Religious Practices that Shape Religious Identity Flashcards
What is the Aron Kodesh?
The Holy Ark
What was the origin of the Aron Kodesh?
It housed the stone tablets of Moses and was kept in an inner chamber of the Temple
What may the Aron Kodesh symbolise?
The mighty presence of Yahweh
How is the Aron Kodesh treated?
It is always placed in the direction of Jerusalem, it cannot be sold, destroyed or used in a secular way
Why is the synagogue so important in festivals?
The reading of the Torah can only take place in the synagogue
How is the synagogue used in Rosh Hashanah?
There is a 4-6 hour morning service
How is the synagogue used in Yom Kippur?
Only day when 5 services are held
What is Simchat Torah?
The celebration of the completion of the annual reading of the Torah within Orthodox synagogue - scrolls are paraded around
What is Simchat Torah a reminder of?
The cyclical nature of the Torah
What are 2 alternative names for the synagogue?
Bet K’nesset or bet midrash
What does Bet K’nesset mean?
House of meeting
How is the synagogue a house of meeting?
Contains meeting rooms acting as a venue for a variety of events
What does Bet Midrash mean?
House of study
How is the synagogue a house of study?
Teaches Hebrew classes and how to read the Torah
What is Bet din?
A rabbinical court
What is the purpose of the bet din?
Makes judgements on civil disputes using Jewish law and rules on religious matters
What is the dayanim?
The panel of 3 judges in the bet din, experienced rabbis
What are some example actions of the bet din? (4)
- settle business disputes
- issue divorce certificates
- declares food kosher
- tests people for conversion
What does mikveh mean?
‘A place where water has gathered’
What is the mikveh?
A special pool where Jews may immerse to purify themselves - private and attached to the synagogue
When do Orthodox women use the mikveh?
After their period or childbirth so to resume sexual relations with their husbands
When do all Jews use the mikveh?
The day before Yom Kippur as a sign of repentance
When are utensils immersed in the mikveh?
To cleanse them is they have been in contact with non-kosher food
What does Bet tefillah mean?
House of prayer
How many prayer services per day are held at the synagogue and what do they correspond with?
- 3
- the times when sacrifices were offered at the Temple
Where does the word ‘synagogue’ originate?
Greek - ‘to gather together’
What was the original purpose of the synagogue?
To preserve Jewish identity following exile and reflect the destroyed Temple
What is the matzah?
A piece of unleavened bread on the seder table
What is the symbolism of the matzah?
Reminder of having no time to wait for bread to rise when the Israelites escaped slavery
What are the 7 main items on the seder plate?
- Matzah
- Bone
- Maror
- Charaset
- Karpas
- Roasted egg
- Salty water
What is the symbolism of the roasted lamb shank bone?
Commemorates the lamb sacrifice so the angel of death would pass over
What is the maror?
A bitter herb
What is the symbolism of the maror?
Aims to recall the bitterness of slavery
What is charaset?
A sweet paste made of apple, cinnamon and raisins
What does charaset symbolise?
The mortar used by the slaves and also the sweetness of redemption
What is karpas?
A green vegetable
What does salt water symbolise?
Tears and sweat of slavery
What does karpas symbolise?
Spring
What is the symbolism of the roasted egg?
Recalls sacrifice that would’ve been made in the Temple
Where is the order of the seder meal laid out?
Haggadah
What does the telling of Exodus in the seder meal begin with?
The youngest member asking 4 questions about the origins of traditions and symbolism - answered by the eldest
How does the seder meal beckon the Messianic age?
Cup of wine set aside and door left open for the Prophet Elijah
Where are the origins of Pesach found?
Exodus 12-15
What are the main points of Exodus 12-15?
- Moses petitions Pharaoh
- Refuses and God sends 10 plagues
- Last plague kills first born
- Lamb’s blood on doorpost
- Pharaoh’s son dies
- Begs Moses to leave
- Red Sea
What does Pesach remember?
Jewish escape from slavery in Egypt
When is Pesach?
7 days in Spring, begins on 15th day of Nissan
What is the significance of Pesach? (3)
- Celebrated by non-observant
- Theme of freedom and redemption
- Beckons Messiah
What is the shofar?
A trumpet made from a ram’s horn
What does the shofar symbolise?
Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac and the enter into the covenant of Moses
What do the 3 notes of the shofar symbolise?
Crying, expressing and yearning for the reunification with God
What does Tashlikh mean?
‘To cast’
What is tashlikh?
Symbolic casting away of sins of the previous year by tossing pieces of bread into a body of flowing water
When does tashlikh take place?
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah
What are the 10 days of returning?
The period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, providing Jews with the opportunity to repent
What may Jews do during the 10 days of returning?
Make the effort to contact anyone they might have wronged in order to ask for forgiveness
What does the 10 days of returning symbolise?
The period of time which God takes to finalise his judgement
What are the 5 services of Yom Kippur?
- Kol Nidrei
- Shacharit
- Musaf
- Afternoon service
- Neilah
What is Kol Nidrei?
The opening service of Yom Kippur, states all religious vows that will be uttered are null and void - acknowledgment that all promises to God can’t be kept
What is Musaf?
The second service of Yom Kippur which aims to release people from guilt for the past
What does the Afternoon Service include?
Reading of the Book of Jonah with its theme of repentance
What does Neilah mean?
‘closing of the gates’
What is Neilah?
The final service of Yom Kippur, ended with a single blast from the shofar
What is Yom Kippur?
The Day of Atonement
What do Jews refrain from during the 25 hour fast on Yom Kippur?
Luxurious bathing, using perfumes, having sex and wearing leather
What is the purpose of Yom Kippur?
To cleanse for past sins and make amends for wrongdoing
What does Rosh Hashanah mean?
‘Head of the Year’ - Jewish New Year festival
When is Rosh Hashanah?
The 1st and 2nd of the Jewish month Tishri
What is Rosh Hashanah the anniversary of?
Creation of Adam and Eve
What are selichot?
Prayers for forgiveness - said in the month leading to Rosh Hashanah
What is recited on Rosh Hashanah?
the 13 Attributes of Mercy
How do Jews bless each other when leaving the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah?
‘May you be written down for a good year’
How is Rosh Hashanah observed at home?
A round challah loaf, apple dipped in honey and a pomegranate
What are the purposes of Rosh Hashanah? (3)
- let go of resentment
- ask God for forgiveness
- be judged favourably in the Book of Life to have a good next year
Acknowledgement of sin is a failure of spiritual development:
- Every year
- Mitzvot
- True penitence
Acknowledgement of sin is not a failure of spiritual development:
- Self-examination
- Closer to God
- Non-acknowledgement
Festivals are effective for enforcing identity:
- Shabbat
- Attending synagogue
- Community
Festivals are not effective for enforcing identity:
- Everyday life
- Inheritance
- Conjunction
Redemption is relevant today:
- Worship and prayer
- Pesach
- Messiah
Redemption is not relevant today:
- Reform
- Present
- Everyday life
Pesach is the central festival in Judaism:
- Commemoration
- Messianic age
- Unites community
Pesach is not the central festival in Judaism:
- Rosh Hashanah
- Yom Kippur
- Shabbat
The synagogue is the heart of the community:
- Social centre
- School
- Purification and ritual
The synagogue is not the heart of the community:
- Home
- Parental education
- Rare attendance
The synagogue has a main purpose:
- Meeting place
- Preservation
- Historic role
The synagogue does not have a main purpose:
- Variety
- Home
- Torah study
Ark - Talmud
‘it is a mitzvah to set aside a special place for them, to honour that place and beautify it’
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
‘and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children’
Ezekiel 36:25
‘I will sprinkle water on you, and you will be clean: I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols’
Passover and Exodus - Anderson
‘In this poetic portrayal the event is more than a deed of liberation. It is the event of the creation of a people’
Exodus 12:12
‘on that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals’
Rosh Hashanah - Pilkington
‘the need to face up to mistakes, to let go of resentments, to feel that others have let go of resentments towards you, and to feel the genuine chance of a fresh start’
Isaiah 1:18
‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’
Yom Kippur - Rabbi Sacks
‘God has given us free will and thus the strength to turn from bad to good’
