Judaism Chp 2 Flashcards
What did Orthodox Jews use phylacteries for?
Prayer
What is the centre of the Jewish community?
Synagogue (ark - niche or cabinet where Torah scrolls are kept, bema - raised platform where service is conducted, menorah - seven branched candelabra)
What are the six categories in the Mishnah?
1) Seeds, laws on agriculture and prayer
2) Feasts, laws concerning holy days and the writing of scrolls
3) Women, laws concerning marriage and other vows
4) Damages, civil and criminal laws as well as prohibitions concerning idolatry
5) Holy Matters, sacrifices and laws for the temple
6) Purities, ritual cleanliness and purification
What is the Halakah?
It is the part of Judaism that deals with the application of the laws.
What are the special days to the Jews?
- The life cycle – birth (circumcision 8d, given Jewish name), puberty (bar mitzvah at 13 ‘son of the commandment’), marriage (crush a glass), death (reading from Psalms: hope in future resurrection)
- The sabbath – fri night meal/svc; sat night ‘havdalah’ to farewell to sabbath
- Rosh Hashanah – Jewish NY in Sept/Oct (Tishri) Time of reflection n repentance.
- Yom Kippur – 10th day of Tishri, Day of Atonement. Day of personal repentance.
- Sukkoth – aka Feast of Booths, 5d after YK. Live in temp shelter (cf wanderings).
- Simhat Torah – celebration of the Torah
After Sukkoth, last of hols in early autumn. - Hanukkah – in Dec, to rem purification of temple by Maccabees (166 BC). Cerem-onial; sort of but NOT “Jewish Christmas”
- Purim – In Feb/Mar, re events in Esther, near-genocide by Persians. (social festival)
- Passover – last 7-8d. remove leaven, no lamb, retelling of Passover story (Seder).
- Shavuot (Pentecost) – ‘weeks’, ‘fifty’: harvest festival + rem giving of the law.
What is the Talmud?
It is the Mishnah + Gemara. It is the authoritative source of Jewish law and tradition.
What is the Haggadah?
Less formal traditions, including stories illustrating the application of the law
What are the two versions of the Talmud?
Palestinian and Babylonian
Where did Talmudic tradition flourish in the middle ages?
Iberian Peninsula (Spain)
Name two of the famous rabbis that expounded the Talmudic tradition in the middle ages.
Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac)
Rambam (Moses Maimonides)
What is Kabbalah?
simply means “tradition,” commonly associated with Jewish mysticism. Devekuth having a direct vision of God.
What was the goal of merkavah (chariot) mysticism
raise the soul through the various levels of heaven until it could finally see God on the throne of the third heaven.
What is the most famous of the mystical treatises called?
Zohar, book of splendor/book of lights, written by Moses de Leon
What is gematria?
a numerological mysticism, a letter of the Hebrew alphabet is assigned to a certain number value
What were the two major groups of Jews in Europe?
Sephardic Jews (Spanish roots, cultural influence from Islamic customs, spoke Ladino) and Ashkenazic Jews (northern and northeastern Europe, spoke Yiddish)
