Judiasm


1. What is the Covenant, and what significance does it have for Jews?

The Covenant is the special agreement between God and the Jewish people. God promised to protect and guide the Israelites, and in return they agreed to follow God’s laws and commandments. The Covenant is important because it forms the foundation of Jewish identity and religious life.

2. What is the Shema, and why was it considered radical?

The Shema is a central Jewish prayer that begins, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” It was radical because most ancient societies believed in many gods, while Judaism taught belief in one God only. Jews also believed that God was personal, just, loving, and active in history.

3. Major sections of the Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible has three main sections:

  • Torah – the first five books, traditionally believed to be revealed to Moses; contains laws and teachings.

  • Prophets (Nevi’im) – includes writings of prophets and Israel’s history.

  • Writings (Ketuvim) – includes poetry, wisdom literature, and songs such as Psalms and Proverbs.

4. Concentric circles of God’s will

Judaism teaches that God’s will is revealed in different “circles”:

  1. Torah – God’s laws and teachings.

  2. Community of Israel – Jewish traditions and practices.

  3. Humanity – ethical responsibilities toward all people.

  4. Creation itself – nature reflects God’s wisdom and power.

5. Judaism as interpretation of Jewish history

Judaism is closely tied to the history of the Jewish people. Events like the Exodus, exile, persecution, and return to Israel are understood as part of God’s relationship with the Jews. Their history helps shape Jewish beliefs, traditions, and identity.

6. Who ruled the Jews, and what happened after the Temple’s destruction?

After the Exile, the Jews were ruled by groups such as the Persians, Greeks, and Romans. In AD 70 the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem. After this, Judaism changed from Temple-centered worship to rabbinic Judaism focused on synagogues, Torah study, and prayer.

7. Significance of the Babylonian Exile

The Babylonian Exile happened when many Jews were taken from Judah to Babylon. It was significant because Jews began focusing more on scripture, prayer, and preserving their traditions without the Temple. This helped Judaism survive even when Jews were scattered.

8. Jewish life in the medieval vs. modern periods

During the medieval period, Jews sometimes lived peacefully, especially in Muslim Spain and Poland, but they also faced persecution and discrimination in Europe. In the modern period, Jews gained more rights in many countries, but anti-Semitism still existed and led to tragedies like the Holocaust. Today Jews live around the world and practice Judaism in many different ways.

9. Define anti-Semitism and examples of persecution

Anti-Semitism is prejudice or hatred against Jews. Examples include:

  • The Crusades, when many Jews in Europe were attacked by Christians.

  • The Holocaust, when Nazi Germany murdered about six million Jews.

Jews were often blamed for economic or social problems and viewed as outsiders. This long history of persecution strengthened Jewish unity and the desire for safety and a homeland.

10. Two mystical traditions in Judaism

  • Kabbalah – Jewish mysticism that teaches people can become closer to God through spiritual understanding.

  • Hasidism – a movement emphasizing joy, prayer, community, and a personal relationship with God.

11. Three prominent forms of Judaism

  • Orthodox Judaism – strictly follows traditional Jewish laws and practices.

  • Conservative Judaism – keeps many traditions but allows some modernization.

  • Reform Judaism – emphasizes individual choice and adapts traditions to modern life.

12. “Observer of the commandments”

Judaism focuses heavily on actions and living according to God’s commandments rather than only beliefs. Torah guides daily life, including worship, food, ethics, holidays, and relationships. Following the commandments is seen as serving God faithfully.

13. Three important Jewish holy days

  • Passover – celebrates the Exodus from Egypt.

  • Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year and a time for reflection.

  • Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement focused on repentance and forgiveness.

14. Describe one Jewish rite of passage

A bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah is a coming-of-age ceremony where a Jewish boy or girl becomes responsible for following Jewish law. The person often reads from the Torah and participates in worship. It is similar to Christian confirmation because both mark a person’s growing religious responsibility.

give the questions and answers together

True or False

  1. Judaism places great emphasis on group identity. — True

  2. Observant Jews avoid speaking God’s name, out of reverence. — True

  3. The Mishnah is based directly on the Talmud. — False

  4. The Pharisees focused on Torah, rather than on the Temple. — True

  5. Judaism became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century. — False

  6. Jews lived in relative peace and prosperity in Muslim Spain and Poland during the medieval period. — True

  7. The Kabbalah does not observe the basic forms of Jewish practice, such as keeping the commandments of the Torah. — False

  8. Jewish mystics are more focused on the ultimate transcendence of God than on the immanence of God. — False

  9. Large Hasidic communities still exist today in North America and elsewhere. — True

  10. Fewer than half of the world’s Jews live in Israel. — True

  11. Orthodox Judaism rejects all aspects of modernity. — False

  12. Conservative Judaism is relatively relaxed regarding observance of traditional Jewish practices. — True

  13. Judaism is far more concerned with correct practice than with correct belief. — True

  14. In Judaism males alone are required to wear certain ritual accessories during prayer. — True

  15. The Sabbath, for all but some Reform Jews, begins at sunset on Saturday and lasts until sunset on Sunday. — False

  16. With only about fourteen million adherents worldwide, Judaism is among the smallest of the world’s major religions. — True

Multiple Choice

  1. God’s name appears in the Bible in the Hebrew equivalents of the letters:
    Answer: b. YHWH

  2. The five books of the Torah are:
    Answer: d. both a and b

  3. Jews refer to the Hebrew Bible as the:
    Answer: a. Tanakh

  4. He received the Law at Mount Sinai and is regarded as the Torah’s author:
    Answer: c. Moses

  5. It is most accurate to think of the Jews as:
    Answer: b. an ethnic group that shares a common history and religion

  6. Jews believe that God is:
    Answer: a. directly involved in history

  7. The second large-scale revolt the Jews waged against Romans ended in AD 135 when the Romans:
    Answer: d. both a and b

  8. The most important events in Israelite history were:
    Answer: a. the Exodus from Egypt and the revelation on Mount Sinai

  9. Israel was granted statehood in:
    Answer: c. 1948

  10. Torah defines:
    Answer: c. both a and b

Matching (People)

  1. The people who conquered Palestine and the surrounding area in the seventh century AD — f. Muslims

  2. The man God called to be the father of a great nation; the first patriarch — i. Abraham

  3. Abraham’s grandson, also known as Israel — d. Jacob

  4. The person who helped free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt — a. Moses

  5. The Israelite king whom Jews have always regarded as a prototype of the Messiah — e. David

  6. The person who built the Temple in Jerusalem — c. Solomon

  7. The people who conquered the northern kingdom, Israel, in 722 BC — j. Assyrians

  8. The people who conquered the southern kingdom, Judah, in about 587 BC — g. Babylonians

  9. The people who destroyed the Jerusalem Temple for the second time in AD 70 — b. Romans

  10. A Jewish philosopher who lived in Muslim Spain during the medieval period and contributed Judaism’s most famous statement of beliefs — h. Moses Maimonides

Matching (Terms)

  1. Literally “instruction”; the will of God as it is revealed to humankind — p. Torah

  2. Greek for “five books”; the Torah — b. Pentateuch

  3. The most famous of the 613 laws in the Torah, found in chapter 20 of Exodus — h. the Ten Commandments

  4. A building for Jewish worship — e. synagogue

  5. Someone who is called to speak for God — r. prophet

  6. The starting point for rabbinic study of the oral Torah — q. Mishnah

  7. The vast depository blending together the oral and written forms of Torah — j. Talmud

  8. The situation of Jews living away from their homeland — m. Diaspora

  9. The most famous text of Jewish mysticism — k. the Zohar

  10. Jewish mysticism, which teaches that God can best be known with the heart — f. Kabbalah

  11. A form of Judaism that arose in eighteenth-century eastern Europe and emphasizes mysticism — l. Hasidism

  12. A movement committed to the re-establishment and support of a Jewish homeland — o. Zionism

  13. The persecution of Jews by German Nazis from 1938–1945 — d. the Holocaust

  14. A teacher of Torah and leader of Jewish worship — n. rabbi

  15. The high point of the Passover festival — g. Seder

  16. What Yom Kippur emphasizes — c. repentance

  17. A physical feature distinguishing Israelites from other nations — i. circumcision

  18. A coming-of-age ritual for a Jewish girl — s. bat mitzvah

  19. A prayer of mourning — a. kaddish