Judaism

• 'Hear O Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one'

  Part of the Shema
• 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me'

  Exodus 20
• 'In the beginning God created heavens and earth'


  Genesis 1
• 'In the image of God, He created him, male and female He created them'


  Genesis 1
• God


  • One
  • Creator
  • Law Giver
  • Judge
• Shekhinah


  Place where God's presence rests and can be felt
• Covenant


  A promise or agreement between God and the Jews
• Shabbat


  Day of rest for Jews from Friday to Saturday sunset
• Kosher


  Foods and practices allowed
• Messiah


  Anointed one who will bring about a new age for mankind
• Synagogue


  Place of worship and learning for Jews
• Mitzvot


  Duties or commandments
• Torah


  The five books of the Tenakh
• Jews believe in one God (monotheism)
• God is believed to be all knowing (omniscient), all powerful (omnipotent) and always existing (omnipresent)
• Synagogues show the belief in one God by not having statues of any living beings
• Some Jews believe the name of God is so special that anything with God's name must be buried if no longer used
• Many Jews believe God alone created all life as stated in Genesis, the first book of the Torah
• Some Jews believe God literally created the world in six days, others believe the story should not be taken literally as what is important is the story shows God is creator of all
• The weekly festival of Shabbat celebrates creation
• As God gave life then the preservation of life Pikuach Nefesh is very important
• God revealed to Moses the duties that Jews should keep, including the Ten Commandments
• Through the following of these laws Jews are fulfilling what God wants and forming a relationship with him
• God is a God of justice and mercy and is a judge of how the duties of the Torah are followed
• At the festival of Rosh Hashanah God judges every person
• God's ways may not be understandable, but they are considered to be just
• The shekhinah is used in the Torah to describe God's dwelling on the earth
• Some Jews believe the shekhinah never left the Temple and that is why Israel has a special spirituality
• It is believed that through the shekhinhah God's presence can be felt and creates a sense of peace and calm e.g. when Shabbat candles are lit
• How do beliefs about the nature of God relate to other areas of your study?

  Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Pikuach Nefesh, Care of the Environment, worship, Moses
• Sukkot


  Also known as the Jewish harvest festival, lasts for seven days, remembers the 40-year period when the Jews were traveling in the desert on their way to the promised land
• Sukkot celebration


  1. Jews build shelters or booths to remember the temporary shelters the Jews built when traveling through the desert

  2. Jews are required to dwell in the sukkah for seven days to remember how the Israelites lived
• Sukkot is a mitzvah (commandment) that has to be followed
• Sukkot reminds Jews how God cared for and protected the Jews during their time in the desert
• Leviticus: 'And the Lord spoke unto Moses saying, speaking to the children of Israel saying the 15th day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord'
• Sukkah


  A temporary booth or shelter that Jewish families build and often eat or sleep in during Sukkot
• Sukkah


  • One side must be open
  • Roof must be made of plant material that is sparse enough to allow light to get through but thick enough to provide more shade than sun
• Light in the sukkah

  Represents the presence of God, but Jews cannot directly experience the transcendent God, only reflect God's greatness through their actions
• Shade in the sukkah

  Represents the clouds of glory that protected and guided the Jews through the desert
• Lulav


  Made of palm, myrtle and willow leaves in a wooden holder, represents the unity of the Jewish community in following the mitzvot