Brodd Chapter 12 NotesJudaism

“Judaism is not only the adherence to particular doctrines and observances, but primarily living in the spiritual order of the Jewish people, the living in the Jews of the past and with the Jews of the present. . . . It is not a doctrine, an idea, a faith, but the covenant between God and the people” (Heschel, Man’s Quest for God, p. 45)

Covenant ancient agreement between God and the Israelites first through Abraham and then through Moses—at Mount Sinai God promised Moses and the Israelites that if they obeyed the Law (Torah), they would be his people and he would be their God

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The Covenant makes the Jews God’s Chosen People, and therefore requires them to live as a holy nation, a good and righteous people—as a chosen people the emphasis is placed upon the community, the group identity, instead of upon the individual

Distinction exists today between religious/observant Jews and cultural/nonobservant Jews

Judaism is the interpretation of the history of the Jewish people of the pastJudaism is also the sanctification of life of the Jewish people of the present

Judaism’s Central Teachings: On God and Torah

God revealed his divine will to the Hebrew people through the “Old Testament”/”Hebrew Bible” and the writings of the rabbis from shortly after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. This revelation is found in the Torah

Master of the Universe: Judaism’s God

The divine name YHWH is too holy to be spoken—in speech it is rendered as “the Lord” or often he is referred to as “Master of the Universe”

God is named and is a personal being involved in the welfare of humans and the created world while at the same time he is transcendent of creation, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent

God is one and there is no other

Shema = to hear = “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” = Deut. 6:4—recited twice a day, once in the morning prayers and once in the evening prayers—when formulated this was new and strange as all of Israel’s neighbors were polytheistic—this became the concept of monotheism which was given to the West through Judaism

Torah: Revelation of God’s Will

Torah = “instruction” = the will of God revealed to humanity = “law” = this revelation sets forth the Law for proper human conduct = “the first five books of the Bible” which tradition held was revealed by God to Moses and is the primary statement of religious law for Judaism

The Written Torah: The Hebrew Bible

3 major parts—The Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings = Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim = Tanakh

The Hebrew Bible is in the Christian Bible as the Old Testament

The Torah = the first 5 books of the Bible = Pentateuch = place of prominence among the Hebrew Scriptures—tradition holds that it was revealed by God to Moses on Mount Sinai =

Judaism’s code of holiness = 613 specific laws, especially the Ten Commandments—every synagogue has a scroll of the Torah which is kept in an ark

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The Prophets

Prophet = “one who speaks for” = books of historical accounts and proclamations of the will of God by God’s spokesmen—worked to keep Israel on its religious course during times of danger or difficulty

The Writings

A diverse collection of works diverse in content and genre which were written late in the history of the Hebrew Bible—e.g. poetry = Psalms, wisdom literature = Proverbs, short stories = Esther and Ruth, and history = Chronicles

Mishnah and Talmud: Teachings of the Rabbis

The “oral Torah” = material by Judaism’s great rabbis of antiquity which were later written in the Mishnah and later in the Talmud

Rabbi = teacher of Torah or a Jewish leader of worship

The oral Torah elaborates upon and explains the written Torah—it answers questions about the texts and how they apply to an ever changing world

Mishnah = written about 200 A.D. but it conveys the teachings of rabbis from the preceding 400 years—it too is a sacred text and is the starting point for rabbinic study of the oral Torah

Talmud = based directly upon the Mishnah, it is an elaborate commentary upon the Mishnah texts—it blends together written Torah to support the rabbi’s work as well as the Mishnah—it is thousands of pages long and some great rabbis have memorized it—the Talmud has continued to be interpreted and continued up to the Middle Ages—in a sense it continues today as Judaism must grapple with new issues presented to it by an ever-changing world

The History of the Chosen People: Blessings and Tribulations

Israelites/Hebrews Jews/Judaism about the time of the Exile (587 B.C.) from Judah = ethnic group that shares a common history and religion

Jews believe God is directly involved in guiding and caring for the world, and therefore history is a record of God’s will as manifested in the events of the world—history demonstrates how Israel has lived its end of the covenant—When Israel is faithful to the covenant, they prosper. When Israel fails to uphold the covenant, they are punished

Classical Judaism

Second Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. Without Temple worship and rituals, the Pharisees whose focus was the study of Torah emerged as the leaders of Judaism. Their compilation of the Mishnah and Talmud during the next few centuries established classical Judaism

http://www.mycrandall.ca/courses/newtestament/hebrews/WesternWall.jpgClassical Period of Judaism = end of first century to the seventh century when Muslim forces conquered Palestine

Second War against Roman rule ended in 135 A.D. with Jerusalem being leveled and Jews were forbidden to any longer live in the region of Palestine—the Jews were essentially once again in exile

At one time or another the Jews were under the rule of Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. In the fourth century Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire and during the seventh century Israel was occupied by Muslims

587 B.C. to 538 B.C. = Babylonian Captivity = Jews learned to survive without having a homeland—after the Exile many Jews remained in Babylon, parts of Persia, and in Egypt—Jews for the first time lived away from their homeland and became known as Jews of the Diaspora = Dispersion—from the classical period of Judaism until the present most Jews are part of the Diaspora

Medieval Judaism

8th century to the middle of the 18th century—Jews of the Diaspora lived under various political and social conditions—in Spain, for example they thrived and produced both great works of philosophy and mystical teachings

Jewish Life in the Medieval Period

In Africa, Spain, and the Near East, Jews lived under Muslim rule—they were generally free to practice their religion, conduct their own courts of law, and assured of security of life and property—in exchange the Jews were required to pay certain taxes to their Muslim rulers—Jews tended to fare well and established a large middle class

In Europe, the Jews lived under Christian rule where conditions varied over the centuries—during the early medieval period, because Christians were either discouraged or forbidden to lend money, Jews became the moneylenders in a new emerging economy—the monetary success of the Jews caused resentment among Christians who already resented Jews as “sons of the crucifiers.”

Christian resentment lead to violent persecution of the Jews in Europe—beginning of the 12th century they were victims of blood libels = false accusations that the Jews had ritually murdered Christian children—expulsions of the Jews occurred in France, England, and Spain when it came under Christian rule during the late 15th century

Jews were also blamed for the Black Death = bubonic plague that killed a third of Europe’s population in the mid-14th century—entire populations of Jews were massacred by wandering bands of Christians

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The Spanish Inquisition targeted Jews and put many of them to death

To escape persecution many Jews migrated east, especially to Poland, where they were welcomed—by the mid-17th century Poland had the largest population of Jews of any country in the Diaspora—here they enjoyed a large degree of governmental autonomy and lived in relative safety and prosperity—Polish rabbis made impressive intellectual advances—BUT in 1648 Cossacks rebelled against the Poles and massacred about a quarter of the Jewish population

Some Jews did manage to live for periods with relative peace and prosperity—Muslim Spain was such a place

Jewish Philosophy: Maimonides

Moses Maimonides (1135-1204)—interpreted Torah using the of Plato and Aristotle to create a controversial Jewish theology—set forth 13 principles that form the backbone of Jewish theology—

1. the belief in God’s existence2. the belief in His unity3. the belief in His incorporeality4. the belief in His timelessness5. the belief that He is approachable through prayer6. the belief in prophecy

7. the belief in the superiority of Moses to all other prophets8. the belief in the revelation of the Law, and that the Law as contained in the Pentateuch

is that revealed to Moses9. the belief in the immutability of the Law10. the belief in Divine providence11. the belief in Divine justice12. the belief in the coming of the Messiah13. the belief in the resurrection and human immortality

The Kabbalah: Jewish Mysticism

Philosophy emphasizes reason while Kabbalah/Jewish mysticism teaches that God is known through the heart, through love—God is both transcendent and immanent—God is found by looking inward

Most famous work of Jewish mysticism is the Zohar = written in 13th century Spain by Moses de Leon—very symbolic work using numbers and cryptic language—advocates multiple levels of reading Scripture which reveal hidden understanding in the text that bring one closer to God

Modern Judaism

Changes brought on by the Enlightenment of the 18th century gave rise to different forms of Judaism

Hasidism

Hasidism = pious = founded during the 18th century in eastern Europe—some of its mystical teaching derive from the Kabbalist tradition—God is immanent and known first by the heart—emphasis is upon personal relationships with God and community instead of the study of Torah and strict observance of its commandments

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Zaddik = leader of Hasidic community—the zaddik is a holy man with a close relationship with God—through the zaddik’s presence and teachings, the whole community is able to move closer to God

Zionism

19th century movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland—modern Israel was established in 1948—currently Zionism is the support of the modern state of Israel

Anti-semitism = social movements that condemn or seek the destruction of Judaism—it was believed that Jews could only be safe in a homeland of their own—the Holocaust confirmed the Zionist conviction regarding the need for a Jewish state

The Holocaust

Holocaust = Shoah = mass destruction = persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany from 1933-1945—murder of an estimated 6 million Jews = one-third of Jews

Jewish response to the Holocaust deserved as a punishment for their sins God has broken the covenant Zionism the ongoing support of the State of Israel

The State of Israel

During the Zionist movement of the 19th century, Jews began to return to Palestine—the Hebrew language was restored—the land was turned into agricultural land—farming communities and cities were formed

1948 Israel gained statehood for the first time in nearly 2000 years

Statehood resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs and resulted in several wars—though less than half of the world’s Jews live in Israel, it is a center of unity for all Jews and is supported by Jews from around the world, especially those in North America

Palestinians and Jews claim the same land, and for both Jews and Muslims the land holds deep religious significance

A divide also exists between secular and religious Jews living in Israel—modern democracy and traditional Judaism are often in conflict with one another

Modern Institutional Divisions

Reform Judaism = Judaism and Modern Society are compatible—Judaism adapts to the modern world—relaxation of observing details of Jewish traditional practice—English is used, the rabbi functions like a Christian preacher instead of a scholar and teacher of Torah—about one-third of US Jews are Reformed Jews

Conservative Judaism = a middle ground—somewhat open to change and modern way, BUT quite strict regarding observance of traditional practices—worship is in Hebrew, dietary laws, and behavioral laws on the Sabbath are strictly observed—about half of the Jews in the US are Conservative

Orthodox Judaism = Torah is the standard of truth and that life within society must always conform to it—Torah is unchanging and therefore Jewish life should change very little—deeply traditional form of Judaism—Orthodox Jews tend to live in separate communities to help maintain their traditional ways—about one-tenth of Jews in the US are Orthodox

The Sanctification of Life: The Way of Torah

Life is sanctified through the moment-to-moment observance of Torah

Judaism is more concerned with right practice than with right belief—little emphasis on theology or statements of belief—spiritual perfection is perfect observance which depends upon the type of Judaism one follows

Daily Life

Jewish life is guided by Torah—Torah defines both ethical conduct and worship

Ethics

Torah requires living an ethical life, it requires right behavior—Ten Commandments and other laws—help those who are needy, give food and shelter to guests, visit the sick—Jewish community does charitable and philanthropic work

Daily Worship through Prayer

Mandatory for males 13 and older—women are excused because of household responsibilities which are also done according to Torah, BUT in modern times more women are participating in prayer

For prayer, men wear traditional accessories—in Yiddish (language derived from German and Hewbrew) Yarmulke = skullcap—Phylactery = small leather boxes containing biblical passages secured to the forehead and to the left arm = near the mind and heart, the two ways of serving God—Prayer Shawl = a shawl which can also be worn over the head for privacy

https://www.google.com/search?q=phylactery&espv=2&biw=1365&bih=850&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiV_d

Ly86bSAhVi_4MKHRAbAsMQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=Nu6zlSJKBjKgAM:There are morning, afternoon, and evening prayers = passages from the Hebrew Bible and other authoritative sources—the prayers may be said at home or in common in a synagogue

The Home and the Synagogue

The home is the most common place for Jewish worship and is the center of Jewish social life which focuses on the family

Rules based on Torah govern family relationships

Mezuzah = a small container with the Shema written on a small scroll and placed outside to the right of the door

The center of home worship is the dinner table—festive meals for holy days, Sabbath, and ordinary meals

Food is Kosher = proper = meets dietary restrictions—e.g. pork is forbidden and meat may not be mixed with dairy products

Synagogue = for Reform Judaism the “temple” = place for Jewish worship—since the Babylonian Exile synagogues have been the center for prayer, study, and fellowship—the synagogue is led by a rabbi = one who has mastered the sacred writings of Judaism—their role is less formal than a priest or minister in other faith traditions

Sabbath

“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

Sabbath = Shabbat—begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until sunset on Saturday—some Reform Jews have moved the Sabbath to Sunday—the Sabbath is both a religious and social high point of the week

Sabbath is the seventh day of Creation and is a day or rest in order to appreciate the glory of Creation—rest from labor might include such things as driving, answering the phone, and for a very observant Jew even turning on a light is forbidden because Torah says that one may not light a fire on the Sabbath

During the Sabbath Jews will study Torah and attend service both at home and in the synagogue

Food for the day may be special and will have been prepared the day before since cooking is a form of labor

Sabbath is for fellowship with family and other Jews

The Annual Calendar of Holy Days

16 holy days exist and the first day of the new moon is also honored—other days include Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover

Hanukkah is more a celebration in proximity to Christmas than it is a religious holy day

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah = New Year—occurs in the fall and is observed for two days—it celebrates God’s work of creation and is a reflection upon the deeds of the past year and the need for redemption

A shofar = ram’s horn is blown to remind Jews of the need for these spiritual needshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jR20-0sy1Y

It is the beginning of 10 Days of Awe which is a period of reflection

Social relationships are also renewed during this period with festive meals and visit to cemeteries renew the bonds with the deceased

Yom Kippur

The Days of Awe end on the 10th day of the new year with the celebration of Yom Kippur = the Day of Atonement—this is Judaism most important holy day

Yom Kippur is very personal and emphasizes repentance through the confession of sin and is observed through prayer, and the abstention from food, drink, and work—there are services in the synagogues

Passover

Celebrated in the early Spring, Passover is an 8-day celebration of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt

The highlight of the festival is the Seder meal where the Haggadah is recited and traditional foods are served—Haggadah = recalls the events of the Exodus—during the 8 days only unleavened bread is eaten = matzo—it recalls the haste with which the Jews left Egypt and therefore symbolizes liberation and redemption

Jewish history has religious significance

Rites of Passage

Rites of passages mark major changes in life and have two purposes1. reflect the changes in life while providing a sense of permanence through unchanging

rituals and the deeply rooted values in them

2. help to define the responsibilities of each stage of life and to teach the means to advance through them with the proper maturity

Birth and Naming

Rite of passage for birth for boys is circumcision in the home on the 8th day and naming—for girls it is simply the naming of the child—some Reformed Jews have a ceremony for girls modeled after the circumcision rite for boys

Circumcision is a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants—it therefore marks a boy’s entrance into the Jewish community

Coming of Age

Rites of passage for a child becoming an adult with adult religious responsibilities

Bar mitzvah for boys—“son of the commandment”—13th birthday—boy participates in the synagogue service by reading from the TorahBat mitzvah for girls—“daughter of the commandment”—done the same as a bar mitvah, BUT Orthodox Jewish girls DO NOT observe bat mitzvah

Marriage

Marriage is the ideal human relationship and is modelled after Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the FallHuppah = bridal canopy under which the bride and groom stand during the ceremony

Seven blessings are given

The ceremony ends when the groom breaks a wine glass under his foot to remind the couple that difficulties and pain accompany the joys of living

Death and Mourning

Stages of mourning are prescribed in Judaism

Stage ONE: Lasts from death until burial which ideally is the day of death—When learning of the death, family members rip the clothes they are wearing and recite verses that acknowledge God as the true judge—mourners are forbidden such activities as shaving and wearing leather—they are also relieved from the daily schedule of prayer—the body is ritually washed, clothed in a shroud, and buried in a plain wooden coffin

Stage TWO: The second stage begins after the burial with the recitation of the Kaddish = a prayer of mourning—the stage lasts for seven days—community members visit the family—conversations are limited to good comments about the deceased—when leaving, visitors recite a prayer of comfort

Stage THREE: The third stage lasts for 30 days after the burial—while most normal activities resume, the mourning family refrain from social gatherings and celebrations

Stage FOUR: Limited to the death of one’s parents—this stage lasts until the first anniversary of the parent’s death—during this stage the mourners avoid their usual seats at the synagogue and they recite kaddish during the services—on the anniversary of the death, kaddish is said once again

Remember, Judaism is more about right practice than it is about right belief

The Tradition of the Chosen People

Judaism is:o the covenant between God and the Chosen Peopleo the interpretation of the history of the Jewish peopleo the sanctification of life

Only about 14 million Jews exist today and those numbers are decreasing. Some Jews fear that their traditions are weakening and will be lost