First Religion quiz Flashcards
aggadah
anecdotal or narrative material in the Talmud
apocalyptic
refers to the belief that the world is under the control of evil forces, but that God will intervene and defeat the powers of darkness at the end of time; from apocalypse, a greek term meaning unveiling. Apocalyptic literature flourished during the Hellenistic era.
ashkenazim
Jews of Central and Eastern European ancestry, as distinguisshed from Sephardim and Mizrahim.
baal shem tov
Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the founder of Hasidism, also know as the Besht
bar mitzvah
son of the commandment; the title given to a 13-year old boy when he is initiated into adult ritual responsibilities; some branches of Judaism also celebrate a bat mitzvah for girls.
bris
the yiddish form of the Hebrew brit
brit
treaty or covenant in Hebrew; the special relationship between God and the Jewish people. Brit milah is the covenant of circumcision.
cantor
the liturgical specialist who leads the musical chants in synagogue series; haze in Hebrew.
diaspora
a collective term for Jews living outside the land of ancient Israel; from the Greek meaning ‘dispersal.’ The Diaspora began with the Babylonian Exile, from which not all Jews returned to Judea.
Documentary Hypothesis
the theory that the Pentateuch was not written by one person (Moses) but was compiled over a long period of time from multiple sources; proposed by the German scholar Julius Wellhausen in 188.
Exile
the deportation of Jewish leaders from Jerusalem to Mesopotamia by the conquering Babylonians in 586 BCE; disrupting local Israelite political ritual, and agricultural institutions it marked the transition from Israelite religion to Judaism.
Exodus
the migration of Hebrews from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, understood in later Hebrew thought as marking the birth of the Israelite nation
Gaonim
the senior rabbinical authorities in Mesopotamia under Persian and Muslim rule; singular Gaon
Gemarah
the body of aramaic commentary attached to the Hebrew test of the Mishnah, which together make up the Talmud ( both the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud).
Haggadah
the liturgy for the ritual Passover dinner .
Halakhah
Material in the Talmud of legal nature; see also Aggadah
Haredim
a rigorously observant subgroup of Orthodox Judaism
Hasidism
Movement founded in Eastern Europe by the eighteenth-century mystic known as the Baal Shem Tov. Today the movement encompasses many subgroups each of which has its own charismatic leader, The Hasidim make up a significant part of Orthodox Judaism.
Haskalah
The Jewish Englightenment
Hebrew Bible
The sacred can of Jewish texts, know to Jews as the Tanakh and to Christians as the Old Testament.
Holocaust
the mass murder of approximately 6 million European Jews by the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler during the Second World War; from the Greek words meaning “whole” and “burnt.” the Hebrew term is Shoah “catastrophe”
Israelites
the biblical people of Israel
Kabbalah
the medieval Jewish mystical tradition; its central text is a commentary on scripture called he zohar. which is thought to have been written by Moses of Leon but is attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. a famous second-century rabbinic mystic and wonder-worker.
Karaites
“Scripturalists”; an eighth century anti-rabbinic movement that rejected the Talmud, takin only the Bible as authoritative
kippah
dome or cap; the Hebrew word for the skullcap that Jewish men wear; yarmulke
Ladino
a language composed mainly of Spanish and Hebrew, spoken by some Sephardic Jews.
Luria, Isaac
Influential Kabbalah scholar.
Maimonides, Moses
Latinized name of Moses ben Maimon, one of the most famous Jewish philosophers and legal scholars of the Islamic age, identified in religious texts as Rambam. (1135-1204)
menorah
the seven-branched oil lamp that has been a Jewish symbol since ancient times, well before the widespread adoption of the six-pointed stay; the one branched menorah used at Hanukkah is sometimes called a hannukiah.
kosher
term for food that is ritually acceptable, indicating that all rabbinic regulations regarding animal slaughter and the like she been observed in its preparation
messiah
from the Hebrew Mashiach, anointed one. The Greek translation is Christos, from which the English term Christ is derived
midrash
Rabbinic commentary on scripture
minyan
the quorum of ten required for a prayer service. In more rigorously observant synagogues, only adult males qualify; in more liberal synagogues adult women may also participate in the minyan.
mishnah
the oral law- inherited from pharisaism and ascribed to Moses- written down and codified by topic; edited by Rabbi Judah hanse around 220 CE, it has an authority paralleling that of the written Torah.
Mishneh Torah
A topically arranged code of Jewish law written in the twelfth century by Maimonides
mitzvah
a commandment in the Roman era, the rabbinic movement identified exactly 613 specific commandments contained within the Torah
mizrahim
Jews of Middle Eastern ancestry, as distinguish from Ashkenazim and Sephardim
mohel
a ritual circumciser
passover
rebirth, but came to commemorate the supposed liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt under Moses’ leadership major celebration of agricultural
Pentateuch
the Greek name fro the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. ascribed by tradition to Moses but regarded by modern scholars as the product of several centuries of later literary activity
phylacteries
the usual English term for tefillin
Purim
literally lots; the holiday commemorating the escape of the Jews of Persia from an evil plot of a Persian official name Haman, as described in the Book of Esther. Human used a lottery system to determine the date for the destruction oft he Jews. hence the name of this holiday.
rabbi
literally teacher, but by the second century CE the official title of an expert on the interpretation of Torah; once priestly sacrifices had ended with the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the rabbi became the scholarly and spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation.
rabbinic movement
legal teachers and leaders who inherited the teachings of the Pharisees and became the dominate voices in Judaism after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE/
responsa
from the latin for answers’ accumulated rulings on issues of legal interpretation issued by rabbinical authorities in response to questions from rabbis.
rosh hashanah
the new year festival, generally falling in September; the day when God is said to open the Book of Life in which he will inscribe the individual’s fate for the year on Yom Kippur.
Sabbath
the seventh day of the week, observed since ancient times as a day of rest from ordinary activity
Seder
order; th term used for the ritual Passover dinner celebrated in the home; the six divisions of the Mishnah are also called orders or seders
Sephardim
Jews of Spanish-Portuguese ancestry, as distinguished form Ashkenazim and Mizrahim
Septuagint
the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, made in Alexandria during the Hellenistic period, beginning in the third century BCE
Shavuot
a one-day festival (two days in the Diaspora, except for Reform and Deconstructionist Jews) in late May or early June that celebrates the revelation of the Torah by God to Moses on Mount Sinai; also know as the Festival of Weeks for the seen weeks that separate the second day of Passover and the day before Shavuot
Shema
the oldest and most sacred fixed daily prayer in Judaism, found in Deuteronomy 6: 4-6, and 11: 13-21 and Numbers 15: 37-41. “Shame” is its first word.
Shoah
Catastrophe; the Hebrew term for th eHolocaust
Simchat Bat
the naming ceremony for girls that more liberal branches of Judaism have adopted as an equivalent to the Brit ceremony conducted for boys
Sukkot
the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths probably named for the temporary shelters that were constructed by farmers in autumn to protect their ripening crops and later given a historical interpretation commemorating the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness after Exodus.
Synagogue
From the Greek for “gathering together”; the local place of assembly for congregational worship, which became central to the tradition after the destruction of the Jerussalem Temple
tallit
shawl with fringes at the corners, worn for prayer; usually white with blue stripes
tanakh
the entire Hebrew Bible, consisting of Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Sacred writing); the name is an acronym of the initial letters of those three terms.
tefillin
small black leather boxes, also termed phylacteries, contain gin parchment scrolls on which the words of four paragraphs from the Torah are written. tie to the forehead and upper arm by leather thongs.
tetragrammaton
four letter word, the personal name of the jewish deity, consisting of the four Hebrew letters you, hay, fav, hay; conventionally written as Yaweh.
tikkun olam
restoration of the world: the Cabalistic concept, introduced by Isaac Luria, that the world can be restored through prayer, study, meditation, and the observance of commandments.
Tzaddik
righteous person, a title conveying the Hasidic ideal for a teacher or spiritual leader; plural Tzaddikim.
yarmulke
the Yiddish word for the kip or skullcap worn by Orthodox males
yeshiva
a traditional school for the study of the scriptures and Jewish law
Yiddish
the language spoken by many Central and Eastern European Jews in recent centuries; although it is written in Hebrew characters and contains some words derived from Hebrew, it is essentially German in its structure and vocabulary
Yom Kippur
The day of atonement dedicated to solemn reflection and examination of ones conduct; falls ten days after Rosh Hashanah, usually in September
Zion
In biblical times, the hill in Jerusalem where the Temple stood as God’s dwelling place; by extension, the land of the Israelites; in modern times, the goal of Jewish migration and nationstate settlement (Zionism)
Zionism
The modern movement, initiated by Theodor Herzl in 1897, for a Jewish nation-state in the ancient land of Israel
Zvi, Sabbatai
A student of Lurianic Kabbalah who was declared the messiah in the year 1666; given the choice between death and conversion to Islam, he chose to convert
aborigine
an indigenous person; often specifies an Indigenous person of Australia
Ainu
The Indigenous people of northern Japa; not officially recognized as such by the government of Japan until 2008. Current population estimates range from 25,000 to 200,000.
Anishinaubae
th term traditionally used by th eOdawa. Ojibwa, and Algonkin people to refer to themselves; located mainly around the Great Lakes in Canada and the U.S.
Arawak
The Indigenous people encountered by Columbus in the West Indies in 1492. Most were killed by the Spanish, but a few small populations remain in northeastern Soth America.
Attawapiskat
An isolated Cree community on James Bay in northern Ontario. In December 2012 Attawapiskat’s chief, Theresa Spence began a hunger strike to protest the treatment of Aboriginal people by the government of Canada.
Aymara
South American Indigenous people from the Andes and Altiplano regions, initially colonized by the Inca and then by the Spanish. The current population is about 2 million in Bolivia, Chile and Peru
Bunu
A yoruba group in central Nigeria
cargo cults
religious movements, mainly in Melanesia. inspired by the shipments of goods arriving for foreigners; founded on the belief that one day the spirits would send similar shipments to the Indigenous people initiation a new age of peace and social harmony.
Cherokee
The largest federally recognized Native American group, with more than 300,000 members. Most currently live in the southeastern US, with band headquarters in Oklahoma and North Carolina
Chumash
A Native American people traditionally based along the southern California coast. Although only about 200 remained in 1900, recent estimates put their numbers at around 5,000.
colonialism
the process in which people from one place establish and maintain a settlement in another, and its consequences for th eIndigenous people
complementray dualism
a worldview in which the universe necessarily comprises both creative and destructive forces, which can work together; a feature of many indigenous religions.
conflict dualism
a worldview in which the universe is divided between good and evil forces that are in constant battle with one another; a feature of many Western religions
Cree
the largest Aboriginal group in Canada, numbering more than 200,000. Formerly based in central Canada, Cree populations are now well established in every province from Alberta to Quebec, as well as parts of the northern US.
Crow
A siouan-speaking Native American people historically based in the Yellowstone River valley, and now concentrated in Montana.
diviner
a religious specialist who uses ritual tools and practices to gain insight into the hidden or spiritual aspects of particular circumstances, events, problems, etc.
Dogan
A West African people living mainly in central Mali, with a population of about half a million. Their first contact with European was in 1857, but the Dogan have been more successful at preserving their traditional religion than many other Indigenous Africas
the Dreaming
the term that anthropologists gave to the time and place of Australian Aboriginal origin stories. Although often assumed to represent the archaic past, The Dreamingis understood by many traditional Aborigines to lie just out of reach of living memory.
Elders
Men or women whose wisdom and authority in cultural matters are recognized by their community. Elders are not necessarily old, but are understood to posses greater knowledge of tradition than others, and often to be more closely in touch with spiritual forces.
Ghost Dance
A religious movement that emerged in the western US in response to colonialism. Launched in 1869 and revived in 1889, the Ghost Dance was performed in an effort to hasten the removal of the settlers and the restoration of what Native people had lost. Smaller revivals occurred periodically throughout the twentieth century
Haisla
First Nation on the North Coast of British Columbia; The population of the Haisla reserve in Kitimaat Village is less than 2,000.
hogan
A traditional Navajo home. The first hogan was the Earth itself, and so building a new home reproduces the creation. This structure is at the centre of the community’s domestic social. and religious life.
Igbo
One of the largest Indigenous group in Nigeria, based in the southeast; worldwide population estimates range between 20 million and 40 million.
Indian Act
Canadian federal legislation created in 1876 that definees and regulates Native people and their lands and outlines the federal government’s responsibilities towards them. The act is administered by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and has undergone several amendments and revisions.
Iroquois
Also known as the Six Nations; a North American Native confederacy based in the northeastern US and Southeastern Canada, originally composed of five Iroquoian-speaking groups and joined in 1722 by the Tuscarora
Ju/’hoansi
Indigenous African group with a population of about 30,000 in northeast Namibia and 5,000 in northwest Botswana. Until 50 years ago, the Ju/’joins were nomadic hunters and gatherers, but since then most of them have adopted settled lives and occupations.
Karuk
a community in northwestern California, with a population of about 3,500. karaoke translates as upstream people in contrast to their downstream neighbors, the Yurok
Lakota
The largest of the three Native American groups that make up the Sioux Nation; originally based near the Great Lakes, but moved to the Great Plains in response to the influx of European settlers.
Maori
The Indigenous people of New Zealand, who appear to have arrived there in the late thirteenth century from elsewhere in Polynesia. Current estimates put the Maori population at around 700,000.
marae
the religious and social home of a Maori community: a cleared area bordered with stones or wooden posts and containing several structures including the share whakairo.
maya
a mesoamerican civilization, noted for their highly developed written language, art, architecture, mathematics, and astronomy. Despite the Spanish conquest, Maya people today make up a large portion of the population throughout the region, and millions continue to speak Mayan languages.
mbari
a mode or style of cultural practice, especially architecture; principally identified with the Owe
All Saints Day
A christain festival honoring all the departed saints, held in the west on november 1
Daodejing
The daoist classic of the way and power, compiled roughly 2500 years ago and traditionally attributed to Laozi
Day of the dead
A mexican festival honoring the dead
Fundamentalists
Believers who ascribe total authority to their tradition’s scriptures or doctrines, and reject any conflicting secular or religious alternatives
Hallowe’en
A popular secular holiday held on 31 october originally celebrated as eve of all saints day
high places
sacred areas located on a hill or mountain tops, such places existed through the ancient near east
naga
a mythical cobra living in the underworld, often associated with water and fertility in indian religions
obon
a japanese festival honouring ancestors
shaman
a type of priest, widespread among hunter-gatherer societies, who communicates with the spirit world on behalf of the people
stonehendge
one of several ancient rock structures thought to have been constructed for ritual purposes
upanishads
hindu religious texts thought to have been composed around 600 bce
