religious studies paper 2

essential information about the almighty

Judaism is a monotheistic religion; a religion with one God, God ‘the Almighty’ is one, creator, lawgiver and Judge, God’s different characteristics and names help Jews understand something of the nature of God

different groups within Judaism

different groups within Judaism take a different approach to their faith though they may share many of the same benefits and practices

different groups within Judaism: Orthodox

Orthodox Jews believe the Torah is the literal Word of God, believe tradition and following the commands of the Torah are important and ultra-Orthodox Jews are the most strict

different groups within Judaism: Liberal and Reform (progressive)

believe the Torah is the inspired word of God ans should be interpreted in light of modern life and issues

different groups within Judaism: Secular

do not affiliate with a religious group, but view themselves as Jewish because of cultural or ethnic heritage

the nature of the almighty

God, the Almighty, is non physical, so Jews believe it is difficult to describe him fully, they believe that the name of God is so holy it should not be spoke allowed, written and never erased, he has different names that describe some of his characteristics

names for God in Judaism - Hashem Tzevaot

Hashem Tzevaot - Lord of Hosts

names for God in Judaism - YHVH

YHVH - anglicised to Yahweh, meaning Lord

names for God in Judaism - Hashem

Hashem - the name

names for God in Judaism - Hakadosh Baruch He

Hakadosh Baruch Hu - The Holy One blessed be He

names for God in Judaism - El

El - a powerful and mighty God

names for God in Judaism - Elohim

Elohim - the plural name of El, suggesting there is more to God than one single part

names for God in Judaism - El Shaddai

El Shaddai - God Almighty

how are the characteristics of the Almighty shown in the Torah: one

impossible to divide God into parts or describe him by physical attributes, God is the only being whom Jews should offer praise and prayer

how are the characteristics of the Almighty shown in the Torah: creator

as there is just one God, everything in the universe is created by God, many Orthodox Jews interpret the Creation story more literally while Reform and Liberal Jews see it as a metaphor

how are the characteristics of the Almighty shown in the Torah: judge and lawgiver

the Law, the Torah, is a gift from God to Moses , guidance so that Jews can live good lives, Jews believe they are children of God; he is father like to them, Judaism is based upon Law, and God’s justice, but he is also merciful, these qualities are balanced, when Moses accepted the Law, he and the Jewish people entered into a covenant to keep it, God judges how well they kept the laws

importance of the Almighty for Jewish life today (1)

the names of God help bring Jews closer to him even if they do not fully understand his greatness, the different names show God’s complexity, yet he remains one

importance of the Almighty for Jewish life today (2)

reciting the Shema twice a day reinforces the importance of God as one, understanding God as a Creator, Lawgiver and Judge helps Jews to act ‘in the image of God’ with justice and mercy

essential information about the Shekhinah

God created the world and continues to work in the world, the Shekhinah is the divine presence of God within the created world, Jewish people can connect with the Shekhinah through study of the Torah, in prayer and during worship

divine presence of the Shekhinah

the Shekhinah is not a teaching explicitly contained within the Torah, but there are references in the Talmud (the oral law), the study of the Tenakh and the Talmud, the tabernacle, prayer and worship today

the Shekhinah: study

study of the Tenakh and the Talmud is an important part of being Jewish, to study is regarded as an act of worship, and as such the Shekhinah is also present, Jewish people can study at any time, sometimes they may attended a Jewish school called a yeshiva

the Shekhinah: study (divergence)

at some Orthodox yeshiva schools, Torah study is the primary focus, other subjects like English and Maths take second place, some ultra Orthodox Jews reject secular study and focus purely on the Torah

the Shekhinah: worship

God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, a portable temple where God would dwell as they travelled in search of the promised land, the Tabernacle maintained the Jewish people’s connection with God and this continues today in the synagogue as a light burns in front of the ark as a reminder of God’s presence

the Shekhinah: prayer (1)

Jews can pray alone or as part of a minyan (group of 10 adults over the age of 13, men only in Orthodox tradition), when Jews pray as a community they believe God is present

the Shekhinah: prayer (2)

some prayers such as the Kaddish (praise) and Barachu (call to prayer) can only be said with a minyan, in 2 Chronicles Solomon dedicates the newly built Temple and he and the Jewish people are overcome with God’s power

essential information about the Messiah

the idea of the Messiah is an ancient one in Judaism and is based around a great leader, the Messianic Age means the time when the Messiah will rule, many Jews live in expectation of the Messiah or Messianic Age and live their lives accordingly

nature and purpose of the Messiah (1)

Messiah means ‘anointed one’, and anointed means ‘marked for greatness’, the Messiah is the one who will be anointed King of Israel in the End of Days (Messianic Age)

nature and purpose of the Messiah (2)

it is not detailed in the Torah, but mentioned frequently by the Jewish prophets (Nevi’im), it is an ancient idea - the Jews had been forced into exile and the prophets reassured them a great leader would come to restore society

Jewish beliefs and teachings about the Messiah (1)

human, great political leader descended from king David administers justice, charismatic inspiring leader, great military leader

Jewish beliefs and teachings about the Messiah: how messiahship is shown in scriptures (2)

he will rebuild the Temple (Jeremiah 33:18), he will establish Jewish law in the land (Jeremiah (33:15), expert in Jewish law Isaiah (11:2-5)

Jewish responsibility

many Jews are motivated to bring about a better world (Tikkun Olam) by being active partners in hastening the Messianic Age, this may be through involvement in social, political and environmental improvements

divergent understandings of Messiah: what is the Messianic Age? (1)

for Orthodox Jews, the Messianic Age means the time when the Messiah has come and is ruling the world, the emphasis for Reform and Liberal Jews is not on the Messiah, instead their focus is the Messianic Age as a time of peace and harmony

divergent understandings of Messiah: what is the Messianic Age? (2)

however some other Reform and liberal Jews reject the idea of a personal Messiah

divergent understandings of Messiah: when will the Messiah come?

some Jews believe there is the possibility of the Messiah in every generation, some believe God has a set date, some believe the Messiah will come when most needed, or most deserved

essential information about the covenant at Sinai (1)

a covenant is an everlasting agreement between two parties, for Jews this is God and man, the Jews entered into a covenant with God after Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land

essential information about the covenant at Sinai (2)

Moses received the Torah, or Law, which continues to play an important role in Judaism

covenant

a covenant is formed in love and creates an important relationship

covenant: Brit olam

Brit olam means ‘everlasting covenant’, which shows Jews believe that God will not break the covenant, but they recognise that from time to time they do not fulfil their obligations and break the law

the covenant at Sinai

before the covenant at Sinai other covenants had been made with the three main patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses was chosen to lead their descendants to freedom

nature and history of the covenant at Sinai (1)

Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s household but after discovering he was actually a Jew, he fled, God spoke to him at the burning bush and then sent ten plagues upon Egypt

nature and history of the covenant at Sinai (2)

Pharaoh surrendered and let Moses lead the Hebrews out of Egypt, Pharaoh chased Moses as he crossed the Reed Sea and eventually to Mount Sinai

nature and history of the covenant at Sinai (3) what do some scholars believe about the Reed Sea

some scholars believe a mistranslation led to it being called the Red Sea

nature and history of the covenant at Sinai (4)

At Mount Sinai a new covenant was given, it made it clear those who didn’t follow it would be punished, it identified Jews as chosen people of God and the decalogue was given

nature and history of the covenant at Sinai (5)

Moses was then given the rest of the Torah, and was also given the Oral Torah, later written as the Talmud, Jews believe every Jewish soul was present at Sinai and agreed to the terms of the covenant

why is the covenant at Sinai important for Jews (1)

the Law of the Torah is still followed today, it is still the most important part of the Tenakh, the Torah is read in the synagogue every Sabbath from the scroll kept in the Ark, study of the Torah is an important part of Jewish life

why is the covenant at Sinai important for Jews (2)

the gift of the Torah is celebrated every year at the festival of Shavuot, which commemorates the day God gave the Torah to those at Sinai, as made clear to Moses, obedience will be blessed and disobedience will be punished

ten commandments (1)

today they are read three times a year; during the reading of Exodus and Deuteronomy and during Shavuot, the first ten of 613 commandments, all of which, Rabbis remind Jews are important

ten commandments (2) (during early times)

during early times they were recited daily, but this stopped as some Jews saw them as more important than other Mitzvot, the commandments that guide Jews

essential information about the covenant with Abraham

God and Abraham entered into a covenant that promised many descendants, a promised Land and a blessed nation, God showed that he would keep his promises; this remains important to Jews today, Israel is the Promised Land that Abraham and Sarah settled in

why is Abraham important

the three patriarchs of Judaism are Abraham (father), Isaac (father), Jacob (son), Abraham was the founder of Judaism, he came to believe that the universe was the work of a single creator, this was unusual as most early religions were polytheistic, they believed in many Gods

nature and history of the Abrahamic covenant (1)

God called Abraham to leave his home and family, he was promised the reward of land and many descendants, Abraham sealed the covenant by circumcising himself and all the males in his family

nature and history of the Abrahamic covenant (2)

there were ten tests for Abraham: first leaving his home, the final test was to sacrifice his son Isaac; an angel stopped the sacrifice as Abraham and Isaac showed they were obedient, Abraham was promised a ‘great nation’ but he and his wife, Sarah were very old and had no Children

nature and history of the Abrahamic covenant (3)

Abraham had a son called Ishmael with his wife’s maidservant, God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a child called Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob fathered 12 sons who establishes the 12 tribes of Israel

scripture for the nature and history of the Abrahamic covenant

‘I will ratify My covenant…as an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.’

how does the Abrahamic covenant affect Jews today (1)

the covenant is fundamental to all Jews, the covenant has not yet been fulfilled: Jews hope to live as a great nation in the Promised Land, blessed and redeemed by God

how does the Abrahamic covenant affect Jews today (2)

the covenant with Moses at Sinai gave them Laws to live by, but by obeying these, they will also fulfil the Abrahamic covenant, Jews are still circumcised today, the birth of Isaac showed that God always keep this promises and intervenes when needed

how does the idea of the Promised Land affect Jewish life today

the land of Israel remains central to Judaism and many Laws link to the idea of a promised Land, prayers for a return to Israel are include in Sabbath prayers and festivals, living outside of Israel is viewed as a form of exile by some Jews

essential information about the sanctity of life

the story of Creation makes it clear that God is the giver of life, so life is sacred, most Jewish laws can be broken in order to safe a person’s life (Pikuach Nefesh) - which influences how Jews approach moral and ethical decisions

the nature and sanctity of human life

life is given by God and such is sacred, the Talmud says all people are descended from a single person, to take a life is like destroyed the world ‘so God created Man in his image’

Pikuach Nefesh (principle)

Jewish law states that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other law, when a person’s life is in danger, almost any Mitzvah can be broken except: murder, idolatry, incest and adultery

Pikuach Nefesh (implication)

Jews should live by the Torah, not die because of it, if Jews break Shabbat rules to save a life they should be praised

Pikuach Nefesh (examples)

e.g rescuing a drowning child, breaking down a door to prevent it trapping a child, moving rubble from a collapsed wall to save a child, extinguishing a fire to save a life

human life in the Torah

Leviticus 24:17 states that anyone who kills should be put to death, however, there is little evidence Jews took this literally, traditionally there would have been fair financial compensation, perpetrators should beg for forgiveness and do Teshuva - return to God or repentance

Pikuach Nefesh today (examples) (1)

doctors may answer emergency calls on Shabbat, abortion to save the mother’s life are mandatory - the unborn child is not considered equal to the mother, euthanasia, suicide and assisted suicide are strictly forbidden

Pikuach Nefesh today (examples) (2)

it may be permissible to switch off life support machines or end treatment that artificially prolongs life, generally Orthodox Jews take a stricter view on what Pikuach Nefesh permits, but it should not be assumed e.g that Reform Jews would take a more liberal approach

divergent understandings of Pikuach Nefesh: abortion

Orthodox Jews believe abortion should only happen to save the mother’s life, Reform/Liberal Jews may allow for wider circumstances such as social and non-life threatening medical issues to be considered

divergent understandings of Pikuach Nefesh: organ donation (Orthodox)

very controversial, allow it if: from a living person with no danger to health, from a dead body to save a life however there is question whether transplant stops heart beating and causing death

divergent understandings of Pikuach Nefesh: organ donation (Reform/Liberal)

usually permitted in most circumstances

essential information about the moral principles and the Mitzvot (mitzvot)

the Mitzvot are commandments that guide actions: the 613 laws in the Torah; a Mitzvah is also good deed

essential information about the moral principles and the Mitzvot (Halakhah)

the Halakhah is the list of Mitzvot that guide Jewish life, Jews believe they have free will and a choice in following the Mitzvot, the Mitzvot are a way of deepening a relationship with God

nature and importance of the Mitzvot (1)

Halakhah teaches Jews how to perform or fulfil the Mitzvot, Maimonides compiled the Mishneh Torah, a compilation of all the Mitzvot, Jews believe the Mitzvot were given by God to Moses, they follow the Mitzvot as they form part of the covenant between the Jewish people and God and there is a punishment for not following the Mitzvot

nature and importance of the Mitzvot (2)

Orthodox Jews believe the Halakhah was given orally on Sinai and written in the Torah, Reform Jews believe it evolves through the generations, they try to keep up with as many Mitzvot as possible

nature and importance of the Mitzvot (3)

Reform Jews believe the Torah is divinely inspired rather than the literal word of God, they consider how the Mitzvot may have bee influenced by culture, so may no longer be relevant or ethical

scripture for the nature and importance of the mitzvot

‘I present before you today a blessing and a curse’

the Mitzvot and free will (1)

God seems to predetermine fate e.g telling Abraham his descendants would be enslaved, freed and return to Canaan, however Jews believe they have free will

the Mitzvot and free will (2)

some philosophers thought God knew what would happen rather than determining what would happen, tis was a sign of God’s omniscience - knowledge of all human actions, past, present and future

the Mitzvot between humans and the Almighty

Jews obey because the Mitzvot comes from God, some Jews see them as a gift from God, observing Mitzvot shows gratitude to God, they show the best way to live which deepens the relationship with God and religious significance is given everyday such as eating, by giving blessings for food

the Mitzvot between humans

the Mitzvot includes rules on how humans should behave towards each other, Mitzvah used informally to mean ‘good deed’ such as: visiting the sick, comforting mourners, feeding the hungry and helping the poor

importance of moral principles and the Mitzvot for Jews today (1)

the Mitzvot continue to be studied and analysed, Judaism is a living religion that considers modern issues in light of tradition and scripture, many laws are no longer practised such as animal sacrifice

importance of moral principles and the Mitzvot for Jews today (1)

the Talmud is the starting point for modern questions such as organ donation or abortion, some decisions are controversial and not all Jews will agree with all Rabbis and their decisions

essential information about life after death

Jews do not agree on the nature of life after death, but are generally convinced death is not the end, there is little scripture on life after death, most teachings come from the ancient Rabbis such as Maimonides

life after death (1)

there are different Jewish opinions about the possibility of life after death but there is a general agreement that death is not the end, some Jews believe in the World to Come (Olam Ha-Ba), that there will be heaven (Gan Eden) and a place of purification of the soul (Gehinnom)

Olam Ha-Ba

a spiritual afterlife following the physical death

life after death (2)

both resurrection and reincarnation are traditional Jewish belies, most Jews do not believe in an eternal punishment

Jewish teachings about life after death: (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

‘Thus the dust returns to the ground, as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it’, this is one of the few Torah verses about life after death and suggest the soul returns to God, this could be an afterlife with God, or simply being apart of him again, most Jewish beliefs formed through the teachings of Rabbis and scholars such as Maimonides

Jewish teachings about life after death (2)

‘I believe in perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator’ - Maimonides, Thirteen Principles of Faith

Jewish teachings about life after death: reunited

the Torah suggests those who die are reunited with their family, Jacob was ‘gathered with his people’ when he died

Jewish teachings about life after death: reward and punishment

those who break the Mitzvot will be punished in the afterlife: ‘that soul shall be cut off’, ‘many of those who sleep in the dusty earth will awaken: these for everlasting life and these form shame: for everlasting abhorrence’

the nature of resurrection and judgement

Orthodox Jews believe the promised Messiah will come to lead a Messianic Age when the righteous will be resurrected and live in a restored Israel, Reform Jews share some beliefs in this age to come, but reject the idea of an individual Messiah

the nature of resurrection and judgement: Gan Eden

the place for the righteous, unclear whether souls will go there immediately after death, or in the Messianic Age, Maimonides taught that righteous gentiles (who have followed the Seven Laws of Noah) will also be rewarded

the nature of resurrection and judgement: Genhinnom

places of punishment for the unrighteous, those who neglected the Torah, souls go there to be cleansed, Rabbis taught that , once cleansed, these souls move to Gan Eden

essential information about public acts of worship

prayer is the most important part of Jewish worship: Jewish synagogues play a key role in this, Shabbat, festivals and daily prayers are the most important services that take place in the synagogue, these unite the community while providing time for the individual to offer their own prayers

nature, features and purpose of public worship

Avodat Hashem means ‘worship of God’, after the temple was destroyed in 586BCE and again in 70CE, the synagogue became the main place of worship, Jews continue to worship in the synagogue today, it is a reminder that they are a part of a community

scripture for the nature, features and purpose of public worship

‘My vows to Hashem I will pay, in the presence, now, of His entire people…in the courtyards of the House of Hashem’ - this quotation highlights the value of public worship, prayer in the synagogue became more important after the destruction of the temple

synagogue services: Shabbat

Shabbat services take place on Friday evening and Saturday morning, Reform and Liberal Jews usually focus on these services rather than daily prayers, the Amidah and Aleinu are expressed, there isa longer reading of the Torah than usual and a sermon by the Rabbi, the whole family is encouraged to attended

synagogue services: daily prayers

Jews can prayer anywhere, but if a minyan is present they can say the Kaddish, kedusha or other prayers linked to the Torah, Jews are expected to pray three times daily: morning, afternoon and evening, Orthodox synagogues say prayers in Hebrew; Reform synagogues use the local languages, the Siddur is the book of daily prayer Jews follow

importance of synagogue services

synagogue services unite the local community, they are a reminder of the global community that Jews are part of, Jews pray towards the site of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, private prayers usually involve thanksgiving, praise and requests for something, a sermon will be given by a Rabbi, which may affect Jews then live their lives

essential information about the Tenakh

the Torah is the most important and holy book for Jewish people, it contains the Law of Moses and forms part of the Tenakh, the Hebrew Bible

essential information about the Talmud

the Talmud is the Oral Law and contains information on how the Torah’s laws should be interpreted, it is widely studied by Jews, some Jews observe the food laws (kashrut); others do not observe them as strictly

nature and purpose of the Tenakh (1)

the Torah is the most sacred object in Judaism, kept in the Ark and in the synagogue, the rest of the Tenakh shows how Jewish people lived and tried to keep on the right path