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Judaism
Judaism
• The most important of God's Names is the four-letter Name
represented by the Hebrew letters Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh (YHVH).
Sometimes YHWH.
• Jews see it as wrong to speak G-d’s name.
• According to Jewish belief humanity was formed with two
impulses:
• A good impulse (the yetzer tov) (Yetzer hatov – The human inclination
towards good)
• An evil impulse (the yetzer ra) (Yetzer hara – The human inclination
towards evil).
• The yetzer tov is the moral conscience, the inner voice that reminds you
of G-d's law when you consider doing something that is forbidden.
STATS
• Approximately 76.2% of Israel’s population
is Jewish.
• Less than 1% of the world’s population is
Jewish.
• Jerusalem is the Holy City to Jews.
• The Language of origin is Hebrew, Arabic
and Yiddish.
Divisions - Sects - Movements
• Three major Jewish movements
in the U.S.:
• Reform
• Conservative
• Orthodox
The Shema is the oldest fixed daily prayer in Judaism "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is One."
It constitutes the fundamental Jewish confession of faith or creed.
• Maimonides 13 articles of faith –not binding. Jews look
more to deeds (miswa) than to creeds. They are:
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God exists
God is one (Monotheism) and
unique
God is incorporeal
God is eternal
Prayer is to God only.
The prophets spoke truth.
Moses was the greatest of the
prophets.
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The Written and Oral Torah
were given to Moses.
There will be no other Torah.
God knows the thoughts and
deeds of men.
God will reward the good and
punish the wicked.
The Messiah will come.
The dead will be resurrected.
• A rabbi is an authorized teacher of the classical
Jewish tradition.
• Has no more authority to perform rituals than any
other adult male member of the Jewish community.
• In the Jewish sense of the term, a priest (kohein)
is a descendant of Aaron, charged with
performing various rites in the Synagogue in
connection with religious rituals and sacrifices.
• Although a kohein can be a rabbi, a rabbi is not
required to be a kohein.
• Mohel - person who performs circumcisions on
Jewish baby boys.
Shabbat
• Shabbat is the most important ritual observance in
Judaism. It is the only ritual observance instituted
in the Ten Commandments.
• Shabbat - The seventh day of the week, recalling
the completion of the creation and the Exodus
from Egypt. It is a day symbolic of new
beginnings and one dedicated to God, a most holy
day of rest.
• Jews worship in Synagogues.
Mitzvot
• Mitzvot - term used to refer to the Commandments;
religious actions (singular mitzvah).
• Any good deed.
• Mitzvah is the Hebrew term used to define one to whom the
commandments apply
• Bar Mitzvah is a ritual performed to celebrate 13-year-old
boys to whom the commandments now apply.
• Bat Mitzvah is a ritual performed to celebrate 12-year-old
girls to whom the commandments now apply.
Rituals
• Brit milah - The ritual of circumcision performed on the
eighth day of a boy's life.
• Known as a brit or a bris.
• Of all of the commandments in Judaism, the brit milah
(literally, Covenant of Circumcision) is probably the
one most universally observed.
• Again - performed by a Mohel
• Shiva - Parents, children, spouses and siblings of the
deceased, preferably all, observe Shiva together in the
deceased's home.
• Shiva begins on the day of burial and continues until the morning
of the seventh day after burial.
• Yom Kippur - Hebrew for Day of Atonement
• Annual day of fasting and atonement, occurring in the
fall on Tishri 10 (just after Rosh Hashanah); the most
solemn and important occasion of the Jewish religious
year.
• Chanukah - is the nine-branched menorah used on
Chanukah is commonly patterned after this menorah,
because Chanukah commemorates the miracle that one
day's worth of oil for this menorah lasted eight days.
• Menorah is a seven-branch candlestick. Part of the furnishings of
the tabernacle in the wilderness and the Temple in Jerusalem. In
1948 it became the official symbol of the State of Israel.
Jewish Symbols
• Menorah - A seven-branch candlestick. Part
of the furnishings of the tabernacle in the
wilderness and the Temple in Jerusalem. In
1948 it became the official symbol of the
State of Israel.
• Chanukah - The nine-branched menorah
used on Chanukah is commonly patterned
after this menorah, because Chanukah
commemorates the miracle that a day's
worth of oil for this menorah lasted eight
days.
• Star of David - The Shield of David or Magen David in
Hebrew, is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish
Community and Judaism.
• It is named after King David of ancient Israel; and its usage
began in the Middle Ages, alongside the more ancient symbol of
the menorah.
• With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 the Star of
David on the Flag of Israel has also become a symbol of Israel.
• Mezuzah- parchment scroll with selected Torah verses
(Deuteronomy 6.4-9; 11.13-21) placed in a container and
affixed to the exterior doorposts (at the right side of the
entrance) of observant Jewish homes (see Deuteronomy
6.1-4), and sometimes also to interior doorposts of
rooms.
• The word shaddai (almighty) usually is inscribed on the back of
the container.
• Kippah - A Jewish head covering worn for worship,
religious study, meals, or at any other time; also called