Chapter 3: Judaism Flashcards
Ideas such as angels and resurrection of the dead are thought to have come into Jewish thinking under what influence?
Persian
In what way does matzah bread reflect the hasty departure of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt?
It is unleavened
What is the ritualized meal of the Passover called?
seder
Hanukkah commemorates:
The purifying of the temple by the Maccabees
What is celebrated in the Jewish festival of Purim?
Esther’s saving of diaspora Jews
What is the weekly holy day of the Jews called?
Sabbath
What feast celebrates the giving of the Ten Commandments?
Shavuot
What festival celebrates the Maccabean victory over the Syrian Greeks?
Hanukkah
At what Jewish feast is unleavened bread served?
Pesach
What is the name of the Jewish festival remembering the wandering of the Hebrews in the desert after their escape from Egypt?
Sukkoth
What Jewish festival celebrates the escape of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery?
Pesach
In what Jewish festival is repentance emphasized?
Yom Kippur
What is the Jewish festival fro the New Year
Rosh Hashanah
What is the traditional language of Ashkenazi Jews?
Yiddish
The Karaites were Jews who were opposed to?
Rabbinic Judaism
Which group of Jews was most influenced by Muslim culture?
Sephardic
Who were the primary Jewish aristocracy in 1st century Palestine?
Sadducees
The Jews began to speculate more about angels and the afterlife after the influences of what conquering empire?
Persia
The nation of Judah was defeated and taken into exile by what empire?
Babylonians
The nation of Israel was defeated and taken into exile by what empire?
Assyrians
After a civil war, the Hebrew people were divided in what way?
north/south
Which modern Jewish movement had as its primary objective the establishment of a Jewish homeland?
Zionist
Which Jewish group has dismissed most of the ritual elements of Judaism?
Reform
What Jewish group practices the most strict Torah observance?
Orthodox
What Jewish group controlled the temple and its economy in the century prior to the destruction of the Temple by the Romans?
Sadducees
What group of Jews is through to have had the greatest influence on Rabbinic Judaism?
Pharisees
In what area were the Essences primarily centred?
The Dead Sea
Which Jewish group fought and defeated the Seleucid Greeks in Palestine?
Maccabees
According to Jewish tradition, Abraham is considered to be the father of what nation(s)?
both Jews and Arabs
What event initially allowed Jews to move into the modern world?
the French Revolution
What is “Hasidism”?
a set of orthodox Jews
By what name were the Spanish Jews known?
Sephardic
The rabbis emphasized what distinctive aspect of Torah?
its oral and written character
The Zealots were
Jews who fought the Romans
What civilization allowed the Jews in Babylon to return to their homeland in Judea?
Persian
Ashkenazi Jews show the cultural influences of what area?
Germany
What term describes the theological perspective of the Zionist movement?
secular
What reforming Jewish group arose in Poland in the 1700s?
Hasidic
Which groups of Jews developed mostly in Christian countries?
Ashkenazi
What term is frequently used for a rabbi who is an expert in Torah?
Gaon
What were the temple assistants to the Jewish priests called?
levites
Who generally performs the rite of circumcision in a Jewish ceremony?
mohel
Which person generally leads a Jewish congregation in music and prayer?
cantor
After the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, what group became the religious leaders of Judaism?
rabbis
A descendant of the Jewish high priestly family is accorded what honour in the synagogue?
he is invited to read the Torah passage
What was the title for the head of the Jewish community in Babylon?
Exilarch
Mordecai Kaplan founded which branch of Judaism?
Reconstructionist
Theodor Herzi founded which Jewish group?
World Zionist Organization
What empire conquered Palestine in the 1st century BCE?
Roman
Who was not one of the Hebrew patriarchs?
Moses
Who formulated the “Thirteen Principles of Judaism”?
Maimonides
According to the Jewish tradition, who was the first human?
Adam
What term best describes “Herod the Great”?
puppet-king under the Romans
Who is acclaimed as the great restorer of Torah after the Exile?
Ezra
Who was the leader or founder of the modern Jewish Enlightenment?
Mendelsshohn
Rashi was a ___ rabbinic commentator on the Bible and the Talmud
French
The Great Jewish lawgiver was
Moses
According to Hebrew tradition, who was the father of the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”?
Jacob
The ideal king of Jewish history and legend is
David
Where do most Jews live today?
Israel
What area became a major center of Judaism as a consequence of the exile of the southern kingdom?
Babylonia
Where did most Jews live at the beginning of the Christian movement?
Roman diaspora
Which theory of the origins of the Hebrew nation best fits the biblical storyline?
conquest of Palestine by outside Hebrew force
According to the biblical tradition, the Hebrews were once slaves in what country?
Egypt
What is the “Wailing Wall”?
the western wall of the Jewish temple
The story of the giving of the Ten Commandments is set around what area?
Mount Sinai
Who destroyed Herod’s Temple?
Romans
When were the Jews expelled from Spain?
1492 CE
In what period was the modern State of Israel founded?
1900s
What is the term for the seven-day period of mourning following the death of a member of the Jewish community?
shivah
What is the meaning of the term “Bar Mitzvah”?
son of the commandment
What synagogue ceremony marks the Jewish boy’s maturity?
reading from the Torah
To what does the term “bris” refer?
circumcision
What is a “tall it”?
a Jewish prayer shawl
What is the primary obligation of Israel in their covenant with Yahweh?
observance of Torah
How many commandments are identified in the Jewish scriptures?
613
The primary Jewish prayer is called?
Shema
Jewish boys are initiated into adulthood by a ceremony called?
Bar Mitzvah
In what building do Jews no regularly worship?
synagogue
What Jewish group first introduced a “Bat Mitzvah” ceremony for girls?
Reconstructionist
What is the term for the boxes containing parts of the Torah wrapped around the right arm
and strapped to the forehead of Jewish males in prayer?
tefillin
What kinds of foods are not eaten together by those who keep a kosher diet
dairy and meat
What is the name of the head covering worn by Jewish men, particularly when they are at prayer?
Kippah
The popular symbol of modern Judaism is the “Star of David”. The symbol is not a start but a ___?
shield
What was the most recognized symbol of Judaism in the ancient world?
Menorah
What group popularized the “Star of David” symbol?
Zionist
What does a mezuzah contain?
portions of Torah
What term in kosher labelling identifies food that can be eaten either with dairy or meat products?
parve
In Kabbalistic speculation, God is often referred to as the “Ein Sof”. What does this term mean?
the Unlimited
The term “Ten Lost Tribes” refers to what group of people?
exiled Hebrews under the Assyrians
What does the term “diaspora” mean?
dispersion
What does the term “Zion” identify?
God’s Holy Hill
What is the term for the institute at which rabbinical students study?
yeshiva
To what does the term “Tetragrammaton” refer?
the four-letter name of the Hebrew God
Jews frequently will spell the word “God” by?
putting a hyphen in place of the vowel “O”
What Semitic word is a generic term for God?
elohim
By what term is legal material in Jewish writings known?
Halakkah
The term “Jewish diaspora” identifies?
Jews living outside Palestine
The word Tanak identifies?
the Jewish Bible
What is the “Gemara”?
part of the Talmud
What is the “Kabbalah”?
secret, mystical knowledge in Judaism
The Hebrew God is called
Yahweh
What word or phrase has come into the English language as a result of the Holocaust?
Genocide
What is another name for the Holocaust?
Shoah
In order to avoid pronouncing the name of God, Jews sometimes use the circumlocution “Ha-shem”. What does this term mean?
the Name
Which is not one of the prohibitions of the Ten Commandments?
drinking intoxicants
What is another ten for the “Ten Commandments”?
decalogue
The Hebrew Patriarchs are presented as?
nomads
To what period does the term “First Temple” refer?
from beginning of monarchy to exile
To what period does the term “Second Temple Judaism” refer?
return from exile to Roman victory
The term “Hellenism” refers to the influences of what culture?
Greek
What does the term “Haskalah” identify?
the Jewish Enlightenment
What is meant by the term “The Final Solution”?
the extermination of Jews under the Nazis
What does the word “kosher” mean?
proper
The “Documentary Hypothesis” attempts to explain what feature of the Hebrew Bible?
sources behind the Pentateuch
What are the three parts of the Hebrew Bible?
Torah, Writings, and Prophets
What word best describes the Torah of the Mishnah?
oral
Which Talmud had the most influence on Judaism?
Babylonian
After the completion of the Talmud, rabbis addressed new situations by what means?
responsa
What is the most popular guidebook for Torah observance for the modern observant Jew?
Shulchan Aruch
What was the Bible of the Samaritans?
a version of the Pentateuch
When do most scholars think that much of the Hebrew Bible was compiled?
between the Babylonian exile and the rise of Christianity
Rabbis spoke of the need for a fence around Torah. What did this indicate about the rabbis’ view of Torah?
Torah was important and should not be violated
