practices

• Shabbat - The Jewish day of rest and worship.
• shabbat features

  There is a service for families

  A rabbi may lead the service

  The Kiddush is recited

  The sidra is read

  There is a reading from the Torah
• Kaddish - A prayer said by mourners to remember their loved ones who have passed away.
• Synagogue - A place where Jews go to pray and celebrate festivals.
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah - When boys or girls become responsible for following God's commandments.
• Thirty days of sheloshim - A month long period during which mourner continue saying kaddish.
• Seven days of shiva - A week-long period where family members stay at home to receive visitors and say kaddish.
• Tefillin - Small boxes containing scrolls with verses from the Torah that are worn on the arm during morning prayers.
• Yahrzeit - An annual memorial service held on the anniversary of someone's death.
• Shivah - The seven days of mourning that follow burial, when family members stay at home to receive visitors and say kaddish.
• Mourning rituals include wearing black, refraining from eating meat, and not attending social events.
• Shema

  The Shema is said usually twice a day to emphasise the Oneness of the Almighty

  The Shema is in the mezuzah which is touched to remind themselves of the words of the prayer many times a day

  The Shema is inside the tefillin which Orthodox men and many Reform men and women wear when they pray
• Birth ceremonies

  The circumcision of boys remembers the Covenant where Abraham made an agreement with the Almighty ‘And when his son Isaac was 8 days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded’ (Genesis 21:4) (1)

  The birth of a child is a happy event as it fulfils the commandment to have children ‘God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it’’’ (Genesis 1:28)
• Synagogue

  Formal prayer in the synagogue is vital for many Jews who believe that praying as a minyan brings them closer to the Almighty

  A synagogue is central to a Jewish community and it enables Jews to focus on their faith amongst people who have the same beliefs

  Worshipping in the synagogue at Shabbat and festival times keeps the faith alive, allowing traditions to be passed down to the next generation. ‘Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.’
• tenakh

  The Tenakh contains the Torah

  It contains the Nevi’im

  It contains the Ketuvim

  The Tenakh contains the mitzvot

  The Tenakh contains the book of Genesis
• Jewish prayer in the home

  Most Jews pray standing up often swaying as they pray

  Jews often pray silently reciting the words in their head

  Jewish people may touch the mezuzah on doorposts which reminds Jews of the Almighty during the day
• purpose of prayer

  it builds the relationship with the Almighty

  It is a way of communicating with the Almighty

  It allows them time to focus on what is important

  It strengthens their faith

  It strengthens the community
• brit milah - covenant of circumcision
• importance of brit milah

  • reminds them of the Covenant with Abraham where the Almighty made the Jews his Chosen People
  • 'this is my covenant with you and your descendants after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised.'
  • It is a rite of passage passing the Jewish faith on to a new generation
  • A Brit Milah ceremony joins a community in togetherness and binds the child to his faith
• pesach - festival of passover, remembers night that God 'passed over' egypt, God killed every first born male in egypt other than the jewish people
• sukkot celebration:

  Jewish families build a shelter or booth

  The family often sleep in the shelter for 8 days

  They recite blessings over some branches

  They thank the Almighty for his protection

  They sing and dance in the streets
• bar mitzvah - jewish boy's coming of age
• bar mitzvah importance

  It signifies the coming of age for a Jewish boy meaning that he can now perform religious duties

  It honours the boy’s accomplishments allowing their families to publicly show their pride

  Bar Mitzvahs join a community in togetherness and bind the boy to his faith
• shabbat importance

  • It is a commandment of the Almighty, one of the commandments given to Moses to observe the Sabbath and to keep it holy (Exodus 31:14)
  • day of rest comes from the creation story in the Torah: God rested from creating the universe on the seventh day of that first week, so Jews rest from work on the Sabbath -Genesis 2:2,’By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work’
  • part of the covenant between God and the jews remembering how the Almighty helped them to escape from Egypt