Religious Concepts Flashcards
What are the Reform views of the afterlife? (3)
- no resurrection of the dead
- spiritual life after death
- immortality of the soul provided by the divine element of being made in God’s image
Paragraph 7 of the Pittsburgh Platform (RJ R the I of BR but A the V that the S is I and the S is D)
‘Reform Judaism rejects the idea of bodily resurrection but accepts the view that the soul is immortal and the spirit is divine’
What does Yayyitzer mean and what does it indicate?
- Formed
- 2 consecutive letters indicates humanity was created with 2 impulses: good and evil
What does Yetzer Hatov do?
Influences a person to follow the mitzvot and maintain the covenant in spite of temptation
When are bar/bat mitzvot celebrated in relation to good/evil?
When the age of responsibility over right and wrong is reached
What does Yetzer Hara do?
Can lead to sin when unrestricted
Why is Yetzer Hara not inherently bad?
Because it was created by God
What is Teshuvah?
Return - describes repentance
What is the belief about free will in Judaism?
Each individual has been given free will to choose between right and wrong, and may repent for transgressions
What is Nefesh?
Soul
What is the Jewish belief about the body and soul?
They are separate but coexist
Why is the role of the body important?
Used to do God’s sacred work and carry out his plan
What is Kabbalah and what does it lay out?
- Jewish mystic tradition
- 5 levels of the soul
What is the role of Nefesh in the Kabbalah?
The first level of the soul, represents the ego
What is Pikuach Nefesh?
Sanctity of life
What is the significance of Pikuach Nefesh?
It overrides any other mitzvah
What does Olam Ha-Ba mean?
The world to come (afterlife)
Where does thought around the afterlife likely come from in Judaism?
Greek thought as there are few details of it in the Torah
What is Gan Eden?
Paradise
What is Gekinnom?
Hell
What is the key Orthodox belief about resurrection?
Believes in resurrection of both body and soul
What is important to remember when considering the afterlife in Judaism?
That the essence of Judaism is about how a person lives in this life
What is the Messianic Age?
The coming of a future figure who will signal the end of history and the time of God’s judgement - the dead will rise to live again
What is the goal of history?
The coming of God’s kingdom
What did Maimonides write about resurrection?
Resurrection is of both soul and body
What did Hasdai Croscas propose about resurrection?
Due to human duality, both body and soul will be resurrected and duly punished or rewarded
What is tzetem?
Image - the nature of essence of being
What is believed in Judaism about God’s image?
As God is incorporeal, humans cannot be created in God’s physical image, instead the essence of humanity is like God
What did Maimonides argue about the attributes of God?
God can only be understood in knowing what he is not like - to describe God is to divide subject and predicate which is plurality
What is Kavod?
Heavy - energy encountered in moments of revelation
Isaiah 6:1
‘I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up’
What is Shekinah?
Dwelling - divine presence of God in the world and relationship with each individual, the feminine aspect of God
What is qodesh?
Holiness, God is separate from evil and deficiency
Why is the name Adonai used for God?
The name of God is holy and shouldn’t be spoken
Give 9 characteristics of God.
- Omnibenevolent
- Perfect
- Just
- Merciful
- Creator
- Incorporeal
- Eternal
- Omnipotent
- Omniscient
How do Jews view creation?
As a continuous event that occurs as God pours creative energy into it
What does God’s incorporeality suggest?
Neither male or female, not bound by the physical world
What does the name El Olam mean?
The everlasting
How did Abraham come to the conclusion of absolute monotheism?
After a process of elimination, worshipping the sun, moon, stars and air
What do Reform Jews believe about the Messianic Age?
It will be a period of peace
What does Reform Judaism reject about the Messianic Age?
That it will restore the Jewish state in the God-given land
What will determine when the Messianic Age will occur?
Human conduct
What are the 2 possibilities for when the Messianic Age will occur?
- When the world is in a sinful state
- When the world is most deserving
What did Maimonides believe about the establishment of a new world order?
A personal Messiah will restore the Kingdom of David and gather the Jews as a nation - although the course of nature will not be changed and the Jews will not claim superiority over other nations
What is the Orthodox belief about the Messianic Age?
A personal Messiah descended from David will come at a time of God’s choosing to lead humans back to God, Jerusalem rebuilt and dead resurrected
Who do Orthodox Jews believe proceeds the Messiah?
The prophet Elijah
What does Messiah mean?
Anointed one
What does the Torah teach about the Messianic Age?
No explicit mention
What are tefillin?
2 small leather boxes containing passages from the Torah
Where are the tefillin worn and why?
- head as a reminder to serve God with the mind
- weaker arm to point towards the heart
Why are tefillin worn?
Deuteronomy 6:8, to cultivate holy thoughts and moral actions
What is a mezuzah?
A scroll fixed to a doorpost containing passages from the Torah
What Torah passages are in a mezuzah?
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Deuteronomy 11:13-21
What is the purpose of the mezuzah?
A reminder that everything in the home should be done with respect to God
What are tzitzit?
Fringes worn on the corners of garments to remember the commandments
What is a tallit?
A shawl worn during prayer
Where is the tallit gadd worn?
Around the shoulders
Where is the tallit hatan worn and why?
Under clothes - getting dressed becomes a devotional undertaking
What is the purpose of the Shema?
Reinforces the covenant daily, provides understanding of what the purpose of life is
What does Shema mean?
Hear
What is the Shema?
A prayer recited every morning and evening, and at birth and death
What are the 3 parts of the Shema?
- Deuteronomy 6
- Deuteronomy 11
- Numbers 15
What is the first part of the Shema?
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 - declares monotheism and the commandments as the central focus for life
What is the second part of the Shema?
Deuteronomy 11:13-21 - declares acceptance of the commandments, reminder of judgement and the impact of human action
What is the third part of the Shema?
Number 15:37-42 - specific actions e.g. wearing a tallit
It is possible to know God:
- Covenants and Torah study
- Via negativa
- Spiritual experience
It is not possible to know God:
- Transcendent
- Incomprehensible (ineffable)
- Via negativa
God’s characteristics are meaningful:
- Notions or justice and mercy or meaningful for society
- God demands people live moral lives
- Holiness is relevant in reverence towards using the name of God
God’s characteristics are not meaningful:
- Scientific understanding denounces characteristics
- Problem of Evil and Suffering
- Cannot be fully comprehended
The Shema contains the most important beliefs:
- It is the closest thing to declaration of faith and central focus
- Sums up the covenant relationship
- Puts belief into practical action
The Shema does not contain the most important beliefs:
- Depends upon what is considered important
- Mostly only relevant to Orthodox
- Little ethical teaching
The Shema is a precise guide to practice:
- Reinforces responsibility to God and essence of Jewish belief
- Practical guide
- Unites Jewish people
The Shema is not a precise guide to practice:
- Torah and mitzvot are better guides
- Beliefs and duties have evolved over time
- Not followed in the same way across denominations
The concept of Messiah is a serious belief:
- Fundamentally held in Orthodox belief
- Based on covenant relationship
- Provides an ultimate goal for history
The concept of Messiah is not a serious belief:
- No single, unified notion
- Reform Judaism denies an individual Messiah, believing they were chosen to spread monotheism
- More important to focus on this life
Beliefs about judgement and afterlife are relevant:
- Book of Daniel predicts a Day of Judgement and resurrection
- God punishes and rewards in response to adherence to the mitzvot
- Prayer for the dead and Yom Kippur suggest the existence of judgement for sins
What is El male rachamim?
Prayer for the dead, suggesting the good will live forever and the wicked will suffer torment
Beliefs about the afterlife are not relevant:
- No accepted agreement
- More important to focus on this life
- God should be served out of love of truth rather than desire for reward
Exodus 20:3
‘You shall have no other Gods before me’
Incorporeality - Maimonides
‘You cannot conceive of Him as having any form because, as stated, He is neither a body or a bodily force’
Exodus 13:21
‘and the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light’
Divine image - Wright
‘Human beings are at the apex of creation, because they are alone made in the image of God’
Leviticus 19:16
‘do not do anything that endangers your neighbour’s life’
Choice - Luzzatto
‘man has the power of choice and is able to choose either side knowingly and willingly’
Messianic Age - Talmud
‘all prophets prophesy only for the days of the Messiah’
Isaiah 2:4
‘nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore’
David 12:2
‘multitudes who sleep in the dust of the Earth will arise: some to eternal life, others to shame and everlasting contempt’
Shema - Mintz
‘exclusive fidelity to God and God’s unity are the 2 major concepts of the Shema’
Deuteronomy 6:4
‘love your Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength’
Deuteronomy 6:9
‘tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates’
What does Maimonides’ 12th Principle state?
The belief in the Messiah is central to Judaism, and is the end of the created world that began in Genesis 1
