final Dual enrollment course

Ashkenazi Jews

Jews of Central and Eastern European descent; spoke Yiddish and shaped Jewish life in the Slavic world.

Sephardi Jews

Jews of Iberian descent; spoke Ladino and carried Jewish traditions to North Africa and the Ottoman Empire.

Mizrahi Jews

Jews from Middle Eastern and North African lands, including Iraq, Iran, and Yemen.

Beta Israel

Ethiopian Jewish community with ancient and isolated traditions.

Yiddish

A blend of medieval German, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Slavic languages written in Hebrew script.

Ladino

Judeo-Spanish language spoken by Sephardi Jews.

Haskalah

The Jewish Enlightenment movement emphasizing reason, secular knowledge, and integration into modern society.

Moses Mendelssohn

Leader of the Haskalah; translated Torah into German and advocated for Jewish civic equality.

Reform Judaism

Modern movement emphasizing ethics over ritual law, personal autonomy, and adapting Judaism to modernity.

Abraham Geiger

Reform Judaism leader who taught that Judaism evolves and ethical monotheism is central.

Pittsburgh Platform (1885)

Reform manifesto rejecting ritual law, messianic hope, and affirming universal ethical mission.

Temple Judaism (Reform)

The belief that synagogues are the new "temples," rejecting the idea of rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple.

Halakha (Reform view)

Seen as non-binding; focus is on moral law and individual conscience.

Sally Priesand

First American woman ordained as a rabbi (1972, Reform movement).

Orthodox Judaism

Modern reaction defending halakha as divinely revealed and immutable.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch

Leader of Modern Orthodoxy; proposed Torah im Derech Eretz—engagement with modernity under Torah.

Modern Orthodoxy

Balance of traditional observance with secular education and public life.

Ultra-Orthodoxy (Haredi)

Strictly traditionalist communities rejecting modern influences and Reform innovations.

Halakha (Orthodox view)

Seen as binding, eternal, and unchangeable; defines Jewish identity and practice.

Conservative Judaism

Middle path affirming halakha while allowing for historical change through scholarly authority.

Zacharias Frankel

Founder of Positive-Historical Judaism; argued that halakha evolves while staying authoritative.

Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS)

Main seminary of Conservative Judaism; combines scholarship and religious observance.

Halakhic Evolution (Conservative)

Belief that Jewish law evolves through rabbinic processes rooted in history.

Reconstructionist Judaism

Movement viewing Judaism as an evolving religious civilization, not a fixed divine revelation.

Mordecai Kaplan

Founder of Reconstructionism; redefined God in naturalistic terms and rejected supernaturalism.

Judaism as a Civilization

Kaplan's concept of Judaism including culture, ethics, ritual, and community—not just religion.

God as “the power that makes for salvation”

Reconstructionist idea of God as a moral, natural force—not a supernatural being.

Reconstructionist Reforms

Egalitarian worship, LGBTQ ordination, patrilineal descent, and democratic communities.

Chosenness (Reconstructionist view)

Rejected as theological doctrine; Jewish identity seen as historical, not divinely exclusive.

Tradition and Change

The core tension in all modern Jewish movements: preserving identity while adapting to modern values.

Denominational Pluralism

Refers to the coexistence of multiple Jewish movements in modern Judaism.

Minyan

Quorum for prayer; traditional requirement of 10 men, expanded in egalitarian movements.

Mitzvah

A commandment; its definition and binding nature varies by denomination.

Ahura Mazda

The “Wise Lord,” uncreated, wholly good, and the sole deity worthy of worship; source of truth and order.

Asha

The principle of truth, righteousness, and moral order; the cosmic law.

Druj

Falsehood, chaos, and moral distortion; the opposite of asha.

Angra Mainyu (Ahriman)

The destructive spirit and adversary of Ahura Mazda; represents evil.

Ethical Dualism

The belief in a moral universe divided between good (asha) and evil (druj), with humans as active participants.

Free Will

In Zoroastrianism, the capacity to choose between good and evil, essential for moral responsibility.

Gāthās

Poetic hymns attributed to Zarathustra, forming the theological core of the Avesta.

Chinvat Bridge

The judgment point after death where a soul’s deeds determine its fate.

Frashokereti

The final renovation of the world—resurrection of the dead and defeat of evil.

Saoshyant

A future savior figure who leads the final battle against evil and initiates Frashokereti.

Fire (Atar)

A symbol of divine truth, purity, and the presence of Ahura Mazda.

Avestan

The sacred language of Zoroastrian scriptures, related to Vedic Sanskrit.

Zoroastrian Monotheism

Qualified monotheism: only Ahura Mazda is worshipped, but Angra Mainyu is a real evil force.

Zoroastrian Linear Time

A historical, moral progression from creation to final judgment and renewal, contrasting with cyclical time.

Haskalah

The Jewish Enlightenment encouraging secular education, rationalism, and civic participation.

Denominational Diversity

The development of Reform, Orthodox, Conservative, and Reconstructionist Judaism in modernity.

Reform Judaism

Emphasizes ethics, personal autonomy, vernacular worship, and moral evolution over ritual law.

Pittsburgh Platform (1885)

Reform document that rejected dietary laws and messianic return; emphasized ethics and integration.

Orthodox Judaism

Affirms halakha as divinely revealed, immutable, and central to Jewish life and identity.

Modern Orthodoxy

A form of Orthodoxy engaging with secular society while strictly following halakha.

Positive-Historical Judaism

Conservative belief that halakha is binding but has historically evolved and continues to evolve.

Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS)

Main seminary for Conservative Judaism; combines scholarship with halakhic commitment.

Reconstructionist Judaism

Views Judaism as an evolving civilization; redefines God and tradition in naturalistic, communal terms.

Mordecai Kaplan's View of God

God is “the power that makes for salvation”—a natural force guiding ethical and communal life.

Reconstructionist View of Chosenness

Rejects chosenness as divine uniqueness, seeing Jewish identity as historical.

Havurah

A small egalitarian fellowship group for prayer, study, and mutual support.

Five Pillars of Islam

Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj – foundation of Muslim life.

Tawhid

The absolute oneness of God.

Qur’an

Islam’s central sacred text, revealed to Muhammad in Arabic.

Hadith

Reports of Muhammad’s words/actions, second in authority after the Qur’an.

Hijrah

Muhammad’s migration to Medina in 622 CE; start of Islamic calendar.

Ummah

A religious-political community based on faith, not tribe.

Kaaba

Pre-Islamic shrine in Mecca; later Islam’s holiest site.

Sunni vs. Shi’a

Sunni: leadership by consensus. Shi’a: leadership should stay in Muhammad’s family.

Sufism

Islamic mysticism focused on inner union with God, poetry, dance.

Shahada

Declaration of faith: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His messenger.”

Prototype theory

We identify religion by how closely it matches common features like myth, ritual, doctrine, ethics, symbols.

Prototypical features of religion

Myth, ritual, ethics, doctrine, ultimacy, symbol.

Ultimacy

What is most real and important in life (e.g., God, Nirvana, etc.).

Wholly Other / Numinous

The divine as beyond comprehension (Wholly Other); emotional response to it (Numinous).

Religare / Legere

Latin roots of 'religion': “to bind” or “to reread carefully.”

Etymological fallacy

Mistakenly thinking a word’s origin defines its meaning today.

Inclusivism / Exclusivism / Pluralism

Only one valid path, one superior but others valid, or many equal.

Lumen Gentium

Vatican II: says non-Catholics may still be saved.

Nostra Aetate

Vatican II: affirms truth in other religions, condemns antisemitism.

Anonymous Christianity

Theory that sincere non-Christians may still be saved through God’s grace.

Göbekli Tepe

Earliest known ritual site (c. 9600 BCE) predating agriculture.

Animism

Belief that nature is alive with spirit.

Shamanism

Use of spiritual intermediaries to guide and heal.

Dreamtime

Aboriginal concept of creation by ancestral spirits; time is cyclical.

Syncretism

Blending of religious traditions, especially under colonialism.

Venus figurines

Prehistoric fertility symbols, likely tied to mother-goddess worship.