Judaism Flashcards
The Torah
-The leader of Judaism (no central authority leader)
-Open to interpretation
-has first 5 books of the Tanakh (Pentateuch)
-Tells God’s will
-How to live - circumcision
-Monotheism
-We are created in the image of God
Pentateuch
-first 5 books of the Tanakh
-Genesis, exodus, Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy
Genesis
-2 accounts of creation: 1) male and female born at the same time, 7th day = saturday. 2) Adam born first, Eve born from his rib. Normal story of Adam and Eve everyone knows.
Exodus
-With the mosaic covenant, fleeing pharo with the slaves, parting the red sea, and trip to the holy land.
- Book of Joshua: 2 years to reach the holy land
-Book of Judges: 200 years to reach the holy land
Talmud
-Oral Torah
-texts Moses received at the top of Mt. Sanai (Mishna + Gemara)
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God
-Transcendent
-Local/imminent
-Creator
-Revealer
-redeemer
Halakah
Legal rulings made by rabbis
Nohide Code
-no false idol worship
-don’t curse God
-no murder
-no adultery
- theft
-cruelty to animals
kashrut
dietary laws
Tikkunolam
God is everything and all powerful
creation is a mistake
Ein Sof
explosion, we are little parts now trapped in an upside down worl
Abraham
-Wife = Sarah: cranky, problematic, doesn’t want to move to Canaan, no children
-First Challenge: God tells him to move to Canaan, land of flowing milk and honey
-Son with Hagar named Ishmael, not God’s will
-Angel comes and tells Sarah she will have a son, she laughed because she is 90
-Sarah gives birth at 91 to Isaac. They force Hagar and Ishmael to leave
Final Challenge: God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Stops him last minute
Isaac
son of abraham
has 2 sons: Jacob and Esau
Jacob (AKA Israel)
12 sons and 1 daughter - 12 tribes of Israel
Start worshipping bulls (Be’al) so family is driven into slavery in Egypt
Moses
-Mom put him in a basket on the Nile, and he is found by Pharo’s daughter. Grows up in an Egyptian palace
-Angel of God visits him as a bush in flames, tells him to return to Egypt, and demands that Pharo free the slaves
Pharo doesn’t want to, so God sends a series of punishments (1st born sons killed, diseases) so Pharo frees them
-Pharo changes his mind and chases after them. Moses parts the red sea and the Egyptians are killed.
-Violate the covenant many times so God purposely gets them lost, took 5 years.
-Gets 10 commandments on Mt. Sinai
Holy Land
-ruled by Saul, David (Israels greatest king), and Solomon (built the first temple)
-North - Israel: Do not trust God, God sends assyrian army to destroy them and enslave the people
-South - Judah: Trust God, defeat assyrian army, start practicing polytheism, Babylonians invade and defeat them, destroying Solomon’s temple and enslaves them
Diaspora
Jewish forced exile, forced migration with a feeling/longing to return
Prophets
appear at various parts of the zion (romantic understanding of the holy land) to explain why diaspora is happening to them
List of rulers
Persians grant Jews freedom and build a second temple –> polytheism was practiced again, so God sends Greeks, and greeks make them bring polytheism into the temple –> Maccabean revolt pushed the greeks out –> Polytheism brings Romans who persecuted Jews, forced them to live in ghettos
Apocalypticism
end of the world, concerned with increasing punishments by God. The Book of Daniel claims apocalypse
Role of God
-monotheism: one God
-covenant with the Jews
-Ehyeh: “I AM” –> response to Moses
-HYWH: unpronounceable name, God is beyond us and language, can’t capture God in name
-break covenant = God sends punishment
-we are created in the image of God
Tanakh
Hebrew bible
3 parts: Torah, Nevi’im, Kethurim
Nevi’im
Prophetic books
message is monotheism
prophet - human who receives message from God and shares it
Kethurim
-“the writings”
-darkest part of the bible
-written for people who lost hope in diaspora
-apocalyptic literature
Halakhah
-jewish legal code
-what is and is not permitted
-what is kosher and not
-made by rabbis
-Noahide code
Kushrut: dietary laws of Halakhah
Mishna
“Oral torah”
only rabbis know
agriculture, festivals, sabbath day, dress code, dietary restrictions
Midrash
-studying text
-finding wisdom to help us live in the present
2 bodies of literature:
1. Halakhah: Jewish Legal code
2. Haggadah: Theological rituals
Minyan
10 men minimum for mass to take place
Dietary Code
Kosher is permitted:
- Warm-blooded animals with cloven
hooves
-“chew the cud” - cows, sheep, goats
-Most poultry - chicken, geese, duck
-fish w fins and scales - trout, salmon,
cod
Prohibited:
-pigs (pork)
-crustaceans/shellfish - prawns,
oysters, lobster, crabs
-Birds of prey/scavenger birds: eagles,
hawks, bats
-Blood - must soak in water and salt
scrub
-no mixing meat and dairy
Butcher Laws
freshly sharpened blade, one clean slit to the neck, supervised by a rabbi
Sabbath
sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, day of rest
Synagogue
public meeting place, not just used for worship
Rosh hashanah
new years day, changes every year
-10 days of awe, Rom Kippur (10 days of atonement), sukkot (harvest festival), Hanukkah, Pesach (Passover)
Life Cycle Rituals
-Brit Milah - 8th-day male circumcision
-Bar Mitzvah - 13 years old, becomes the Minyan
-Bat Mitzvah - daughter of commandments (only reformed Judaism)
Sephardic Judaism
Jews living under Islamic control, seen as relatives, had to pay special tax to practice judaism
-Kabbalan
Kabbalan
The divinity known as Ein Sof, created a black hole and all pieces (us) went into it. Humanity created from a tragedy
Ashkenazi Judaism
Romans continued to persecute Jews, restrictive laws, and wrote out legal guarantees
-European enlightenment made Jews anticipate better life
-Haskalah: Jewish Enlightenment, results in formation of reformed Judaism
Reformed Judaism
Modernized Judaism
backlash with Orthodox Jews
women’s rights, Torah in English, Bat Mitzvah’s, more flexible with sabbath day performance
Orthodox Jews
conservative, strict reading of Torah, keep all traditions
