Download Jewish Beliefs And Practices

Jewish Beliefs
and
Practices
Basic Jewish Beliefs
 Maimonides’ 13 Principles of Faith are
widely accepted by Jews as
summarizing the basic beliefs of
Judaism
 They are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
God exists
God is one and unique
God is incorporeal
God is eternal
Prayer is to be directed to God alone
The words of the Prophets are true
7. Moses was the greatest of the Prophets
8. The written Torah (the first five books of the
Tanakh) and the Oral Torah (teachings
contained in the Talmud) were given to Moses
by God
9. There will be no other Torah
10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of men
11. God will reward the good and punish the wicked
12. The Messiah will come
13. The dead will be resurrected
These are accepted by most Jews as
the minimum one must believe
Prayer
Several times a day – when waking,
before and after meals, before bed and
any other time you wish during the day
Major Prayers:
 Shema
 Amidah – 19 blessings, thanks and
petitions (said at synagogue)
 Aleinu – affirms that there is one God
 Kaddish – prayer of praise. Always said
in Aramaic. The Mourners Kaddish is
associated with praying for the dead.
The Synagogue
Jewish place of prayer and worship
Dates back to time of Babylonian Exile
Services daily
Requires a minyan = ten adults
Usually led by rabbi; can be led by any
adult
Main services held on the Sabbath
(Shabbat) – either Friday evening or
Saturday morning
Interior
All Synagogues contain . . .
Aron Kodesh – also called the Ark.
Holds Torah scrolls.
Ner Tamid – “eternal light”. Near the
Ark; symbolizes the presence of God.
Bimah – the lectern from which the
Torah is read
Rabbi holding a
Torah scroll – the
scrolls are written
in Hebrew by hand
on parchment
Orthodox synagogues separate men
and women at worship. They have a
divider called a mechitzah between the
two sections of the synagogue.
Rabbi
• He (or she in Reform and some
Conservative communities) leads
services, educates, and officiates at
events like bar mitzvahs, weddings and
funerals
• It usually takes five years of
postgraduate study to become a rabbi.
Synagogue Service
There are communal prayers in the
synagogue daily
Main service is on Shabbat (the
Sabbath)
Service is led by the Rabbi and perhaps
a cantor
Service is often a mixture of Hebrew
and English
Lasts between 30 and 90 minutes
The Service:
Chanting of the Shema and Amidah
Scripture readings




Writings
Psalms
Prophets
Torah
Sermon
Blessings
Kashrut
(Kosher Food Laws)
 Kosher Food laws concern:
1. What foods can be eaten
2. How foods must be prepared
 The laws are found in the Torah
Trayf – food that is not kosher and
cannot be consumed
Pareve – food that can be eaten at any
time, with any other food
General information . . .
Kosher animals chew their cud and
have cloven hoofs (cattle, sheep, goats,
deer)
Animals must be humanely slaughtered
under the supervision of a trained
shochef
Seafood must have scales and fins
Domesticated fowl can be eaten; birds
of prey cannot
Reptiles, amphibians and insects are
trayf
Blood cannot be consumed
Meat and milk cannot be consumed at
the same meal
Rules for Passover are stricter
Different branches of Judaism have
different attitudes towards these laws:
 Orthodox – follow strictly
 Conservative – some follow strictly; many follow a
modified version
 Reform – following is up to the individual; many
follow partially
Clothing worn during worship:
tallit
kippah
teffilin
Life Cycle Rituals
Brit Milah
 “The Covenant of
Circumcision”
 8 days after birth
 Performed at home
or at the synagogue
 Mohel – performs
the ceremony
 The child is officially
given his name
Brit Ha-bat
The naming
ceremony for a
daughter
A modern
celebration done
mostly in Reform
synagogues
Bar Mitzvah
Bat Mitzvah
Son or Daughter of Commandment –
the child officially becomes an adult in
the Jewish community
Takes place at the synagogue
The child reads (in Hebrew!) and
comments on the Torah portion for the
day
The Bat Mitzvah ceremony is modern
and is not done in Orthodox
communities
Bar Mitzvah
A Bar Mitzvah at the Wailing Wall,
Jerusalem
Bat Mitzvah
In Reform Judaism teens are often
confirmed as well as bar or bat
mitzvahed. Confirmation takes place
when they are older and is a personal
commitment to Judaism.
Weddings
 Takes place under a
chuppah = canopy
 Ancient custom
 May be raised
indoors or out
 Symbolizes both the
new home
established by the
couple and the tents
Jews lived in during
the Exodus
The wedding
ceremony includes:
 Blessing and
sharing wine
 Exchange of rings
 Signing the Ketubah
Marriage contract
Protects the
rights of the wife
Often in Aramaic
 The Seven
Blessings
 Breaking a glass
Mazel Tov!
Judaism does not encourage marriage
outside the faith
Most Jewish rabbis will not officiate at
inter-faith weddings
Funerals
Jewish beliefs about life after death:
Orthodox Jews
 Heaven and hell
 A bodily resurrection when the Messiah
comes
Conservative Jews
 Resurrection – either bodily or spiritual –
when the Messiah comes
Reform Jews:
 No bodily resurrection; the soul returns to
God
Not all Jews believe in life after death.
Some believe that we live on through
our good works and our descendants
Preparation of the body:
 Washed and dressed by members of a funeral
society
 Placed in a plain wood casket surrounded by a
linen shroud
 Never embalmed
 Never cremated
Visitation:
 In the home (body not present)
 In the synagogue before the funeral
 Never open casket
The Funeral Service:
 Prayers and blessings
 One or more eulogies
Internment:
 In a Jewish cemetery
 Ceremony presided
over by the Rabbi and
attended by only
closest friends and
relatives
 No flowers
Shivah (Mourning)
7 days after death of a family member
 Remain at home except for going to
synagogue
 Wear black or black ribbon with a symbolic
slash (cut) in it
 No work
 Men don’t shave
 People visit
Extended Mourning
 30 days for a close family member
 Return to work or school but not other
activities
 For a parent, spouse or child mourning
continues for a year (no parties,
celebrations)
Yahrzeit
 1 year anniversary
 Special synagogue service
 Unveiling of the tombstone
Why do Jews leave a rock at the
gravesite?
Jews do not place flowers on graves.
Often, they leave a small rock on the
headstone
Reasons:
1. Historical – ancient Jews covered graves
with rocks to protect them. It is a hold
over from that
2. Contemporary– it shows that someone
has visited the grave