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Judaism Beliefs
Part 3
Passover
• Commemorates the Jews’ Exodus from Egypt, where they had been enslaved.
• Narrated in the second book of the Torah.
• The 10th plague was the killing of the first born in Egypt.
• Every Israelite was instructed to put lambs blood over their door to be “passed over”
• It confirmed the status of the Hebrews as God’s chosen people and established them as a
nation
Celebration of Passover
• Passover usually occurs in April and lasts for a week.
• A ritual meal called a SEDER is shared on the first and second nights of Passover.
• During the SEDER, reading from Exodus are shared.
• No leaven bread in the Household
• Flat bread is eaten = Matza
Rosh Hashanah
• The Jewish New Year
• Two days; falls in september or october
• A time to reflect on the past year and plan improvements for the coming year
• 100 notes from a ram’s horn (like a trumpet) are sounded in the synagogue on each of the
two days
• Feast of apples and honey
• “Casting off”- Worshippers empty their pockets into flowing water to cast off their sins
from the past year
Yom Kippur
• “Day of Atonement”- Holiest days of Jewish Holidays
• One day, falls in september or october
• Last chance to repent sins against God
• Strict fasting, no work
• Bathing, anointing the body, wearing leather shoes, and engaging in sex are prohibited.
Hanukkah
• Week long Jewish Holiday, falling in December
• Celebrates Jewish revolt against Greeks in 2nd Century B.C.E.
• Revolution was led by the Maccabees
• Only enough oil in the temple menorah to burn for one night, but God made it last 8
nights.
• Practicing consists of lighting a new candle on the menorah each night
• Well known, due to its proximity to Christmas
Purim
• Celebration of the Jews’ escape from extermination in Persia
• Described in the book of Esther
• One-day holiday, falls in march
• Eating, drinking, merry-making, and carnival-like celebrations.
• Use of a gragger, or noise maker
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Boys
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Girls
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Actually means “Son of the Commandment”
Requirement to obey all commandments
Boys become a Bar Mitzvah at age 13
Actually means “Daughter of the Commandment”
Requirement to obey all commandments
Girls become a Bat Mitzvah at age 12
o Term actually refers to the person who comes of age, but is colloquially used to refer to
the ceremony
o The ceremony is not required by Jewish law and is a relatively modern invention
Shabbat
• Seventh day of the Jewish week and the Jewish day of rest.
• On Shabbat, Jews recall the Genesis creation narrative in which God creates the Heavens
and the Earth in six days and rests on the seventh
• From Friday evening at sunset to sunset Saturday evening