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Judaism Is : (Rabbi Harold Kushner,)

Judaism is a 4000 year old monotheistic tradition that originated with the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is based on a covenant between God and the Jewish people and involves following a system of religious, moral and social laws in the Torah and Talmud. Judaism sanctifies life through rituals for events like birth, marriage and death and sanctifies time through observance of holidays and the Sabbath. While it predates Christianity, Judaism does not believe Jesus was the messiah and still awaits restoration of the Hebrew kingdom.

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71 views12 pages

Judaism Is : (Rabbi Harold Kushner,)

Judaism is a 4000 year old monotheistic tradition that originated with the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is based on a covenant between God and the Jewish people and involves following a system of religious, moral and social laws in the Torah and Talmud. Judaism sanctifies life through rituals for events like birth, marriage and death and sanctifies time through observance of holidays and the Sabbath. While it predates Christianity, Judaism does not believe Jesus was the messiah and still awaits restoration of the Hebrew kingdom.

Uploaded by

thuyannhx
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Judaism is…

 “A 4000 year old tradition with ideas


about what it means to be human and how
to make the world a holy place”
(Rabbi Harold Kushner, To Life)
 A “covenant relationship” between God
and the Hebrew people
 A celebration and sanctification of life
 A faith, a people, a way of life…
A 4000 year old tradition…
 The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
(“Israel”) – origins of the Hebrew people
(more than 3800 years ago)
 Enslaved in ancient Egypt and freed by
Moses (more than 3300 years ago)
 Hebrew monarchy in the “Promised Land”
(The Land of Israel), ends 6th century
BCE
As a faith, Jews Believe…
 In one God, creator of the universe, personal
but non-corporeal
 In prophets of old – especially Moses, through
whom Torah was revealed to the Hebrew
people
 In Torah (first five books of the Bible),
containing religious, moral and social law which
guides the life of a Jew
 the Hebrew Bible does not include the New
Testament
As a people, Jews are…
 A nation in Diaspora (dispersed)
 15 – 16 million in worldwide population
 United by a common heritage (an “ethnic”
religion), divided in contemporary practice:
 Orthodox:
 Modern
 Chasidic (Ultra Orthodox)

 Reformed (18th century Germany)


 Conservative – moderates, response to
reform
 Reconstructionalism (20th century America)
As a way of life, Judaism is
based on…
 613 commandments found in Torah (“Written Law”)
 Talmud (“Oral Law”) – commentary of ancient rabbis
that elaborates on how to apply God’s Law in
everyday life through:
 Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher)
 Dress and other symbols
 Prayer and devotion to the one God
 The Temple and Temple rites
 Observance of Holy days
 Proper social relations between male and female, in
business, judicial rulings, etc.
 Thus sanctifying life, blessing it in every way
How does Judaism sanctify
life?
Life cycle celebrations:
 Bris – ritual circumcision, sign of the covenant
 Bar/Bat Mitzvah – full adult status and
responsibility within the religion
 Marriage - "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen.
1:22)
 Death – funerals, mourning (sitting “Shiva”),
and memorials (“Yartzeits”)
How does Judaism sanctify
time?
The Jewish Holidays:
 High Holidays:
 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
 Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
 Sukkot, the “Festival of Booths” (fall
harvest festival)
 Simchat Torah – celebrating Torah
 Chanukah, the “Festival of Lights”
More Holy Days…
 Purim (“Lots”) – a carnival (commemorates
events told in book of Esther)
 Pesach (“Passover”) – commemorates the
exodus from Egypt (events told in Exodus)
 Shavuot (“weeks,” Pentecost) –
commemorates receipt of Torah at Sinai
 Other, minor festivals
 Shabbat (Sabbath, 7th day, on Saturday) –
the “Day of Rest”
How is Judaism related to
Christianity?
 Judaism predates Christianity – it is the foundation
of Christianity but is not a part of it
 Jesus was Jewish, as were his followers and the
Apostles
 Jews do not believe that Jesus was anything more
than a good and wise man who lived and died 2000
years ago – Jews still await their messiah
 The Jewish messiah would not be divine. He would
be a political figure who restores the Hebrew
monarchy and causes peace to reign on Earth
 Jews are not concerned about salvation and the
“world to come”
What are Jews really concerned
about?
 Tikkun Olam - “repairing this world” through
justice and righteousness; through “deed, not
creed”
 The heart of Judaism is in the home and family,
social responsibility and doing Mitzvot (“good
deeds” based on God’s commandments)
 Through education and hard work we make our
lives, the lives of others, and the world, what
God intended it to be – Holy!
To Life!
To Life!

LeChaim!
Web resources
 Judaism 101: http://jewfaq.org/
”an online encyclopedia of Judaism, covering Jewish
beliefs, people, places, things, language, scripture,
holidays, practices and customs”
 ReligiousTolerance.org on Judaism:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm
 This P0werpoint presentation available at:
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel232/resource/judaism.ppt

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