Judaism Flashcards
Judaism is the _______ or _______ largest religion in the world
5th or 6th
Judaism in the _____ largest religion in the US
2nd
There are roughly _________ Jews in the US
6 million
What are the three primary branches of Judaism?
43% Reform
31% Conservative
10% Orthodox
Roughly how many Jews died during the Holocaust?
6 million
Why is it difficult to determine the exact number of Jews in the world?
It is an ethnic group as well as a religious group
Which country has the highest percentage of Jews?
Israel with 75%
Which country has the second highest percentage of Jews?
The United States with 2%
Many scholars believe that the ancient Hebrew religion was ___________, why?
Henotheistic because they believed there were other Gods, but they only had a relationship with one
TaNaK
the acronym referring to the text of the Hebrew Bible. Compiled in the current order in 90 CE
What does the acronym “TaNaK” stand for?
Ta - Torah “Teaching”
Na - Nevi’im “Prophets”
K(h) - Ketuvim “Writings”
There are a total of ______ books in Judaism.
24
Why do we not say the “Old Testament” in Judaism?
The Old Testament is used in Christianity because it is based in Judaism. However, there is no “old” testament in Judaism, just the testament
What is the Talmud?
a central text of judaism, written much later than the Testament
What is the Talmud about?
The Talmud in Torah commentary and oral tradition written down
What are the two parts of the Talmud that we learn about and when were they compiled?
Mishnah: 200 CE
Gemara: 500 CE
What is the name of the God of Judaism?
Yahweh
Why do practitioners typically not use the name of God?
There is a commandment which says “Do not use the lords name in vein” instead they use the Tetragrammaton
What is the Tetragrammaton?
YHWH or YHVH
The name of God with the vowels taken out
When reading the Tetragrammaton aloud one say….(give translation of each)
“Adonai” - lord
“Elohim” - replace. name
“Hashem” - the name
What is a covenant?
the conditional promises made to humanity by God, as revealed in the scripture
What covenant did God make with his people?
God promised to protect them if they kept His law and were faithful to Him.
This covenant begins with Abram
In Judaism, Isaac is the true heir of Abraham, but in Islam it is…
Ishmael
Both Judaism and Islam have the story of Abraham bringing his son to the mountain to sacrifice him, the difference being…
which son.
Abrahams grandson Jacob is later named…
Israel
Jacob (Abrahams grandson) moves his family to Egypt because of…
famine
After they move to Egypt, Jacob and his family are…
enslaved for a few hundred years
In Jewish mythology, who receives the Torah (and much of the oral Torah)?
Moses
Who is the most important prophet of judaism?
Moses
How many plagues are there?
10 plagues.
What is the last plague?
One which kills the first born son of the Pharoh
How does the angel of death know to pass over the Jews?
slaughter a lamb and paint the blood over their doorways so that the angel will PASSOVER them
When was Moses born?
around 1393 BCE
Where does Moses lead the people?
to the promise land but they make a pit stop at Mount Sinai
What happens at Mount Sinai?
Moses speaks to God a receives 3 things:
- the Torah (includes 10 commandments)
- the oral Torah (how to do the commandment stuff)
- the arc of the covenant (a vessel to contain the stone slabs that he receives and have the torah written on them)
How and where does Moses die?
in the desert. they wander for many many years trying to find the promised land.
What happened in 957 BCE?
Isrealites built a great temple under the reign of Solomon
however there is little to no archaeological evidence
soloman is the son of…
David
the Israelites possibly constructed the great temple on…
Temple Mount
What happens in 586 BCE?
the temple is destroyed by the Babylonians, however many texts use the year 422 BCE
what happens when the temple is destroyed by babylonians?
the people are dispersed, living in diaspora
those living in exile in Babylonia become know are _____ because they are from _________.
Jews because they are from Judah
the great temple was meant to be the…
home of the arc of the covenant
what is diaspora?
a mass migration of one ethnical religious group to a single new place (this happens in Jainism as well)
Fewer than 50,000 Jews return to Zion under the Persian king…
Cyrus
Originally, Zion was the name of a _______ near Jerusalem
mountain
Construction on the second temple is completed in…
515 BCE
Construction of the second temple begins under (who)?
the Persian king Cyrus
why is the construction of the second temple important to Judaism?
it is the return of the people to their promised land
second temple period
515 BCE - 70 CE
the second temple is destroyed in…
70 CE
Judea had been under Roman admin from around…
4 BCE
what were the three primary reactions to roman rule?
- Zealots
- Essenes
- Messianics
Who were Zealots?
the Jewish militia who rose up against Rome.
one reaction to roman rule
Who were the Essenes?
they did not care for Judaism under Roman Rule.
they didn’t want to collaborate with the romans
they wanted a stricter observance of Jewish law
What evidence is there that the Essenes existed?
inkwells and writing materials in caves
mikvas (religious baths) dug into caves
large series of texts (Dead Sea scrolls)
When did the Messianic age develop?
during Roman rule
who were the Messianiacs?
believed that Jews would be rescued from suffering
believed that there would be a Messiah who would bring the end of bad times and the beginning of peace
What is the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall?
a portion of the second temple which still remains. it is a sacred place of pilgrimage for members of the Jewish faith
without a temple, where does Judaism become centered?
In the texts!
Rabbinical Judaism
the focus is not the place, but the texts and teachers
