Women and Religion: Judaism

Asherath

Goddess from early culture that continues to be worshiped

Dinah

Historically forgotten, got raped blamed for putting the family into war

JOFA

Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance

Second crusade

Jews in france sufferred

Third crusade

Jews were banished from England

Tzenuit

MODESTY (applies to men & women)

Oral stories were recorded in the...

Mishna and the Talmud

Miriam

Moses older sister, is the one who saved his life by putting him in a basket in the river Nile, and she helped him lead the ISraelites out of Egypt

What are the largest Jewish religious movements?

Orthodox, Conservative, Reform Judaism

What two terms do jewish people not easily fit into?

Religion & ethnicity

Rabbinical Judaism produced...

Talmud, Midrash. midevil Jewish philosophy

What is the Jewish Bible called?

Tanakh

Abraham

Technically the first Jew, accepted monotheistic religion

Holocaust led to the...

Zionist movement, the return to the homeland, trying to find a place for all the refugee Jewish people

ethno-religious group

an ethnic group of people whose members are also unified by a common religious background (neither defined by ancestral heritage or religious affiliation usually both)

What makes a jew?

anyone born of a jewish mother OR converted to Judaism in accord with Jewish Law

What is the major difference between the different religious movements?

approach to the jewish law

Women's role in Orthodox Judaism

assume a greater role now than ever

Orthodox believes

both the written & oral torah were divinely revealed to Moses, and the laws within it are binding and unchanging, strict observance of religious laws and commandments but with a broad liberal approach to modernity and living in a non-Jewish or secular environment.

hazzan

cantor, pro singer employed for the purpose of leading the congregation in prayer

Ark of the covenant

carried by the Israelites in their wanderings after the Exodus

Mitzvot

commandments , rabbinic laws + traditions

First crusade

communities of Rhine & Danube destroyed

Talmud

complete system of legislature

Mishnah

core text of Rabbinic Judaism, acceptance of the Divine origin of this covenant, those who against this give up their "Share of the World"

Lilith

demands to be treated equal, flees joining the demonds and giving birth to the demons

Rabbinical Judaism

developed in response to the destruction of the 2nd Temple. Rabbis sought to reinterpret Jewish concepts & practices in absence of Temple, for a people in exile

head covering

either a dress hat or a kippa

Covenant requires...

exclusive loyalty to Yahweh, no idolatry either

Blood Libel

false charge that they were responsible for Jesus's death

Rabbi Sally Priesand

first women ordained as a rabbi

Halakhah

governs religious life and daily life.

Sarah

ideal wife of Abraham the model of the matriarch, modest

Judges

leaders that repeatedly that fall into idolatry and apostasy

Queen of Heaven

many references in Hebrew Bible to the earlier Goddess- mostly mentioned as part of effort to stop the HEbrews from worshiping her

endogamy

marriage within a specific tribe or similar social unit and discourage interfaith marriages or intercourse, as a way to preserve the stability and longevity of the community/culture

Hebrew meaning of Torah...

means teaching, instruction, or especially Law

Conservative & reform communities

more relaxed/liberal than Orthodox

The Tanakh condemns..

the widespread worship of other gods

Under Rabbinical Judiaism women have the right

to buy, sell, and own property, and make their own contracts, rights which women in Western countries did not have until 100 years ago

idolatry

veneration of idols

mechitza

wall/curtain that separates men and women

Torah

Five books of Moses

The tora refers to the first section of the Tanakh

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

Religious ceremonies in ancient Israel

1. daily sacrifices 2. Weekly Sabbath 3. Ceremonial Cabbaths 4. Ceremonies at a new moon

JOFA's three general arguments

1. women were required to perform some sacrifices in Temple, THere for women todday are required to perform, lead and count in minyan for specific prayer 2. add 3. Women should be cualified to lead certain services

Population of Jewish people?

14 mil, 40% in Israel and 40% in USA

Talmuds opinion on women

negative

Three mitzvot reserved for women

nerot (lighting candles) challah (seperating a portion of dough) niddah (sexual seperation during a woman's menstrual period and ritual immersion afterwards)

Reconstructionist Judaism

no belief in strict law abiding, emphasizes the role of the community in deciding what observances to follow

Biblical Judaism state a woman has

no property rights, only men could initiate a divorce; adultery defining in male terms

The Haskalah movement

paralleled the Enlightment, campaigned for freedom from restrictive laws and integration into European society. Gave birth to the Reform & Conservative movements encouraged Zionism (the acceptance of jewish culture everywhere)

In the Tanakh...

people fall in favor, and fall out of favor. there are successive covenants iwth humanity and an extensive set of laws.

Prophetess/Prophet

person who speaks on behalf of God

kashrut

practice of only eating Kosher food.

Minyan

prayer with a group ten adults (traditionally male) (over 13)

Halakha

rabbinic Jewish way of life, is based on a combined reading of the Torah, and oral tradition (the Mishnah, halakhic Midrash, the Talmud & commentaries)

women were considered

seperate but equal

reform movement

setting aside the restriction on Niddah and menstruation, as well as the partitioning of women in services

Deborah

she is the judge, a prophetess in the book of Judges

European Renaissance & Enlightment

significant changes in Jewish community

Throughout the centuries, Jews have experienced

slavery, anarchic self govt, conquest,

Final Solution

systematically deporting jewish populations from the ghettos into concentration camps

Reform Judaism believes

that individuals need to use their autonomy about what to observe. have a more egalitarian prayer service. you see women serving in all areas. Does not do the entire service in all Hebrew

Consrevative Judaism believes

the Jewish law is not static, but always developed in response to changing condiions. It holds the Torah as a divine document written by prophets INSPIRED by god, but not FROM god. how to apply the laws to modern experiences (response to the enlightment)

Diaspora

the dispersion of jews, the destruction of temple, outside of israel, living in exile away from Jeursalim

Tanakh is an acronym for

the initial hebrew letters of the Masoretic's text