Chapter 3: Judaism Beliefs and Teachings Flashcards
What do Jews call god? Why?
YHWHY yaw wey or G-d.
It is a sign of respect, when written his name can never be erased or destroyed. When speaking they replace this word with adonai. Any book containing his name is treated with the highest respect. If the book becomes un usable it is buried in a cemetery.
Sanctity of life
All life is holy and it is created and loved by God human life should not be abused or misused
Mitzvah/ mitsvot
Jewish rules or commandments
Judgement
The belief that God judges a person based on their actions, and either rewards or punishes them as a result
resurrection
Rising from the dead or returning to life
Messianic age
A future time of global peace when everyone will want to become closer to god , possibly through the invention of the messiah
Shekhinah
The word shekhina means Gods manifested glory, it refers to Gods presence on earth.
Th tabernacle is the dwelling place for the divine presence of God
It is associated with Gods presence among his people and their experience of the spirit of God, it is seen as a sign of power and glory
Temple
The centre of Jewish worship at the time of Jesus; the meeting point between god and the priest
Judge
God is the only true judge
Promised land
The land of cannan that god promised to the Jews
Heaven
The state of eternal happiness in the presence of god
Sheol
The opposite of hell , but not quite
The Covenant with abraham
In the covenant with Abraham it was supported with the action of circumcision. The covenant stated that Abraham would become the father of many nations. His wife Sarah gave birth although she wasn’t able to conceive. This is seen as a gift from God to iníciate the covenant
Abraham and the promised land
From a young age he believed there to be only one God. He left to travel to cannan. God promised Abraham told Abraham to continue the journey. It meant that cannan became the promised land
Charity
Providing help and love to those in need
Circumcision
The removal of foreskin from the penis
Ten commandment
Ten laws given to Moses over 3000 years ago
Sanctity
All life is holy as it is created and loved by God ; human life should not be misused or abused .
Justice
Bringing about what is right and fair , according to law, or making up for what is wrong.
It is a sacred duty for Jews
Kindness to others
Positive, caring actions that should be shown to all living things
Sinai covenant
Gods covenant with Abraham
Pikuach nefesh
The obligation to save a life, even if doing so breaks Jewish Laws
Mitzvot: between man and god
To improve the relationship between man and god
Mitzvot: between man and man
To let people love their neighbour how they loved themselves, covers areas such as treatment of workers, how to settle disputes
Torah
The five Books of Moses which form the first section of the tenante
What is the concept and Nature of God
Whilst there are significant holy figures in the past none of them were God or part of God. It is God which is the source of all jewish morality, beliefs and values which affect the way Jews live their life.
How does a jews belief in God as one impact their view on the world?
For jews every sight, sound and experience they have is regarded as a meeting with God. It shows God as one because he is everything and is in everything as the creator.
The first two passages of the shema talk about giving body and soul to God to show total trust and loyalty in him and his actions.
What are the jewish beliefs about creation?
God as the creator is established in the first line of the torah. They believe that he created it out of nothing how he wanted.
Orthodox and ultra orthodox believe this to be true and happened 6000 years ago. Some believe that God created the universe and he controlled the evolution of humans.
They rest on shabbat like God
Jewish teachings on free will and sin.
Jews believe that in order to create the universe he must be:
-Omnipotent
-Omniscient
-Omnipresent
There is no concept if the devil so God must have made evil too, but he gave jews free will to choose what is right.
Being able to choose to do good makes the act more significant.
God is questioned with events like the holocaust however they believe that is a consequence of giving humans free will.
Jewish belief as God the sustainer.
Jews believe that he not only made the universe but also sustain it. God gave the world enough resources for everyone to live. The distribution of these resources is a result of free will
Describe the belief Jews have of God as the lawgiver.
The foundation of the laws God wants jews to follow are the ten commandments.
The torah contains 613 rules and they form the basis of the halakhah, which is the accepted code for jewish life. By doing these rules they believe that they are fulfilling Gods will on earth.
Jewish Belief on God as Judge
Jews believe that God gave them laws to follow and judges them on how well they follow those laws.
God judges everyone based on their actions and beliefs, his judging is fair and merciful.
God judges people during Rosh hashanah when God judges people from their actions over the past year and tells them what the year will bring. He will also judge after death
What are the Jewish customs surrounding death.
Jews should not die alone, the dying persons family should make every attempt to visit and look after them and ensure there is always someone with them. It is a great kindness to be with someone upon their death and to close their eyes. They make a blessing to God.
Intense mourning follows a persons death especially while waiting for their burial, then for 7 days after, followed by 30 days of lesser mourning
What are the jewish beliefs about the afterlife in general?
Due to their being very little about it in books some think it will be a physical afterlife whilst others think it will be a spiritual place.
What is heaven and sheol?
The good will enter paradise while others will go to a place called sheol. It is seen as a place where souls are cleansed. Jews believe that they will go to heaven if they follow the faith properly but they don’t know if it is a physical or spiritual place.
What do jews believe about judgement and resurrection?
Some believe they will be judged upon death, some believe that God will judge everyone on the judgement day, this will be when God decides where people go.
Resurrection is the idea that some point in the future people will rise from their graves to live again. However a lot reject this idea as there is no proof.
One of the reasons for the uncertainty is because they believe in living in the present and living how God wants in their life
What are the origins of the messiah?
The word messiah means appointed one and was originally used in the tenakh to refer to the kings of Israel
What is the nature of the messiah?
The messiah is expected to return as the king of Israel who will rule rule over the jews during the messianic age.
People think the dead will be resurrected or that people will live in peace and harmony.
Orthodox believe that in every generation potential messiah is born and will usher in world peace and bring humanity together.
Reform don’t believe in a single messiah but believe that the messianic age will be brought round through the actions of all the jews together.
Healing the world
The action which draws people closer to god, work should involve social justice. Some believe that doing actions like this is too limited. Jews should obey the mitzvot and trying to become closet to God spiritually, for example through prayer
Kindness to others
Kindness should be shown to jews and non jews alike
How does sanctity of life affect jewish belief about ending life?
God gives life to humans therefore he is the only one who should be able to take it away. It helps jews work out whether an action is moral and acceptable to God.
Removing life support is debatable as it is stopping natural death but also causing death
Preserving all life is a duty to all
Mitzvot
613 rules in the Torah
248 positive
365 negative
They allow Jews to have divine instruction for how to please God
