Judaism Introduction

Origins

Judaism is one of the 3 Prophetic Monotheistic Religions in the world, the other two are Christianity and Islam.

It is prophetic as there were numerous Prophets who predicted the coming of a Messiah, Monotheistic as they believe in one God-mono (one) Theology (belief/ study of God).

History

Jews are an ancient people of around 3000 years old, their history is told in the bible and is traced back to Abraham of around 1900 BC (before common time era)

The Jews have been known as Jews, Israelites and Hebrews. (Jesus was a Jew, however the Jews accept Jesus as a wise man, but not he chosen Messiah as Christians believe, hence Judaism predates and heavily influences Christianity, but is not part of Christianity).


Abraham

 Abraham is one of the first recorded leaders of the Hebrews in the Bible. He was a wealthy man who was called by God to leave his land and move from Ur to Canaan, or Israel as it is called today.

Abraham heard the call of the Lord to stop believing in pagan Gods (like God of wind, God of Mountain etc.) and he followed God's request and led his people from Mesopotamia to Canaan. This journey is recorded in the book of Genesis. We can map his journey here

Questions

Who is Abraham?
Abraham is the father of the Jewish, Christian and Islam religions. He is one of the first recorded leaders of the Hebrews in the Bible. He is also the first Jew to worship one god.

What did Abraham believe? How was it different to the people of the time?
Abraham believed there was one god and one creator. The people at the time believed in many pagan gods.

What do you think a covenent is? What covenent did God make with Abraham?
In the Old Testament  a covenant was an agreement between God and Israel in which God promised protection to the Chosen People in return for exclusive loyalty. God promised Abraham to make a great nation, to make him a father of many nations, to bless everyone in his name and the promised land.

What sacrifice was Abraham requested to make? Why did God ask this of Abraham?

He was asked him to sacrifice (kill) his son, Isaac for him. God asked this of Abraham to see if he truly loved him and was loyal/devoted.  

What does Patriachs mean?

Patriarch means father. The three Patriarchs are Abraham, jacob and Isaac.

More info here

What is a synagogue?
A jewish temple and house of worship. It is a place of prayer, study and education.

What is a rabbi?
A jewish priest/ teacher, a person sufficiently educated in Jewish law and tradition to instruct the community.

What is a Kippah?
The skullcap head covering worn by Jews during services, and by some Jews at all times.

Name a Jewish festival

Hannuka-the festival of lights.

What does the fish symbol represent?

"The fish is a Christian symbol which got it's origin after Jesus was ascended into Heaven. The new Christians were being persecuted and even put to horrible deaths because of their faith. The story goes that they devised a way to secretly signal other Christians or, if just meeting someone, to find out if that person were also a believer by simply taking their foot and casually drawing an arc with their toe on the ground. Then, if the other person was a Christian, he, just as causally, would draw an ark with his toe to complete the fish. Now, they could speak to each other about their faith and pass along information without fear."

Genesis

Day 1- Day and Night

Day 2- Waters and Earth

Day 3- Plants

Day 4- Light and Dark

Day 5- Fish, Bird and Animals

Day 6- Man

Day 7- Relaxes

The History of Religion

What is religion?
"A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader."

What are beliefs?


Explain the following terms


Animism: The earliest kind of religion that was developed while humans were living as hunter-gatherers. It is the belief that humans/animals have spirits.


Polytheism: Belief in many gods. The first human civilisations followed different types of polytheism.


Pantheism: The belief that everything is part of one god. Hinduism is more Pantheism than Polytheism.


Monotheism: Belief in only one God.  This was what the Jews started following and is in the Old testament.


Agnosticism: Uncertainty about God or Gods. Some Greek thinkers were moving away from religion and developing ideas in science and philosophy.


Atheism:Belief in no Gods.

Refugees

Australia’s Refugee Dilemma!

Imagine if....

The following is an example of an imaginary scenario that can be used to encourage students to think about what it means to be a refugee.

Imagine that your mother or father arrives home from work one day and tells you that the police are about to arrive to arrest the whole family, because of your family’s religious beliefs.  You are told to pack a small backpack and be ready in 2 minutes. A family friend drives you overland to Darwin where you climb aboard a yacht. Your parents hand over thousands of dollars in cash. Six weeks later the yacht leaves you on a Japanese beach.  Police arrive and take you to a detention centre which is prison and home to refugees like yourself from various parts of the world, all speaking different languages. Only a few other people speak English.  The guards, canteen staff, doctor etc. all speak Japanese.  Your parents tell you that they are applying for refugee status in Japan, which means you will be allowed to live in the country, go to school there and eventually get a job. 

1. What would you pack in your backpack?

Basic survival things such as food and water then a book to read and special things like lockets or bracelets.

2. What would you miss most if you had to leave your home, your school, Australia?

I would miss my friends, family, relatives, my house, my books, school, my pets, my life and all the things I loved too to do for fun.

3.      What would be some of the problems of living in a detention centre in a foreign country?

If you lived in a detention centre in another country you wouldn’t know their language, way of life, their laws or expectations of people.

4.      What would be the biggest challenges for you if you and your family were accepted as refugees?

It would be difficult to learn the countries customs and language as well as be accepted by other people. We would find it difficult to adapt to the life of this country and we would miss our old home.

5.      Why is this ‘imagine’ story a very unlikely one?

 It is very unlikely this would occur in Australia because Australia is a diverse and      multicultural country and accepts people regardless of their religion, nationality and differences. Australia’s laws and beliefs insure that this would never happen.

The Nobel Peace Prize

The founder of the prizes

In the 1890s, Swedish Alfred Nobel donated his large fortune to the Nobel Prizes. He dedicated the award to;

 “the person who shall have done the most or best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

Example: The united nations and its secretary general Kofi Annan were chosen for their work for a better organised and more peaceful world.

The first peace prize

Henry dunant, founder of the red cross, shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 with Frédéric Passy, a leading international pacifist of the time.

In addition to humanitarian efforts and peace movements, the Nobel Peace prize, has been awarded for work in a wide range of fields including advocacy of human rights, mediation of international conflicts, and arms control.

Number of prizes

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 120 Laureates-97 times to individuals and 23 times to organisations.


The gender allocation

Of the 97 individuals awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 12 are women.

Organisations can win the award

The work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been honoured the most-three times, other organisations that have won the award include Amnesty International and International Panel on Climate Change.

Village Space Presentation-Climate Change (Issue:Kiribati)

Kirabati is a country which is being affected by the worldwide issue of Global Warning.

What was the issue about?

The island of Kirabati is slowly drowning along with many other islands.

What is causing the issue?

The Green house gases that are being emitted when fossil fuels are used are causing the earth to become warmer. This is resulting in the melting of the ice in Antarctica and the Arctic Circle, causing sea levels to rise and submerge small islands. Kirabati is one of the islands in which the sea is submerging more and more each year.

Who is affected?

Due to this issue the people of Kirabati are losing their homes. Many of these people are becoming refugees in other countries so they can escape their island before all of it disappears.

Kirabati isn't the only island experiencing this issue. Their many pacific nations being affected by this issue.

What can be done?

To stop Global Warming people can:

• Use solar energy/solar panels
• Hydro-powered energy can be used
• Wind Turbines can be used
• Educate people about the issue, so that they know how to help
• Reduce the amount of fossil fuels used
• Don't use electricity unnecessarily