Religion 1001: Judaism

Abrahamic Covenant

The unconditional promise made by God to Abraham in Genesis for Land (Canaan), Decendants, and Blessing

Exodus

The name of the second book of the Hebrew bible that refers to the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt

Tabernacle

Portable sanctuary whose construction was commanded by God at Sinai, according to a pattern revealed to Moses

Decalogue

God affirms the Israelites as his people as long as they follow the ____

Archaeology

Digs up physical objects like tools, bones, and ruins to study human life

Philology

Uses written texts and languages to study history and culture

Canaan

The promised land given to the Israelites in the Abraham Covenant

Merneptah Stele

Carved plate that serves as archaeological proof that a distinct cultural and ethnic group named Israel already thrived in Canaan by the Bronze Age

Cuneiform

Uses wedge-shaped marks pressed into soft clay with a reed stylus

Ugaritic Texts

Numerous epic poems, including the Baal Cycle, written in a cuneiform script, offered new understanding of religious contexts of Early Judaism

Monotheism

The belief that there is only one God

Monolatry

The belied that many different Gods exist, but you only worship one of them

Babylonian Captivity

Period when large numbers of Judeans were exiled to Babylonia

Tanakh

The entire Hebrew Bible

Pentateuch/Torah

First five books of the Hebrew Bible

Mosaic Authorship

The idea that the first five books of the Hebrew bible were from God, interpreted by Moses

Doublet

Duplicate version of the same narrative, law, or event in the Hebrew Bible

Documentary Hypothesis

The belief that the first five books were not written by Moses (J - Vahwist, associated with the divine name, linked to kingdom of Judea; E - Elohist, associated with the use of “Elohim” for God, linked to kingdom of Israel; D - Deutoronomist; P - Priestly, associated with rituals and the Tabernacle)

Diaspora

Dispersion of the Jewish people from their homeland in Israel

Achaemenid Empire

Persian state founded by Cyrus the Great that allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple

Second Temple Judaism

Period of judaism when the holy sanctuary was restored in Jerusalem after Cyrus allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem

Decree of Cyrus

Proclamation that allowed Jewish exiles in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their empire

Messiah

In Hebrew bible, a number of divinely guided leaders, including David and Cyrus and the Achaemenid King Cyrus

Eschatology

Branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world

Deutero-Isaiah

Book of the Hebrew bible, prophesying divine judgement and exile, followed by the restoration of Jerusalem (Cyrus as an agent of God; describes Israelite kings)

Cyrus Cylinder

An inscription that describes Cyrus as a God of someone else’s religion

Zoroastrianism

Dualist cosmology of Good and Evil: Worship of a supreme diety, oral transmission, collected in the Avesta, and prominent religion in Achaemenid Empire, but adherence of kings to this is debated

Lamentations

Hebrew book that mourns the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians

Elephantine Papyri

A common writing surface in the ancient world, made from strips of the papyrus plant (papyrus discovered on the island of Elephantine)

Samaritans

Israelite religious community based in Samaria

Samaritan Pentateuch

Samaritan version of the Torah, written in Samaritan script ~ Important early textual witness of Hebrew Bible

Imperial Aramaic

Lingua franca of the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Achaemenid Empires: Northwest semitic language, similar to Hebrew and used in many of the Elephantine papyri

Lingua Franca

Shared language used to unite the Jewish people (changes over time)

Passover

Commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt

Sukkot

A week long Jewish autumn festival that celebrates the harvest and commemorates the 40 year journey of ancient Israelites through the desert

Shavuot

Seven weeks after the start of Passover: first grain harvest; customary to eat cheesecake, commemorates the revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai

Tisha B’av

A fast day commemorating the destruction of the First Temple by the Romans, as well as other tragedies that befall the Jewish people

Pale of Settlement

Area in the Western part of the Russian Empire where Jews were permitted to reside

Hasidism

Charismatic religious revival based on mystical teachings and practices

Ba’al Shem Tov

Associated with the _____ (1700-1760), who attracted a following in the town of Medzhybizh (now Ukraine). “master of the name”, a purveyor of practical kabbalah

Dönme

Shabbatai Zvi’s following that converted to Islam with him under the Ottoman empire while secretly practicing Judaism

Haskalah

Jewish Enlightenment that focused on reason and human progress during the 17th and 18th centuries

Wissenschaft des Judentums

Forerunner of modern academic discipline of Jewish studies, who was devoted to study of Jewish texts and history according to modern scientific methods. Founded society for the culture and science of Judaism in 1819 after anti-jewish riots in Germany

Reform Judaism

Sought to reconcile Judaism with modern sensibilities and Enlightenment universalism, preceded by a period of synagogue reform. Abraham Geiger was the intellectual and spiritual leader of this reform.

Progressive Revelation

The idea that God revels his will through reason, earlier Jewish law no longer binding. Associated with Reform Judaism.

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodoxy that embraces modernity and views the Torah and Jewish law (Halakha) as divine revelations that remain binding.

Torah im derekh eretz

Torah with “the way of the land.” ~ “Derekh eretz” = common decency. Combines strict adherence to Torah law with active engagement in modern secular culture and society.

Antisemitism

Sociological focus, sees Jews as a distinct race, often linking Jews to world domination and communism

Yiddish

A Germanic language with Hebrew elements

Protocols of the Elders of Zion

Antisemitic forgery that purports to be minutes of a meeting of Jewish elders plotting world domination. Likely Russian propaganda

Dreyfus Affair

Alfred Dreyfus, a french-jewish officer who was wrongly convicted of passing along military secrets to Germany (Dreyfusards vs. Anti-dreyfusards)

Assimilation

The conscious adoption of the language, dress, education, and manners of the surrounding non-Jewish European majority as a prerequisite for gaining legal equality as a result of antisemitism

Moses Mendelssohn

Central figure and writer of Jewish Enlightment movement (1729-1786)

Shabbatai Zvi

Revealed by young mystic, Nathan of Gaza, as the messiah. Led the most successful messianic movement. Jews sold their belonging to travel to the Holy Land with him, forced to convert to Islam under the Ottoman Empire

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement in 17th and 18th centuries focused on reason and human progress

Baruch Spinoza

Frontrunner of the Enlightenment; traditional jewish education, later exposed to Cartesian philosophy and modern science. Saw the bible as historical, not supernatural. Rejected personal religion, equated God and nature (Pantheism)

Exagoge of Ezekial

Earliest known Jewish play, survives only in excerpts from later Christian writers

Alexander the Great

Born in Macedonia in 356 BC, song of King of Macedon; tutored by Aristotle, conquered the Achaemenid empire. Founded Alexandria (Egypt) and dies at 32 in Babylon, which divides the Macedonian Empire

Hellenism

Koine Greek as lingua franca; diffusion of Greek tastes, art, and architecture into Jewish culture. A result of Alexander the Great.

Philo of Alexandria

Hellenized Jewish philosopher in Alexandria/Egypt who synthesized Jewish teaching with Greek philosophy. His allegorical interpretations of the bible were influential for later Christian writers

Allegorical Interpretations

Looking for deeper meaning in text (usually scripture) by applying logic

Synagogue

Jewish house of worship, where prayer, Torah readings, teachings, and assemblies take place. Called “Shul” or “Temple” or “Beit Knesset” in Hebrew

Septuagint

Earliest extant Greek translation of Hebrew bible. Legend of the ____: The Ptolemaic king asked the high priest in Jerusalem to send sin translators from 12 tribes to translate the Torah

Dead Sea Scrolls

Oldest extant Bible manuscripts; mostly in Hebrew, includes all books of the bible but Esther. Found in 1940s/50s in the Quman caves in the Judaen Desert/West Bank

Apocrypha

Ancient religious writings considered historical, not accepted as scripture

Maccabean Revolt

War between the Jews of Judea and their Seleucid rules. Response to repressive measures instituted by Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV. Led by Judah Maccabee; leads to autonomous Jewish rule under the Hosmonean Kingdom

Seder

Jewish word for Order

Hanukkah

Commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple after Maccabean revolt

Ptolemaic Egypt

A powerful jewish diaspora that actively participated in Greek speaking political, military, and cultural life

Seleucid Kingdom

Controlled Judea during the Hellenistic period, triggered Maccabean revolt with its repressive measures

Haggadah

Jewish text that sets forth the order, prayers, songs, and story for Passover

Symposium

Banquet model that was adopted and adapted to create the modern Passover sedar

Hasmonean Dynasty

Independent Jewish ruling family that governed Judea from 142-37 BCE

Martyr

Choosing death over breaking core religious laws or by being killed simply because they are Jewish - “For sanctification of God’s name”

Bimah

Platform used for reading from the Torah and leading service

Shema

Affirmation of God’s singularity, centerpiece of morning and evening prayer services

Koshrut

Jewish dietary law; Kosher - Food that meets the standards

Nuremberg Laws

September 1935, forbidding intermarriage, revoking citizenship. Definies who counts as Jewish

Kristallnacht

'“Night of Broken Glass” - anti-Jewish pogroms all over Germany ~ November 1932

Zionism

Early to mid 19th century: Increased advocacy for Jews in the Ottoman Empire to found a Jewish national state

Hibbat Zion

Forerunner of modern Zionism, founded in 1881 in response to anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia

Pogroms

Anti-Jewish mob violence

Western Wall

Ancient stone retaining wall in Jerusalem that serves as the holiest physical site where prayer is permitted

Menorah

Seven-branched candelabrum described in the Hebrew bible and used in the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple in Jerusalem

Star of David

Serves as a universal symbol for Jewish identity and the State of Israel

Shoah

“Catastrophe” in Hebrew ~ Usually refers to genocide of Jews during WWII by Nazis

Balfour Declaration

1917, declaration announcing British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine

Shul

A Jewish house of prayer, study, and community gathering, same function as a Synagogue