Judaism, Exam 2 Flashcards
Define the Jewish Exile.
: loss of independence and the exile of Judah’s elite to Babylon
Why is God named as YHWH or G_D?
very common to find that Jews will write in English the word “God” as “G_d” to imitate God as the simplest form
Define Bris.
physical covenant): circumcision
Define Brit.
(spiritual covenant): covenant between God and his people
What sets Judaism apart from Christianity/Islam?
Judaism does not seek converts
Define the first five books of the Jewish Bible and generally summarize them.
Genesis: creation narrative
Exodus: passover
Leviticus: law/guidelines in respect to Jewish priests
Numbers: genealogy
Deuteronomy: summary of what goes on with Moses;
Define Rabbinic Judaism.
tradition established by rabbis
Define 3 Features of Rabbinic Judaism:
the fate of the jews is directly tied to obeying the Torah, the Torah is guarded by supplementary laws, and the Torah consists of both written and oral traditions (which originated from Moses)
Define the Jewish enlightenment.
hanged the shape of Judaism, the Orthodox maintained traditional ways, and the Conservative made up a diverse middle collection of options for integrating Jewish heritage with the modern age
Define the three Jewish Pilgrim festivals.
Sukkot (5 days after Yom Kippur, associated with the end of the Harvest Cycle), Passover (commemorates the Exodus/ must clean out all yeast from the house, prepare passover meal,), Shavout (celebrates the giving of the Torah)
Define Purim.
Celebrating Esther winning freedom for the Jews
Differentiate between Reform Judaism, Conservative judaism, and reconstructionist judaism.
Reform Judaism: highlights the more radical aspects; discards ritual aspects
Conservative Judaism: determining what rituals defined judaism and which were unneeded; retains traditional elements
Orthodox Jews: maintains ritual practices
Reconstructionist: rejects the idea of a chosen people and Judaism is a part of the evolution of culture
Define the two different names for the characteristics of literature in judaism.
Halakah: character of law in material
Aggadah: does not have the character of law
Define the concept of particularism.
Particularism: God would have a special people
Define the Mishnah.
Oral Torah
Define the Haggadah.
book that is used for the Passover ritual feast (but not a sacred object like the Torah)
What does the word Torah refer to?
The word Torah refers to the Tanach, the five books, and to everything that has been written in an acceptable manner according to the Tanach
Torah is used to describe a pious, instructive, enriching book that is closely related to the Tanach
What books does the Ketuvim (Writings) include?
poetical books (Psalms, Proverbs, and Job), the Megillot, or Scrolls (Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and Esther), prophecy (Daniel), and history (Ezra, Nehemiah, and I and II Chronicles).
Define the latter prophets.
Isaiah (constant calls for Jews to be spiritually and politically independent from their neighbors)
Jeremiah (emotional book, how desolate people become when they ignore God’s laws)
Ezechiel (could serve as a script for a UFO landing on the world; vivid presentation of the objects from somewhere in the skies that come down and land
Define the shema.
Most important prayer in. Judaism
Define Hasidism:
formed by Baal Shem Tov; emphasized pious simplicity rather than eloquence
Define the Apocrypha.
Apocrypha: Greek, “hidden works”, doesn’t mean that these books are hidden from people, but means they are hidden as in NOT a part of the Tenakh (very widely read (apocrypha didn’t make the cut for the Torah?)
Define the Talmud.
contains EVERYTHING that’s not in the Tenakh (Mishnah and Gemara is compiled in the Talmud; has many volumes)
