Judaism

Talmud

"oral torah" rabbinical teachings comprehensive collection of commentaries on biblical law represents the final extension in Jewish history of the idea of revelation (basically Rabbi commentary on Torah passages)

Ezekiel

6th century prophet who recorded his visionary trances in which God appeared to him as a figure of infinite mystery, seated upon a throne (while also a chariot).

Dead Sea Scrolls

A number of leather, papyrus, and copper scrolls dating from 100 BC to 135 AD, containing partial texts of some of the books of the Old Testament and some non-Biblical scrolls, in Hebrew and Aramaic, and including apocryphal writings, commentaries, hymns, and psalms: found in caves near the NW coast of the Dead Sea beginning in 1947.

Messiah

Anointed one; any person who was ceremonially anointed with oil in preparation for becoming a priest or king Took on explicitly supernatural meanings, signifying a heavenly redeemer figure sent by God to rescue Israel and the world from evil

Covenant

B'rit Promise that the children of Abraham will be numerous and inhabit that land God had given Abraham as a legacy

Sephirot

Central to the Kabbalah can be visualized as connected "spheres" of divine power, or as stages in a process of divine self-revelation They come to represent at least one of two things: (1) the primary attributes of God and (2) the dynamic emanations of His creative force.

First Temple

Constructed under King Solomon's reign, was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians

Abraham

Father of Judaism (and other 2 Abrahamic religions) received God's Covenant

Book of Genesis

First book in the Hebrew Bible Creation of Earth, Adam(Man)/Eve(women), Early Israelites (Abraham, Ishmael, etc.)

Conflict Between Judaism and Christianity

Fought over the existence of Jesus as the Son of God and the true messiah Paul argued Christianity had displaced the Jews as true heirs of the biblical promises made to the Patriarchs and prophets. Christians argued Jews alienated themselves from God with their rejection of JC.

Confessional Community

Group of people with similar religious beliefs Moment Israel encountered YHWH at Sinai it became a "confessional" community, bound together by a common faith in a Creator-God and committed to His service Are able to pray apart, but more meaningful to pray as a whole community

Prayer

Have prayers for several different purposes (thanks, forgiveness, help, etc.) Before Destruction of 2nd Temple, Prayer mainly at temple; After 2nd temple, prayer mainly at synagogue Prayer can be individual, but most common setting is communal prayer

Ten Commandments

Heart of the vast network of sacred laws Two different forms in Exodus and Deuteronomy Serve as bedrock of faith and basis of Jews' social and philosophical ideals.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Hebrew = "son/daughter of the commandment" In late antiquity, it was a young Jewish male turning 13. By later Middle Ages, it became a formal rite of passage that had developed that signaled a young man's (and eventually women's) entry into religious man(woman)hood. Have to demonstrate ability to read/comment on the Torah

Mitzvot

Hebrew for commandments 613 religious laws that cannot be broken, central to which are the Ten Commandments Taken on a more informal meaning of "good deeds"

Shoah

Hebrew word for Holocaust (translates to "the catastrophe)

Israel's election

Jewish people have been "chosen" by God to receive His laws and to live in His presence

What is our ultimate purpose?

Jews have long believed that the soul is immortal and survives death. The fate of the soul in the "world to come" and God's judgement of that soul remains subject of speculation and wonder. Jews are still waiting for the Messiah to come and save the world

Moses

Leader of Israelites from exodus (led them out slavery in Egypt → Lead them to promised land in Israel). Received 10 commandments from God at Mount Sinai.

YHWH

Name of Jew's God, fully spelled to Yahweh, but in Judaism you are not supposed to write God's name so is is shortened

Sabbath

Refers to the day of prayer and rest, explicitly demanded in the 10 commandments. Creator/Liberator has separated sacred time from ordinary time, and so must we Begins at dusk on Friday and concludes at sundown on Saturday, once it begins observance shifts to the synagogue Not supposed to do work during the sabbath

Rabbi

Religious intellectuals Jewish scholar or teacher, especially one who studies or teaches Jewish Law Became leaders after the second temple's destruction and led service (and continue today) at the synagogues

Circumcision

Ritual process for entering the Jewish community begins, for male babies, on the eighth day of life with the rite of Circumcision Very basic Mitzvah, a commandment imparted to the biblical patriarch Abraham and incumbent upon all his male descendants from that time forward a physical sign that you are a part of the chosen community sets the stage for "insiders" and "outsiders" in the religion

Solomon

Son of David Constructed the First Temple

Hasidism

Strict fundamental form of Judaism. Basically beliefs and practices do not change, and the interpretation of the Torah is eternal, also Torah is literal word of God.

Synagogue

The building where a Jewish assembly or congregation meets for religious worship and instruction. Became the communal place of worship following the destruction of the second temple.

How should we live in this world?

The divine commandments that make up the core of the Torah are designed to enable human beings to achieve true righteousness, that is, to bring the human moral will into conformity with God's will, and thereby ensure that justice and peace will prevail in the world. Human beings are created "in the image of God" and, at the same time, are torn between good and bad impulses. This conflict can be resolved through study, prayer, and meditation, which draw us closer to God.

Promised Land

The land that God revealed to Abraham

Kabbalah

The many diverse traditions that make up the world of Jewish mysticism Hebrew ~ ("Received tradition) Form of Jewish Mysticism that fascinates itself with the mysterious process of world creation and a deep curiosity over the role of the Creator in this process. Usually accompanied by some form of esoteric biblical interpretation, and it often incorporates some of the boldest kinds of cosmological speculation writers have ever indulged in.

What is ultimate reality?

The one God of the Jewish faith is the source of all created things and also the highest and most complete form of reality the human mind can imagine. Traditionalists believe that God revealed Himself to the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai and the Jewish Scriptures provide a reliable account of that revelation. The view of Creation is initially positive, but later mystics traced the evil in the world back to a mysterious cosmic error that subverted the design for the created world that God had originally intended. Nevertheless, the presence of divine "sparks" in each of us inspires us to believe that goodness and not evil will prevail.

Purity

Women are called to maintain kosher homes and are equally attentive to the practice of ritual "purity," and as a consequence attend a mikveh (Hebrew ~ "pool") at the conclusion of their menstrual cycles Other Jewish Laws about man and women after her menstrual cycle.

Women in Judaism

Women menstruate, which implies that they are inherently unclean/defiled/impure because when you are defiled, you are no longer considered to be a chosen one

Afterlife

among the most elusive beliefs in Judaism The death of the body entailed the passage of the soul into an underworld, where it would remain forever

Tanakh/Hebrew Bible

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") Essentially the books of the Hebrew Bible

Ethical Monotheism

assumes the existence of a Creator-God whose benevolence and goodness are reflected in His love of humanity and who has imparted to the Jews ethical principles by which they are expected to live

Moses Mendelssohn

eloquent defense of religious freedom and defense of the Jewish faith

Conservative Judaism

embraced the evolutionary character of Judaism but were not willing to abandon either principles of faith or religious behaviors that had defined Judaism for many centuries

Reform Judaism

modernization of jewish beliefs and practices and assimilation Loosest fundamental form of Judaism. Disregards teachings/torah practices they do not agree with and change interpretation to align better with modern times. Do not believe Torah is the literal word of God.

Torah

referring to the totality of God's revelation to the people of Israel Scrolls of the Torah, contain the sacred legislation Revealed to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai

King David

srael began to emerge as a distinctive political entity under King David Created a dynasty (son Solomon took over) United a a warring tribal society under his leadership

Exodus

the departure of the people of Israel out of Egypt and their escape from slavery, led by Moses The escape from the Egyptians, where God helped the israelites out. Moses led them out of Egypt, through the desert for decades, and into the promised land of Israel (Moses never entered Israel although)

Divine Transcendence

there is only one divine, transcendence supposes there is a fundamental difference in reality between God and the world. God is basically above the world in some way, more perfect.

Israel and Judah

two kingdoms of Israel Independent Israelite communities Suffered Military Defeats from Assyrians and Babylonians, and destroyed both kingdoms People in these kingdoms were forced into exile