practices: tanakh, torah, talmud Flashcards
what is the tanakh?
it is the jewish bible
what is the tanakh formed from its 3 parts?
- torah: the five book of moses
- nevi’im: the prophets
- ketuvim: the writings (made up of history, wisdom and history including the psalms)
what is the torah considered as?
the most sacred object in judaism
what does the torah take the form of?
takes the form of a written scroll on parchment and is kept in the ark in the synagogue
what is the torah written in?
hebrew
why is the torah a great honour for?
it is a great honour to be asked to read it
what do jews use when the person is reading from the torah?
uses a pointing stick called a yad so that the scroll is given respect and not damaged by touch
what do orthodox jews regard the torah as? why?
as the literal word of god revealed to moses at mount sinai.
the torah cannot be changed!
what is outline of the importance of the torah?
rambam’s thirteen principles of faith
what are the 2 sources of authorities relating to the torah?
“belief in the divine origin of the torah - torah comes directly from god”
belief in the immutability of the torah - the words cannot be changed”
what is the nevi’im?
it is the second part of the tanakh
what is the main purpose of the nevi’im?
to teach about the history of the jewish religion
in the nevi’im, what did jews believe?
that the prophets had special knowledge from god and passed on a message about how gods wants jews to live
where are parts of the nevi’im read?
during the synagogue services, home, personal study
what prophet is found in the nevi’im and what does it contain teachings of?
prophet isaiah
contains teachings of the messiah
where is the ketuvium?
in the third section of the tanakh
what does the ketuvim include?
psalms which are songs of praising to god
an overview of jewish history and tradition
in tradition of the ketuvim, who wrote the psalms?
in tradition, some were written by king david and king solomon
the psalms have been used in jewish worship for how many years?
thousand of years
where are the psalms used in?
communal and private worships
what is the talmud?
it is a record of oral tradition and means ‘instruction or learning’
what did tradition say about the talmud?
that it was given to moses on mount sinai explaining how to interpret the torah
why was the talmud written down?
over 1000 years later, it was written down so it did not become distorted or forgotten
what are the names of the two parts of the talmud?
the mishnah -> hebrew
the gemara-> aramaic
what does the talmud contain?
opinions, teachings and comments of thousands of rabbis on many topics such as law, customs and ethics
what are the extracts from the talmud used in?
public and private worship
siddur -> jewish prayer book
what is the disadvantage of the talmud?
it is very difficult and takes years of training to understand
what does a jew do if they wanted to find an answer to an issue?
they would consult their rabbi who has trained in reading the talmud -> an expert
what do orthodox jews encouraged?
to study the talmud
what is yeshiva?
where many colleges throughout the world where jews srudy the torah and talmud
what does the talmud teaches jews on how they should wear?
teaches jews how they should wear the torah and display it in their houses
what does the talmud teach about food?
teaches on how to prepare food and giver clearer guidance on which actions are torah -> clean or fit
what does the talmud give clear guidance on?
on what jews should and should not do on the sabbath
describes the 39 activities that should not take place
what does the talmud teaches about sabbath? give a source of authority
they will be rewarded for observing the sabbath
“ready to bless the holy day of rest, then the good angel says: may the next sabbath and all thy sabbaths be like this”
what are the 3 sources of authorities in the tanakh?
“bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be ornaments between your eyes”
“you may slaughter from your cattle and your flocks that G-d has given you”
“respect the sabbath and keep it holy”
