ch.2 Judaism

Hellenization

The adoption of Greek ways and speech as happened in the case of Jews living in the Diaspora

bimah

The elevated platform in a Jewish synagogue where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the service

Talmud

Two long collections of Jewish religious literature that are commentaries on the Mishnah, the Hebrew code of laws that emerged about 200 CE.

halakhic

from the hebrew meaning "way," Jewish law that covers all aspects of the life of an individual and of the community

monotheistic

subscribing to the doctrine or belief that htere is only one God.

Ark

A repository traditionally in or against the wall of a synogogue for the scrolls of the Torah

menorah

A candelabra with seven or nine lights that is used in Jewish worship

Mitzvot

A commandment of the Jewish law.

Havdalah

A religious ceremony that symbolically ends the Shabbat, usually recited over kosher wine or kosher grape juice

covenant

A binding and solemn agreement between God and God's people, holding each to a particular course of action.

Hasidism

From the Hebrew meaning "pious," a movement within Judaism founded in eighteenth-century Poland where pious devotion to God is as important as study of Torah.

kosher

From the Hebrew word kaser, meaning "proper." Commonly, it refers to food permitted by Jewish dietary laws. Jews observe kosher laws to remind themselves that hey are to be a holy and separate people.

Zionism

From the name Zion (the historic land of Israel), it is the movement with origins in the nineteenth century that sought to restore a Jewish homeland in Palestine in response ot anti-Semitism.

idolatry

Giving worship to something or someone other than the true God.

Rabbi

Hebrew for "My Master" or "My Teacher." A rabbi became known as someone who was authorized to teach and judge in matters of Jewish law.

shoah

Hebrew for "calamity," it refers to the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis during World War II.

mezuzah

Meaning "doorpost," a small parchment containing Jewish scripture, usually the Sh'ma, that is placed in a case on or near the right doorframe at the home of an observant Jew.

Holy of Holies

The sanctuary inside the tabernacle in the Temple of Jerusalem where the Ark of the covenant was kept.

Midrash

The type of biblical interpretation found in rabbinic literature, especially the Talmuds. Midrash assumes that hte Scriptures provide answers for every situation an devery question in life.

Dead Sea Scrolls

between 1947 and 1956 thousands of fragments of biblical and early Jewish documentswere discovered in eleven caves near the site of Khirbet Quran on the shores of the Dead Sea. These important texts have revolutionized our understanding of the way the Bible was transmitted and have illuminated the general cultural and religious background of ancient Palestine, out of which both Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity arose