inside the matrix

agreement established between God and the ancient Israelites, first through Abraham and later through Moses, designates Jews as the chosen people

covenant

YHWH

name for the Jewish God although they don't say yahweh, they say the lord because it is thought to be too holy

refers to the first 5 books of the bible, literally means "instruction" loosely means "law" mostly the statement of religious law in Judaism

torah

Hebrew bible derived from the first letters of the Hebrew names of its sections: Torah (T), Prophets (N), and Writings (K).

Tanakh

Written down in about 200 AD, contains teaching that were formulated and transmitted orally by the rabbis of the preceding four centuries

Mishnah

the vast depository of the oral Torah, based on the Mishnah, with extensive rabbinic commentary on each chapter

Talmud

Jewish mysticism, which teaches that God can be best known through the heart, developed mainly in the medieval period with such texts at the Zohar

Kabblalah

persecution of Jews by German Nazis from 1933 to 1945 resulting in the murder of some six million commonly referred to by the Jews as "Shoah" which means mass destruction

Holocaust

Hebrew for "mass destruction"

Shoah

Skullcap that mare are required to wear, ritual accessories

Yarmulke

a language derived primarily from German and Hebrew that was commonly spoken by Jews in Europe

Yiddish

an accessory which can be drawn over the head for privacy

Prayer Shawl

a small container with a scroll on which the Shema is written

Mezuzah

center for prayer, study, and fellowship, all of them contain a scroll of the five books of the torah

synagogue

begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until sunset on Saturday

Sabbath

means one who has mastered the sacred writings of Judaism

Rabbi

marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, a ten day period of reflection

Rosh Hashanah

10th day of the new year, emphasizes repentance through confession of sin

Yam Kippur

commemorates the Exodus of the Jews from bondage in Egypt

passover

second stage of mourning, begins after burial, it's a prayer of mourning

Kaddish

primary ritual marking the Jewish coming of age at which point the child takes on religious responsibilities of an adult

Bar Mitzvah

"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone"

Shema

What are the five books of the Torah?

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers

What happened in 70 AD? Why was this so significant?

The Romans destroyed the temple. God's revelation of the divine will to the chosen people is recorded in the Hebrew Bible and in writings of rabbis from the first centuries after the destruction of the temple

In what year was Israel granted statehood?

1948

What are the branches of Judaism? (example of how they differ)

Reform-modern, Orthodox-strict, and Conservative- in between