– Roasted bone – Passover offering

• Beitzah– Roasted egg – new life in springtime

• Karpas– Green vegetable, dipped in salt water

– tears of slavery• Hazeret

– Bitter vegetable – bitterness of slavery

Hanukkah• King Antiochus, Syrian King, forbade Jews to keep Shabbat or keep traditions– Tried to force Jews to

worship Greek Gods– Destroyed the Temple– Inspectors destroyed Torah

scrolls and killed those who disobeyed

• Mattityahu (Mattathias) and 4 sons refused to obey King’s orders– Fled to hills and fought against

Syrians– Led by Judah, called Maccabee

• Hebrew for ‘hammer’, because of his strength

– Poorly equipped and outnumbered but they WON• Defeated Syrians and

recaptured Jerusalem

HanukkahFestival of Lights• Occurs in December

– Giving gifts is common• Temple cleansed of idols

and rededicated• Small container of lamp

oil found, enough for 1 day– Burned for 8 days! Symbols• Menorah

– 8-branched candle holder– candle lit each night

• Shamash– Nineth candle used to light other

candles• Driedel

– Top used in spinning game

Judaism Today

Western Wall• Only part remaining of 2nd

Temple• Became holiest of Jewish

places• People write notes and leave

them in cracks of the wall

Jerusalem• King David

– Made Jerusalem the Capitol in 996 BCE

– Brought Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant

• Solomon– Built Temple on Mount Zion to replace

mobile Tabernacle– Destroyed in 586 BCE by King

Nebuchadnezzer• Exiled Jewish popluation

• Temple rebuilt (516) and destroyed again (446)

Judaism Today

Jewish Population• Today there are over

18 million followers of Judaism scattered throughout the world

• A large number of those people live in the Jewish nation of Israel– Over six million live in

the United States

Driedel GameA driedel is a four-sided top. Each side has a Hebrew letter on it: nun, gimmel, hay and shin. These four letters stand for the Hebrew words that mean “a great miracle happened there “.

• Nun:– Do nothing

• Gimmel:– Take the center pile

• Hay:– Take half the center pile

• Shin:– Give half of your pile to the

center pile

Players that lose all their tokens are out. The last player with tokens is the winner.

• The players sit in a circle. Each player receives an number of tokens (candy, nuts, coins) and puts 5 tokens from his/her pile into the center. Everyone takes turns spinning the dreidel. The letter on top when the dreidel stops spinning tells what to do.

The End