FAST FACTS SLIDE SHOW

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INTRODUCTION & BASIC TERMS

Place of Origin:

The Levant

Founder:

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses

Date Founded:

1832 BC

Sacred Text:

Tanakh And Talmud

Sacred Places:

Temple Mount, The Western Wall, Rachel’s Tomb, Biblical Mount Sinai, Mount of Olives, Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Mount Zion.

Major Branches:

Reform, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist.

Major Sacred Rituals :

Sabbath, Brit milah, Bar mitzvah, Bat mitzvah. 

Basic Doctrine:

Belief In One True God, To fulfill the Covenant with God, Following of Commandments 613 Mitzvahs, Belief in Messiah’s coming, proof of which will be an end to war and hunger all over the world.

Symbols:

Magen (Shield of David, Star of David), Menorah, Mezuzah, Chai, Hamsa.

Clergy:

Ancient times: Hereditary privileged priest class–Kohen and Levi. Present day: Religious functionaries like Rabbis, Cantors, Scribes, Mohels.

Holy Days:

Passover, Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Sukkot, Purim.

Food:

Jews are required to eat kosher food. Pork is forbidden. Requirement for prayer and ritual butchery of meat. Quick and swift slaughter at single point on the throat; blood has to be completely drained.

Ethnic groups, Eidot, Communities:

Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardim Jews, Mizrahi or Oriental Jews, Ethiopian Jews.

Atonement:

Judaism rejects the doctrine of original sin. Atonement for sins commited is made through seeking forgiveness from God in prayer and repentance. In addition, the day of atonement (Yom Kippur) is set aside specially for this purpose.

Salvation:

Through belief in God and Mitzvot (good deeds). Each New Year, during Yom Kippur, Jews fast and pray for forgiveness from God, and if accepted, are written into the Book of Life, for the next year.

Afterlife:

Judaism’s ideas of the afterlife have varied widely among different groups and in different time periods. For the most part, Judaism does not emphasize the afterlife. Concept of Olam Ha Ba(the World to Come), Reincarnation, unifying with God, Gehenna and Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) there are different opinions and beliefs, but Judaism does not have a definite answer to the question of what occurs after we die.

HISTORY & BELIEF

ORIGIN:

Judaism is an Abrahamic religion that has its foundations around 3800 years back in the regions of the Middle East. Prophet Abraham is the eldest Patriarch of Judaism, and Moses is one of the most important figure in Judaism who gave Jews their Holy scripture Torah, the most important religious text of Judaism. In Judaism, the most important thing is following the 613 mitzvot (Commandments) of the Law of Moses. The followers of Judaism are called Jews. Jews, Hebrews, and Israelites are all name of the same people. The name Israelite came from the name of Israel, which was a symbolic proper name of Jacob that extended to his descendants. It is from Hebrew yisra’el “he that striveth with God” as was mentioned an incident in the book of Genesis. The word Jew came from the name of people who were from the ancient Kingdom of Judea also in turn the name of one of the son of Jacob (Judah).

BELIEF:

Jews believe in one God. In the 1100s a Jewish philosopher Maimonides wrote the 13 Articles of Faith which summarized Jewish beliefs. These 13 Articles are: 1-God exists, 2-God is one and unique, 3-God is incorporeal, 4-God is eternal, 5-Prayer is to God only, 6-The prophets spoke truth, 7-Moses was the greatest of the prophets, 8-The Written and Oral Torah were given to Moses, 9-There will be no other Torah, 10-God knows the thoughts and deeds of men, 11-God will reward the good and punish the wicked, 12-The Messiah will come, 13-The dead will be resurrected.

Jews believe that God will send a Messiah to save them. The word Messiah (Hebrew Mashiah) means “the anointed one.” The Messiah will be a human born as a direct descendant of King David through Judah and Solomon. He will be proceeded by Elijah, who will announce his arrival, and there will be an ingathering of Jews to Israel from all corners of the earth.

Names of God are very special in Judaism, so Jews do not write it or write like G-d. Instead, Jews use word HaShem, meaning “The Name” when they talk about God. Like “Allah” in Islam, Yahweh/Jehovah is the name of God in Judaism. It seems to be originated from the Hebrew word “hayah/hawah,” which is the verb “to be.” in the sense of “the one who is, the existing.” Another name of God is Elohim, which means the one strong enough to do everything. The three names (Yahweh, God and also Elohim) are so special that Orthodox Jews use these names only when they pray and read the Torah. When they are not praying or reading the Torah, they say “Hashem” (The Name) or “Elokim” instead of Elohim.

RELIGIOUS TEXT:

The Sacred book of Judaism is the Tanakh, which is the Hebrew Bible. It contains the Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim. The Torah covers the creation of the earth and the first humans, the Great Flood and the covenant, the enslavement of Hebrews and Exodus from Egypt, wandering through the desert till death of Moses. The Neviim covers the time period from the death of Moses until the Babylonian exile, and the Ketuvim covers the period after the return from the Babylonian exile.

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JUDAISM

Sacred Text

Tanakh And Talmud.

JUDAISM

Major Branches

Reform, Orthodox, Conservative.

JUDAISM

Major Holy Days

Shabbat, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur.

JUDAISM

Symbols

Magen (Shield of David, Star of David), Menorah, Chai, Hamsa.

TEN COMMANDMENTS

1- I am the Lord, your God.

2- You shall not have other gods.

3- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4- Remember the Sabbath day.

5- Honor your father and mother.

6- You shall not murder.

7- You shall not commit adultery.

8- You shall not steal.

9- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10- You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

THE MESSIAH

Jews believe that God will send a Messiah to save them. The word Messiah (Hebrew Mashiah) means “the anointed one.” The Messiah will be a human born as a direct descendant of King David through Judah and Solomon. He will be proceeded by Elijah, who will announce his arrival, and there will be an ingathering of Jews to Israel from all corners of the earth. Certain things will take place when the Messiah arrives, including:

1. Reestablishment of the Holy Temple
2. Worldwide peace
3. The entire world will believe in G-d
4. Jews will be asked for spiritual guidance
5. Death will cease, and there will be a resurrection of the dead
6. The enemy dead will be buried
7. The Nations will help the Jews materially
8. Every tribe of Israel will receive its inheritance
9. Eternal happiness and delight will characterize the Jewish Nation

10. The Egyptian River will run dry
11. Soil & Trees will yield new fruit monthly in Israel
12. The Messiah will be the perfect judge able to see beyond words and appearances
13. The Messiah will be able to uproot evil at a word
14. The Messiah will be the king of an independent and recognized Israel
15. The nations will realize the wrongs they did to Israel
16. Israel will be certain in the practice of Torah
17. All of Israel will be prophets
18. The Messiah will be universally recognized

CEREMONIES & RITUALS

Important Points In A Jewish life

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BRIT MILAH

Brit Milah is a covenant of circumcision “Yiddish,” A circumcision ceremony when a boy is eight days old. It includes naming the baby. It is performed by a “mohel” circumciser and followed by a celebratory meal.

PIDYON HABEN

Pidyon Haben is the redemption of the first-born son. A mitzvah in Judaism when in a special ceremony a father redeems his first son from the Temple. As in the beginning, all first-born boys were sent to serve in the Temple. The redemption is attained by giving five silver coins to a Kohen/a priestly family of Aaron.

BAR MITZVAH

Bar Mitzvah is a special ceremony where Jewish boys of age 13 become adults in the eyes of the Jewish religion, considered a man and is expected to follow Jewish law. It means Son of the Commandment. It is done by reading the Torah and special prayers. The term not only refers to the ceremony but also to the boy himself.

BAT MITZVAH

Bat Mitzvah is a special ceremony where Jewish girls of age 12 become adults in the eyes of the Jewish religion, considered a woman and is expected to follow Jewish law. It means Daughter of the Commandment. It is done by reading the Torah and special prayers. The term not only refers to the ceremony but also to the girl herself. In the case of a girl, a ceremony is not mandatory.

KETUBAH

Jews call marriage Kiddushin, and a ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract that outlines the financial, marital, and moral obligations a man has toward his wife. Traditionally, a ketubah is written in Aramaic and is witnessed and signed by two male witnesses before being given to the bride during the wedding ceremony. The couple is married under a canopy called huppah/Chuppah and couple give each other a ring as a token or symbol of their promises. A glass is broken to remind them that their joy will never be complete until the Holy Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt.

GET

A Get is a Jewish divorce declaration that a man is required to give to his wife in order to set a religious divorce. A woman must have a Get before she is permitted to remarry. It mainly consists of the text that states, “You are hereby permitted to all men,” which indicate that the woman is no longer married and the laws of adultery do not apply to her.

SHEMITAH/SABBATICAL YEAR

The Shemitah (Sabbatical) year occurs every seven years and is a year of rest for the land. No planting or harvesting may be done during a Shemitah year. The population must rely on the produce from the sixth year for three years: 6th, 7th, and 8th as in Leviticus 25:20-21.

YOVEL/JUBILEE YEAR

The year after seven cycles of seven Shemitah years (49 years) is known as the Yovel/Jubilee year the 50th year. The Yovel is treated as a Shemitah year, which means that the 48th year must support the population for four years 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st). Also, during this Yovel year, all slaves must be set free as in Leviticus 25:10 and all sales of land are returned to their owners as in Leviticus 25:23. That is why there were only leases of property for periods of up to 49 years.

JEWISH RELIGIOUS CLOTHING

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KITTEL

Special Jewish clothing includes the kittel which is a white knee length over-garment worn on High Holidays

KIPPAH

kippah is a brimless skullcap worn on many Jewish occasions and at all times by some men to remind him that he is always duty bound to follow the laws of God at all times and in all places.