Kosher

Kosher=Food which fits the Jewish dietary requirements and Jews are allowed to eat

Treyfah=Food which Jews are not allowed to eat

In Leviticus, it says

• All plants are Kosher, but not all animals, birds or fish are
• Animals must also be killed in a special manner and have all the blood removed before the meat can be eaten by Jews.

How are animals killed?

• Jews may only eat animals and birds that have been killed by Shechitah.
• Shechitah is killing the animals by slitting the throat with a very sharp knife.
• This had been shown to be painless to the animals, as causing pain to living things is against Jewish Law
• The theory is that the sharpe knife cuts the carotid so that the animal loses consciousness before they are able to feel pain.

All vegetables and fruit and dairy products are kosher
A Kosher kitchen

• Jews who keep Kosher kitchens do not eat meat and dairy foods together. 
• Seperate sets of crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils are used.
• After eating meat strict Jews will wait several hours before eating dairy products.

The Torah

Torah means “teaching” and refers to the five books of Moses- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

A Torah scroll is made from sheets of parchment, which is made from the skin of a kosher animal.

It is written by hand in Hebrew by a professional scribe, called a sofer. Hebrew is read from right to left.

The sofer takes at least one year to write out the Torah.

He is not allowed to write from memory. He must copy from a book of the Torah, and keep checking for mistakes. Letters must not be smudged or touch another letter.

If the sofer makes a mistake; he scrapes of the letters using a glass tool.

The most sacred word that he writes is the Hebrew name for God. He cannot correct this-he must start the whole sheet of parchment again. The sheet with the error on it is buried in Jewish cemetery.

When all sheets of parchment are finished they are sewn together  and wound around wooden rollers.

The Torah is regarded as holy and is decorated as beautifully as possible.

Judaism Part III

The questions come from the Clickview movie called - Behind the News, Religion, that we watched in class.

You can use this video or the internet to answer the question, I will need to check these on Friday.

What language do the Jewish people speak?
Jewish people read Hebrew

How do the Jewish people read Hebrew?
It is read from Right to left

Why is Israel important to the Jewish People?
Israel is important to the Jewish people because it was the Promised Land, promised to Abraham and Moses by God.

When was the present state of Israel formed?
After World War 2, in 1948.

What makes it unique in the world?
Israel is the only Jewish state in the world

Who is the chosen prophet of Judaism?
Moses is the chosen prophet

 

What do the Jews believe God thinks of their people? How do the three main religions differ in their view of Jesus?

They believe God thinks they are the Chosen people who have a special covenant with God

Christianity, Judaism and Islam differ in their view of Jesus. In Judaism it is believed that Jesus was not the Messiah, in Christianity it was believed that Jesus was the peoples saviour.

Why do the Jewish people not celebrate Christmas?

Jewish people do no celebrate Christmas because Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ the saviour and the Jewish do not believe Jesus was the saviour/Messiah.

What festival do they celebrate instead?
Hannukah, also known as the 'Festival of Lights'.

What event is celebrated at this festival and what is the significance of the number 8? It celebrates the rededication of the Holy temple.

The number 8 is significant because the after Greek soldiers seized the Jewish temple in 168 B.C.E it was regained and then cleansed by burning ritual oil for 8 days. It was said that the oil they had would only last 1 day, but miraculously it lasted the full 8 days.

What is the name of the sacred text of the Jewish people?
The Torah is the sacred jewish text

How is their text similar to the Christian Bible?
The torah is the same as the Old testament of the Christian bible

How many commandments do the Jewish people have to follow?
613 commandments

What is the name of the leader of a Jewish religion?
A rabbi

What is a Talis?
A Jewish prayer scroll.

What is a Tefilin?
Small prayer boxes bound to the head and arms during prayer. They contain of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah

What is a Kippah?
A jewish skull cap

What is the word used to describe the food Jewish people can eat?
Kosher. It is food that conforms to the regulations of the Jewish Law.

Where is the only Kosher Mc Donalds?
Israel and Buenos Aires.

Why is a Cheese burger not Kosher?
Because Jews can't have dairy and meat together.

Judaism Part II

The term "Jewish" can be used to describe a race and a culture rather than a religion., so some who identify themselves as Jewish may have little interest in the beliefs and practices associated with the religion of Judaism.

The Jews believe in the teaching of the Bible, known as the Torah. This is the First Testament of the Christian Bible. There is no Second Testament or New Bible for Jews.

Why is there no Second Testament or New Bible for Jews?
Because they don't believe Jesus was the Messiah.

What are the first 5 books of the Torah?
1. Bereishit -Genesis
2. Shemot -Exodus
3. Vayikra -Leviticus
4. Bamidbar -Numbers
5. Devarim-Deuteronomy

Written Law and Oral Law

613 commandments found in Torah (written law) Talmud (oral law)-commentary of ancient rabbis that elaborates on how to apply God’s Law in everyday life through:

Ø  Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher)

Ø  Dress and other symbols

Ø  Prayer and devotion to one God

Ø  The Temple and Temple rites

Ø  Observance of Holy days

Ø  Proper social relations between male and female, in business, judicial rulings, etc.

Old testament stories

Genesis-Story of creation


When did it occur?
3000 BC


What happened?
Adam and Eve were the first humans; Eve and Adam were tempted by the snake to taste the forbidden fruit. They were
banished from the Garden of Eden, and started the human species.


Main characters?
Adam and Eve, God.

Where it appears in the bible
The first book of the old testament 

 Why is it important?
It is the story of creation. Adam and Eve create the original sin which everyone is born with.

Exodus-exit

When did it happen?
1200 BC
What happened?
Moses leads his people from slavery to egypt heading to the promised land.

 

Main characters?

Moses-most important prophet to the jews

Where it appears in the bible

Second book of the bible in the Old Testament

Why is it important?

Moses was the most important phrophet to the Jews. Like Abraham God tells Moses he will give him the Promised Land. God also tells him the commandments. It ties into abrahams covenants.

David and goliath


What happened?
David lost his name to the throne and then slayed Goliath to become king again.


Main characters?
King David and Goliath

Where it appears in the bible?
In the Old Testament

 

Why is it important?

The star of David was established.

Revelations-Judgement Day

What Happened?

The apocalypse. People would be punished for there sins.

Why is it important?

It is something that couuld destroy mankind.

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.