Judaism: A Culture and a People

1. Judaism: A Culture and a People

2. Judaism is not just a religion • Judaism is a religion, but it is also a culture and a people.

3. A culture and a people • Judaism does not represent any single race, belief, or viewpoint, let alone values and politics.

4. The Torah • Torah means “teaching,” “instruction”, or “law” and is commonly known as the Law of Moses.

5. Maps of Israel Over the Years • The map of Israel changed many times since Biblical Times.

6. Most people around Abraham were polytheists • Monotheism was a radical break with the common philosophical understanding of the Divine at the time.

7. The Temple in Jerusalem • Worship was centered on the temple in Jerusalem.

8. The Western (wailing) Wall • Though the temple was rebuilt, the religion became more and more what it ultimately would become, a religion of synagogues, where worship consisted of study of Scriptures without sacrifices.

9. The Bible is divided into three sections • The Torah is the first section, and includes the first 5 books of the Bible. The Prophets is the second section, and the Writings is the third.

10. The Messiah • An important idea of Biblical Judaism is the concept of the Messiah.

11. Kabbala: Jewish Mysticism • Kabbala is based on finding deeper meanings in the words and letters of the Torah that point to metaphysical realities.

12. The Kabbalistic Tree of Life • Kabbala: a path of meditation

13. Hasidism • Hasidism was a devotional movement that started in Eastern Europe through the teachings of the Ba’al Shem Tov (“Master of the Good Name”).

14. Jewish-Danish Children Smuggled into Sweden • The Holocaust has had a profound effect on Christian-Jewish relations and dialogue.

15. Orthodox Judaism • Orthodox Judaism teaches full following of the Law (Torah), and is traditional in theology, forms of festival and worship.

16. Reform Judaism • Reform Judaism has roots in the German Enlightenment, and is liberal in attitude, and does not believe in following the Law legalistically.

17. Jewish Beliefs • No dogma is as significant to most Jews as participation in the Sabbath worship, festivals, customs, and observances traditional to the community.

18. Moses Maimonides, 1135-1204 • A conventional touchstone for Jewish belief delineation has been 13 principles of faith put down by the great medieval thinker, Moses Maimonides.

19. Abraham Joshua Heschel • Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), celebrated the holiness in all things and the possibility of an intense, passionate relationship between God and humans.

20. The Sabbath • The Sabbath commemorates the Lord’s day of rest after the work of creation, and is intended for the rest and refreshment of both body and soul.

21. Rosh Hashana: Happy New Year • Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year and is a celebration of the creation of the world. It is associated with the “sweetness of life”, symbolized by honey and sweet bread.

22. Passover • Passover is a celebration of freedom recalling the Exodus, parting of the Red Sea, receiving of the law at Mt. Sinai, and entry into the Promised Land.

23. Chanukah • Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E.

24. Bar Mitzvah: A Rite of Passage • The term means son (bar) of the commandment (mitzvah). For a girl, the term would be daughter (bat) of the commandment (mitzvah).

25. A Religion of Action • Judaism is a religion of action more than beliefs.

26. Modern Jerusalem • In modern Israel, we see some negative issues arising.

27. The Letter of the Law • On an internal level, the “dark side” of Judaism has been in its focus on the letter of the Law rather than the spirit of the Law.

28. Deborah, the Judge • On one hand, Jewish women have been celebrated in texts and traditions as charismatic luminaries, heroines, intellectuals, devoted wives and leaders.

29. Tradition • It is the role of wife and mother that takes center stage for women in traditional Judaism; most traditions regarding women revolve around her role in the home.

30. Jewish Wedding • This attitude even comes out in modern weddings, where the father “gives away” his daughter to the groom.

31. The Marriage Contract • A woman could only get a divorce if the man agreed to give her one. Pictured here is a traditional marriage contract, called a Ketubah.

32. First Female Rabbi: Sally Priesand • Today there are women ordained as rabbis and cantors in Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism.

33. Shekhinah • Shekhinah, which is feminine, is the spirit of God at the Sabbath, also known as the “Sabbath Bride.”

34. Center of Judaism • For a long time, Judaism was centered on the temple in Jerusalem in the land of Israel.