Judaism Practices Flashcards
Bar Mitzvah
Celebration of a boy coming of age at 13
Bat Mitzvah
Celebration of a girl coming age 12
What happens during a bar mitzvah
The boy reads from the torah
He’lll wear a tallit for the first time
Makes a short speech
What happens during a bat mitzvah
The girl reads from the torah
Gives a short speech
May lead part of prayer service
The girl may make a speech at the end of synagogue service
Rites of passage
Religious rituals which celebrate the 4 important events of life
Birth, coming of age, marriage, death
What happens to boys when they are 8 days old
Brit Milah
Ceremony of male circumcision
Mohel
Trained circumciser
Sandek
Companion of the child
Dietary laws
Rules that deal with foods permitted to be eaten, food preparation & food combinations
Kosher
Food that meets requirements of jewish law
Trefah
Food jews are forbidden to eat
What food does trefah originally describe
Animals whose flesh had been torn by a predator so couldn’t be eaten
When can meat be eaten by jew
The animal must be healthy and slaughtered by a trianed jew with a sharp knife
Examples of kosher food
Cows, sheep, goats, deer
Examples of trefah food
Pork, camel, rodents, reptiles
Kosher meaning in hebrew
Clean or fit
When can jews eat fish
If they have fins and scales
Shabbat preparations
Is jewish homes all work is done
Home is prepared before Shabbat begins Friday evening
House is cleaned
Food is prepared
What happens during shabbat lighting the candle
A female member lights candles
She lights them for anout 18 minutes
Says a prayer
Shabbat
Friday meal
Family washes their hands before meal
Head of household removes cover from challah loaves and liftes them up says a blessing
Then meal begins which lasts few hours
Meal ends with prayer of thanksgiving for food
Shabbat
Saturday
After morning service in synagogue the family enjoys another meal at home
End of shabbat marked by havdalah service
Havdalah ceremony
When 3 stars appear in the sky shabbat is over
This is marked by havdalah ceremony
Marriage
A legal union between a man and women
Teaching from bible about marriage
“Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh”
Genesis 2:24
What happens after betrothal ceremony
Marriage contract signed in prescence of a witness
Periods of mourning
When death is anounced
1st, 2nd, 3rd period of mourning
Final period of mourning
After the first year
What happens at jewish funeral
Prayers, psalms, readings from scripture, short speech by rabbi
Rosh Hashanah
The jewish new year period
Lasts for 10 days and finishes with Yom Kippur
How do jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah
Special meal at home
Special prayers
Special synagogue service
What happens during Yom Kippur
No work is done
No food or drink
No bathing
Tallit
A prayer shawl
Tefillin
Small leather boxes containing extracts from the torah
Amidah
‘Standing prayer’
Central prayer of jewish worship
Bimah
Platform in synagogue from where torah is read
Rabbi
A Jewish religious leader and teacher
Ner tamid
Eternal light kept burning in the synagogue
Synagogue
A building for Jewish public prayer, study and
gathering
Minyan
Group of at least 10 adults
Orthdox jews
Jews who strictly follow the laws
Reform jews
Jews who believe the laws in the torah can be adapted for modern times
Cantor
A person who leads or chants prayers in synagogue
Where are men’s and women’s seats in synagogue
Orthodox church
Men - both left and right
Woman - at the bottom
Where are men’s and women’s seats in synagogue
Reform church
Together near the middle
Kippah or yamulkah
A skull cap
Nebi’im
Books about the lives and teachings of prophets
Why is pesach important to jews
Reminds them of moses and israelites and the slavery
