Unit 8 - Jewish Practices Flashcards
8.1 quote importance of worship
“My vows to Hashem I will pay, in the presence, now, of His entire people […] in the courtyards of the House of Hashem”
Psalm 116: 14-19
Synagogue Daily Prayer services
Services that take place 3 times a day
Daily prayers
Jews can pray in a minyan then the kedusha prayers can be said.
Jews pray 3 times daily:
Morning (Shacharit)
Afternoon (Mincha)
Evening (Ma’ariv)
In Orthodox, prayers are said in Hebrew and in Reform there is a mix.
Jews say prayers standing as a reminders of God’s presence.
Prayers are usually said silently when praying alone and the Siddur contains the daily prayers which vary through the calendar.
Shabbat
Begins at Friday dusk and ends on appearance of 3 stars on Saturday.
Shabbat services in synagogue.
Reform focus more on Shabbat and festival services than Daily Prayer services.
Amidah and Aleinu prayers are said, praising God.
Whole family and community encouraged to attend, opportunity for families and communities to come together.
Synagogue services importance
Unite the local community in prayer and study and remind them of their place in the worldwide Jewish community.
Private prayer consists of three elements: thanksgiving, prayers of praise, and prayers that ask. They believe that God will respond to all prayers but not always how they expect.
Sermon by Rabbi will usually relate to a part of the service or a topical issue that will effect a Jew’s life.
Tenakh 3 books
Torah: the Pentateuch
Nevi’im: the Prophets (Former and Latter)
Ketuvim: the Writings
Orthodox Jews view on Torah
Literal word of God revealed to Jewish people at Mount Sinai. Divine and timeless, cannot be altered.
Rest of Tenakh shows how Jewish people lived during times of Prophets and how they tried to keep on the right path.
Reform view on Torah
Is a human creation written by their ancestors and inspired by their understanding of themselves and the place of God in their lives.
What is the Talmud?
Record of the Oral Tradition ans source of all legal teaching and decision.
Contains teachings and opinion of thousands of early rabbis including law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history.
Reform view on Talmud
Reform believe that it was a human creation reflecting wisdom of many generations of Jews.
Orthodox view on Talmud
Orthodox believe that it was given to Moses as a detailed teaching in how the Torah should be interpreted and written down 1000 years later so it wouldn’t become distorted by time.
Use of Torah and Talmud in daily life and worship
One scroll is taken from Ark and sections are read 4 times a week in Orthodox and once a week in Reform synagogues on Shabbat.
Whole Torah read in sequence over a year.
Importance of Torah and Talmud (orthodox)
Regarded as central to Orthodox Jewish life and they’re encouraged to study it (held in synagogues). There are international study programmes where Jews across the world study in unison.
Importance of Torah and Talmud (reform)
View it as a rich source of study and learning about Jewish values and study it without giving it the same authority as Orthodox.
Some don’t see the Talmud as important and don’t study it because they feel Aramaic is not an accessible language or the debates are thousands of years outdated.
What is kosher?
Food that is ‘fit’ or ‘correct’.
What is treifah?
Food that is not kosher and is ‘torn’.
Reasoning behind the food laws
Laws are found in Torah so Jews believe the laws come from God.
Some suggest kosher food laws benefit health because eating animals that are conscious before they are killed reduces risk of eating unhealthy animal.
Pigs used to carry a lot of disease.
Reform view on food laws
They are outdated but refrain from pork even if they don’t observe all food laws.
Creates challenges for Jews when eating out (kosher and cooking methods).
Principles of food laws are important as they express kedusha and connection with God.
Orthodox views on food laws
Believe they’re important and have separate utensils for meat and dairy.
They come from God and so are important.
How should Jews do private prayer?
Can be done individually or as a family.
Must clear mind before praying so they can focus on God.
Shabbat prayer
Kiddish - celebrates God’s creation of the universe and remembers the release of their ancestors from Egypt.
Recited over wine and other blessings are made. Food is eaten afterwards where songs are sung and stories are told.
Connection of family.
Why Jews may pray
Praise/request/thank.
Brings Jews together as a community.
Torah commands Jews to join together to thank God to strengthen their personal relationship with him.
Also, acknowledging God in their daily life when something good or bad happens counts as prayer and prayers before and after eating.
Why Jews may pray
Praise/request/thank.
Brings Jews together as a community.
Torah commands Jews to join together to thank God to strengthen their personal relationship with him.
Also, acknowledging God in their daily life when something good or bad happens counts as prayer.
Individual importance of different prayers (daily, individual, constant, Shabbat)
Daily - allows regular prayer sometimes connecting in faith as family.
Individual - allows personal reflection and solidarity time with God.
Constant - keep’s God in their heart and mind and allows spontaneous thanksgiving.
Shabbat - brings family and friends together in regular celebration.
Shema
Most important prayer in Judaism.
Recited twice a day and declares most fundamental principles of Jewish faith that they believe in one God.
Tallit
Worn by men and boys over barmitzvah at every morning service.
Fringe on shawl reminds wearer of the commandments in the Torah.
Covers head during prayer to help focus.
Tefillin
Black boxes with straps that contain 4 verses from the Torah.
Worn because in Shema it says that Jews should bind their prayers to their arms and foreheads to connect the heart and mind (emotion and intellect)
Women may wear tallit and tefillin in Reform communities.
Mezuzah
Container found on doorframes in Jewish homes to remind of God’s presence.
Amidah
Part of the Jewish service and refers to a series of blessings said standing.
Morning prayer
Thanks for the use of body.
Shema, Amidah, sections from Tenakh recited.
Afternoon prayer
Psalm 145 (‘Praise by David’) said followed by Amidah and ended with Aleinu.
Evening prayer
Shema, Amidah, Aleinu are recited along. with other prayers.
Importance of rituals
Shows gratitude to God, provides a sense of Jewish identity and brings God into everyday life.
Birth ritual
Child’s life begins when it is halfway emerged from the body and is born pure and entirely free from sin.
When giving birth to a boy, a women will be ritually unclean for over a month, and with a girl over 3 months because giving birth to another creator requires longer recovery, emphasising the importance of creation.
Afterwards, the woman attends a ritual bath for purification when she stops bleeding after 1-2 weeks of giving birth.
Children are given Hebrew names but often have English names they use in the secular world.
When are the names given to children?
Boys - at Brit Milah.
Girls - when the father takes an aliyah (reading from the Torah after her birth) in orthodox and at a Simchat Bat in reform.
Brit Milah
Covenant of circumcision and most universally observed mitzvot as a sign of God’s everlasting covenant.
Removal of foreskin performed by a mohel.
Firstborn son would provide service to the temple through a small donation but this is not observed in Reform communities.
Bar and Bat Mitzvah
Takes place for boys aged 13 and girls aged 12 in orthodox and girls aged 13 in reform.
A coming of age ritual where the young people are from then on able to take responsibility for their actions and faith.
After Bar Mitzvah, boys can lead the synagogue service and take an active part and they can also be included in a minyan or read as a part of a service. Girls would also be given these rights in a Reform community.
Preparation for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Expected to study and prepare carefully and will read from various texts and be called to read from the Torah on their Bar Mitzvah. Girls undertake a variety of learning, volunteering and baking for Shabbat.
In reform, both girls and boys will undertake the same tasks.
Marriage
Talmud explains how to find a partner and the nature of the relationship.
Couple stand over a huppah, a canopy that represents beginnings of a new home.
In reform, both exchange rings but in orthodox, a plain metal ring is placed on the bride’s right forefinger, following Jewish law.
Seven blessings are recited in front of the guests or the Rabbi. In orthodox, there requires two males present to sign the marriage contract but in reform they can be make or female.
Groom smashes a small glass to symbolise destruction of temple and then they have a meal.
Mourning ceremonies
Orthodox Jews tear their clothes upon hearing of death and reform may cut a tie or wear a torn black ribbon. Both then make a blessing to God referring to him as a true judge and show their acceptance of God taking the life.
Mourning is very formal with different periods of mourning.
After funeral, they eat a hard boiled egg and a beigel to symbolise the cycle of life.
Anuit
24h from death to burial
Shiva
Prayer at home for 7 days after burial (no work)
Sheloshim
First 30 days including shiva, normal life, no parties
Yud-bet chodeh
Additional year of mourning for loss of a parent.
Yahrzeit
Anniversary of the date of death - yahrzeit candle is lit.
Funeral service
Buried rather than cremated and done entirely at cemetery because synagogue is for living.
Candle is lit and body is never left alone. Body is wrapped in a linen shroud and if it’s a male a tallit too.
Hands are washed outside ceremony to symbolise leaving death behind.
Why do Jews do Shabbat?
Instructed by God (in the Decalogue)
How is Shabbat celebrated at home?
A special meal in the home where candles are lit beforehand (counts as work) and Shabbat hymns and special prayers are said over the meal.
How is Shabbat celebrated in the synagogue?
There is a Friday evening service and Saturday morning service. Amidah prayer is said, reading from the Torah, rabbi sermon and Kaddish prayer.
Why is Shabbat important?
It’s one of the 10 commandments.
Time to connect with family.
Youth groups meet on Friday afternoon to socialise and discuss faith.
Reform view on Shabbat
They are more relaxed about what counts as work, e.g. to the synagogue.
Rosh Hashanah
Jewish new year where Jews remember the story of creation and they reflect on their behaviour.
They attend the synagogue and the shofar is blown 100 times.
Yom Kippur
Day of atonement and holiest day of the year where Jews seek forgiveness from the people they’ve wronged and God finalises his judgement on a person’s behaviour and decides their fate.
Men fast for 25 hours and evening service is held where they cancel any promises they can’t keep.
White is worm for purity.
Pesach
Pilgrim festival that remembers Passover.
Eat a symbolic Seder meal.
8 days.
Shavuot
Second pilgrim festival that celebrates the giving of new law to Moses with extra Torah study and decorate the synagogue with greenery.
Sukkot
Third pilgrim festival 4 days after Yom Kippur.
Marks end of summer and autumn harvest. Reminder of dwelling places where Jews lived in the wilderness. Celebrated for 8 days and they offer hospitality to others.
How are synagogue recognised?
Star of David on the outside or amenorah (candlestick)
Ark
Area that stores Torah scrolls that’s a reminder of the tabernacle in the temple that stored the commandments (God’s dwelling place)
Ner Tamid
Light above the Ark that burns all the time as a reminder of God’s eternal nature.
Menorah
Seven branched candlestick used in the temple as an eternal life.
Bimah
Reading platform to make Torah the main focus of the service.
Yad
Reading stick used so the Torah is not touched.
Orthodox synagogue
Men and women sit separately, women cover their heads and there is no music (counts as work on the Sabbath), men lead service.
Reform synagogue
Men and women sit together.
Women can wear Tallit or Kippah and they can take an active role in the service.
8.1 quote
“My vows to Hashem I will pay, in the presence, now, of His entire
