judaism practices

• The Talmud contains Jewish laws and interpretations from ancient times.
• The Torah is considered the most important text in Judaism, containing the first five books of the Bible.
• Jewish people are expected to follow the commandments given by God
• Mitzvot are commandments that Jews follow as part of their religious practice.
• Shabbat (Sabbath) is observed every Saturday as a day of rest and worship.
• Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish new year and celebrates God's creation of Adam and Eve.
• Kosher food refers to foods that meet specific dietary requirements outlined in the Torah.
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah is a coming-of-age ceremony where young Jews become responsible for their own religious obligations.
• orthodox synagogue services 


  men and women sit seperately
• orthodox synagogue services


  men and women sit separately, held in hebrew
• reform synagogue services 


  men and women sit together, women have an active role, held in hebrew
• the torah is 


  five books of moses
• on shabbat the ark is opened in the synagogue as a reminder of the 10 commandments given to moses
• birth ceremony


  brit milah for boys, is circumcision at 8 days old to remember to covenant with abraham. the child is placed on elijahs chair as a symbol to the prophet.
• the naming ceremony


  baby boy or girl is blessed in the synagogue on the first shabbat after birth. the girl will be given a name but the boy will wait until his brit milah
• redemption of the first born


  when the first born son is redeemed from temple service, ONLY ORTHODOX
• the jewish scriptures are

  the tenakh
• brit milah/abraham


  "every male among you should be circumcised" - genesis
• dietary laws


  "you shall not boil a kid in its mothers milk"
• dietary laws tell jews what they can and cannot eat
• food permitted is called

  kosher
• food that is unacceptable is

  trefah
• why can jews not eat pork

  it is considered unclean, cannot eat animals killed by predators
• the food laws help jews develop self-control and reminds them of their faith.
• all meat must be...


  slaughtered with a sharp knife by a trained jew, they believe the animal doesnt suffer
• jews cannot eat meat and dairy together as the torah tells them not to.
• how do jews separate meat and dairy


  orthodox jews have 2 sets of utensils in the kitchen
• pesach


  passover, the festival that remembers the jewish exodus from egypt, recalls god sending the 10 plagues, angel of death passing over jewish homes
• pesach is a joyful festival and celebrates jewish freedom from slavery, entering the promised land and being given the 10 commandments by god.
• how do jews prepare for pesach

  removing leaven from the home to recall how escaping israelites did not have time to let their bread rise. they eat a seder meal that has special food to symbolise the exodus. red wine symbolises the blood put on the door by jews to save their children from the final plague, salt water represents the bitter tears shed in slavery, green vegetables symbolise new life in the promised land and bitter herbs represent the bitterness of slavery
• rosh hashanah 


  the jewish new year, recalls the creation story from genesis.
• rosh hashanah lasts for 10 days and god judges jews and makes decisions and peoples fortune for the coming year. jews reflect on the past year and try to make up for any wrongs committed
• how is rosh hashanah celebrated 


  jews say prayers of forgiveness, blow a shofar horn to symbolise the coming of the day of judgement, eat apples dipped in honey in in hope of a sweet new year.
• what is yom kippur


  is the day of atonement on which god seals his judgement. jews repent for their sins during this time, enabling the relationship between god and jews to be restored. today jews do not work, and fast for 25 hours on yom kippur
• jews believe it is important that a person is not alone when they die. jews follow the example of jacob and tear a small holke in their clothing when a family member dies.
• reform jews try to bury a person within 24 hours of death
• what is shiva


  shiva begins on the day of burial and is an intense mourning period for 7 days, during this time they do not cut their hair or look in the mirror but instead focus on death and pray
• following shiva, jews do not cut their hair for 30 days or attend any parties. the final period lasts for 11 months and mourners do not attend parties
• some orthodox jews believe that their partner should be chosen for them by a matchmaker.
• the betrothal ceremony happens 12 months before the wedding ceremony and is when the couple are set aside for each other. this is a legal status in jewish law and cannot be broken. the couple do not live together