Judaism

Question 1

Sabbath

Answer 1

This holy day occurs every Friday at sunset and lasts until Saturday at sunset. It is a day of prayer, religious study and relaxation. It is typically celebrated with a family meal on Friday

Question 2

Passover

Answer 2

The festival lasts a week and begins in the first month of the Jewish lunar calendar. Although in biblical times it was a spring pilgrimage festival in which Israelite’s would go to Jerusalem to make sacrifices at the temple, it now symbolizes the Hebrew’ liberation from Egyptian oppression. The highlight of this festival is a memorial meal called the Seder.

Question 3

Rosh Hashanah

Answer 3

This is another name for the Jewish New Year which occurs in the autumn. This day, which reminds Jews to make restitution and pay off debts, is preceded by a month of the daily practice of blowing the shofar, a ram’s horn as a warning

Question 4

Hanukkah

Answer 4

This eight day festival, also called the Feast of Lights, celebrates the cleansing and rededication of the Second Temple in 165 BCE

Question 5

Tisha Be-Av

Answer 5

This day of fasting recalling the sadness of the destruction of the two temples in a minor holy day and no longer widely observed

Question 6

Yom Kipper

Answer 6

This day, which occurs ten days after the New Year, is the most sacred on in the Jewish calendar. It is observed with pray, atonement for one’s sing, and strict fasting

Question 7

Purim

Answer 7

This Holy day is marked with a fun, carnival atmosphere. It relates the story of Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai’s plan to save the Jewish people from annihilation from the hated Haman in Babylonia.

Question 8

Yom Hashoah

Answer 8

This newest holy day, which occurs in April or May, memorializes Shoah

Question 9

Shavuot

Answer 9

This festival, also known as the Feast of Weeks because it occurs at the end of a week of weeks following Passover, originally marked the summer grain harvest and was a pilgrimage festival in biblical times. This holy day is also known as the Feast of the Giving of the Law because it became associated with God’s giving Moses the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai.

Question 10

Sukkot

Answer 10

This eight day festival, also known as the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles, celebrates the autumn harvest and was one of the ancient pilgrimage festivals for the Israelite’s. in this festival Jewish families construct and decorate booths or shelters in their yards which commemorate the forty years that the Hebrews wandered in the wilderness before coming to Canaan. The last day of this festival ends the cycle of Torah readings for the year and is marked with a Torah procession.

Question 11

This branch of Judaism defined itself in opposition to Reform Judaism. Valuing strict observance of all the commandments, it is the most conservative branch.

Answer 11

Orthodox Judaism

Question 12

This branch, founded by Mordecai Kaplan, developed out of Conservative Judaism in the 1920’s and 1930’s and focuses on Jewish culture rather than religion

Answer 12

Reconstructionist Judaism

Question 13

This branch, which developed in the 19th century, is dedicated to the basic principles of Judaism but adapts them to changing circumstances. It stresses ethics over following all the commandments

Answer 13

Reform Judaism

Question 14

This branch, founded in the 19th century, takes a position in between Orthodox and Reform Judaism on many issues

Answer 14

Conservative Judaism