Important terms Flashcards
Halac
ha
(Hebrew: “the Way”) Judaism, the totality of laws and ordinances that have evolved since biblical times to regulate religious observances and the daily life and conduct of the Jewish people.
Torah
First 5 books of the Hebrew Bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Leviticus = God’s ethical and ritual laws, specific instructions for priests. Numbers = Journey of the children of Israel through the desert, receiving of the 10 commandments and mount Sinai. Deuteronomy = Moses reviews laws, people prepare to enter the Promised Land.
According to tradition, God dictated the entire Torah (except for the very last part of Deuteronomy) to Moses in the Sinai desert.
More liberal interpretation is that it was written by many different people over many years. Writers may have been divinely inspired. Eventually editors put writings together into one book.
The final Torah is widely seen as a product of the Persian period (539–333 BCE, probably 450–350 BCE).
Tanakh
The Hebrew name for the Hebrew Bible, created by the first letter of each of the 3 sections of the Bible: T for Torah, N for Nevi’im, Ch for Ketuvim. Nevi’im = Prophets, Ketuvim = writings. Wisdom literature, poetry, songs, history, religious philosophy, and love hymns.
Haftarah
Reading from Prophets at the end of the Service on Shabbat and festival mornings immediately following the Torah reading, preceded and followed by a special Haftarah blessing. . Potentially as an inspiration
Tefillin
Tefillin (sometimes called phylacteries) are cubic black leather boxes with leather straps that Orthodox Jewish men wear on their head and their arm during weekday morning prayer.
Talmud
Commentary on all aspects of Jewish life. The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to “all Jewish thought and aspirations”, serving also as “the guide for the daily life” of Jews.[
The term “Talmud” normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), although there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi).
The Talmud has two components; the Mishnah (משנה, c. 200 CE), a written compendium of the Oral Torah; and the Gemara (גמרא, c. 500 CE), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible. The term “Talmud” may refer to either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah and Gemara together.
Mishnah
The Mishnah (Hebrew: מִשְׁנָה, “study by repetition”, from the verb shanah שנה, or “to study and review”, also “secondary”) is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah ha-Nasi at the beginning of the 3rd century CE in a time when, according to the Talmud, the persecution of the Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period (536 BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten. Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but some parts are in Aramaic.
Midrash
collection of stories, folklore, legends and interpretations about the bible.
2 kinds of Midrashim - Teachings and stories based on and explaining Jewish law (midrash hallchah)
- teachings and stories based on the narrative and ethical parts of the bible (madras Haggadah)
Midrashim flesh out the bible, to make it more understandable and its characters more human. They were created to teach the bible in a simple, folksy way, to tell stories and offer moral lessons.
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch ( literally: “Set Table”), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later. Together with its commentaries, it is the most widely accepted compilation of Jewish law ever written.
Shabbat mitzvot
shamor and zachor. keep it (refrain from the 39 forbidden activities) and remember it (making special arrangements for the day, and specifically through the kiddush ceremony.
Tikkun Olam
Perfecting the world
Zohar
The book of splendour, mystical teaching on the five books of theTorah, rich with spiritual inspiration. Attributed to Moses de Leon of Granada (Spain), in 1268.
Kabbalah
Tradition of Jewish mysticism. Began to flourish with the publication of the Zohar.
Siddur
The prayerbook, organised, structured collection of Jewish prayers, recited on weekdays and on shabbat.
Machzor
Prayerbook for a festival. The best known one is for the High Holidays (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur), but also for Succot, Pessach and Shavuot. Special prayers for each festival.
