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Founded: 13th Century BCE
Founder: Moses, who emancipated the
Jews from slavery in Egypt and later
established a ‘covenant’ between his people
and Yahweh on Mount Sinai
Traditionally, it is held that Abraham and
his descendants established Judaism before
Moses, however the 10 Commandments are
now considered by many to be the
foundation upon which Judaism rests.
Roots: dating back approximately 4000
years= origins of Judaism, Islam and
Christianity
Place: Palestine (sometimes called
Canaan; now Israel
Sacred Books: Old Testament (which
consists of the Five Books of Law, the
historical books, the Prophets and other
writings). The most sacred are the Five
Books of the Law= called the TORAH
Symbols: Menorah and Star of David
Adherents: Smallest major world religions,
making up 0.2 % human race
Judaism
Historical Overview
 Ancient Israel is the birthplace
of the 3 great monotheistic
religions of the world: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam
 Ancient Israel dates back
approximately 4000 years to the
books of the Old Testament
 Great patriarchs of Judaism:
Abraham, Jacob, Moses,
Joshua
 Hebrews, Israelites, Jews,
Semites: have all undergone
persecution throughout history;
from Babylonian Captivity,
Exodus, Diaspora, Spanish
Inquisition, Holocaust
Ancient Israel
Birthplace of Judaism is also
birthplace to Islam and Christianity
What is in a name?
 Hebrew means “From across”name given to Abraham and his
followers
 Israelites: Abraham’s grandson
Jacob renamed Israel which
means “he who has wrestled
with God”. His descendants
were called “Israelites”
 Jews: named after Jacob’s son
Judah, ancient father of tribe of
King David’s dynasty
Tracing Roots of Israel’s History
 Nomadic tribes wandered
into Palestine from east in
approximately 1900 BCE
 Mesopotamian society
dominated by polytheism
 God (Yahweh) appeared
before Patriarch Abraham
and told Abraham “to go
and raise a great nation”
 This began the
monotheistic tradition of the
Hebrew faith with the
establishment of the
“Covenant”, “Chosen
People” and “Promised
Land”
 Abraham settled in Canaan
 Story: Sacrifice of Abraham
Patriarchs to Judaism
Abraham
 God told Abraham to go to Haran then Canaan
and “make of him a great nation”
 Began monotheistic tradition
 Covenant with God
 The story of the Sacrifice of Abraham
Moses
 For an illustrated story
of Moses: click here
Moses & Exodus:
“Let My People
Go!”
 Moses received revelations from
God: burning bush, rod / staff, 10
plagues, parting of the Red Sea
 End of 13th century BCE- Moses led
the Israelites out of bondage in
Egypt during Rames II reign called
the EXODUS
 Moses led the 12 Tribes of Israel to
Mount Sinai where Yahweh gave
him the 10 Commandments, uniting
the Hebrews under one God
 Moses and Hebrews searched for
the “Promised Land” or the land of
milk and honey, however they
wandered in the desert for 40 years
Key Concepts
Covenant
 solemn and binding agreement between God and Abraham
(humanity) as God as the Creator and the Chosen people
Chosen People
 Jews considered themselves to be God’s Chosen People as
God chose Abraham and led him to monotheism
 Jews were instruments of God’s will
 God chose Jews (humanity); humanity must choose God
Promised Land
 Gained significance during Moses’ life as Hebrews sought to
keep covenant and develop a community in the Promised
Land. Jews believe this is Israel.
Development of Judaism
 Judges: tribal leaders
 Kings: King Saul, King David, King Solomon (built
temple)
 Division: Northern tribes = Israel; Southern tribes =
Judah
 Prophetic Tradition: word of God spoken through
prophets “Love God and keep the covenant with Him”
 Exile in Babylon= Temple of Solomon destroyed;
creation of synagogues and rabbis and concept of
Messiah “anointed one”
 Diaspora: dispersal of Jews outside of Israel and
Hellenization
 Maccabean Revolt: temple rededicated to God
 Expansion of Roman Empire and rule: destroying of
the temple leaving only the Western Wall; rabbinic
Judaism (interpretative commentaries)
Monotheistic
 Oneness of Creator God
 Human obligation to worship God
 God is immaterial and indivisible
 God is refered to as YHWH or YAHWEH “I am that I am”
Lineage
 People are born a Jew (through mother) or can convert (gerut)
Mitzvah
 act of performing a good deed or commandment (ie. 10
Commandments)
 Bible contains total of 613 mitvoth (some positive, some negative)
Jesus
 View of Jesus = born a Jew a preacher and teacher
 Jesus was not the Son of God; the Messiah is still to come
Suffering
 suffering is heightened because as the Chosen People, Jews expect to
suffer for all of mankind
Death and Afterlife
 on death, body returns to earth (dust to dust) but soul return to God who
gave it
 body will be Resurrected and reunited with soul at a later time
(therefore no cremation)
Beliefs
TORAH
 consists of Five Books of
Moses written on
parchment scroll in ancient
form by hand and kept in
Ark
 Torah means “law” but
more accurate is
“revelation”, “teaching” or
“instruction”
 Torah is divided into 54
sections and one portion is
read each week (2 weeks
of year have a double
portion) so that the entire
Torah is read from
beginning to end in a year
Sacred Texts
Tanukh
 Jewish Bible, consisting of
Torah (Law of Moses), the
Prophets, and the Writings
Talmud
 second most important
source of rabbinic Jewish law
based on Mishnah, which
complements and interprets
the Torah and applies
scripture to everyday life and
observance
Mishnah
 Early rabbinic teachings on
how to live according to
Torah
Practices
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Holy Ark & Torah
Blessings and prayer
Minyan
Kashruth
Shabbat
Circumcision
Shofar
Bar / Bat Mitvah
Marriage
Death & Shiva
Holidays
 Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur
 Hanukkah
 Passover
Symbols
 Star of David= shape
of King David’s
shield; symbol
adopted by Zionists
 Menorah= ancient
source of light
7 branched= Sabbath
9 branched= Hanukah
Denominations
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Orthodox
Reform
Conservative
Reconstructionist
Messianic
Western Wall
•The Western Wall in the midst of the Old City in
Jerusalem is the section of the Western supporting
wall of the Temple Mount which has remained intact
since the destruction of the Second Jerusalem
Temple (70 CE)
•It became a center of mourning over the destruction
of the Temple and Israel's exile
• communion with the memory of Israel's former glory
and the hope for its restoration
•it became known in European languages as the
"Wailing Wall".
Interesting Facts
 The Israeli flag is rooted in Jewish tradition. The white
background symbolizes purity. The symbols on the flag are
two stripes—one on the top and one on the bottom—and
the Star of David emblem adorning the center. The stripes
and blue color are inspired by the techeileth dye of the tallit
(Jewish prayer shawl)
 Jews have regarded the Land of Israel as their homeland,
both as a Holy Land and as a Promised Land. The Land of
Israel holds a special place in Jewish religious obligations,
encompassing Judaism's most important sites — including
the remains of the First and Second Temples
Judaism In Modern
World
Anti Semitism
 in York Region and World
Zionism
 movement originally for re-establishment
of Jewish nation in Israel
Holocaust
 (Heb., sho'ah) which originally meant a
sacrifice totally burned by fire
 the annihilation of the Jews (6 million)
and other groups of people of Europe (5
million) under the Nazi regime during
World War II
Middle East Conflict
 Issue of who has the rightful claim to
Jerusalem
This Nazi propaganda poster reads,
‘Behind the enemy powers: the Jew.
“The Eternal Jew”
Depiction of a Jew holding gold coins in one hand
and a whip in the other. Under his arm is a map of
the world, with the imprint of the hammer and
sickle. Posters like this promoted a sharp rise in
anti-Semitic feelings, and in some cases violence
against the Jewish community.
Impact of Ancient Israel
 Covenant = formal agreement
between Hebrews and God
(Yahweh); Hebrews worshipped
God and only God, and in return,
they would be God’s Chosen
People and given Canaan as the
Promised Land
 Spiritual ideas profoundly
influenced Western culture,
morality, ethics and conduct
 Three of the world’s most
dominant religions: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam all derive
their roots from the spiritual
beliefs of the Ancient Israelites