Download Fusion Judaism - White Plains Public Schools

Judaism
World History/Napp
“The Phoenicians lived in a region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea that was
later called Palestine. The Phoenicians were not the only ancient people to live in Palestine.
The Romans had given the area that name after the Philistines, another people who lived in
the region. Canaan was the ancient home of the Hebrews, later called the Jews, in this area.
Their history, legends, and moral laws are a major influence on Western culture, and they
began a tradition also shared by Christianity and Islam.
According to the Bible, Canaan was the land God had promised to the Hebrew people.
Most of what we know about the early history of the Hebrews is contained in the first five
books of the Hebrew Bible. Jews call these books the Torah and consider them the most
sacred writings in their tradition. Christians respect them as part of the Old Testament.
In the Torah, God chose Abraham to be the ‘father’ of the Hebrew people. God’s words to
Abraham expressed a promise of land and a pledge: ‘Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great
nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great.’ (Genesis 12:1–2)
Abraham was a shepherd who lived in the city of Ur, in Mesopotamia. The Book of
Genesis tells that God commanded him to move his people to Canaan. Around 1800 B.C.,
Abraham, his family, and their herds made their way to Canaan. Then, around 1650 B.C.,
the descendants of Abraham moved to Egypt.
The Bible tells how Abraham and his family roamed for many years from Mesopotamia to
Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan. All the while, their God, whose name was Yahweh,
watched over them. Gods worshiped by other people were often local, and were associated
with a specific place. Unlike the other groups around them, who were polytheists, Hebrews
were monotheists. They prayed to only one God. Monotheism, a belief in a single god,
comes from the Greek words mono, meaning ‘one,’ and theism, meaning ‘god-worship.’
The Hebrews proclaimed Yahweh as the one and only God. In their eyes, Yahweh had
power over all peoples, everywhere. To the Hebrews, God was not a physical being, and no
physical images were to be made of him.” ~ World History
1- What was Canaan?
2- Define Torah.
3- Who was Abraham?
4- What did God command Abraham to do, according to the Bible?
5- How did Yahweh differ from other gods?
6- Compare monotheism and polytheism.
7- Why were the Hebrews to make no physical images of God?
Along what waterway did Abraham begin
his wanderings away from his native city?
How did Canaan’s location make it a true
crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean?
Covenant
Exodus
Moses and the Ten
Kingdom of Israel
Commandments
- The Hebrews asked - The Bible says the
- An Egyptian
- From about 1020 to
Yahweh for
Hebrews migrated to princess found
922 B.C., the
protection from their Egypt because of a
Moses and adopted
Hebrews united
enemies
drought and threat
him
under three able
of a famine.
kings: Saul, David,
- According to the
- Though raised in
and Solomon
Bible, Yahweh
- Over time, the
luxury, he did not
looked after the
Hebrews were forced forget his Hebrew
- The new kingdom
Hebrews because
into slavery
birth
was called Israel
Abraham had
promised to obey
- The Hebrews fled
- When God
- By 922 B.C., the
him
Egypt – perhaps
commanded him to
kingdom had divided
between 1300 and
lead the Jews out of
in two: Israel was in
- In return, Yahweh 1200 B.C.
Egypt, he obeyed
the north and Judah
had promised to
was in the south
protect Abraham
- Jews call this event - While the Hebrews
and his descendants “the Exodus,” and
were traveling across - Later a Babylonian
they remember it
the Sinai Peninsula,
king forced many
- This mutual
every year during
Moses climbed to the Jews to live as exiles
promise between
the festival of
top of Mount Sinai
in Babylon
God and the founder Passover
to pray
(Babylonian
of the Hebrew
Captivity)
people is called a
- The Torah says
- When Moses came
covenant
that the man who led down from Mount
- But the Persian
the Hebrews out of
Sinai, he brought
king, Cyrus, allowed
- A covenant is an
slavery was named
down two stone
some 40,000 exiles to
agreement
Moses
tablets on which
return to Jerusalem
Yahweh had written to rebuild the temple
the Ten
Commandments,
moral and ethical
rules
Identify the following terms:
Covenant
Moses
Exodus
Passover
Ten Commandments
Babylonian Captivity
Cyrus
The Hebrews trace themselves to an
ancestor named
A) Adam.
B) Abraham.
C) Abel.
D) Noah.
A contract between the Hebrews and their
God was called a
A) mitzvah
B) covenant
C) yarmulke
D) commandment
Someone inspired by God to speak for him
was called a
A) priest
B) rabbi
C) prophet
D) king
Monotheism is the belief
A) in multiple gods
B) in one God
C) in no gods
D) none of the above
Jewish religious and cultural identity has
been greatly influenced by
A) Ramadan and the concept of
reincarnation
B) the Torah and the Diaspora
C) the New Testament and the Four Noble
Truths
D) the Koran and the code of bushido
The Torah, monotheism, and a covenant are
associated with
A) Islam
B) Buddhism
C) Judaism
D) Animism
God first appeared to Moses in
A) An Egyptian slave.
B) A cloud on Mt. Sinai.
C) A burning bush.
D) The Red Sea.
The Sacred Writings of Judaism
I. Hebrew Bible
- Torah
• first five books of the Bible
• recounts origins of humanity and Judaism
• contains basic laws of Judaism
- Prophets
• stories about and writings by Jewish teachers
• divided into Former Prophets and Latter Prophets
• recounts Jewish history and calls for repentance and obedience
- Writings
• a collection of various other writings includes poetry, history and stories, and
• philosophical writings called wisdom literature
II. Talmud
- Mishnah
• written versions of Jewish oral law
- Gemara
• explanations and interpretations of the Mishnah
1. Which belief system is considered
monotheistic?
1. Judaism
2. Shinto
3. Confucianism
4. Animism
2. The Ten Commandments serve to
1. provide followers with a guide for
living
2. establish systems of justice
3. establish distinctions between social
classes
4. provide regulations for government
workers
3. One way in which the Ten
Commandments and the Eightfold Path are
similar is that they
1. promote polytheism
2. establish gender equality
3. provide codes of behavior
4. describe secularism
4. The Torah is associated with
1. Buddhism
2. Animism
3. Christianity
4. Judaism
5. The Ten Commandments and the
Eightfold Path are similar in that they
1. established a class structure for
society
2. are guidelines for living
3. consist of prayers for salvation
4. promise a happy and easy life
6. The religious beliefs of the Israelites after
Moses included
1. the worship of Mesopotamian gods.
2. monotheism.
3. the worship of Allah.
4. the building of ziggurats.
5. None of the answers are correct.
Base your answer to the question on the
speakers’ statements below and on your
knowledge of social studies.
Speaker A: “The Eightfold Noble Path and
Four Noble Truths as
expressed by Siddhartha
Gautama are the foundations
of our faith.”
Speaker B: “There is one God and His
name is Allah and his truth has
been revealed to us through his
prophet Mohammed.”
Speaker C: “The Ten Commandments
guide us in our quest for a
fulfilling spiritual life.”
Speaker D: “To achieve union with atman,
we must pass through many
births and acquire good karma
by being obedient to moral
laws and societal regulations.”
7. Which speaker expresses a belief in
Judaism?
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
8. The religions of Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam share a common belief in
1. nirvana
2. monotheism
3. reincarnation
4. animism
9. The Hebrews
1. were settled agriculturalists.
2. were led out of Palestine by Abraham.
3. were the first Indo-Europeans to settle
in southwest Asia.
4. None of the answers are correct.