Judaism Unit Test
covenant
A formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general. Abraham, Moses, and David had covenants with God.
yarmulke
A hemispherical cap, usually made of cloth, worn by Jews to fulfill the customary requirement held by some orthodox halachic authorities that the head be covered at all times. It is usually worn by men at times of prayer.
reconstructionist
A modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983). The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered. The movement developed from the late 1920s to 1940s, and it established a rabbinical college in 1968. There is substantial theological diversity within the movement. Belief that Jewish laws and traditions are not considered binding.
reform
A more contemporary and liberal approach to Judaism. The Talmud is not considered authoritative. Women and men can be rabbis.
mezuzah
A piece of parchment inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah. A mezuzah is affixed to the doorframe in Jewish homes to fulfill the mitzvah.
exile (diaspora)
A scattered population with a common origin in a smaller geographic area. Diaspora can also refer to the movement of the population from its original homeland. Such as the expulsion of the Jews from Judea.
temple
A series of structures which were located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. These successive temples stood at this location and functioned as a site of ancient Israelite and later Jewish worship. King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple.
rabbi
A teacher of Torah. This title derives from a Hebrew word which means "My Master" which is the way a student would address a master of Torah.
king david
According to the books of Samuel, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel, and according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus. Depicted as an acclaimed courageous warrior, and a poet and musician credited for composing much of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms, King David is widely viewed as a righteous and effective king in battle and civil justice.
yom kippur
Also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with an approximate 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.
chanukah
Also known as the Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of the 2nd century BCE.
tanakh
An acronym of the first Hebrew letter of each of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: Torah ("Teaching", also known as the Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im ("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings")—hence TaNaKh.
babylonians
An ancient Akkadian-speaking Semitic state and cultural region based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq).
moses
Hebrew prophet and lawgiver; brother of Aaron. According to the biblical account, he was born in Egypt and led the Israelites across the desert toward the Promised Land. During the journey he was inspired by God on Mount Sinai to write down the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.
jerusalem
Jerusalem is located on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is considered holy to Judaism and is capital of the modern state of Israel.
bar and bat mitzvah
Jewish coming of age rituals. Bar is a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic word literally meaning 'son', while bat means 'daughter' in Hebrew, and mitzvah means 'commandment' or 'law'. Thus bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah literally translate to "son of commandment" and "daughter of commandment".
wailing wall
Located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a relatively small western segment of the walls surrounding the area called the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and is the place to which Jews turn during prayer. The wall has been a site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries.
tzedakah
A Hebrew word literally meaning justice or righteousness but commonly used to signify charity, though it is a different concept than charity because tzedakah is an obligation and charity is typically understood as a spontaneous act of goodwill and a marker of generosity. In Judaism, tzedakah refers to the religious obligation to do what is right and just, which Judaism emphasizes are important parts of living a spiritual life.
chai
A Hebrew word that figures prominently in modern Jewish culture; the Hebrew letters of the word are often used as a visual symbol. It was created very recently.
purim
A Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from a conspiracy to destroy them. This took place in ancient Persian Empire - the story is recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther.
synagogue
A Jewish house of prayer. Synagogues are consecrated spaces that can be used only for the purpose of prayer.
tallit
A Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers (Shacharit) and worn during all prayers on Yom Kippur.
bris
A Jewish religious male circumcision ceremony performed by a mohel on the eighth day of a male infant's life. This is followed by a celebratory meal.
sukkot
A biblical Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (varies from late September to late October). It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (shalosh regalim) on which the Israelites would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.
conservative
A blend of traditional and contemporary practices. Conservative Judaism holds to traditional dietary restrictions and moral standards, while incorporating contemporary practices in such areas as worship services. Women and men can be rabbis.
chuppah
A canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their Jewish wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will build together.
talmud
A central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The two main components are the Mishnah and the Gemara. Contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects.
midrash
the body of exegesis of Torah texts along with homiletic stories as taught by Chazal that provide an intrinsic analysis to passages in the Tanakh. It fills in gaps left in the biblical narrative regarding events and personalities that are only hinted at.
Discuss the role of Shabbat in the life of an observant, religious Jew.
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and is the day of rest and abstention from work as commanded by God. Shabbat involves two interrelated commandments: to remember (zachor) and to observe (shamor). Shabbat is celebrated, first and foremost, by observing the holy day as a day of rest from all work. Shabbat is the most important ritual observance in Judaism and is the only ritual observance instituted in the Ten Commandments. According to the Torah, Shabbat commemorates the day that God rested from creating the world.
abraham
The Hebrew patriarch from whom all Jews trace their descent. Father of Isaac, and traditional founder of the ancient Hebrew nation.
shabbat (Sabbath)
The Jewish day of rest and seventh day of the week, on which religious Jews remember the Biblical creation of the heavens and the earth in six days and the Exodus of the Hebrews, and look forward to a future Messianic Age.
Passover (pesach)
The Jewish people celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation by God from slavery in Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses.
magen
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of modern Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles.
torah
The central concept in the religious Judaic tradition. It has a range of meanings. It can most specifically mean the first five books of the twenty-four books of the Tanakh, it usually includes the rabbinic commentaries, the term Torah means instruction and offers a way of life for those who follow it, it can mean the continued narrative from Genesis to the end of the Tanakh, it can even mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture and practice.
gemara
The component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. The discussions of various rabbis were written down in a series of books that became the Gemara, which when combined with the Mishnah constituted the Talmud.
nevi'im
The second main division of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh), between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (writings). It contains two sub-groups, the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets.
tel aviv
The second most populous city in Israel. Tel Aviv was founded by the Jewish community on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa in 1909.
kosher
The set of Jewish religious dietary laws. Among the numerous laws that form part of kashrut are the prohibitions on the consumption of unclean animals shellfish and most insects, with the exception of certain species of kosher, mixtures of meat and milk, and the commandment to slaughter mammals and birds according to a process known as shechita.
ketuvim
The third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (instruction) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa". Collectively, eleven books are included in the Ketuvim.
orthodox
The traditional practice of Judaism, where the law is followed as conveyed in the Hebrew Bible and Talmud. Only men can be rabbis.
matzah
An unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the week-long Passover holiday, when eating chametz—bread and other food made with leavened grain—is forbidden according to Jewish religious law.
the chosen people
As mentioned in the Book of Exodus, the Hebrew people are God's chosen people, and from them shall come the Messiah, or redeemer of the world. The Israelites also possess the "Word of God" and/or the "Law of God" in the form of the Torah as communicated by God to Moses.
menorah
Described in the Bible as the seven-lamp (six branches) ancient Hebrew lampstand made of pure gold and used in the portable sanctuary set up by Moses in the wilderness and later in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Discuss Judaism's worldview about the nature of God and God's relationship with His people, with special emphasis on the Holocaust.
The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic. God is an absolute one, indivisible and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Jewish tradition teaches that the true aspect of God is incomprehensible and unknowable, and that it is only God's revealed aspect that brought the universe into existence, and interacts with mankind and the world. In Judaism, the one God of Israel is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who is the guide of the world, delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, and gave them the 613 Mitzvot at Mount Sinai as described in the Torah. The God of Israel has a proper name, written YHWH in the Hebrew Bible.
mishnah
The first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions known as the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic literature. Consists of six orders.
exodus
The founding myth of Israel; its message is that the Israelites were delivered from slavery by Yahweh and therefore belong to him through the Mosaic covenant.[
maccabees
The leaders of a Jewish rebel army that took control of Judea, which at the time had been a province of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion, partly by forced conversion, expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism.
