Beliefs and teachings Flashcards
The nature of the almighty
What are the 3 divisions of the TeNaKh?
- Torah
- Nevi’im
- Ketuvium
The nature of the almighty
What are the main Tenakh teachings about God?
- God is One - monotheism
- God is the creator
- God the law giver
- God the judge
The nature of the almighty
What is the significance of the Shema?
basic teaching of the Torah - begins with ‘Hear O Isreal, the Lord our God, the Lord is one’
The nature of the almighty
How is the importance of God’s oneness shown in Judaism?
- Jewish people have a mezuzah holding the Shema on their gates and doorframes
- Men bind a tefflin to their forehead and arm when they pray every morning
- Judaism teaches the unity of creation
The nature of the almighty
How is the belief of God the creator shown?
- first words of the Torah are ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth’
- first out of 13 princibles set out by Maimonides - medieval rabbi
- God’s creation is so good, Jews care for the enviroment
The nature of the almighty
How is God the law giver shown?
- God gave some laws to Noah, Abraham but Moses received all 613 commands (mitzvot)
- the mitzvot form the halakhah - basic of how Jews live their lives today
The nature of the almighty
How is God the judge shown?
- the halkhah is the divine law of Judaism - any divine law requires a divine judge
- means the good will rewarded and the evil punished
The nature of the almighty
Why is the belief of God the judge important?
- people know there will be rewards for those who keep’s God laws
- the good will rewarded and the evil punished
- world is protected from the chaos that would come if there was no way of amking sure that people keep God’s laws
The nature of the almighty
What are some SOWA’s on the the nature of the almighty?
One - Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4
Creator - I believe with perfect faith that God is the creator - 13 principles of faith
Law Giver - Isiah 33, ‘the lord is our Law-Giver’
Judge - Psalm 9 says that God will judge the world in righteousness
Shekhinah
Why is a difficult to describe the word shekhinah?
deliberate
way of describing the Almighty’s presence in the world - attempting to use finite words to describe the infinite source cannot be accurate
Shekhinah
What does Shekhinah mean?
‘the glory of God’
Shekhinah
How does the Torah speak of Shekhinah?
- God’s presence going with Moses to guide him through the wilderness to the promise land
- the Shekhinah as cloud and smoke on Mount Sinai when God gave the commandments
Shekhinah
What are the different understandings of Shekhinah for Jews today?
- some Reform Jews base themselves on the teachings of Maimonides - described the Shekhinah as a light created to be a link between God and the world
- others believe that the Shekhinah simply means God - interchangeable words
- others see at as one of the various ways God is related to the world
Shekhinah
Why is the Shekhinah important for Judaism?
- shows how close God is to humanity
- the Shekhinah being at the Temple, Mount Zion and Jerusalem is what makes them places so special
- believers might come across the Shekhinah at any time
Shekhinah
What are some SOWA’s on Shekhinah?
Exodus 13:21-22: The Shekhinah led the Israelites through the desert as a pillar of cloud and fire Exodus
Messiah
What does Messiah mean?
‘annointed one’
Messiah
What is the purpose of the Messiah?
- rebuild the temple in Jerusalem
- unite all the people of the world
- bring the messianic age when all will live at peace, all nations
- make everyone aware of the presence of God
Messiah
What is the nature of the Messiah?
- human, not a divine being
- a descendant of King David
- a man of great piety
Messiah
What is the Messianic age?
Olam Ha-Ba:
* Nevi’im syas that during this time there’ll be peace among all nations
* All Jewish people will return to Isreal
* The temple will be rebuilt
* The whole world will accept God and Judaism
Messiah
What are the different understandings of the Messiah
- Some Orthodox Rabbis taught that the Messiah will not come until all Jews observe the Mitzvot fully
- Many reform Jews no longer believe in an individual messiah - believe that it is up to individual Jews who will make the world perfect
- Most Orthodox rabbis follow the teach of Maimonides that no one knows except God
Messiah
Why is the belief of the coming of the Messiah important for Jews?
- one of the 13 princibles of faith
- pray for the return of those who were forced to leave at the exile, reward to the righteous
Messiah
What are some SOWA’s on the Messiah?
Isaiah 11:1-2 - Messiah as a descendant of Jesse (King David’s father)
Jeremiah 23:5-6 - Messiah as a righteous, divine king
The covenant at Sinai
Who, where and when made The covenant at Sinai?
Jewish people and God
Mount Sinai
After Moses led the Jewish people out of captivity and were left wondering for 40 years in the Sinai wilderness
The covenant at Sinai
What was the The covenant at Sinai?
Mosaic Covenant
* agreement between God and Jews
* was written on 2 tablets of stone kept in the Ark of the Covenant stored in the temple
* stated that if the Jewish people kept the 613 laws given to Moses, they would be God’s special people
The covenant at Sinai
Why is the Mosaic covenant important for Jews today?
- the mitzvot provides a way of life for Jewish people and seperate them from Gentiles
- the TeNaKh teaches that by keeping the Covenant, the Jewish people will fufill there destiny of bringing the whole world to worship God
- all divisions of Judaism are all based on interpretations on how people should obey the covenant
The covenant at Sinai
Why is the decalalogue (10 commandments) important?
Last 5 are very important when making moral decisions - give clear moral guidance
Remind themselves that they worship 1 God every time they touch the mezuzah and 3 times a day in prayer
The covenant at Sinai
What are the 10 commandments (SOWA)
Exodus 20
1. You shall have no other Gods before me
2. Do not make idols
3. Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy
5. Honour your Father and Mother
6. Do not murder
7. Don’t commit addultery
8. Don’t steal…
The Covenant with Abraham
What was the Abrahamic covenant?
Gods side:
* make a great nation from Abraham’s son
* give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants as ‘an everlasting posession,
Abrahams side:
* Himself and all his male descendants to be circumcised
* Abraham and his family to Worship God alone
The Covenant with Abraham
What is the result of the covenant?
- Jewish males are circumcised
- Worship God alone
- Some Liberal Reform Jews don’t believe it’s important - don’t circumcise their children
The Covenant with Abraham
Why is the Abrahamic Covenant important for Jewish people today?
- most Jewish baby boys are circumcised, usually at 8 days old, enter the Covenant of Abraham (Brit Milah)
- The Brit Chayim ceremony for Jewish baby girls welcomes Jewish baby girls into the Jewish faith - claims them as a heir to the Abrahamic covenant
- gave rise to the idea that Jewish people had a right to live in the area that was the ancient Kingdom of Isreal
The Covenant with Abraham
Whatare some SOWA’s on the Covenant with Abraham?
God said to Abraham in Genesis - ‘this land will be an everlasting posession of your descendants and I will be their God’
God said to Abraham in Genesis - ‘You are to undergo circumcision and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and you’
Sancity of life
What does Judaism teach about life?
it’s sacred
* a gift from God
* follows that God is the author of life
Sancity of life
How is the sacredness of life shown in pikuach nefesh?
saving a life and is the principle in Jewish law that the preservation of human life overrides almost all other commandments
Sancity of life
Why is pikuach nefech important today?
- allows abortion if the mothers life is in danger
- the Jewish aids trust promotes the use of condoms to prevent HIV - save lives
Sancity of life
What are some SOWA’s on Sancity of life?
1 of the 10 commandments - “You shall not murder”
Leviticus 24:17 – “Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death”
Moral principles and the mitzvot
Why do most Jewish people see the mitzvot and halakhah as the same thing?
by following the halakhah they are keeping the mitzvot
Moral principles and the mitzvot
What allows Jews to decide wether to keep the mitzvot or not?
free will
Moral principles and the mitzvot
Why were Jews given free will?
- humans are made in God’s image - have been created with free will
- every person is free to chose to do good or evil
- Something on which they can be judged
Moral principles and the mitzvot
Why is important for Jewish people to understand the mitzvot?
- only if they really understand the Mitzvot will they keep them properly
- God’s way of reaching out to humans - keeping the Mitzvot is the way to develop a relationship with God
- understand that some, such as kosher, were given without reason - test of faith
Moral principles and the mitzvot
Why do Orthodox Jews believe the Mitzvot is really important?
- direct words from God to Moses and cover the whole of life
Moral principles and the mitzvot
Why are the Mitzvot not as important for Liberal Jewish people?
- not directly from God
- believe observing the mitzvot is personal choice
Moral principles and the mitzvot
What are some SOWA’s on Moral principles and the mitzvot?
Dueteronomy says that choosing the Mitzvot is a life or death choice
Deuteronomy 30:19 - Humans have free will to follow or reject God’s laws
Jewish beliefs about life after death
What are the 2 beliefs on the afterlife?
Resurrection
immortality of the soul
Jewish beliefs about life after death
Why do most Jewish people believe in resurrection?
One of the 13 principles of faith
* Some believe the resurrection of the dead will occur during the messianic era
* others that it will follow the messianic era
* some believe only the righteous will be resurrected
* others that all will be resurrected
Jewish beliefs about life after death
What do other rabbis argue for the immortality of the soul?
- the idea that the soul lives on after death as a spiritual being Olam Ha-Ba (the world to come)
- this is where God dwells in what many believe as a parallel universe
Jewish beliefs about life after death
What are the names for heaven and hell?
heaven - Gan Eden
hell - Gehinnom
Jewish beliefs about life after death
What are the different beliefs about the nature of judgement?
- some Rabbis have taught that judgement will be based purely on behaviour - good, heaven and bad,hell
- Maimonides taught that all good people will go to Gan Eden, even non-Jews
- others have suggested that judgement will be based on a combination of behaviour and belief
Jewish beliefs about life after death
What are the different understandings of heaven and hell?
- many rabbis taught that the souls of the totally righteous ascend to Gan Eden and the souls of the ordinary people go to Gehinnom - place of purification
- Some rabbis teach that the totally evil souls are eternally damned
Jewish beliefs about life after death
Why is the belief of life after death important for Jews today?
- 1 of the 13 principles of faith - Jewish creed
- makes sense of this life - judged
Jewish beliefs about life after death
What are SOWA’s on Jewish beliefs about life after death?
Ecclesiastes 12:7 - The soul is eternal and returns to God
Daniel 12:2 - resurrection and judgment after death
