Unit 8 Flashcards
8.1 Public Acts of worship
• 70CE the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, so the synagogue is the focus
• Prayer 3 times a day, Shabbat services and festival services (praise, ask, thank)
• Prayer has special significance if a ‘minyan’ of 10 is present
• Jews around the world are united in prayer: saying similar words and facing Jerusalem
8.2 The Tenakh and the Talmud
• Tenakh is the Jewish Bible, made up of the Torah (first 5 books); Nevi’im (prophets); and Ketuvim (writings)
• The Torah is the most important - the Law of Moses (read in synagogues)
• The Torah includes food laws
• The Talmud is the Oral Law and interprets the Torah (Mishnah - core text / Gemara - comments on it from Rabbis)
8.3 Private Prayer
Most Jews cannot go to the synagogue daily and so connect with God in private
Pray 3 times a day (praise, ask, thank) Shabbat prayer – candles, before meal, celebration of freedom prayer
Connection with family, friends, global community
8.4 The Shema and Amidah
• Shema is the most important prayer and prayed every morning and evening
• Shows that God is one
• Tefillin (black boxes and straps)/ Mezuzah
(container in door frame) express the
importance of the Shema
• Amidah core part of every service and
know as the ‘standing prayer’
• 3 parts to it: praise, ask, thank.
8.5 Ritual and Ceremony
• Women have a ritual bath after a set period of time for purification after giving birth
• Circumcision is a sign of the covenant with Abraham
• Bar (boys) Bat (girls) Mitzvah ceremonies mark the point you become a responsible adult
• Marriage is marked with a ceremony that includes;
signing a contact, a canopy, smashing a glass, gift giving, time alone as a couple
• Funerals: Jews are buried, usually within 24 hours. Plain coffin and cloth to wrap the body, no flowers
• Mourning periods: help the bereaved return to normal life after the loss of a loved one e.g. Shiva – 7 days at home
8.6 Shabbat
• Lasts from Friday evening to Saturday evening – begins with a meal at home
• No work is done, so preparation is made in advance (cooking, tidying etc)
• The is a service in the Synagogue which includes reading from the Torah and a sermon from the Rabbi
• Keeping Shabbat is one of the 10 Commandments
8.7 Festivals
• Rosh Hashanah – first day of Jewish year. Time to reflect on behaviour and make peace before judgement on Yom Kippur. Shofar blown 100 times (wake people up to their sins).
• Yom Kippur – day of atonement (becoming right with God). Seek forgiveness from God and people on the holiest day of the year. Fast for 25 hours
• Pesach – remembering God ‘passed over’ Egypt to free Jews from slavery. A special meal is shared with symbolic food.
• Shavout – celebrates the giving of the Law to Moses and the wheat harvest. Celebrated with extra Torah study and decorating the synagogue with greenery (connected to harvest, growth of plants)
• Sukkot – reminder of the shelters lived in while travelling through the desert after Egypt. Jews live in temporary shelters for a week.
8.8 Features of a Synagogue
• The Synagogue is the Jewish place of worship and is a reminder of the Temple in Jerusalem which it faces
• All have an Ark (were the Torah scrolls are kept) and a Bimah (reading platform for it)
• Ner Tamid is the ‘eternal light’ above the Ark – always burning as a reminder of God being eternal
• Some difference between Orthodox and Reform e.g. men and women separate in Orthodox synagogues
8.1 Public Acts Of Worship Quote
“I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in front of all his people…” - Psalm 116;14
8.2 The Tenakh and the Talmud Quote
“…but if he has acquired the words of the Torah he has attained afterlife” - Perkei Avot 2:8
8.3 Private Prayer Quote
“Evening, morning and noon, I pray and moan; God hears me” - Psalm 55:18
8.4 The Shema and Amidah Quote
“Hear O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is the one and only” - Deuteronomy 6:4
Unit 8.5 Ritual and Ceremony Quote
“Abraham circumcised his son Isaac at the age of eight days as God had commanded him” - Genesis 21:4
Unit 8.6 Shabbat Quote
“On the seventh day He rested and was refreshed” - Exodus 31:17
Unit 8.7 Festivals Quote
“There shall be a rest day for you [Rosh Hashanah], a remembrance with shofar blasts” - Leviticus 23:24
