RELG 108 EXAM #1

Torah provides the basis for: A. the Jews' relationship to God B. the Jews' interactions as a socio-political cultural group C. the Jews' relationship to God as well as their interactions as a socio-political cultural group

C RELATIONSHIP TO GOD & INTERACTIONS AS A GROUP

Besides containing the history of God's relation with Israel, the first five books of the Bible are interspersed with ___ divine laws (mitzvot, commandments). This divine law informs both ethical and ritual behavior, forming the basis of all subsequent Jewish law. A. 6 B. 61 C. 613

C. 613

The Torah is: A. Vertical B. Horizontal C. Both vertical and horizontal

C. BOTH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL

According to a course reading, Torah literally means: A. Teaching B. Law C. Guidebook D. Religion

C. GUIDEBOOK

Judaism's syncretic interaction with the European Enlightenment created the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment). From the Haskalah came the contemporary Jewish Reform, Conservative, and neo-Orthodox movements, as well as Zionism, a ... form of Jewish expression that some considered "secular" (that is, divorced from theistic belief or Jewish practice). A. Mystical B. Legal C. Political D. Rabbinic

C. POLITICAL

The development of what we know as Judaism today took place late in the Second Temple period, as the religious leadership of the ___ emerged. A. Priests B. Romans C. Rabbis

C. RABBIS

After the destruction of the Second Temple by the ___ in the year 70 CE and during the subsequent exile of the Jews from the land of Israel once again, the rabbis confirmed and remodeled Jewish practice into some of the systems more contemporary Jews may recognize today. A. Mesopotamians B. Babylonians C. Romans D. Greeks

C. ROMANS

The God of Judaism is: A. Singular B. Universal C. Singular & Universal D. Neither singular nor universal

C. SINGULAR & UNIVERSAL

In Judaism, peoplehood is a ___ concept A. biological B. racial C. symbolic

C. SYMBOLIC

In Judaism, God is ___ A. One B. Two C. Three

C. THREE

___ is a political movement that was initiated in the late 19th century with the aim of actualizing the Jewish sense of peoplehood in a physical nation, leading to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. ... today informs many Jews' continued support and commitment to Israel. A. Reform B. Conservativism C. Zionism D. Hasidism

C. ZIONISM

Genesis contains (choose the best answer): A. the story of creation B. the story of human origins C. patriarchal narratives D. all of the above

D. ALL OF THE ABOVE

In the year 586 BCE, the ___ conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and exiled the majority of the population. In exile, the Israelite people responded by developing a sense of unity transcending geopolitical divisions (i.e., a strong sense of peoplehood). A. Assyrians B. Egyptians C. Romans D. Babylonians

D. BABYLONIANS

Judaism is critically concerned with the evolving relationship between God, Torah, and the Jewish people, a relationship described as a: A. Creed B. Religion C. Law D. Covenant

D. CONVENANT

After the final compilation of the Torah, the book of Ezra notes that the first public reading of the text took place in 444 BCE, when ___ instituted the practice in Jerusalem. A. Abraham B. Moses C. Ezekiel D. Ezra the Scribe

D. EZRA THE SCRIBE

Torah is the central text of Judaism. It refers specifically to the first ___ books of the Bible called the Pentateuch, traditionally thought to be penned by the early Hebrew prophet Moses. A. two B. three C. four D. five

D. FIVE

Which ideas are associated with Judaism? A. Free-will B. Freedom C. Dignity D. Free-will, freedom, and dignity

D. FREE-WILL, FREEDOM, AND DIGNITY

The Torah thus accounts for its own origins, and even recounts the death of its traditional author, ___ A. Adam B. Noah C. Abraham D. Moses

D. MOSES

Judaism embraces the intricate religious and cultural development of the Jewish people through more than ___ centuries of history A. five B. ten C. twenty D. thirty

D. THIRTY

True or False: According to a course reading, Judaism places great value on history

TRUE

True or False: According to a course reading, the Hebrews originated in Mesopotamia (i.e., ancient Iraq)

TRUE

True or False: In Judaism individuals and societies exist for a reason, and history unfolds along a known plan

TRUE

True or False: In addition to the five books of the Torah, the Hebrew Bible contains two more collections, Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings).

TRUE

True or False: Judaism includes what some would call "politics"—whether in Poland, America, or Israel.

TRUE

True or False: Outside the synagogue, Torah study is an important activity of the Jewish school and home. Since it is considered the direct utterance of God and therefore sacred, study is as important as worship.

TRUE

True or False: Rejecting the anthropomorphic tendency of the time, the Hebrews did not represent God in any human form or earthly likeness, but as a universal God, engaged in a lasting relationship with humankind through the instruments of revelation, Torah, and a covenantal people, Israel.

TRUE

True or False: The Jewish tradition includes the social, cultural, and religious history of a widespread and diverse community, including people who do and do not think of themselves as "religious."

TRUE

True or False: The ancient Hebrews were most likely polytheistic, believing in numerous deities representing different forces of nature and serving various tribes and nations.

TRUE

As a whole, the great religious innovation of the ___ was to adapt the divine service of the priesthood for the use of the entire people, thereby democratizing the obligations and the experience of a life of holiness. By transforming Biblical precedents into a practical religiosity, the early ... succeeded in transferring the locus of Jewish religion from the temple in Jerusalem into the synagogue and home. A. Rabbis B. Priests C. Sadducees

A. RABBIS

Tanakh and the Old Testament are: A. two different books with slight differences B. exactly the same

A. TWO DIFFERENT BOOKS WITH SLIGHT DIFFERENCES

1500 and 500 ____, the Israelite people of the ancient Near East began to articulate a radical new understanding of divinity. A. BCE B. CE

A. BCE

the five books of the Torah was edited over a period of centuries (generally thought to be from 1000 to 500 ___), and canonized in its final form during subsequent generations. A. BCE B. CE

A. BCE

Diaspora, or dispersion, created Jewish communities such as the Ashkenazi (___) and Sephardic (___) communities. These communities are still recognizable far afield and centuries after their creation, even in the United States. A. German, Iberian B. Iberian, German

A. GERMAN; IBERIAN

In Judaism, the God of Israel ___ the God of all creation A. is B. is not

A. IS

___ literally means "the one who struggles with God" (Genesis 32:29). A. Israel B. Isaac C. Jacob D. Moses

A. ISRAEL

According to a course reading, the concept of monotheism is a great ___ contribution to the world's religious heritage. A. Jewish B. Christian C. Muslim D. Buddhist

A. JEWISH

According to a course reading, ___ today continue to pride themselves on the fact that the ethical monotheism of Judaism is the basic building block of Western religion. A. Jews B. Christians C. Muslims

A. JEWS

The idea of one God as the creator of all existence is called: A. Monotheism B. Monism C. Dualism D. Polytheism

A. MONOTHEISM

Kabbalah, the ___ tradition within Judaism, includes the modern Hasidic movement, which emerged out of the charismatic Jewish communities of 18th century Eastern Europe A. Mystical B. Legal C. Political D. Pacifist

A. MYSTICAL

In Judaism, God is: A. Purely an abstract concept B. Actively involved in history

B. ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN HISTORY

From the perspective of Jewish tradition, ___ Jews share a common ancestry descended from Abraham and his wife Sarah, and are therefore part of the same extended family. A. Some B. All

B. ALL

Jewish holy time and space ___ the Jerusalem temple. A. Requires B. Does not require

B. DOES NOT REQUIRE

Shabbat is understood allegorically as the beloved of Israel, the time when the ___ presence of God (called the shechina) descends to the world A. Masculine B. Feminine

B. FEMININE

The Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim together comprise the Hebrew Scriptures, known by its Hebrew acronym Tanakh. With some revisions and rearrangements, the Tanakh was translated into ___ to become the Septuagint, the basis of the Christian "Old Testament." A. Hebrew B. Greek C. Latin D. English

B. GREEK

First recorded as an oral tradition and written ___, the Hebrew text of the five books of the Torah was edited over a period of centuries A. In complete form B. In fragments

B. IN FRAGMENTS

Ezra the scribe initiated a professional class of specialists in the transcription, illumination, and instruction of Torah. During the Roman empire, these master teachers, now known as ___, became the leaders of the Jewish community A. Priests B. Rabbis C. Essenes D. Sadducees

B. RABBIS

Given that a major contribution of the ___ was to reconstruct Judaism and enable Jewish worship without its central temple, a new institution was developed to take the temple's place: the synagogue (bet knesset, house of assembly). A. Christians B. Rabbis C. Priests

B. RABBIS

In Jewish communal worship today, the weekly Torah reading is the heart of the synagogue service. The ___ of the Torah are kept in the holy ark, often covered with velvet. A. Books B. Scrolls

B. SCROLLS

In Judaism YHWH is: A. Pronounceable B. Unpronounceable

B. UNPRONOUNCEABLE

True or False: The holy space of the temple was also replaced by the yearly cycle of Jewish holidays and the Jewish emphasis on sacred time. The major holidays during the Temple period were the three pilgrimage festivals of Sukkot, Pesach (Passover), and Shavuot. All originated as agricultural festivals, later reinterpreted to commemorate the liberation from slavery in Egypt (Sukkot and Pesach) and the receiving of the Torah at Sinai (Shavuot).

TRUE

True or False: The rabbis designated their literature the Oral Torah, as opposed to the finalized canon of the Written Torah. While the Torah refers mainly to the five books of Moses, it also refers more widely to all of Jewish sacred literature. To ensure the durability and relevance of the Biblical tradition, rabbis drew a distinction between the written Torah dictated by God to Moses on Mount Sinai and the unwritten Torah dictated by God to Moses verbally. According to rabbinic tradition, this second tradition was passed down orally, eventually developed in writing by the rabbis of the 3rd century CE in Palestine and becoming known as the Mishnah.

TRUE

True or False: from a religious perspective Judaism may be a theistic system, but from a peoplehood perspective, it is also the group memory of the manifold communities and cultures formed by Jews through the ages.

TRUE

True or False: there are no equivalent words for "Judaism" or for "religion" in Hebrew; there are words for "faith," "law," or "custom" but not for "religion"

TRUE

True or False: torah (no capitalization) is often used to refer to all of Jewish sacred literature, learning, and law. It is the Jewish way.

TRUE