Religious Life Flashcards
What is Aseret ha-D’ibrot?
The 10 Sayings - the first of the 613 mitzvot
What are the 10 Sayings?
- No other Gods
- Graven image
- Name in vain
- Sabbath
- Honour parents
- Murder
- Adultery
- Steal
- False witness
- Covet
What is the purpose of the 10 Sayings?
Foundation for all other mitzvot
What do the first 4 of the 10 Sayings set out?
Expectations regarding God
What do the final 6 of the 10 Sayings set out?
Relationships with other humans, which should take precedence as God never needs human help
What does tzedakah mean?
‘Justice’ - charity
What is tzedakah?
Basic requirement of providing for those unable to provide for themselves
What are 3 examples of tzedakah?
- giving a tithe out of income
- avoiding becoming in need of charity
- respecting the dignity of those one helps
What is Gemilut Hasadim?
‘Giving of loving kindness’ - doing good deeds
What is a pushke?
Collection box kept by families to receive tzedakah
How does the Purim festival relate to tzedakah?
Holds a feast to ensure everyone has enough food
What are 4 daily prayers in Judaism?
- Anit - evening
- Shacharit - morning
- Minchah - afternoon
- Amidah - standing
What action traditionally is done before prayer to symbolise entering into God’s presence?
Taking 3 steps backwards then forwards
What are the 3 sections of the Amidah?
- Shevah
- Bakashah
- Hoda’ah
What is Shevah?
Expression of praise for the patriarchs, the wonders of God and his holiness
What is Bakashah?
Request for both spiritual and physical needs to be met - self-petition
What is Hoda-ah?
3 blessings of thanksgiving concerning acceptance of worship, gratitude and blessings of peace
What is suggested was the original purpose of the Amidah prayer?
To identify heretics who would be unwilling to recite a blessing for their own downfall
What is tefillah?
Prayer
What is Avodah Shebalev?
‘service of the heart’ - the idea of prayer as a daily service to God
What does the siddur contain to aid prayer?
Set prayers and a timetable for devotion
How can the siddur be seen to undermine prayer?
Losing meaning and spirituality through dictation
What is Kavvanah?
Intention - mental concentration and devotion to God
What is Berakah?
Blessing - expression of praise to God
How do Orthodox Jews keep Kashrut?
Maintain a kosher home and eat in kosher restaurants
How do Reform Jews keep Kashrut?
Many do within the home only
How do Orthodox Jews keep Shabbat?
Refrain from work and 39 forbidden melachot
How do Reform Jews keep Shabbat?
May have Friday night dinner and avoid employment but nothing else
What is Hasidism?
‘the pious ones’ - ultra-Orthodox Jews, the result of a spiritual revival in the 18th Century
How are the mitzvot kept in Hasidism?
All are kept, never lose an opportunity to keep them and achieve fulfilment
What is Zokar?
Explanation of the Torah by use of mystical insights - classical text of the Kabbalah
What is Devekut?
Devotion to God
What do Reform Jews believe is the origin of the mitzvot?
Divinely inspired humans, therefore they may be re-evaluated
What is the purpose of mitzvot in Reform Judaism?
Ethical and moral guidance to maintain values and religious identity
What is the purpose of mitzvot in Orthodox Judaism?
Disciplining towards position as the covenant people, allow communication with God
How many positive mitzvot are there?
248
How many prohibitive mitzvot are there?
365
How many mitzvot cannot be observed, why and how can these be maintained?
- 200
- They are linked to ritual in the Temple
- Can be adapted in line with the original 613
What are Chukim?
Commandments for which no particular reason is given - test of faith
What are the 10 categories of mitzvot?
- Belief in God
- Improper worship
- Taking oaths
- Sacred times
- Respect for parents and teachers
- Harming another person
- Sexual immorality
- Theft
- Harm through speech
- Coveting
What is Lashon Hara?
Evil tongue - slander, rumours etc.
What is the focus of prohibition of coveting?
Immoral thoughts rather than actions
Where are the 2 versions of the 10 sayings?
Exodus and Deuteronomy
What does the evolution from ritual to ethical decalogue display?
Change in emphasis from practice to morals
What are the 10 Sayings more aptly characterised as?
Moral exhortations
What is the purpose of the 10 Sayings?
Bringing the world to ethical monotheism
What is Maimonides’ ladder of tzedakah (lowest to highest)?
- Giving grudgingly
- Willingly but less than appropriate
- Only after being asked
- Before being asked
- Donor doesn’t know recipient
- Recipient doesn’t know donor
- Neither know each other
- Helping become self-sufficient
Mitzvot contribute to spirituality:
- Guidance on enacting God’s will and building relationship
- Hasidic Jews gain spiritual joy from observance and devekut
- Reform Jews carry out in modern context
Mitzvot do not contribute to spirituality:
- May become burden
- Questioned in a modern context
- Become routine
Mitzvot are divisive:
- Divine inspiration
- Progressive revelation
- Compromise and assimilation
Mitzvot are not divisive:
- Remain a common focus
- Not sole focus of Jewish identity
- Guide and instruct according to communal needs
Amidah
‘blessed are you, O Lord our God […] God most high, generous and kind, owner of all things’
Minyan - Maimonides
‘the prayer of the community is always heard… hence a person must join himself with the community’
Proverbs 19:17
‘whatever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done’
Aseret ha-D’ibrot - Anderson
‘Ten Commandments are an effective expression of fundamental religious and moral standards in ancient Israel and of their relation to Yahweh’s saving acts’
Sabbath - Maimonides
‘the Sabbath is therefore a double blessing: it gives correct notions, and also promotes the wellbeing of our bodies’
Psalm 34:13
‘keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies’
Orthodox mitzvot - Rabbi Boteach
‘when God gives commandments, they are universally applicable in every age and at every time’
Reform mitzvot - Close
‘the Biblical writes were men inspired by God, but they were not super-human and there can be no guarantee that they were equally inspired in everything they wrote’
Leviticus 11:3
‘any which has a completely split hoof and chews cud, this you may eat’
Prayer is spiritually ineffective:
- Meaningless and ritualistic
- Mind wanders
- Unanswered
Prayer is not spiritually ineffective:
- Communal prayer
- Kavvanah
- Private and spontaneous
The Amidah encapsulates Jewish values:
- Fundamental beliefs
- Forbidden to be interrupted
- Private prayer
The Amidah does not encapsulate Jewish values:
- Torah and mitzvot
- Originated with purpose of identifying heretics
- The Shema
What is a minyan?
A group of 10 men over the age of 13 needed before an act of communal prayer can take place at the synagogue
Is prayer in a minyan an obligation?
No halakhic obligation but encouraged in rabbinic tradition
What have Conservative Jews allowed about minyanim?
Allowed adult women to join
The 10 Sayings summarise belief:
- Template for practice
- Reflect essence
- Covenant relationship
The 10 Sayings do not summarise belief:
- Guide
- Shema
- Israelites
The 10 Sayings are effective guides for ethics:
- Universal
- Israelites
- God as focus
The 10 Sayings are not effectives guides for ethics:
- Ancient
- Categories
- Non-religious
