JUDAISM
JUDAISM
1. The religion of the Jewish or Hebrew people which may be traced
back to the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt.
a. It is closely bound up with a divine revelation, and with
the commitment of the people to obedience to God's will.
b. The connection between religion and peoplehood gives Judaism
a unique character which is not shared by its daughter reli-
gion, Christianity.
2. Over its history of 3,000 years, Judaism has changed both in theo-
logy and in practice.
a. The Jewish People have been called the "People of the Book",
which does not mean that their religion is determined liter-
ally and exclusively by the contents of the Bible, but that
the book has been the authority, guide, and inspiration of
all the many forms the religon has taken in different periods
and in different lands.
b. It has its roots in the Hebrew Bible (the Greek word for book
is Biblica) which was written over a period of nearly 1,000
years and established in its full canonical form by the end
of the First Century A.D.
3. The Hebrew Bible is divided according to Jewish Tradition into
three sections.
a. The Torah or the Pentateuch -------------- the first five
books:
1. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
2. These were believed to have been written by Moses from
divine instruction on Mt. Sinai.
b. The Prophets were are subdivided into:
1. The Earlier Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings.
2. The Later Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
twelve "minor" prophets.
c. The Writings:
* Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamenta-
tions, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Chonicles.
4. The Bible is a record of the Hebrews' aspiration to understand God
and his way both in relation to the natural world and humanity.
a. The name Hebrew (Ivri) is derived perhaps from the root mean-
ing "to cross", and refers to the people who came to Cannan
from the eastern side of the Euphrates.
b. It is also asociated with the name Ever, grandson of Shem ---
Shem is the root word meaning "Semite".
Common Assumptions
1. God's existence and power are taken for granted ------------------
the question (delemma) for the Hebrews is to understand how he acts
in the world, and what he requires of Man.
2. Genesis: the natural world is a manifestation of God's glory ------
The fate of nations and the experience of individuals reflects the
power of God in the affairs of human beings.
3. The Bible moves from a restrictive view of God as a national deity
to a more universal conception of him as a the God of all nations
which are but instruments in his own hands.
4. There are several names of God found in the scriptures:
* Ranging from Shaddai, which seems to signify storm-god, or god
of power, Elolah, Yah, and Adonai, to the more common Elohim,
and Yaweh.
* Yaweh becoming the most sacred divine name (usually translated
"Lord") which was not pronounced by the Jews.
* The name "Jehovah" is a medieval misreading and does not occur
in the Hebrew Bible.
5. Dual (Paradoxial View of God:
a. God is both a remote and transcendant being, imposing his awe
upon the universe, demanding absolute obedience under the
sanctions of severe penalties.
b. God is also a loving and compassionate father, who has a
close and personal relationship with those who believe in
Him.
c. This paradox is a reflection of the ambivalent attitude that
the Hebrews had towards a world which appeared to be both
stern and bountiful.
6. From a ritualistic point of view, the religion of the Hebrews was
centered around a sanctuary or a shrine.
a. At first is was movable, and then finally established in
Jerusalem ------------ first the Tabernacle and later the
Temple.
b. Animal sacrifices and offerings wre made by the priests.
c. The Priests, a special hereditary class descended from Aaron,
the first high priest and elder brother of Moses.
d. Offerings were made upon the alter daily, and special
offerings on Holy Days.
e. Offerings were made as atonements for sins or as thanksgiving
on special occasions (such as childbirth).
The Prophets
1. Institutionalized Religion can become automatic losing its spiri-
tual awareness among believers.
2. Among the Hebrews individuals arose who denounced the insincere
practice of Hebrew ritual ------------ these were the Prophets.
3. The prophet was a man who believed he was called by God to preach
his message.
a. The Hebrew word for prophet, navi, comes from a root meaning
"to well up, to gush forth", as if the prophet was a passive
instrument for the expression of God's Will.
b. The main purpose of their message concerned a righteous life,
whether it was the life of an individual or the life of a
nation.
4. The Bible reflects an overriding consciousness of the religious
purpose of the Hebrew People.
a. The early narratives of the Patriarchs (fathers) were to in-
still the doctrine of the close relationship that existed be-
tween God and the Hebrews.
b. This relationship was emphasized in the experience of the
Exodus which has been viewed as a necessary preliminary to
divine relevation at Sinai.
c. The main burden of the prophetic exhortation was a special
responsiblility to fulfill a divine mission.
"Ye shall be untome a kingdom of priests, a holy nation."
(Exodus XIX:6)
d. This special relationship was a covenant or agreement (brit)
between God and the Hebrews.
From Hebraism to Judaism
1. The period from the completion of biblical writing (ca. 150 B.C.)
to the compilation of the Mishnah (A.D. 200) was one of transition
in the history of Judaism.
a. A long and slow transformation took place, at the end of
which biblical Hebraism emerged as Rabbinic Judaism.
b. There are many unanswered questions about this period, but it
is clear that the religon of the Jews was not yet the
stable, codified system that it would later become.
2. Rabbinic Tradition maintains there were a number of sects during
this period (some being beyond the scope of "normative" Judaism).
a. Disputes between the Sadducees and the Pharisees:
1. The Sadducees claimed to be descended from Zadock, the
priest and belonged to the priestly, aristocratic
class.
2. The Pharisees (meaning "separated ones") were devoted
to the study and practice of the Torah.
3. These disputes concerned such questions as the resur-
rection of the body and the date of the Festival of
Pentecost.
* Shabuoth: seven weeks after Passover commemorating
the giving of the Torah to Moses.
b. The Samaritans rejected rabbinic interpretation of Scripture
and confined themselves to the literal application of the
Pentateuch --------------- they became more removed from
the center of Jewish tradition.
c. From the testimony of Josephus (b. A.D. 37/38) and archaelo-
gical discovery provide evidence that during this period
there existed organized Jewish Communities which shunned
urban life and constituted a more ascetic, almost monastic
society.
* Such were the Essenes and the community at Qumran (if these
two are not in fact identical).
3. The literature discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls especially
that dealing withthe "Wars of the Sons of Light against the Sons
Darkness" and the "Teacher of Righteousness", must be considered
along with the Apocrypha and other literature as Pseudepigraphic
(falsely inscribed) ------------- these did not become part of
the Jewish cannon of Scripture.
* These writings deal with the "end of days". (Eschatological)
a. These eschatological ideas proliferated in this period
(especially in the Hebrew Enoch) which was a reflection of
the emotion released at a period of spiritual disorientation
and political breakdown.
b. The influence of Persian and Hellenistic ideas and practices
had its impact (although the attempt, in 168 B.C., by
Antiochus Epiphanes to destroy the Jewish religion was pre-
vented by the Maccabees.
c. The Hashomonean dynasty also fell victim to oriental influ-
ence (conception of monarchy) with disasterous results on the
faith and people.
d. This was followed by the oppression of Roman Rule which re-
sulted in a proliferation of new religious movements and con-
cepts.
* Some of these were later to form the foundation of
Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah), while others would find a
home in Christianity.
The Rise of Christianity
1. Messianic speculation in religious movements is usually at its
height when anti-religious pressures are at their strongest.
2. The Jews looked forward to the coming of a Messiah (lit. "annoited
one") who would be descended from the House of David who would
bring an end to political oppression, re-establish Jewish national
sovereignty, and usher in a period of peace establishing the King-
dom of God.
3. From the Gospels: Jesus of Nazareth considered himself, and by many
Jews, to be the Jewsih Messiah.
a. From this point of view he was acting within Jewish Tradi-
tion, and there is little in his teachings that contradicts
the established Jewish ideology of his time.
b. He probably would not have thought of himself as belonging
to any other religion but Judaism.
4. Jesus's Death
a. It was encouraged by those Jews (mainly Sadducees) who saw
in his preaching a danger (threat) to the established Temple
practice ------------ their position of power.
b. It was supported by Roman Authorities who considered him to
be a potential national leader (rebel).
ie. because of his messianic claims.
c. His execution marked the end of his influcence for the major-
ity of Jews because his death proved he was not the Messiah.
5. Followers and Opponents of Jesus:
a. It became more than an internal Jewish struggle with the
Pauline Interpretation of the life of Jesus ----------------
this interpretation became the basis of the new religion of
Christianity.
b. When large numbers of Gentiles became converted ------------
new elements were introduced by St. Paul: divine incarnation,
vicarious atonement (done for another), the abrogation of the
law, and the doctrine of the basically sinful nature of Man
could not be accepted by one who wanted to remain a Jew.
6. The Expansion of Chritianity had a lasting impact on Jews and
Judaism.
a. It assumed the role that Judaism had previously played in
the conversion of Gentiles.
b. In Christian (and later in Moslem) lands, Jewish proselytism
became a capital offence.
c. For centuries Jews were considered, by Christians, to be
guilty of deicide, and an accursed race (people), their very
existence and the practice of their faith was a testimony to
their blindness for not recognizing the true Messiah.
The Pharisaic Achievement
1. The Tannaim (ca. 100 B.C. - A.D. 200) ------------ a period in
which rabbis because of changing circumstances with spritual cre-
ativity and sensitivity were able to reshape the biblical core,
laying the foundations of Modern Judaism.
2. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70
was the single overriding factor that led to this transformation.
* DISCUSS: the Diaspora, the Chaldeans, 586 B.C., the role of Titus
in the Jewish Revolt, and the significance of the Iudaicus Fiscus
a. The religion of the Jews had been based in matters of worship
and ritual on a sacrificial system, and the official repre-
senatives of the people before God were the priestly caste,
the cohanim.
b. The sacrificial system disappeared, since it was forbidden
according to priestly legislation to offer sacrifice in any
other place than the central sanctuary of the Temple --------
with the end of the sacrificial system, the over all domina-
tion of the priestly caste ended.
c. Jewish religious leadership became more open and democratic
depending for its worth on learning rather than birth.
d. The main place of worship for the Jews was no longer the
Temple in Jerusalem but the synagogue of the locality.
* The priestly class continued, however, in traditional
Judaism, to occupy a special place in synagogue ritual,
marriage law, and some other fields.
3. This transformation was evolutionary ---------- the synagogue as
an institution had been founded long before the Roman Era.
a. Jewish Scholars (of Jewish) of Law described in the tannaitic
period as scribes or rabbis flourished side by side with the
Temple Cult for many years.
b. The divinding line for practical purposes came in A.D. 70 ---
the place for sacrifice would henceforth be taken by deeds of
charity.
4. Rabbis were able to reconcile these changes with the eternal un-
changing authority given by God at Mt. Sinai.
a. Moses was given the written law (torah she-bi-khtav) -------
the Pentateuch.
b. An equally authoritative oral law was also given: (torah she-
be-alpeh) which was an interpretation of the former.
c. This oral tradition was committed to writing by Rabbi Judah
ha-Nasi in the Mishnah (lit. repetition) ca. A.D. 200.
5. Midrash, or biblical interpretaion, was origninally of two types.
a. halakhic - ie. legal.
b. aggadic - homiletic (moral, ethical, advising, urging) or
ancecdotal.
* These two types existed side by side for centuries, so that
Judaism possesses a rich anthology of biblical interpreta-
tion.
The Mishnah
1. It was a systemazation of previous attempts to summarize the mass
of custom, concept and legislation which had grown up among the
Jews.
2. The Purpose: was to formulate Jewish law for posterity, and shield
it from the destruction threatend by political upheval and persecu-
tion.
3. The Mishnah comprises six orders (sedarim) and each order is sub-
divided into a number of tractates (massekhtot) on individual sub-
jects.
4. The Six Orders
a. Zeraim (Seeds) - mainly agricultural legislation, but includ-
ing an important tractate on the litury.
b. Moed (Festivals)
c. Nashim (Women)
d. Nezikin (Dangers) - ie. civil law, but containing also a
collection of moral and theological statements.
e. Kodashim (Sacred Things) - legislation connected mainly with
the Temple.
f. Tohorot (Cleanness)
5. Besides the Mishnah there existed in this period other legal tradi-
tions, called baraitot, which were taken into account by later
rabbis when they attempted to standarized Jewish tradition.
6. The Mishnah reflects many different opinions and often does not
make a firm decision in matters where rabbinic authorities are in
conflict.
7. Because of the emergence of new traditions, it became necessary for
the Mishnah to be subjected to intensive study and commentary.
* This examination formed the basis of the two versions of the
Talmud ------------ the Palestinian (or Jersusalem) Talmud,
and the Babylonian Talmud.
a. Each Talmud (lit. teaching) consists of the Mishnah together
with comments on it called the Gemara (lit. "completion")
b. The Babylonian Talmud (completed ca. A.D. 500) is more com-
prehensive than the Palestinian and has served as the founda-
tion for Jewish Law and practice since that time.
c. The Talmuds contain not only law but also a great deal of
theological and ethical discussion, as well as historical and
anecdotal material
ie. Conflict between freedom and divine foreknowledge, the
question of evil, immortality and life after death, the na-
ture and destiny of man, the will of God.
Development of Law
1. After the completion of the Babylonian Talmud, Jewish Law continued
to develop in two major areas.
a. First, new legal decisions had to be made in those circum-
stances which were not covered by earlier legislation.
b. Second, the unwieldly mass of rabbinic law needed to be
arranged in a way which would enable a student to consult it
with comparative ease.
2. The first requirement was met by the growth of responsa (lit. re-
plies) literature.
a. Questions on Jewish practice were addressed to the Geonim,
as leaders of Babylonian Jewry, and to other acknowledged
rabbinic authorities.
b. The questions together with the replies have often been
preserved ----------- the result was a body of legal de-
cisions which were to act as a guide and a precedent for
future discussion.
3. The second problem of unmangeable size of rabbinic law was solved
by the codification of law.
a. The Mishneh Torah (Repetition of Law) was the first systema-
tic code produced by the Spainard Moses Maimonides (1135 -
1204).
* Maimonides was accused of giving his own opinions unsup-
ported by argument, of failure to quote sources, and also
of introducing philosophical matters which were not part of
the original legal system.
b. The Shulchan Arukh (Prepared Table): was written by Rabbi
Joseph Karo (1488-1575).
1. Karo was born in Toledo, but grew up in Asia Minor, and
later settled in Safed in Palestine.
2. After an exhaustive study of two earlier codes: Maimon-
ides and the Arbaah Turim of Jacob ben Asher (1270 -
1343), he published his own code.
3. It was criticized by the Ashkenazim (ie. Jews from
northern and eastern Europe) who claimed the code was
based on Sefardim practice (Mediterranen Jews), and
could not be accepted by the totality of world Jewry.
4. After the Polish rabbi Moses Isserles (1525-1572) added
his own comments to the code, which included references
to Ashkenazi ritual and practice, the code was accepted
as authoritative (and has remained so for traditional
Jews to the present day).
Karasites
1. While internal developments were taking place in the field of
halakhah (Jewish Law), disputes with Jewish sects, as well as re-
lationships with other peoples and faiths compelled rabbis to re-
think their theology, and study thier tradtions from a new point of
view.
2. The Samaritans remained an ever-diminishing group whose links with
Judaism became more tenuous.
3. A new sect emerged in 8th Century Persia, called the Karasites ----
more exactly the benei mikra - adherents to (lit. children of) the
Scripture.
a. They denied the validity of the rabbinic oral tradition, and
based its ideas and its practices solely on the written word
of Scripture, as communicated by God to Moses.
b. They refused to allow any lighting during the Sabbath; they
did not observe the post-biblical feast of Chanukkah; and
were more restrictive in their dietary laws and marriage reg-
ulations.
4. The growth of the Karasites threatened to undermine the very unity
of Jewish thought and practice wich the Geonim were endeavoring to
preserve.
5. The Rabbanites (opponents of the Karasites) did all they could in
polemical writing (arguments against some opinion or doctrine) and
in legal ordinances to counter this threat.
6. Rabbinite arguments had to be based on Scripture to counter the
Karasites, so it entailed a new objective study of the Torah.
a. From the 9th - 13th Centuries, commentaries were written on
the Bible, and even comments on them.
b. The purpose was to clarify the word of God for successive
generations of Jews.
7. The Karasites grew in numbers gradually throughout the Middle Ages,
reaching as far West as Spain and as far North as Lithuania.
a. Their numbers were drastically reduced as a result of the
Nazi Persecution in World War II and only a few thousand re-
main today.
b. Their direct influence on modern Judaism has been only
minimal.
The Rise of Jewish Philosophy
1. Arguments with Christianity and Islam, caused the Jews to re-
examine their theology, and to review it in light of comtemporary
philosophy.
2. It was more than an argument over the interpretation of crucial
scriptural verses.
3. The Issue: the validity of a revealed religion when challenged by
the revelations claimed by other Faiths.
4. Judaism saw itself threatened from three sources: Chirstianity,
Islam and man-centered philosophy.
5. There was no systematic attempt to present a reasoned Jewish theo-
logy until the Middle Ages.
6. Sefer Emunot ve Deot (Book of Beliefs and Opinions) by Sa'dia
(882-942) was the first major Jewish philosophical treatise.
a. Religious truths may be arrived at by reason alone ---------
maintaining it is the religious duty to use one's reason to
verify those truths.
b. It is the mark of God's love that he granted Man the immedi-
ate awareness of those truths through revelation.
c. Sa'dia proceeds to discuss creation, the nature of God, di-
vince justice and foreknowledge, repentence and immortality.
7. Moreh Nevukhim (Guide for the Perplexed) by Moses Maimonides.
a. This book had immense impact on subsequent Jewish thinkers
(and on some Christians including Thomas Aquinas) ----------
it is characterized by rationalism which was considered ex-
treme by many of his contemporaries.
b. He attempted to show that Jewish Theology could be reconciled
with the prevailing Aristotelian philosophy of his day.
c. To do this-he reinterpreted both biblical and rabbinic texts
in a rationalistic way, maintaining miracles were not an
interruption in the natural process
d. Prophecy could be accorded to anyone who prepared for it both
intellectually and morally ------------ maintaining that
the human scriptural encounter with the divine took place in
a vision or dream.
e. He went so far as to say that if it could be proved rational-
ly that God created the world from pre-existent matter the
Bible would have to be reinterpreted.
8. Philosophy of the Middle Ages shows that Judaism was not concerned
only with the minutiate of the law (as has been commonly supposed).
9. This impression (of concern for only the law) has been given for a
number of factors.
a. The Jew was to perform the mitsvot (commandments) ----------
ie. to fulfil the word of God as revealed in the Torah.
* This could be accomplished more tangibly, in practical
matters, regulated by the law than by philosophical or
dogmatic assertions.
b. Law regulated moral and ethical life, as well as ritual prac-
tices --------------- though ritual has appeared to be the
dominant feature.
c. For the purpose of Jewish identity with the Community ------
the practice of Judaism had a more objective basis than a
theological state of mind.
10. Various attempts have been made to formulate a Jewish Creed ------
this (imposition of a system of beliefs as distinct from practice)
has been resisted.
* This freedom of thought has existed until recent times.
Jewish Mysticism
1. Kabbalah (lit. tradition) is the word usually used for this aspect
of Judaism -------------- it assumed many forms in different
communities of Europe and the Meditteranean.
2. Purpose of Mysticism
a. It seeks a personal union with God, achieved through
spiritual exercise, meditation and comtemplation.
b. There is also what might be called a social messianic purpose
behind this desire for union ------------ the belief that
the mystic can influence God in his way with the word, and
thus hasten the time of redemption.
3. The origins of Jewish Mysticism can be found in the first chapter
of Genesis and the first chapter of Ezekiel ----------- the cre-
ation and the chariot.
4. The mystery of creation is based primarily on the problem of how
a transcendent incorpal God can crete a temporal physical world.
a. This was resolved by the construction of a system of divine
emanation (origin, source ------ to flow from) ------------
by which the world emerges through successive stages, each
one further removed from the Godhead.
b. These stages or spheres (sefirot) were also accorded the
status of divine attributes.
5. The mystery of the chariot was concerned with the nature of God
himself, and human contemplaton of God.
a. The "ascent of the chariot" consisted of the journey of the
soul of the mystic through various celestial places to the
throne of God.
b. Preparation for such a journey involved prayer and medita-
tion, especially on the letters of the Torah as well as
bodily exercise.
6. Literature of Jewish Mysticism: it is extensive but a few can be
singled out.
a. Sefer Yetsirah (Book of Creation) ------------ written be-
fore the sixth century describing how the world was created
by means of the twety-two letters and ten numbers of the
Hebrew language.
b. Sefer Hasidim (Book of the Pious) ------- written by Judah
the Pious (d. 1217) which is a compilation of mystiacal
thought, legend, and homiletical material, reflecting the
inner life of the Jews of the Rhineland which is marked by a
penitential character.
c. Sefer ha-Zohar (Book of Splendor) ------- a collection of
writing, the core of which is a mystical commentary of dif-
ferent parts of the Bible composed mainly by Moses de Leon
at the end of the 13th Century in Spain (but attributed to
the 2nd Century Rabbi, Simon ben Yohai.
1. The Zohar became the fundamental work of Kabbalah, and
future mystical literary creativity was an extention
and interpretation of it.
2. A distant mystical shcool grew up in Safed in Palestine
around Joseph Caro, Moses Cordovero, and particularly
Isac Luria (1534-1572) and his pupil Hayyim Vital.
The Hasidim
1. The emergence of Hasidim of central Europe at the end of the 18th
Century was a result of this mystical tradition.
2. The founder of the hasidic movement was Israel ben Eliezer
(d. 1760) known as Baal Shem Tov (or Besht).
3. Based on Lurianic Kabbalah, hasidism preaches the striving for
communion with God through the cultivation and experience of joyful
fervor in prayer, study, and the natural world.
4. It emphasized the traditional Jewish cncept of simple delight in
the service of God.
* It particulary appealed to those Jews in Eastern Europe who
were unable to participate in the legal traditinal study of
the Torah.
5. The leader of each hasidic community, known as the tsaddik (the
righteous one) was credited with the possession of a special re-
lationship to the divine spirit, and often with the power of work-
ing miracles.
6. The movement was opposed by traditional rabbis who saw in it a
danger of pantheism and the discouraging of learning in favor of
ignorant piety.
7. This movement has flourished even with the destruction of countless
hasidic communities by the Nazis.
* It is particularly strong in the United States and Israel.
Jewish Belief: major beliefs and practices of Judaism which have remained (for the most part) unchanged since the codification of the Shulchan Arukh in the 16th Century.
1. Judaism holds that there is one eternal God, who created the Uni-
verse, and who remains master of it.
a. God is both omnipotent and all-loving ----------------------
he created man with free will, the ability to choose between
good and evil.
b. God communicates with man through revelation, and Man can
communicate with God through prayer and meditation.
2. God (through revelation) has given Man a divine law, the Torah ----
the fullfilment of which will hasten the establishment of God's
Kingdom on Earth.
a. This kingdom will be announced through and by the arrival of
a personal Messiah who will be human and descended from the
House of David.
b. The Jewish People have a special role in this divine scheme
since it was to them that God revealed the Torah through
Moses on Mount Sinai.
3. Obedience to the Torah is central to Judaism ------------ it is
done through the fulfillment of the commandments.
a. The Torah: traditionally there are 248 positive and 365
negative commandments.
b. Attempts have been made to explain the reasons for, and pur-
poses of the mitsvot (commandments).
c. No rationalzation can equal in effect the original conception
of the mitsvah as being simply the expression of God's Will.
4. Jews have a duty in the sight of both people and God to lead a
life in accord with divine will ------------- to bear witness to
God and his purpose in the world.
5. Judaism believes in the equality of man --------------------------
Rabbinic Tradition: "The first man was created alone, so that none
of his descendants would be able to say to another, my father was
greater than your father.
a. Each human being is precious and has dignity simply because
he or she was created by God in his image.
b. This points out the Jewish conception of each person's rela-
tionship to his or her fellows ----------- it is a rela-
tionship based on love, respect and understanding.
6. Free Will of Man: he has the ability to become the master over his
evil inclinations.
a. Man is born with the ability to do both good or evil, and
does not inherit the burden of sin.
b. The world is good being created by God, and Judaism requires
the Jews to enjoy the bounty of this world, and to use its
gifts for the betterment of mankind and the service of God.
c. Judaism is a world affirming, not a world denying faith -----
salvation is achieved in this world and through this world.
7. Belief in the physical resurrection of the dead and the immortality
of the soul has been a cardinal tenent of Judaism.
a. Yet -------- far more emphasis is placed on the care of the
body and soul in this world than on the perparation for
eternity.
b. One of the most frequent images of heaven, is that of the
righteous sitting with crowns on thier heads, studying the
Torah, with the Holy One as their master.
Summary of Moral Duties: from the Mishnah Peah, chapter one
which is included for reading in the traditional morning ser-
vice.
"These are the things, the fruits of which a man enjoys for
the world to come: honoring father and mother, the practice
of charity, timely attendance at the house of study, morn-
ing and evening, dowering the bride, attending the dead to
the grove, devotion to prayer, and making peace between man
and his fellow; but the study of the Torah leads to them
all."
The Life of the Jew
1. The welfare of society depends to a great extent on the welfare of
the individual unit of the society - the family.
2. The family and home, even more than the synagogue, is the chief
center of Jewish religious life.
3. The festivals are celebrated mainly in the home, and the many dis-
tive features of Jewish family life help to ensure its cohesive-
ness.
4. Parents educate their children in the study of the Torah, a
knowledge of which is indispensable for correct observance of the
mistvot.
5. Childhood:
a. Male children are circumcised at the age of eight days, a
rite which derives from the command given to Abraham
(Genesis XVII) to circumcise himself and his son Ishmael.
1. The ritual is called the "covenant of circumcision"
(brit milah), since the child is brought into the
covenant which God made with "Abraham, our father".
2. The operation is performed by a mohel (or circumciser),
and the prayer is offered that the child "may committ
himself to the Torah, to marriage, and to good deeds.
b. Formal education begins at the age of five or six, when they
are broubht to the religon school (chedar, lit. room) attach-
ed to the local synagogue.
1. During the Middle Ages this would have been the focus
of their entire education ---------- for most Jewish
Children today the chedar is regarded as an adjunct to
their daily secular education.
2. Both in the United States and Europe, there is a grow-
ing movement to establish Jewish-day schools, many of
which have already been founded.
c. The age of majority for girls, according to talmudic tradi-
tion is twelve years and one day, and for boys it is thirteen
years and one day.
1. The boy becomes bar-mitsvah (son of the commandment) --
he is regarded as entirely responsible for his religi-
ous acts and liable to fullfil all the commandments of
the Torah.
2. In Talmudic Times the technical term that was used for
him was bar-onshin (son of punishment) meaning that he
was liable for punishment for any violation of a
commandment.
d. The ceremony associated with Bar-Mitsvah (originated later
than the talmudic period).
1. The boy is "called up" to read the Torah from the
Hebrew text, and sometimes the prophetic portions too
(in the synagogue).
2. This symbolizes his graduation to adult status in the
eyes of the Law and the congregation.
e. Since the study of the Torah is an essential, ongoing process
for the Jew, bar-mitsvah represents only one stage in Jewish
education and not its culmination.
6. Marriage (kiddushin) is one of the most important of the practical
mitsvot.
a. Rabbis emphasized that the first commandment in the Torah was
"bear fruit and multiphy" (Genesis I:28), and that it was
God's will that the first man whould be provided with a help-
mate.
b. Marriage is for the Jew the "natural state", and celibacy
existed only in sects which were on the periphery of Judaism,
such as the Essenes.
c. A marriage may be contracted between two Jews (a Jew being
defined as a child of a Jewish mother).
1. A marriage between a cohen (priest) and a divorcee or
a convert is prohibited.
2. Blood relationships are also obstacles except --------
that a marriage between cousins and uncle and niece are
permitted.
d. Jewish marriage is essentially a legal contract between two
consenting individuals in the presence of valid witnesses.
e. The main element of the marriage ceremony is the giving of an
object of value, usually a ring, to the bride by the bride-
groom.
1. This is followed by the bridegroom declaring: "Behold,
you are betrothed to me by this ring according to the
law of Moses and Israel."
2. The bride and groom share a cup of wine, and the groom
breaks a glass to symbolize the destruction of the
Temple.
f. The marriage takes place under a canopy called a chuppah
(this word has come to signify the ceremony as a whole) which
is a symbol of the couple's first home and God's spirit which
hovers over them.
* The groom gives the bride a marriage document (ketubah),
duly witnessed, in which she is granted certain property
rights should he die before her or divorce her.
g. Divorce: In the divorce procedure, the husband gives his
wife, in the presence of witnesses, a "bill of divorcement"
(get), in which he states that she is free to be married to
another.
7. Mourning: these rites are detailed and specific.
a. The dead body is washed and clothed in a white burial shroud
----------------- burial ocurrs as soon as possible after
death.
* cremation is prohibited.
b. Shivah is the prescribed seven day period of mourning which
begins after the funeral.
c. The mourners remain at home, sit on low tools (a custom de-
rived from the biblical rite of sitting on the ground as a
sign of mourning), and are comforted by visitors.
1. Evening prayers are said in the home on each evening
except the Sabbath when mourners attend the Synagogue.
2. During the prayers the mourners' Kaddish (Aramaic for
sanctified) is recited.
d. Less rigorous periods of mourning follow up to eleven months
after the funeral.
1. It is then customary to consecrate a head-stone in the
cemetary in memory of the dead.
2. The anniversary of the death is marked each year, and
relatives visit the graves of the dead in the period
preceeding the High Holy Days.
Festivals and Holy Days
1. Jewish festivals and holy days present a phenomenon that one might
call "creative assimilation".
a. Their origins are often pre-Hebraic, being based on Canaanite
or Babylonian prototypes.
b. The Hebrews transformed them over a period of time into
indigenous Jewish celebrations with the removal of their for-
mer pagan elements.
2. The Jewish calendar is lunar, consisting of twelve months, each
starting with the new moon, of 29 or 30 days each.
* To ensure that the agricultural festivals are celebrated dur-
ing the correct season of the year an additional month is
added ------------ approximately every three years.
3. Traditional Jews outside of Israel observe the festivals (except
the Day of Atonement) for one day longer than the period prescribed
by the Torah.
a. Because communities at a distance from Jerusalem could not
be sure that the messenger, who came from Jerusalem to
announce the advent of the new month, would arrive in time.
* The extra day has been discontinued by Reform Jews.
b. Every Festival (Yom Tov, lit. "a good day") and the sabbath
begins and ends at dusk, following the biblical pattern.
ie. "There was evening and there was morning, the first day."
4. The Sabbath
a. (Shabbat, day of rest) is the most important day in the Jew-
ish calendar, it begins on Friday evening (the eve of the
seventh day).
b. It commemorates God's completion of creation of the universe,
and his rest after his labors (Exodus XXXI: 12-17).
c. It is instituted in the home by the lighting of the sabbath
candles, and the saying of the Kiddush (sanctification), the
benediction over the wine and bread and the Sabbath Day
itself.
d. Parents customarily bless their children -------------------
one does not work and it is a day to study the Torah.
e. The havadalah (division) is a ceremony that ends the Sabbath.
It involves the dousing of a candle in the wine and the
smelling of sweet spices.
ie. This symbolizes the beauty of the Sabbath as it departs.
5. The Days of Awe (Yamin Noraim)
a. The first ten days of Tishri:
1. The first two days comprise the New Year (Rosh ha-
Shanah) and the tenth day is the Day of Atonement
(Yom Kippur).
2. The whole period is known as the Ten Days of Penitence
(Aseret Yemei Teshuvah).
b. The new year festival was originally called "a memorial pro-
claimed with the blast of horns" (Leviticus XXIII: 24).
1. Apparently it was connected with the new year itself---
a designation that does not occur in the Pentateuch.
2. When it became known as Rosh ha-Shanah, the emphasis
was not on the new year but on the reaffirmation of
the kingship of God and the inauguration of a period of
penitence.
3. The day is distinguished by the blowing of a ram's horn
in the synagogue (perhaps the idea of a trumpet fanfare
accompanying the coronation of God) ------------------
later it is interpreted as a call to repentence.
ie. It is a recollection of the fidelity of Abraham
who, during the episode of the binding of Issace,
sacrificed a ram (Gnesis XXII: 13).
c. The Day of Atonement
1. It is the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar -----
it is a day of fasting, this being the traditional
interpretation of "affliction of the soul" (Leviticus:
XVI:29, XXIII:27).
2. The Rabbis stress the importance of true contrition as
an essential element with the fasting.
ie. fasting alone is insufficient to obtain atonement.
3. The service in the synagogue continues throughout the
day, and it is characterized by a recital of the duties
of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement in the
Temple.
4. The blowing of the horn at the end of the service is
accompanied with the communal affirmation "The Lord, He
is God".
5. The priest asks for forgiveness both for himself and
for the community of Israel.
ie. It is an opportunity for both personal and communal
repentance.
6. The Eve of the Day is called Kol Nidrei (lit. all vows)
------------ a prayer that asks for the nullification
of all vows made under duress.
ie. It came to reflect those Jews who were forced to
convert to other faiths by force.
6. Pilgrimage Festivals
a. On these festivals of Pesach, Shavot, and Sukkot, Jews were
commanded to go to Jerusalem to participate in the worship
at the Temple (Deuteronomy XVI:16).
* They have in common both agricultural and historical signi-
ficance.
b. Pesach (Passover) is an eight-day festival beginning on the
15th of Nisan, the first two days and the last two days being
full festival days (Yamin Tovim).
1. To celebrate the Exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites
emerged from bondage to freedom.
ie. Another name in special kiddush is "the season of
our freedom".
2. Two Main Features: abstaining from eating leaven during
the whole period of the festival ---------------------
this being a reminder of the fact that the Israelites
left Egypt so fast that the dough did not have time to
rise, and secondly, the celebration of the sedar (lit.
order) in the home on the first two nights.
3. The sedar is a festive meal at which the story of the
Exodus is told by the head of the family to the child-
ren.
4. A special prayer book (haggadash-lit., narration) is
used ------------ the story is introduced by ques-
tions from the children and illustraded by the use of
symbolic foods.
5. The sedar meal emphasizes the role of God in history
------------- Judaism attributes achievement to the
power of God and not of Man.
c. Shavuot (lit. weeks)
1. It is a two day festival beginning on the 6th of Sivan,
seven weeks after the second day of Passover.
2. It is also known as Pentecost (fiftieth day) ----------
observed as the anniversary of the revelation of the
Torah to Moses at Mt. Sinai.
ie. It is also known as the "Season of the giving of
the Torah".
d. Sukkot (Tabernacles)
1. It is a nine-day festival beginning on the 15th of
Tishri ------------ (like Passover) the first two
days are full festival days.
2. It commerorates the autumn harvest ------------ it is
a memorial of the way in which the Hebrews in the wild-
erness depended on the bounty of God.
3. It is observed in the home by the building of a sukkeh
(a temporary structure) with a roof through which one
can observe the stars ----------- it is an attempt to
recreate the conditions which the Hebrews experienced
in the desert.
4. The worshippers carry the arba' ah minim (four kinds).
ie. specimens of palm, myrtle, willow, and citron in
the synagogue.
* In accordance with rabbinic interpretation of Leviti-
cus.
5. The ninth day of the festival is designated Simchat
Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah).
* The annual cycle of the reading from the Torah begins
again.
* It is a time of rejoicing ----------- singing and
dancing in procession with the scrolls of the Torah.
* Another name for the festival is "The season of our
rejoicing".
7. Other Festivals
a. The festival of Purim:
1. It occurs on the 14th of Adar, and it is based on the
Book of Esther.
2. It is a festival for thanksgiving for the salvation of
the Jews from the persecution of Haman ----------------
he is viewed as the representation of all persecutors
of the Jews through the ages.
b. Chanukkah (dedication) is post-biblical.
1. It is an eight day festiaval beginning on the 25th of
Kislev ------------- since it is not designated in
the Torah and not a Yom Tov, one is not prevented from
working.
2. It commerorates the victory of the Maccabees over
Antiochus Epiphanes who is 168 B.C. attempted to des-
troy the Jewish faith.
3. The observance of the festival is not based on the
military victory, but on a legend which tells of how
a one-day supply of consecrated oil which the Maccabees
used for the rededication of the desecrated Temple
lasted for eight days until more could be obtained.
4. In Jewish homes a candelabrum (menorah) is lit, con-
sisting of eight candles (together with an an addition-
al "servant" candle), one candle being lit on the first
night of the festival, two on the second, and so on.
c. The Tishah b'Av (Ninth of Av) is the most important day be-
sides the Day of Atonement.
1. It commemorates the destruction of both the first and
second Temples in 586 B.C. and A.D. 70.
2. The Book of Lamentations is read, and prayers are read
for the end of the Exile and the restoration of the
Temple.
3. In later years there has been a tendency to commemorate
on this day the death at the hands of the Nazis of six
million Jews during World War II.
Dietary Laws
1. To the traditional orthodox Jew, the ritual observance of Kashrut
(lit. "that which is fitting" is the noun, kasher or kosher, fit -
being the adjective) is of great importance.
2. Food that may be eaten:
a. Animals that both chew the cud and have cloven hooves.
b. Fish that have both fins and scales.
c. Birds that do not fall into the category of those prohibited
in Leviticus XII.
3. Animals and birds must be slaughtered in a presecribed manner
(shechitah).
4. Meat derived from other sources is terefah (lit. - torn) and may
not be eaten.
5. Milk and meat products should be separated, and the utensils, etc.
connected with them.
* Exodus XXIII: 19 - "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's
milk."
6. The hind quarters of animals may not be eaten unless the sciatic
nerve is first removed.
* Genesis XXXII: 33 - "The blood must be thoroughly drained away."
The Synagogue
1. It is the center of public worship and social life for the Jewish
Community.
a. The word "synagogue" is of Greek origin meaning "a place of
assembly".
b. This is paralleled by the Hebrew, bet ha-knesset.
c. It is also designated: bet ha-tefillah (house of prayer) and
bet ha-midrash (house of study).
* These names indicate the purpose of the synagogue.
2. The chief feature of the synagogue is the ark (aron ha-kodesh)
which is a cupboard in which are housed the scrolls of the Torah
(sifrei torah).
a. Each scroll contains the Hebrew Pentateuch, hand-written on
parchment.
b. The ark, since medieval times, has been located on the wall
facing Jerusalem.
3. In front of the ark is a perpetual light (ner tamid) which symbol-
izes the eternal presence of God, and also continues the idea of
the perpetual altar-fire in the Temple precincts.
4. The conduct of the service proceeds from the bimah or almemar, a
raised platform which apparently in earlier times was at the end
of the synagogue, but which is now usually placed in the center.
5. A separation of the sexes is made either by a partition or by the
construction of a "ladies gallery".
6. Prayer:
a. The original basis for Jewish prayer is found in the Bible,
and a large part of the Jewish liturgy is composed of quota-
tions from the Scriptures especially the Pslams.
b. There are three set times for prayer: morning (shacharit),
afternoon (minchah) and evening (ma' ariv).
c. The basic Jewish prayer is the shema (hear - from its first
word - Deuteronomy VI: 4-9).
1. This confession of God's unity is recited twice daily -
it is the first prayer taught to children and the last
to be said by a Jew in his or her lifetime.
2. It is the nearest formulation to a popular creed that
Judaism possesses.
d. The amidah (lit. standing) also called tefillah (prayer),
consisted originally of 18 benedictions, now nineteen said
twice daily.
* It is a combination of praise and petition, and affords an
opportunity of prayer of a private and personal nature.
e. The alenu ("it is our duty"), a third century prayer, said
at the end of the service, is a strong affirmation of mono-
theism, and embodies the Jewish hope for the establishment on
earth of God's Kingdom.
f. Private prayers may be said at any time and in any place ----
communal prayers should be said traditionally in the presence
of ten adult males (minyan - lit. numbers).
1. Male worshippers wear the tallit (prayer shawl) during
morning service ---------- a smaller version tsitsit
or arba kanfot) is worn always under the outer gar-
ments.
2. Tefillin, small boxes containing the paragraphs of the
shema, are worn on the forehead and arms during morning
weekday prayer to fulfill literally a command in
Deuteronomy VI: 8.
3. For the same reason the shema is fastened to the door-
posts of a Jewish home in a small receptacle called
mezuzah.
* The head is covered during prayer, and orthodox Jews
rarely go without some head-covering.
g. The prayer book for Sabbath and weekdays is called the
siddur, and that for the festivals is called meachzor.
Modern Judaism
1. Traditional Judaism and the practice of it has exerted a great
deal of influence on many Jews to this day ----------------- yet,
Judaism as prescribed in the Shulchan Arukh had to face many pro-
blems in the last two centuries and adapt to them.
2. These new circumstances had been caused by three main factors.
a. The emancipation of European Jewry and the Rise of Reform
Judaism.
b. The resurgence of anit-semiticism culinateing in the Nazi
holocaust.
c. The establishement of the State of Israel.
The Emancipation and the Rise of Reform
1. During the Middle Ages, Jews experienced political, social, and
academic discrimination.
2. In most Christian Countries:
a. Jews were baned from certain trades and professions.
b. They were prevented from participating in the normal educa-
tional system.
c. They were also compelled to live in specific areas.
* The term, "Ghetto", was not used until 1517 in Venice.
3. One result was that Jews became inward-looking, more concerned
with their own religious traditions, and a deepening of their own
Jewish spiritual awareness, than with the outside world.
4. The late 18th and early 19th Centuries saw liberal movements begin
to emerge across Europe.
a. These movements brought about both poltical and social relief
for many oppressed groups.
b. Jews also benefited from these liberal ideas especially in
Germany, France, Britain and the United States.
c. Jews were now free to mix both socially and intellectually
with non-Jewish neighbors, and were given some voice in
political affairs.
d. Jews were also able, for the first time, to bring contempor-
ary academic objective shcolarship to bear upon sources of
Jewish Tradition.
5. Unchallenged assumptions were now challenged, among them the
Mosaic authorship of the Torah, the authenticity of the oral tradi-
tion, and thus the validity of the Talmud and the Codes.
6. With this new scholarship, a greater awareness began to grow of a
need for a new expression of Judasim.
a. Early 19th Century Germany: there was a demand for the re-
vision of the Jewish form of worship.
b. Traditionally, prayer had been said in Hebrew, with a sermon
in Yiddish, and without instrumental accompaniment.
c. Over time, in some congregations, a sermon in the vernacular
was introduced, the service was shortened, some prayers were
said in German, and an organ was used.
d. This was the beginning of Reform Judaism (also called Liberal
Judaism).
7. This movement led to more fundamental departures from tradition:
a. There was an emphasis on the more universal aspects of Juda-
ism -------------- this involved an end to references in
the liturgy to the Election of Israel, and to the restoration
of the Temple and sacrifical worship.
b. It also led to the rejection of the idea of physical resur-
rection and the coming of a personal messiah, and an expres-
sion of the belief in the progressive revelation of God.
8. Greater emphasis came to be placed on the prophetic elements in
Judaism instead of the Rabbinic Elements.
a. This resulted in a emphasis on the ethical above the ritual
requirements of the Faith.
b. Equality of the sexes was also established in all aspects of
Jewish life, including equal educational opportunities.
9. The Reform Movement did cause dissension, but it spread rapidly
particularly in Germany and the United States.
a. There are now Reform or Liberal communities in nearly all
countries with Jewish populations except the Communist Bloc.
b. The strong Conservative Movement in the United States repre-
sents a more moderate reform of Orthodox Judaism than Reform,
while the newer Reconstructionist movement, theologically
radical, emphasizes the wider aspects of Jewish culture and
civilization.
The New Anti-Semitism
1. The Reform Movement brought with it a hope of universal love and
human brotherhood coupled with the fact that the Age of Englighten-
ment was seeminly establishing a new era of haromony between Jew
and non-Jew.
a. The Haskalah (Enlightenment) Movement had affected many Euro-
pean Jews especially in Russia during the first half of the
19th Century.
b. It proposed cultural assimilation where individuals lived,
and encouraged the writing (in Hebrew) of works in imitation
of contemporary literature of other peoples --------- it was
a hope for a revival of Hebrew as a living language.
2. The hopes of reformers and maskilim (intellectuals or rationalists)
were soon qualified by the resurgence of anti-semitism especially
in Germany, Russia, and France.
a. This new persecution was based on concepts of racial super-
iority (and inferiority), supported by political and econom-
ic propaganda than on religious ideas.
b. European Jewry had been subjected to physical humiliation,
torture, and death many times in their history especially
during the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition.
c. 19th Century Persecution: resulted in large scale immigration
from Continental Europe to Britain and the United States.
3. This new rise of anti-semitism culminated in the Nazi Philosophy
of Aryan Superiority, and of the concept of the Final Soultion.
a. Six million European Jews were exterminated, whole communi-
ties vanished, academic and religious institutions were
destroyed.
b. It was the greatest tragedy that had ever happened to the
Jewish People.
The Growth of Zionism
1. One of the ideas of traditional Judaism which had been discarded by
early Reformers was that of the Return to Zion.
a. The idea of a return from Exile for the dispersed Jews was
very deep-seated in the Jewish consciousness.
b. Promises made to the patriarchs during the Babylonian Capti-
vity and renewed after the Roman destruction of the Temple
had been reflected in Jewish literature and philosophy.
2. Renewal of persecution of European Jewry at the end of the 19th
Century brought a different focus to the hope for an end to exile
and return to Zion.
a. In previous centuries the desire had been linked with a reli-
gious orientation, expressed in the hope that God would re-
deem his people by bringing them back to the Holy Lands.
b. 19th Century: this movement underwent a much more nationalis-
tic and political transformation.
3. The Zionist movement was born at the First Zionist Congress of
1897, with Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) as its main inspiration.
a. This movement culminated in the founding of the state of
Israel in 1948 --------------- Yet, its fundamental nation-
alistic direction aroused opposition among those Jews who
saw their distinctiveness primarily in religious terms.
b. In later years, though, there have been very few Jews who
have not supported their brother Jews in Israel.
4. In religious terms it would appear that a constructive tension is
establishing itself between the Judaism of the Diaspora, especial-
ly in the United States, and the spiritual consciousness of the
Israelis.
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