RE Judaism

• judaism is a monotheistic religion that believes in one God, and that Jesus is the messiah
• Evidence that God is one :

  • the shema states ' The Lord is one '
  • 10 commandments state ' worship one God '
  • synagogues contain no pictures / statues = God is the only one that should be worshiped
• 7 days of creation :

  1 light and dark

  2 sky and sea

  3 land and vegetation

  4 sun , moon and stars

  5 fish and birds

  6 land animals and humans

  7 God rested
• God created the entire universe , brought order and created humans . Evidence = "let s make mankind in our image " Gen 26
• Key Mitzvots :

  • do not eat unclean animals ( kosher )
  • love the stranger ( non jews )
  • do not eat meat with dairy
• Reform Jews are more relaxed when applying the mitzvots to their life . To them it depends on what times they live in
• Orthodox Jews are very strict and see the mitzvots as their duty directly from God to always follow them
• Rosh Hashanah - Jewish festival that celebrates the creation of the world
• Jews believe that God brings scales to weigh peoples good deeds against their bad . You have 10 days to make up for their bad actions before yom kippur . ( day of atonement )
• " God will reward the good and punish the evil " Maimondies
• Shekinah - the place where Gods presence rests and can be felt
• Gods presence can be felt in a synagogue and in the whole world because he is omnipresent .
• " the Lord led the people with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night " Exodus 13:21
• Shekhinah allows Jews to feel closer to God
• covenant - a promise / agreement between 2 parties
• messiah = anointed
• the messiah will bring the messianic age . This includes re building of the temple and an age of peace
• Reform Jews are less likely to see the messiah as a person yet a time on earth whilst Orthodox Jews are more likely to see the messiah as a person
• orthodox believe the messiah will :

  • be an actual person
  • rule Jerusalem
  • rebuild the temple in Jerusalem
  • Born from the line of Abraham and David
  • will be just and fair
  • bing about an age of peace
• " Nation will not not take up sword with nation " ( evidence for messianic age shows age of peace )
• Reform Jews view the Messiah as :

  • not a real person
  • a time of peace on earth
• Rosh Hashanah is the festival of the first day of the week after yom kippur. It is a time for forgiveness and rememebrance of Gods creation
• Rosh Hashanah is a happy time due to the new year ( turning a new leaf ) however it is serious because God will judge their behaviour
• Rosh Hashanah is celebrated by :

  • dipping apples in honey to symbolise a sweet new year
  • pomegranates are eaten as the seeds remind the jews of 613 mitzvots
  • a shofar ( rams horn ) is blow 100 times to remind Jews to wake up and repent
  • tashlich will happen where they will throw crumbs into water to symbolise casting off sins
  • visit a loved ones grave
• yom kippur is the day of atonement, when jews go to synagogue to ask for forgiveness
• yom kippur is the holiest day of the year for jews and marks the 10 days of repentance
• you fast for 25 hours . no food or drink , no make up or perfume and no sexual intercourse
• On yom kippur , you should donate food and money to the poor . " this is the fast i desire ... share your bread with the hungry " isaiah
• yom kippur celebration includes :

  • day spent at the synagogue
  • wear white to show purity
  • confess sins to God ( vidvi )
  • the shema is recited
• during the yom kippur service at the synagogue the story of Jonah and the scapegoats is read and a single blast of the shofar is made to mark the end of service
• sukkot is a jewish festival that reminds jews of how God protected them in the desert for 40 years . It lasts 7 days and they do not work on the first and last day
• sukkot celebration would be to build a sukkah ( temp booth ) . You have to eat , sleep and study the torah in the sukkah
• The lulav is a flower made from palm, myrtle and willow and is placed in a wooden holder. It represents different types of people being connected in one community
• pesach ( passover ) - celebrates the jews escape from egypt. passover comes from when Jews marked the lambs blood over the door whilst the spirit of God passed by
• on passover jews have a seder meal which contain :

  • salt water ( tears and sweat of slavery )
  • lamb bones ( sacrificed lamb )
  • bitter herbs ( bitterness of slavery )
  • roasted egg ( jews determination )
  • 4 glasses of wine ( 4 times God promised to free the israelites )
• • Ten Commandments - ten duties given by God to Moses which form the basis of Jewish belief
• Shekinhah - the place where Gods presence rests and can be felt
• Shema - a prayer declaring the jewish faith that is said twice a day. It is placed inside the mezuzah
• Pikuach Nefsh - the obligation to save a life whenever possible . Example giving medical treatment on shabbat
• Torah - the first 5 books of Moses . It is regarded as the holiest books of the tenakh