Being Jewish in 21st Century Australia

1.     Where are Jewish religious services held?

Synagogue

2.     What time do morning prayers begin at Anton’s school?

7:15

3.     For how many years has Judaism existed as a religion?

3800 years

4.     How many gods did Abraham believe in?

One

5.     What are mitzvoth?

Commandments

6.     What did Moses do?

Led their ancestors out of Egypt and received the 10 commandments

7.     What is the Torah?

Jewish Holy Scriptures

8.     What is a Jewish religious leader called?

Rabbi

9.     When did Abraham leave the area now known as Iraq to settle in the area now known as Palestine or Israel?

1800BC

10.  What does Shabbat mean?

Rest

11.  How long does Shabbat last for?

From sundown on Friday night to sundown on Saturday night

12.    What is the purpose of blowing the ram’s horn?

To remind people that the change is coming

13.     What is Yom Kippur?

Day of the Atonement, day of Fasting, Jewish people reflect their sins.

14.     What does the festival of Hanukkah celebrate?

Celebration of Jews freedom to practice their religion

15.     Which city did King David pronounce the capital for the Jews?

Jerusalem

16.     What is the Western Wall?

The remains of a Temple built by King Solomon. Here they cry to God. Some write notes and stick them in the crakes of the wall knowing that god will read them.

17.     What does Bat Mitzvah mean?

Coming of age ceremony. Celebrated when a child turns 12 or 13.

 

Synagogue

Synagogue

 

1.  Origin of the name

The word ‘synagogue’ is a Greek translation of the word ‘beit k’nesset’ which means “place of assembly”.

2.  Functions of the synagogue

At minimum it is a place of prayer and where Jews can get together for community prayer services. It is also a place of study for Jews where they have a well stocked library of Jewish sacred texts which Jews can study from.

3.  Structure

They are usually run by a board of directors and they usually have a rabbi, but they don’t need a rabbi, religious services can be conducted by lay people in whole or in part. However, a rabbi is a valuable member of the community, providing leadership, guidance and education.

4.  Items found

The most important item in the synagogue is the Torah Scroll, which is their bible. It is held in the ‘Ark’ which is also called the Aron Kodesh (‘holy cabinet’).





Another important item is the menorah which is a candelabrum which symbolises the menorah in the Temple but instead of having 7 branches like the one in the Temple they only have 6 or 8 because to copy the menorah in the Temple is considered improper.

The bimah is a pedestal that holds the Torah scroll when it is being read





The Torah Scroll

How is the Torah scroll made? How is the Torah revered?

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

·         The 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 right to left

·         The sofer takes at least one year to write out Torah

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

·         If the sofer makes a mistake, he scrapes off the letters using a glass tool.

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

·         Each sheet is sewn together and wound around the wooden rollers.

·         It has a velvet cover called a mantle

·         A silver breastplate is hung on the front of it, like the one worn by the high Priests in Biblical times. This is decorated with Jewish symbols.

·         Bells are attached so people hear it being carried around the synagogue.

·         There is also a silver pointer called a yad.

·         The yad is used to preserve the scrolls.

·         When the Torah is not being used, it is kept in a special cupboard at the front of the synagogue, called an Ark.

·         This reminds Jews of the Ark of the Covenant in which Moses and his people carried the ten Commandments.

Core Beliefs

Ø  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 interests in the beliefs and practices associated with the religion of Judaism.

Ø  The Jews believe in the teaching of the Jewish Bible, known as the Torah.

Ø  This is the first Testament of the Christian Bible. There is no Second testament or New Bible for Jews.

Ø  Why? Because the Jewish don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah and the Second Testament is all about Jesus and his teachings.

Written Law & Oral Law

Ø  613 commandments found in Torah (‘Written Law’)

Ø  Talmud (‘Oral Law’)- commentary of ancient rabbis that elaborates on how to apply God’s Law in everyday life through:

o   Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher)

o   Dress and other symbols

o   Prayer and devotion to the one God

o   The Temple and Temple rites

o   Observation of Holy days

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

Core Beliefs

Ø  Jews firmly believe that there is only one God, there are 13 main beliefs that Jews believe in, they include:

Ø  God exists

Ø  God is one and unique

Ø  God is eternal

Ø  Prayer is to God only

Ø  The prophets spoke the truth

Ø  Moses was the greatest of the prophets

Ø  The Written and Oral Torah were given to Moses.

Ø  There will be no other torah

Ø  God will reward the good and punish the wicked.

Ø  The Messiah will come

Ø  The dead will be resurrected

The Family

Ø  The heart of Judaism is the home and Family, social responsibility and doing Mitzvot (“good deeds” based on Gods commandments)

Ø  Through education and hard work we make our lives, the lives of others, and the world, what God intended it to be – Holy.

Behind the News – Judaism question

 

1.       What language do the Jewish people speak? Hebrew

2.       How do the Jewish people read Hebrew? Right to Left instead of left to right

3.       Why is Israel important to the Jewish people? Because it is the Promised Land, promised by God.

4.       When was the present state of Israel formed? 1948, after World War 2

5.       What makes it unique in the world? It’s the world’s only Jewish state.

6.       Who is the chosen prophet of Judaism? Abraham

7.       What do the Jews believe God thinks of their people? That they are the chosen ones.

8.       How do the three main religions differ in their view of Jesus? Christians belive Jesus  is the Son of God while The Jewish and Muslims believe he is an important man but they don’t believe Jesus is the Son of God.

9.       Why do the Jewish people not celebrate Christmas? They don’t believe he is the Son of God therefore do not celebrate Christmas.

10.   What festival do they celebrate instead? Hanukkah

11.   What event is celebrated at this festival and what is the significance of the number 8? The Feasible of light. Celebrating how the oil lasted for 8 days instead of 1.

12.   What is the name of the sacred text of the Jewish people? Torah

13.   How is the text similar to the Bible? Because the Old Testament is the same.

14.   How many commandments to the Jewish people have to follow? 613

15.   What is the name of the leader of a Jewish religion? Rabbi 

16.   What is a Tallis? Prayer Shawl

17.   What is Tefillin? A small box that the Jewish men strap to their arms.

18.   What is a Kippah? A Kippah is a skull cap that Jewish people wear.

19.   What is the word used to describe the food the Jewish people can eat? Kosher

20.   Where is the only Kosher Mc Donald’s? Israel

21.   Why is a Cheese burger not kosher? Because they cannot have Dairy and Meat in one meal.

An Introduction to Judaism

Origins

·         Judaism is a one of the three Prophetic Monotheistic Religions in the world, the other two are Christianity and lslam.

·         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 accident 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 accepted Jesus as a wise man, but not the 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, the god of the mountains etc.) and he followed God’s request and lead his people from Mesopotamia to Canaan. This journey is recorded in the book of Genesis.

·         Who is Abraham?

·         What did Abraham believe? How was it different to the people of the time?

·         What do you think Covenant is, what Covenant did God make with Abraham?

God entered into a covenant with Abraham, a covenant is

God promised to take the Jews out of slavery and deliver them to Israel, he also expected his people to understand and obey his commandments

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

God asked him to kill his son as a test of his faith

·         Search the site for the word Patriarchs? What does this mean?

·         From http://www.jewfaq.org