History of Judaism Exam #1

blood libel

accusation that Jews use the blood of Christian children in their ritual bread

desecration of the host

accusation that Jews mistreat consecrated bread acting as Christ’s body

feudal order

economy of the 14th and 15th century where landowners have all the power

Usury

the act of lending money

dhimmis

third class citizens in Muslim society, they are protected but not given the same opportunities as Muslims

laicization of culture

culture run by the common order, comes about during the Renaissance era

Judenfrage

the Jewish question

Black Death

the disease for which the Jews are blamed during the 14th century because Christians believe they are working with the devil

Relativism of values

the phenomena that comes about with the finding of the new world

printing press

technology that comes about during the Renaissance which allows new ideas to reach everyone

Kabbala

mysticism

Ferdinand and Isabella

unite Spain using Christianity in the 15th century

Marranos

Jews in Spain who converted to Catholicism

Ottoman Empire

where Jews from Christian Europe went after they were thrown out of Spain and Portugal

Moral relativism

what was bred during the Renaissance as people become concerned with what happens in this world, not just about getting to heaven

Inquisition

the hunting down of converts who were perceived to not be loyal to Christianity

Reformation

brought about by Martin Luther in 1517

Tolerance and Pluralism

the effects of the religion of the prince determining the religion of the state as determined in a 1648 truce

“On the Jews and their Lies” and “On the Shame of the Divine Name”

published by Martin Luther to attack Jews after they refuse to convert to Protestantism

1418

date of the second phase of the Inquisition that targeted Jewish-Christians

auto-de-fé

burning at the stake which occurred during the Inquisition

Poland

where many Jews went after leaving Spain. There was no wealth or moderation here and they were torn apart by inter-Christian disputes.

Chmielnicki Massacres

great violence in 1648 against Poland and Jews by the Greek Orthodox Cossacks in the east. 

stability

necessary to have community

Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine

countries ruled by the Sigismunds in historic Poland

Ottoman Empire

controlled the Eastern Mediterranean in the 16th century

Kehillot

Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire based on country of origin

tax farmers

a job often had by Jews in the Ottoman Empire that led to them being wealthy

Sephardim

Jews from Spain

Ashkenazim

Jews from Germany/Eastern Europe

Zohar

foundational work of Kabbalistic literature that includes mystical commentary on the Torah

Shimon Bar Yokai

wrote the Zohar. His tomb is in Safed

Safed

center of Jewish mystical life

Escatological

word that means the “end times” or Messianic era

Metaphysical events (War between darkness and light)

what will occur before the Messianic era 

Halakha

Jewish law

Mishnah

written oral tradition

smicha

line of rabbinic ordination that Maimonides said would be reinstituted with the coming of the Messiah

Jacob Berev

rabbi in Safed who wants to speed up the end times using Maimonides’ Code of Law

Shukhan Aruch

written by Joseph Karo in Safed to give the Jewish people a common tradition

Isserles

edited Karo’s work with an Ashkenazim interpretation

1497

The year that all young Jews were led to baptism in Portugal

Written, oral, mystical

three types of Torah

Moses Cordovero

attracted people interested in Kabbala to Safed by synthesizing Kabbala into a methodical system

Isaac Luria

mystical teacher in Safed

Acquaintance/experience

what the mystics want to replace knowledge by description with

Plain, allegorical, moral, mystical

four ways of reading the Torah

Creation by emanation; God is everything in the world and so everything is holy

first secret of Torah according to Luria

the world is broken due to the breaking of the vessels

the second secret of Torah according to Luria

The Torah is the solution to the brokenness of the world

The third secret of Torah according to Luria

Great Chain of Being

the theory that everything is connected

sparks of holiness

the spirit in Lurianic Kabbalah

imprisonment of sparks

the body/matter in Lurianic Kabbala

theurgy

the idea that you have the power to move God himself through the Great Chain of Being

Lurianic Kabbala

emphasizes keeping the commandments in order to liberate the sparks and save the world

Maggid

wandering preachers that popularized Luria and Karo in Eastern Europe

Nathan of Gaza

the man that told Sabbatai Zevi that he is the Messiah

Dönmeh

Sabbatian followers who live as Muslims but practice Judaism

transmigration of souls

the idea that souls of people who have died can come to inhabit new bodies

antinomism

breaking laws as ritual as Jacob Frank does

Hasidism

third element of Jewish mysticism

Lurianic Kabbala

first element of Jewish mysticism

Sabbatianism

second element of Jewish mysticism

prayer and personal devotion

values of Hasidism

Ba’al Shem Tov

born at the turn of the 18th century and becomes a magician

Master of the Good Name

what Ba’al Shem Tov directly means

keeping the law, unity with divine, charisma

three problems in Judaism that Besht wants to solve

Mezbich

where Besht’s court is established in 1740

zaddik

charismatic leaders in Hasidism. Each one has a portion of the Messianic soul

Mitnagdim

opponents of Hasidism led by the Vilna Gaon

Nachman of Bratslov

grandson of Besht who claimed he was the Messiah

ghetto

segregated space in Italy and Poland in the 15th century

1648

important Messianic year, also the year that the Cossack massacres begin

tsimsum

that withdrawal of God and the deepest symbol of exile according to Luria