ROTW judaism test

torah

A Hebrew word meaning "law," referring to the first five books of the Old Testament

idolatry

Giving worship to something or someone other than the true God

diaspora

the dispersion of the Jews outside Israel

hellenization

The adoption of Greek ways and speech as happened in the case of Jews living in the Diaspora

septuagint

means "70" ; Greek translation of the Bible

sadducees

A Jewish sect at the time of Jesus known for its strong commitment to the Temple in Jerusalem

pharisees

A Jewish sect at the time of Jesus known for its strict adherence to the Law

essenes

A group of pious, ultra conservative Jews who left the Temple of Jerusalem and began a community by the Dead Sea known as Qumran

rabbi

hebrew for "my master" / "my teacher" ; became known as someone who was authorized to teach and judge in matters of the Jewish Law

talmud

two long collections of Jewish religious literature that are commentaries on the Mishnah (the Hebrew code ofn laws that emerged in 200 CE)

monotheistic

subscribing to the doctrine or belief that there is only one God

havdalah

A religious ceremony that symbolically ends the Shabbat, usually recited over kosher wine or kosher grape juice

sephardim

An ethnic grouping of the Jews who migrated first to Spain and then to North Africa, the Americas, and back to West Asia

pogroms

Government supported attacks against Jews in Russia

Ashkenazim

Jews who lived in or came from central Europe

yiddish

a language used by Jews in central and eastern Europe before the Holocaust

hasidism

hebrew meaning "pious" ; movement within Judaism founded in old Poland where pious devotion to God is as important as study of Torah

zionism

A movement to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine

tanak

the Jewish scriptures which consist of three divisions--the Torah and the Prophets and the Writings

nevi'im

"Prophets"; the second section of the Hebrew scriptures, made up of historical and prophetic books

ketuvim

Hebrew word meaning "writings"; refers to the third portion of the Jewish Bible.

mishnah

Written down in about AD 200; contains collected teachings of the rabbis of the preceding four centuries; along with the Talmud, is the most important text of the oral Torah

midrash

A literary form that relates past scriptural events to help explain and interpret present events

sh'ma

A statement recited daily by devout Jews ; "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One."

mitzvot

a commandment of the Jewish law

covenant

A binding and solemn agreement between human beings or between God and people, holding each to a particular course of action

halakhic

hebrew word "way" ; Jewish law that covers all aspects of the life of an individual and of the community

shabbat

The Jewish Sabbath; begins at sundown Friday and ends at sundown Saturday

pesach

Passover

Yom Kippur

Jewish Day of Atonement- fasting and reflecting on one's sins

mezuzah

hebrew word "doorpost" ; small paper containing jewish scripture (usually the Sh'ma) that is placed on or near the right doorframe at observant Jew's home

bimah

A platform in a synagogue from where the Torah is read

kosher

From the Hebrew word kaser, meaning "proper." Commonly, it refers to food permitted by Jewish dietary laws. Jews observe kosher laws to remind themselves that they are to be a holy and separate people

testament

covenant

Shoah

Hebrew term for the Holocaust; meaning "catastrophe"