Download Judaism Presentation - Birmingham Diocesan Education Service

Heads of RE Conference
Wednesday 23rd November 2016
Birmingham Progressive Synagogue
At your baptism you were consecrated to God and
anointed by the Holy Spirit. Your anointing joins to
Christ and you share in his threefold mission as
Priest, Prophet and King.
Through the graces of your baptism, you have
received the gift of vocation.
A vocation that has led you to this calling as a leader
in our Catholic schools.
‘For this reason I remind you to fan into
flame the gift of God that is within …for
God did not give us a spirit of cowardice,
but rather a spirit of power and of love and
of self-discipline’ 2 Timothy 1:6-7
We lead through
Christ as
Priest
Prophet
King
We are Priests…
We bring God’s presence to others through words and
actions
We are a sign and bearer of God’s love, especially to children
and young people
We are mystic and intuitive: seeing beneath the surface of
routines to the values and energy that binds our community
to Christ
We are Prophets…
We witness to our faith with our lives, calling others to
know the hope God’s call holds for them
We speak the truth and challenge what works against the
spirit of the gospel
We are restless leaders because nothing is perfect
We are Kings…
We share in the kingship of Christ accepting a responsibility
for building the Kingdom of God
We accept the gift of authority and administration as a way
of serving and loving the community
We make the spirit of God a reality in daily decisions and
relationships, valuing the dignity of all as God’s children
Let us pray…
We thank You, Father God for the vocation You have called each one
of us to.
Help us to rely on the graces of our Baptism to share in Your mission
as Priest, Prophet and King as we aim to build Your kingdom here on
earth in each of our own communities.
May we know that Your spirit is always with us to guide, inspire and
sustain us in all we do.
We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord, Amen
Diversity in Judaism
Heads of RE conference
23rd November 2016
Different movements within
Judaism
There has always been diversity:
•
Pharisees and Sadducees
•
Karaites and Rabbanites
•
Chasidim and Mitnagdim
•
Orthodox and Progressive
Progressive Judaism
•
Beginnings at the end of the 18th and beginning of 19th cent. Germany
•
Followed from the Enlightenment and Emancipation
•
Accepted biblical scholarship which questioned the divine origin of the
Torah
•
Shorter services, in the vernacular, with musical accompaniment (often
organ)
•
Education for girls as well as boys
•
Prayers reflecting theology (e.g. rejection of the concept of bodily
resurrection) and circumstances - identity as German Jews (e.g.
rejection of ingathering of exiles)
Non-Orthodox Judaism in
the UK
Three main movements:
•
Reform - began 1840 from Orthodox Judaism with formation
of West London Synagogue; gradually became more radical
•
Liberal - began 1902 as a radical alternative to bring in
disaffected Jews. Gradually became more traditional
Both Reform and Liberal are ‘Progressive’, affiliated to the
World Union for Progressive Judaism
•
Masorti - traditional practice but doesn’t accept the divine
origin of Torah
Belief in God 1
Belief in God and the unity of God has been
fundamental to Judaism, but the understanding of God
has changed:
•
The ‘biblical’ God - from Genesis to Job
•
The God of the Talmud and midrash - understanding
through parables (Jesus is of this time)
•
The God of the mediaeval philosophers e.g Moses
Maimonides
Belief in God 2
•
20th century and post-holocaust theology e.g.
Kaplan, Fackenheim, Borowitz
•
Within both Orthodox and Progressive Judaism
there is great variation in what Jews understand by
God
•
Feminist theology has rediscovered and reimagined the feminine aspect of God - Shechinah
The Messiah
(Mashiach/Moshiach)
•
Belief which grew up around the first century, based on biblical prophesies e.g.
Isaiah 11.
•
Held firmly by some Orthodox Jews
•
The idea rejected by Progressive Judaism from its beginnings. Reasons
include:
1. Its nationalist aspect, when German Jews were trying to become part of
German society
2. It’s supernatural aspect - one semi-divine individual was expected to bring
about the redemption of all Jews/all humanity (depending on interpretation)
3. The past history of messianic claimants who had led to disaster for the Jewish
people, e.g. Bar Kochba (2nd cent.), Shabbtai Zvi (17th cent.) and for Jewish
people, Jesus.
The Messianic Age
•
For Progressive Judaism, a belief in the messianic age,
the time of redemption, has replaced a belief in the
Messiah, the redeemer.
•
It is seen as a time of universal peace and justice,
based on the visions of Micah and Isaiah
•
It is a hope for all humanity, not just the Jewish people
•
most importantly, every person has a role in bringing
about the messianic age; it is something we work for
actively not something we wait for passively.
The Afterlife
•
The biblical picture is vague, e.g. ‘Sheol’, without any details
•
The Mishnah talks of ‘the world to come’, which all Jews with some exceptions - and the righteous of all nations have
a share in.
•
The nature of the world to come is not elaborated; it is said
that the righteous will study Torah with crowns on their
heads but this is not a fixed belief
•
The Mishnah (2nd cent.) also affirms a belief in physical
resurrection. For this reason, cremation is forbidden in
Orthodox practice
The Afterlife in Progressive
Judaism
•
Progressive Judaism does not hold a belief in
physical resurrection and has removed reference to
this in their prayers. We therefore permit cremation.
•
Progressive Jews have no fixed idea of the world to
come. Some believe that the soul lives on after
death and that there is some form of judgement but
do not go beyond this. Others believe that people
live through their children if they have them, and
through the influence they leave behind
Life on Earth
•
Both Progressive and Orthodox Jews believe that it is what we do in
this life that matters, since we cannot know what comes after
•
We are encouraged to enjoy what we can and not deny ourselves
pleasures as long as this is not at the cost of other people (the
Talmud teaches that we will have to account in the world to come
for any pleasures we have denied ourselves)
•
The mitzvot (plural of mitzvah, commandment) teach us about our
responsibility to God and to other human beings. Although Orthodox
Jews talk about the 613 mitzvot there is some doubt about what
these are and many relate to Temple sacrifice
•
For Progressive Jews, the ethical mitzvot have priority over the ritual
mitzvot.
Synagogue worship
•
Jews are expected to pray three times daily.
•
Orthodox Jews meet in the Synagogue for prayer every day.
Most Progressive Jews meet only on the Shabbat but individuals
often pray daily in private
•
In Progressive congregations women play an equal part in prayer
as participants and prayer leaders
•
In Orthodox Judaism, women do not wear tallit and tefillin,
although this is not prohibited in halachah (Jewish law). In
Progressive Judaism women are encouraged to wear a tallit for
services (and tefillin if they wish, although most Progressive Jews
do not wear tefillin)
Tallit and Tefillin
Sabbath Observance
•
Both Orthodox and Progressive Jews emphasise the importance
of sabbath (Shabbat) observance although they have different
practices
•
For Orthodox Jews, strict observances means following the
prohibition of 39 categories of work, as well as the prohibition of
making fire
•
These prohibitions are interpreted as relating to aspects of
modern life, e.g. not switching on lights or driving on shabbat
•
Progressive Judaism emphasises the spirit of shabbat rather than
the legal observance. For example, it permits switching on lights
and driving because this can contribute to the joy of the day
Festivals
•
Progressive Jews keep all the major festivals but do
not keep certain fast days, e.g. Tisha B’Av, the day
of mourning for the Temple
•
Outside the land of Israel, Orthodox Jews keep an
extra day for major festivals but Progressive Jews
do not
Life Cycle Rituals - Birth
•
Brit Milah - Covenant of circumcision, made with
Abraham (Gen. 17). Observed by both Orthodox
and Progressive Jews
•
Progressive Jews have ceremonies for baby girls,
e.g. bringing girls into the covenant
•
Progressive Jews also have a ceremony of
welcome for babies in the Synagogue
Bar and Bat Mizvah
•
Orthodox: Boys have a Bar Mitzvah ceremony in the
Synagogue at age 13. Some girls have a Bat Mitzvah
ceremony at age 12 although not in the main service.
Orthodox sometimes have group ceremony of Bat Chayil
at age 12.
•
Progressive: Boys and girls have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah in the
Synagogue at age 13, where they read from the Torah
•
Liberal Jews have Kabbalat Torah, a group ceremony at
the age of 15-16, when they consider that young people
are able to understand Judaism at a more adult level.
Marriage
•
Marriage is important for both Progressive and Orthodox
Jews, for companionship as well as procreation
•
For Orthodox Judaism, the marriage is legally a ceremony
where the groom ‘acquires’ the bride
•
For Progressive Judaism, marriage is egalitarian, with both
bride and groom taking an active part in the ceremony
•
Progressive Judaism also recognises same-sex
relationships and their rabbis officiate at same-sex
marriages
Mourning rituals
Progressive practices vary, although based on the traditional
practices:
•
Kaddish is said by all the mourners, not just close male relatives.
There are generally prayers in the evening following the funeral
but not for seven days (shivah).
•
Yahrzeit is observed by individuals by lighting a candle on the
anniversary of a loved one’s death
•
Some Progressive communities have a chevra kaddisha (‘holy
fellowship’) to care for the body but tahara (ritual washing of the
body) is not obligatory and only some Progressive communities
observe it.
Conclusions
•
There has always been wide variation in Jewish
practice.
•
What Orthodox and Progressive Judaism teaches is
not necessarily what their members observe
•
Further information from the Board of Deputies
GCSE Judaism publication:
https://www.bod.org.uk/judaism-gcse-religious-studies-thedefinitive-resource-order-your-copy-here/