JEWS 101

What does the author now (that is, as of 1987) take for granted?

“In 1959 I was preoccupied with proving that an educated Westerner could live a traditional Jewish existence, not only without any intellectual sacrifices, but much to his enrichment. Today I take that for granted.”

What does Wouk call “a formidable intellectual position”?

The belief in God

Where does Wouk say Jews today “live as free and equal citizens”?

United States

How old is the Jewish people? What does Wouk say has verified this?

Over three thousand years old

Wouk observes that the Bible says Jews descend from three men. Who were they?

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob

What is the Hebrew word for the scripture law given to Moses for Israel?

Torah

“To sum up,” says Wouk, who are the Jews?

According to Wouk, the Jews are the descendants of the Israelites led by Moses and carrying a tradition of liberation from Egypt.They are called Jews the tribe of Judah.

What two things does Wouk say determines “who is a Jew”?

Descent then faith

In Judaism, what is the “path to God” and to whom does it lie open?

Right conduct and its open to Jews and non-Jews

For whom does Wouk say he is “sketching Judaism”?

those who want to know about it, whatever the source of their curiosity.

How does Wouk say Jews can be loyal to both religious law and the law of the land?

Jewish doctrine both laws are one law. By religion they are obliged to be a law abider.

What is the one point over which conflict might exist in this issue?

If the state decrees that Jewish people can’t worship their god

What is the nearest thing to an encyclopedia in Judaism?

Babylon Talmud

By tradition, how many commandments does Judaism (i.e. the Law) have?

613

But how many of those commandments does Wouk say are “key observances”?

24

What does Wouk say is the “core of Judaism”?

right conduct to other people.

What did Hillel say is the “core of Judaism”?

What is offensive to you do not do to others.

What is the only strictly Jewish symbol in the Ten Commandments?

The Sabbath

How many prohibitions are there in the “two tables” (i.e. Ten Commandments)?

7

How many positive commands are there in the “two tablets”?

3

Opinion: What LDS emphasis do you think is contained in these positive commands?

The church focuses on family (honoring thy parents), focusing on God, and keeping the sabbath day holy.

What (“in the second place” according to Wouk) does the Sabbath mark?

the founding of the Jewish nation in the Exodus from Egypt

The Sabbath is a recurring sign and reminder of … what two things?

creation, and of Israel's beginning.

In the presence of emergency, what vanishes on Sabbath?

All the restrictive laws of Sabbath vanish in the presence of emergency: illness, disaster, urgent rescue, and the like.

What does Wouk say is the second layer of Judaism’s bedrock?

Common sense

What seems to be the definition of Sabbath emergency?

an austere but realistic one. Peril to life or limb is an emergency

What is the nature of the Jewish religious calendar (Solar, Lunar, Other)

Lunar

What is Judaism’s spring festival called? (know the English and Hebrew terms)

Passover, Pesach

What central and picturesque rite of Passover no longer exists?

the eating of the Paschal lamb

What is the word “seder” a popular name for?

The feast. The seder is a retelling of the Exodus story in a dramatic pageant, enacted by a family and its guests around a festive table.

What is a Hagada?

The script of this pageant (called the Hagada, or Story) is a short vivid book in simple Hebrew, telling the Exodus tale with some Talmudic embellishment and analysis.”

What substance has to be completely removed from homes for Passover?

leaven

How many days after Passover until the festival of Shavu’ot (i.e. Shavuos)?

50

What is Shavu’ot (Shavuos) the Hebrew word for? What’s the connection?

Weeks. Marks the turn in the calendar

Why did Greeks call this festival Pentecost? How long does it last?

50th day. One day in Israel two outside.

What season of the year is the Shavu’ot (Shavuos) festival associated with?

Summer

In addition to wheat harvest, Shavu’ot is the anniversary of … what?

The anniversary of the Giving of the Law.

With what season is the festival of Sukkot (Sukos) associated?

Autumn

What does the Law of Moses require for seven days at Sukkot (Sukos)?

All Jews live in huts partially roofed by green boughs, palm branches, or piles of reeds.

What does the Hebrew word Sukkot mean in English (modern & archaic versions)?

harvest-time hut and Tabernacles

In the sukkah (suko) what does there have to be room for?

table and chairs

Of the four species carried at Sukkot, what is an etrog (esrog)? What is it like?

yellow fruit native to the Holy Land. like a lemon but larger, brownish button at the tip, the withered blossom.

Along with a palm branch, what two other tree branches are bound and carried?

fresh willow and myrtle

What kind of branch is a lulav? What action is done with the lulav?

palm branch. Waving them in the air.

When does Shemini Atzeret (Sh’mini Atzeres) occur?

At the end on sukos on the 8th day

What is another name for Shemini Atzeret, and what does it mean?

Simkhas Torah

But outside the land of Israel, on what day does Simhat Torah (Simkhas Torah) occur?

9th day

With what sacred item in their hands do people dance in the synagogue on Simhat Torah?

Torah Scrolls

What will teach you more than reading forty books on Judaism?

Carrying out the in a single year the duties and pleasures of the festivals.

See note at end of chapter – what Hebrew pronunciation did Wouk’s father use?

Ashkenazic, or Northern European, soft taf when it lacks the dagesh

On what day do many Jews, who might not attend any other time, go to synagogue?

Yom Kippur

What is the term for the Jewish new year?

Rosh Hashana

What two days are the High Holy Days?

Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana

What are two other “days of” names for the period of these holy days?

the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe

On Yom Kippur, what are the five abstentions of the 24 hour fasting period?

eating and drinking, from sex, from bathing, from anointing the body with oil (the Oriental hygienic practice), and from the wearing of leather shoes.

In the metaphor of the High Holy Days, what is written in the scrolls of fate?

every man's hand has written his deeds of the year past

Which of the High Holy Days the day of “horn blowing”?

Yom Kippur, the last days.

In the machinery of penitence, atonement begins with two things … what are they?

begins with repairing the injury in full; then one seeks God's absolution

In Judaism, what is there no machinery for? (two things)

for confession to a human being or for release from sin through an agency on earth.

Jewish liturgy says three things can “dissolve the evil decree” … what are they?

Repentance, prayer, and good works,

What three minor (post-Mosaic) holidays does Wouk discuss?

The the Ninth of Av, Purim, and Hanuka

What does Tisha B’av mean?

9th day, day of mourning and fasting

What does Tisha B’Av commemorate?

The Babylonians broke into the Temple of Solomon and sacked it.

How do observant Jews mark Tisha B’av (i.e. what do they do or not do)?

Fasting, Abstaining, Refraining from work, Avoiding celebrations, Sitting on the floor or low stools, Reading the Book of Lamentations, not greeting eachother.

When (in the modern calendar) does Tisha B’av normally occur?

July or August

What biblical book is the source for the festival of Purim?

Book of Esther

When (in the modern calendar) does Purim normally occur?

February or March

Purim is the nearest thing Judaism has to a … what?

Carnival

What is the Jewish holiday not rooted in the Bible narrative?

Hanukkah

What does Hanukkah (Hanuka) celebrate?

A Military event

Who was the Seleucid king that persecuted the Jews?

Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Of what priestly family was Mattathias, who started the revolt?

Hasmonean (or Hasmon)

Who was the son of Mattathias, and what did he do that Hanukkah celebrates?

recaptured the Temple and began eight days of purifying and rededicating ceremonies.

What does the Hebrew term Hanukkah (Hanuka) mean?

dedication

The oil in the Temple menorah burned for (how many) days on Hanukkah?

8 days

A traditional Jew prays (how many) times a day? And when?

3

The synagogue began as a kind of … what?

popular law school

What is “the very heart of synagogue practice”?

is the reading of the Torah week by week.

Synagogue filled “the vacuum at the core of the religion” after what event?

the First Temple fell

The synagogue “evolved into a house of” … what?

worship

What is the Shema (Sh’ma), the prayer which Wouk calls the synagogue “creed”?

Central Jewish prayer that declares their devotion God. the essence of our law

What does the word Shema mean, in English?

Hear

What is the first verse of scripture of the Shema?

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.

What is the Shemone Esray (Shmone Esrai), the prayer Wouk calls the “service”?

extremely old litany of eighteen blessings. (link between the synagogue and the ancient Temple)

What do the words Shemone Esray mean?

The 18

What have Jews always clung to as their language of liturgy and prayer?

Hebrew

What two general communities of Jews pulled together after the Roman dispersion?

the Ashkenazi, Sefardi

Where, geographically, do Ashkenazim (the Ashkenazi Jews) have their heritage?

North and East Europe

Where, geographically, do the Sefardim (the Sefardi Jews) have their heritage?

Mediterranean lands

Jewish diet – the Torah gives one brief reason for the laws … what is it?

they will help discipline Israel to holiness

From the Bible, what features must an animal have for Jews to be able to eat it?

split hoof and cud-chewing

Other than the obvious pork, what kinds of animals may Jews not eat?

beasts of prey, rodents, reptiles, swine, horses, pachyderms, and primates,

From the Bible, what features must sea creatures have for Jews to be able to eat them?

fins and scales.

What kinds of seafood may Jews not eat?

shrimps, oysters, and lobsters; also a number of French delicacies

What kinds of birds does the Torah list as forbidden (proscribed) for eating?

all birds of prey or carrion eaters

Other than “pure” what is the nearest English word for the meaning of “kosher”?

fit

What foods does the word ‘trayf’ (trefe) describe or extend to as used by Jews?

all unfit food.

The Torah has four main rules for preparing meat. What does the second one forbid?

drinking of blood

How is the third main ruled interpreted today? What cannot be mixed or eaten together?

Separation of meat and milk.

What is Jewish kosher slaughtering law supposed to insure for the animal involved?

That the animal has a quick painless death.