Introduction

Sacred Texts: The Hebrew Bible

Biblical History: Covenant and commandments

• The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ("Israel")
• Moses and the Exodus: a transitional period (key event #1)
• The Hebrew Monarchy: Kings, Priests, Prophets and Sages
• Babylonian Exile: another transitional period (key event #2)
• The Second Temple: Post Exilic Judaism

• Nature of God: henotheism -> monotheism and the name of God
• Importance of History
• Nature of Humanity
• Ethics: deed, social responsibility, justice and righteousness, sanctity of life
• Values: education, family, ethnic identity, freedom

• Rabbinic Period: 2nd - 7th cent. CE
• Development of Talmud and synagogue life
• Medieval Judaism: 7th -18th cent.
• Spanish philosophy and mysticism (Kabbalah)
• European Ghettos and Shtetls and Hasidism
• Modern Judaism: 18th cent. - current

• Branches of Judaism
• Jewish Practice: in synagogue and home
• Life Cycle events
• Festivals and Holidays

Introduction: The basis of the Jewish religion is its history

• Time and history is most important:
• in individual lives this is demonstrated through the celebration of life cycle events
• in the life of the Jewish people over the millennia - holiday celebrations commemorate historic events in the life of the "community [of Israel]"
• the key event is the Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Biblical book of Exodus: The Passover celebration, Torah and Sinai, elements of the Sabbath service are all linked to this event
• From the earliest of times, the Jewish people have interpreted acts of history in light of God acting through history especially on behalf of the Jewish people: either to promote them or to punish them. History is seen as the story of God’s intervention in the lives of His "Chosen People"
• Six periods of Jewish history:
• The Patriarchs: Abraham -> Moses (19th - 13th cent. BCE)
• Moses -> the Hebrew Monarchy (13th - 6th cent. BCE)
• The Babylonian Exile and Post Exilic Judaism (6th cent BCE - 1st cent. CE) ("Second Temple" period)
• Rabbinic period (1st - 7th cent CE)
• Medieval Judaism (7th - 18th cent. CE)
• Modern Judaism (18th cent. - current)

The Hebrew Bible (a.k.a. "Old Testament") contains the same books as the Christian version but in a different order after the first five

• "Bible" (Biblia) means "litle books", the Bible is a library: a collection of 39 independent books compiled over a period of 1000 years (during Hebrew monarchy and "Second Temple" period) from older oral traditions.
• Considered revealed and inspired by God, covers much of the early history of the Hebrew people but more than just a book of history (for the Jewish people history is given spiritual significance). It is the story of God’s interaction with His "Chosen People" (His-Story)
• Contains ethical teachings, directions for life (e.g., dietary laws), foundations for actions, devotion and worship of God, insights for understanding... all in historical context for use in any time by the Jewish people wherever they may be
• Cannonized by first cent. CE into its final form: Three parts
• Torah: the "Written Law": a.k.a: "The Five Books of Moses", "The Pentateuch"; covers history from creation through the Exodus and wandering in the desert
• contains the written law: 613 commandments from God, rules for ritual and sacrificial practices followed by priests as well as moral rules to be followed by the entire Jewish community
• many no longer apply since they have to do with priestly and sacrificial activity. Many apply only to certain people e.g., preists, levites or men.
• Prophets: Words and revelations of the minor and major prophets (e.g., Ezekiel, Isaiah, Amos, Jonah, etc.)
• Writings: poetic and devotional material written and used during the same time as the Prophets, words and works of the sages (e.g., Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ruth, Esther, Daniel, etc.)

The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ("Israel")

Judaism is an ethnic religion. Initially, it was the religion of an extended family, a tribe of peoples known as the Hebrews. Jewish people today continue to think of themselves as a family, a nation of peoples, as well as a religion.

• Abraham (Abram) (c. 19th cent BCE): heard and responded to a call from God to leave the polytheism of his "father’s land." A promise (covenant) made between Abraham and God: "you will be my people and I will be your god" - protection in exchange for a demonstration of unwavering and exclusive faith [read Gen. 12:1-9] Abraham traveled to and settled in the land promised to him by God (the "Promised Land")
• His son Isaac: with whom the covenant was continued, recognized through the ritual ceremony of circumcision [read Gen 17:18-21] (Ishmael became the father of the Arab people)
• The covenant was continued into the third generation with Isaac’s son Jacob, when he was renamed "Israel" [read Gen. 32:24-29, 35:9-12]
• Jacob had twelve sons (the twelve tribes of Israel) and, according to the book of Genesis, due to famine, they left the Promised Land and went down to Egypt where they and their descendants sojourned for over 400 years.

• The Hebrews (Israelites) had become slaves in Egypt until Moses, answering a call from God, forced Pharaoh to "let the people go." This entire story is retold every year in Jewish households at the ritual of the Passover Seder meal. The theme of freedom becomes important in the history and mentality of the Jewish people.
• Moses led them to Mount Sinai - where God delivered the Law to the people through Moses (c.f., Cecil B. DeMille’s "The Ten Commandments" or "The Prince of Egypt"). This was not just the 10 Commandments but the essence of the entire Torah in which Jews identify some 613 commandments.
• After this, they wandered free for forty years (seen as a punishment for those among them who lacked faith) until they finally returned to the "Promised Land" which was then populated by "foreigners" known as "Canaanites" and Philistines (Palestine) who worshipped their own gods.

• Having conquered and subdued the people who were there, the Hebrew people ruled this "Land of Canaan" for the next six to seven hundred years
• First king: Saul - died in battle along with his son and heir (seen as a punishment for their going astray)
• Second king: David, appointed and anointed by God through the Judge/Prophet Samuel (read: 1 Samuel 16:1-13); envisioned a great Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant and serve as a permanent place for making sacrificial offerings of atonement to God (read: 2^nd Samuel 7:1-17)
• Third king: David’s son Solomon actually built the Temple in Jerusalem (read: 1^st Kings ch. 5, 6 & 9:1-9)
• The Temple structure had three chambers, only the High Priest could enter the innermost "Holy of Holies" to make the offerings (such blood offerings - animal sacrifices - had been made by the Hebrews since the time of Abraham, it was a common practice in most ancient religions before then).
• Animal sacrifice continued as a Jewish practice until the final destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE
• Priests (Kohanim) were a hereditary role, originating with Aaron, the brother of Moses. They were:
• the keepers of sanctuaries
• the deliverers of sacred oracles (the casting of lots - divination)
• safeguards of sacred tradition through the teaching of moral precepts to the people
• leaders of worship and sacrifice
• During this period, neither the kings, the priests, nor the people were without sin. The Bible reads like a soap opera. The people, in their settled complacency, mixed with and incorporated too much from the people of the land who worshipped other Gods.
• During the 8th - 6th cent. BCE, prophets came into the picture more and more to bring warnings of impending punishment from God for this lack of dedication. But prophets are not fortune tellers. (read: Jonah)
• They are spokesmen for God, reformers of society
• They speak to present needs, sometimes to the near future (they worn of what will happen if the people do not heed their message)
• They call people to moral responsibility and they call Kings and Priests back to leadership under God
• Another group of religious leaders of the time were sages.
• Sages were wisdom seekers and teachers
• they did not deal with ritual activity as the priests did, nor did they concern themselves with ethical and theological issues as did the prophets
• their concern was for successful living in accordance with the will of God.
• Most kings had advisors of sages and/or prophets. But apparently they failed to follow the advice given.
• Indeed, the punishment warned of came in the form of another historic event: first the kingdom was divided with ten tribes in the north ("Israel") and two remaining in the south, near Jerusalem ("Judah" -> "Jew")
• The infidelity continued and, over the course of time and history a variety of powerful foreign peoples came to rule the land

• First the Assyrians drove the ten northern tribes out of the land (the 10 "lost tribes" of Israel)
• Then the Babylonians came into power, exiled the remaining southern tribes (the "Jews") into Babylonia, and destroyed the Temple [read Psalm 137:1-6].
• In Exile, one of the greatest Prophets spoke (2nd Isaiah), foretelling the restoration of the Jewish people and homeland and the return of self-rule through the restoration of the kingly line of David (origin of Messianic beliefs)
• The Jews remained exiled for almost 50 years (586-538 BCE) until the Persians came into rule and the Persian King Cyrus allowed them to return to the "Promised Land" (thus he was heralded as the expected Messiah - the prophecy was originally intended to refer to near future events, not events hundreds or thousands of years later)
• However, many Jews did not return - after 50 years, Babylon had become "home" to them.

The Second Temple: Post Exilic Judaism:

• Upon return, the Temple was rebuilt and rededicated to God
• Temple rites and the priestly role received increased importance
• But those Jews who remained scattered in the "Diaspora" (dispersed) had a different focus of spiritual life: the Torah itself - the law and the beginnings of synagogue life: local houses for worship and study rather than going to the Temple for pilgrimage and sacrificial offerings
• They were also more influenced by foreign ideas: first, ideas from the Zoroastrian Persians, then from the Greeks who, under Alexander the Great, took over political control of the Near East
• Thus we find the makings of 1st century Judaism as it was in Jesus’ day:
• Temple rites: the focus of the Priestly class (Sadducees)
• Focus on the law among the people (Pharisees)
• and influence from Greek culture, philosophy and religious ideas including the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into the vernacular of the day: Greek (the Septuagint)
• But, there was one more event which took place in the 2nd cent. BCE: In 168 BCE, the Greek ruler Antiochus, in attempt to unify the Greek kingdom, forcibly desecrated the Jewish Temple with statues of the Greek gods and tried to force the Jews to worship the Greek gods and give up their unique customs
• The Jews fought back (a fight for freedom of religion) and rededicated the Temple in 165 BCE: an event which is remembered to this day with the holiday of Chanukah ("dedication")

• in the year 70 CE the Romans destroyed the second Temple which has yet to be rebuilt (all that remains is the Western or "Wailing" wall)
• in the year 135 BCE, all remaining Jews were exiled once again from the Promised Land (The Diaspora)
• all Jewish autonomy vanished until 1948 when the modern state of Israel was created from the previously British dominated Palestine

• Non-Scriptural (extra-Biblical) literature (e.g., apocrypha and Dead Sea Scrolls) less religious in value but of great historical value concerning this period of time in Jewish life and thought

• The Hebrew people began with Abraham
• The Jewish religion began with Moses and reception of Torah at Sinai
• The Diaspora ("dispersion"): events that eventually triggered it began with Roman takeover of Palestine in 1st cent. BCE and came to a head in 1st cent. CE with the destruction of the temple and banning of the Jewish people from their holy land

There is no official creed in the Jewish religion. Closest is the Shema: a statement of monotheism ("Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One")

Nature of God:

• Creator: eternal, omnipotent, controller; creation is seen as good ("and God saw that it was good")
• Personal: concerned and communicates with human beings
• Spiritual: not limited by space or time or human conceptions, distinguished from physical and material

• Henotheism (a family/tribal god): Originally (up until the Babylonian exile) the early Hebrew belief was more a henotheism rather than a strict monotheism: a recognition that there are many gods but that only one is to be worshipped:
• Many of the early books of the Bible clearly indicate a recognition by the Hebrew people that other people around them worshipped other gods. There is no suggestion that those gods did not exist, simply the repeated emphasis that they are less powerful than the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" and that the Israelites are not to worship these other gods.
• In the creation stories in Genesis, God refers to Himself in the plural ("us") (read: Gen. 1:26, 3:22) and the plural term for God, "Elohim", rather than the singular, "El", is used.
• Many stories in the Bible pit the Hebrew God against other gods (e.g., Baal)

• Universal God: In later times, the Jews came to understand that their family god was the One Universal true God of all. By the 1st cent. CE this true monotheism was well entrenched and prepared the way for Christianity to pick it up and spread the faith in the Jewish God to all peoples (to Gentiles - i.e., non-Jews)
• The Name of God: (read: Ex. 3:13-15) Although the Christians came to call this God by the name "Yahwah" or the Anglicized "Jehovah" (from the Hebrew consonent letters: YHVH, "I AM"), the Jews do not and never have referred to their God by a personal name (Orthodox Jews do not even write "God" in English without leaving out the vowel). They refer to God as "The Lord" ("Adonai"), "Elohim", or "HaShem" ("the Name" - the unpronounceable name of God). "I AM" = God is; to say anything more is to say less (i.e., not enough)

Importance of History & the Hebrew People:

• As we have seen, God is understood by the Jews to intervene, to act, in and through history time and again, especially in the history of Israel (the people)
• God, history and Israel are intricately linked: Judaism looks to God’s action in and for the history and purpose of the Nation of Israel in relation to the rest of the world
• To be a "chosen people" is to be chosen for responsibility and for service to others. It is a hard task, not a privilage: to be a "nation of priests," "a holy people," to exemplifiy God’s moral standard for others.
• How God relates with people: The Jewish relationship with God is through one’s relationship with the Jewish community - through ethnic identity and heritage (historic connections to the past). For Judaism, God relates to a people more than to individuals ("you will be my people and I will be your God" - a "chosen" people). To identify oneself with this people is how an individual Jew benefits from a relationship with God. (In contrast, the Christian relationship with God is personal and individualistic - e.g., through monasticism and personal conversion)

• Human beings are superior over the rest of creation and are responsible for it as "caretakers" of creation
• The dignity of humanity is expressed in the creation story: "Man created in the image of God"
• Jews do not believe in "original sin" (thus see no need for a "savior" in the Christians sense)
• Traditionally, Judaism sees little separation between body and soul: in Genesis man is a "living soul" not an incarnated soul (read: Gen. 2:7). Later beliefs in a division between body and soul were likely influenced by Greek thinking. Life in this world is valued.

• For Judaism, deed is more important than creed: to do the will of God, to follow God’s law, is primary (cf: Christianity is a religion based on belief, it is not belief that makes one Jewish. One is born Jewish and is either a "good" or "bad" Jew depending upon whether one acts as God desires Jews to act). The issue has often been debated (by the early Christians) and just what constitutes "good" Jewish action is debated amongst different groups of Jews to this day. Indeed, debating the specifics of what God demands of Jews is the basis of development of the Talmud. God’s "law" includes ethical as well as ritual laws.
• Torah is expanded to mean the totality of all Jewish texts and all teachings of God and serves as the basis for ethical behavior
• The Ten Commandments serves as an outline: first four have to do with our relationship with God (religious/spiritual) (read them: p. 278 in Molloy), remaining six refer to our relationship with other people (ethical) (read from Molloy)
• Social responsibility: a reverence for parents, respect for the aged, care for widows and orphans, aid to the poor... all issues spoken to through laws in Torah, expanded upon in Talmud and lived out to this day in society. Not based on some philantrophic sensibility but on an innate sense of justice perceived as demanded by God. Such actions are called "Mitzvot": "commandments" (God commands that we do these things). In general usage the term "Mitsvah" means "good deed".
• Justice and Righteousness: complement each other. One acts justly out of an internal sense of righteousness. In Torah, God has set the standards and example for humanity to follow. Tzaddakah = an act of righteousness, of charity. A Tzaddik = a righteous soul/person, a wise man in Hasidic circles (wisdom is linked to moral actions)
• Sanctity of Life: embodied in celebration of life cycle events, even in the first commandment: to "be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28). "Thou shalt not murder" - life is seen as a unique gift from God to be taken only by God (A Jewish doctor can break a religious law if it means saving a life)

• Importance of study/education: that’s how we come to understand what God demands of us - through study and analysis of scripture.
• Importance of family: from the beginning, Judaism was a family affair and, as an ethnic religion, remains such passed down from generation to generation. Family life, marriage, children, the extended family are all innately important to Jews, even if they are not especially religious Jews (a cultural as much as religious value).
• Ethnic & Cultural Identity: as an extention of family, a sense of connectedness with all Jewish people everywhere, and down through the ages (history), gives many Jews their sense of personal identity (again, even if they are not especially religious). The history of the Jewish people is also the personal ancestral history of every individual Jew.
• Liberation and Freedom: embodied in the story/experience of exile and exodus: "Let my people go." Judaism maintains a compassion and concern for freedom of all peoples. Evident in the laws of Torah and in the history of a people who have constantly fought for their own freedom and continued survival.

Rabbinic Period: 2nd - 7th cent. CE

• Rabbis replace Priests: development of oral law, Talmud - focus on religious law in place of ritual practice of Priests on behalf of the people
• Rabbis were direct continuation of 1st cent. Pharisaic Judaism
• "Rabbi" means "teacher" - one who teaches the law, instructs through interpretation of Torah. While a priest is a hereditary and anointed role, rabbi is open to anyone learned enough in Torah to be respected as an authority.
• Talmud: the "Oral Law"
• commentary and interpretation of Torah compiled by the Rabbis during Rabbinic period c. 200 -700 CE
• secondary to Torah but considered by Orthodox view as contemporaneous with Torah (recieved at Sinai with Torah) and a necessary aid for understanding Torah and applying it in one’s day to day living.
• Rabbis discuss and debate with each other the meaning and ramifications of content of written law.
• "Fencing the Law" example of "thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother’s milk" (Exodus 34:26)
• Orthodox teaching holds that the essence of the entire Torah and Talmud was given with the law to Moses on Sinai
• Synagogue life replaces Temple rites: prayer and study of written and oral law becomes primary focus of the faith in place of Temple sacrifice

• Period of the great Rabbis and development of Talmud is ended but study of both Torah and Talmud continue. Rabbis continue to serve as guides for applying the law in various situations.
• Medieval Spain: 11th - 15th cent. - site of both great Medieval Jewish philosophy and mysticism:
• Maimonides (12th cent): outlined 13 basic tenants of Judaism:

• Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism):
• Mystical text is Zohar appeared 13th cent Spain (supposedly an ancient, till then hidden, teaching dating back to early Rabinnic times), offers a mystical interpretation of Torah
• Kabbalistic practice stresses inner contemplation in a mystical search for perfect union with God
• Kabbalistic metaphysics: The Sefirot: ten aspects of the divine emanate from the most "hidden of hidden" (the Godhead Ein Sof). Lowest emanation, Shekhinah, represents God’s immanent presence amongst the "Community of Israel". There is a macrocosmic-microcosmic parallel between Israel’s relationship with God and the relationships between the aspects of God within the Sefirot.
• European Ghettos and Shtetls:
• Jews faced increasing persecution and were finally expelled from Spain in 1492, took refuge in Eastern European countries.
• Under Christian dominated European culture Jews were segregated into Jewish quarters in cities (Ghettos) or all Jewish villages in the countryside (Shtetls)
• In Eastern Europe a new movement began: Hasidism (piety)
• Founded in 18th cent. by Israel Baal Shem Tov ("Master of the Good Name")
• Emphasis was on purity and devotion to Torah but with joyousness and close ties to mystical teachings or Kabbalah
• A Tzaddik, as a "Righteous man" for Hasidism, is one who achieves union with the divine and can thus guide others toward such union in their own lives. They are seen almost as living saints. In Hasidism, they are called "Rebbe" and serve both as Rabbi as well as spiritual leader of the community, guiding their followers in all life decisions.
• Hasidism continues to this day, especially in Brooklyn, NY where they function in modern society but maintain an old world style of dress, social attitudes and ultra orthodox religiosity, yet with a deep sense of spirituality often lacking in more mainstream Judaism.

• European Enlightenment: emancipation and assimilation leads to reform
• beginning in 18th cent. Germany with opening of the Ghettos and intermingling of Jews with the larger society
• German reform: worship is modeled after German Protestant worship including use of organ music, men and women sitting together, use of vernacular language, no head covering, even worship on Sundays rather than Saturday (since reverted to Saturday)
• Other Jews felt these reformed practices had gone too far - a watering down of Judaism. Thus a Conservative movement began focused on maintaining tradition while yet adapting to suit the times. Conservative is thus middle-of-the-road between most traditional, Orthodoxy ("straight thinking", straight practice) and the too liberal Reform movement.
• Persecution and Pogroms grow as does Jewish influence in larger society leading to:
• immigration to the New World
• Increase in Zionist hopes for a homeland (modern state of Israel)
• 20th cent. Holocaust
• Today, most Jews live in America (6-7 mil. - half in NYC), Israel (3-4 mil.) and Europe

Branches of Judaism:

• "Movements" rather than "denominations", each has it’s council of rabbis who work together to create prayer books, decide issues of common agreement for the movement as a whole (although individual synagogues may choose to be more restrictive than the movement allows). There is no single, universal head of Judaism worldwide (other than God and Torah).
• Differ primarily in degree of practice rather than on theological issues
• Three main branches:
• Orthodox ("straight thinking", "straight practice"): continuous from Rabbinic times, maintains most traditional practice
• Reform: began in 18th Germany; most liberal in practice but with strong focus on social justice issues; most assimilated (= fully integrated into the larger society, part of rather than apart from)
• Conservative: response to reforms, desire to conserve more of traditional Judaism while adapting to needs and desires of contemporary life. Less strict than Orthodox but more traditional than Reform. Individual synagogues may lean more toward Orthodox or more toward Reform or any variation in-between.
• The extremes: Hasidism and Reconstructionalism
• Reconstructionalism began in America, mid 20th cent., grew out of Conservative movement, focus on Judaism as a culture and "way of life" without an emphasis on spiritual or religious issues: "Conservatism without religious affirmations."
• Problems between movements:
• who is a "good" Jew?
• which form is "true" Judaism
• issue of non-Orthodox conversion.
• question of assimilation: is it good or bad (can lead to loss of unique identity)

• The Sanctuary (worship space):
• Structure: oriented toward Jerusalem, raised platform up front, ark to house Torah scrolls (several), eternal flame above ark, lectern or central reading platform for reading of Torah. Torah is the central element of focus in the sanctuary
• The people: traditional communal prayer service must have a minyan of ten adult Jewish males (Bar Mitzvah age and up), worship led by Rabbi or by any other adult male (female OK in more liberal synagogues), may have a cantor as well to chant blessings and lead singing of hymns (many taken from Psalms and other poetics found in scripture)
• Communal prayer on Sabbath (evening, mornng and closing), holidays and weekdays (Orthodox pray three times a day: morning, afternoon and evening); duration and style of worship varies depending upon level of practice)
• Content of worship: prayers, readings, chanting, hymn singing by leader or both leader and congregation in unison or responsively, passages drawn from scripture and from poetic expressions written hundreds of years ago and more recently, Hebrew language is used to greater or lesser degree depending upon synagogue. Periodically, there will be standing for special prayers and readings.
• The Torah: During a Torah service (Saturday mornings and specified Holidays), special blessings are offered, the scroll is ceremoniously carried and cared for as it is presented for reading, a specified portion of Torah is read for each Sabbath and holiday. This is the occasion that the Bar Mitzvah celebrant has prepared years for: to take his or her adult responsibility as a member of the faith. At other times during other worship services, the ark will simply be opened as the people stand to honor the Torah.
• Synagogue also contains classrooms and a library for educational programs: religious ("Sunday") school and Hebrew classes for children from preschool through high school age, usually also adult education classes and/or seminars; Orthodox have Hebrew day (parochial) schools (Yeshivas)
• Synagogue also serves as a social and cultural center with fellowship hall or auditorium and kitchen and sometimes also a more formal ballroom and catering service for such events as Bar Mitzvah and marriage celebrations:
• Brotherhood and Sisterhood organizations often sponsor cultural programs, charitable projects, and other special events
• Havorot: small, intimate fellowship groups gather based on mutual interest (study groups, leisure activities, family oriented groups, etc.)
• Each synagogue is an independent democratic community. The members choose and pay their own Rabbi and other staff members and make their own administrative decisions

• Home and family is really the heart of Judaism. The Sabbath and festivals begin and end at home (sometimes take place there more than in synagogue) and everyday in a traditional Jewish home demands much attention to detail, especially in the kitchen.
• Traditionally, the woman’s role in the religion in focused in the home: Each holiday has it’s special rituals and foods and it is the woman of the house who prepares all this. She is the one to raise good Jewish children, to maintain a kosher kitchen, to prepare family holiday meal celebrations e.g., Friday evening Sabbath dinner, Passover Seder meal, etc.
• All of this helps to build a sense of Jewish identity in the children as well as live out Jewish practice in daily life.
• Dietary laws:
• It is the woman who knows just how to maintain the dietary laws - she has learned this from her mother and teaches it to her daughters.
• Specially trained men act as kosher butchers - the meat must be slaughtered as well as prepared in a special way to be kosher

• Birth: Bris, ritual circumcision, most ancient of Jewish practices originating with Abraham, a sign of the covenant and official entrance into the faith; naming ceremony
• Coming of age:
• Bar- Bat Mitzvah (son- daughter of the commandments): automatic at age 13, taking adult responsibilities of the faith, signaled by first reading of torah in Sabbath service, celebratory party with friends and family follows. The Bar Mitzvah itself is the religious ceremony during service, not the party! (Orthodox: only for boys, girls do not read from Torah but have an equivalent "coming of age" ceremony at age 12)
• Confirmation: contemporary addition in reform and conservative synagogues, takes place around 10th grade as the child’s intentional commitment to the faith and conclusion of childhood religious education. Involves the entire confirmation class participating in service around the time of the late spring festival of Shavuot
• Marriage: sealed by a religious legal document (ketubah) signed by each spouse before the Rabbi and witness (who also sign it); Rabbi officiates over the ceremony held under a canopy (chupah); breaking of the wine glass by groom at end of ceremony symbolizes the destruction of the ancient Temple - even in times of personal happiness (e.g., marriage) the sorrows of the Jewish people are remembered;
• divorce: allowed but taken seriously, a religious legal document (get) is required to break the ketubah agreement.
• Death:
• Burial: ideally takes place within 24 hours, in a plain pine box with the body is wrapped in plain linen shroud (equality of economic classes), "mourner’s kaddish" prayer is recited at graveside by immediate survivors - this prayer says nothing about death but expresses hope for the future even in the face of death
• Mourning: immediate next-of-kin sit shiva for seven days, not leaving the house with friends and other relatives visiting for consolation and fond remembering of the departed, they usually bear food (the mourners ought not have to concern themselves with mundane chores e.g. preparing meals), it is considered a mitzvot (good deed) to visit the bereaved; a memorial (yahrziet) candle is lit to last throughout the 7 day mourning period; a black ribbon is cut and worn for 30 day period symbolizing one’s sorrow; less harsh mourning continues for 11 months by which time a monument should be placed on the grave; visitors to the grave site do not leave cut flowers (they are dead) - often one will see stones placed on the monument indicating that someone has visited.
• Yahrziet: anniversary of the death is remembered with a 24 hour yahrziet candle and special recitation of the "mourner’s kaddish" prayer during worship; the memory candle is also lit during certain festival holidays.

• Many holidays commemorate historic events in the history of the Jewish people thus teaching the history to the next generation; most are observed with synagogue and/or home worship and celebration, many with special foods, meals and gathering of family and friends
• Holiday and Sabbath meals include blessings over candles, wine and bread; Orthodox say grace after meals (a standard Hebrew prayer/recitation)
• All holidays and Sabbath begin and end at sundown (Jewish day begins at sundown: "there was evening and there was morning, one day," Gen. 1:5, et. al.)
• The Hebrew calendar: lunar with seasonal adjustments ("leap" month); new moon=new month, full moon=mid month
• Sabbath: day of rest and study, no work may be done including cooking and driving (cannot light a fire, turn on electricity)
• High Holidays: early fall, most important of holidays
• Rosh Hashanah ("Head of the Year"):The New Year celebration (anniversary of the creation of the world) with festive family meal and lengthy prayer services in synagogue (apple & honey, raisin Chalah)
• Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"):10th day of Holy Day period culminates with 24 hour fast and synagogue prayer
• Sukkot (Feast of "Booths"): 7 day fall harvest festival, temporary booths are built to eat in, waving of lulav and etrog to the six directions (a very earthy festival)
• Simchat ("Joyous") Torah: day after Sukkot, a festive celebration when annual Torah reading is completed and begins again
• Chanukah ("dedication"): late fall, commemorates rededication of the Jerusalem Temple in 165 BCE following victory over the Greek attempt to subdue Jewish religion; lasts for eight days, observed in the home with lighting of the Chanukah menorah, gift giving, game playing and eating fried foods (symbolic of the miracle of the oil); a minor holiday, not the "Jewish Christmas" nor even equivalent in significance (gift giving is not traditional, giving money - gelt - is traditional)
• Purim ("Lots"): mid-winter, commemorates heroic resistance of Persian persecution under Haman as told in Biblical book of Esther; celebrated with much merriment: carnivals and costumes of characters from the story (Jewish Mardi Gras?), a reading of the story during holiday worship service with loud noise to drown out Haman’s name
• Passover (Pesach): first full moon after vernal equinox (first full moon of spring) (a spring harvest festival - "first fruits"); commemorates the Exodus from Egypt with home celebration of festive ritual meal called a Seder ("order") which serves an educational role; symbolic rituals are performed with special foods promoting the children to ask "why" and for the adults to tell (Haggadah - "telling") the story of the Exodus
• Shavuot ("weeks") (aka Pentecost): the 50th day (7 weeks) after Passover commemorating when the Hebrew people arrived at Mt. Sinai and received the Law (Torah) from God (also a harvest festival)
• New holidays include commemoration of two 20th cent. historic events: Holocaust memorial day (Yom HaShoah) and the celebration of Israel independence day (Yom Ha’Atzmaut). These are minor observations during the "counting of the Omar" between Passover and Shavuot

• Interfaith activities (celebrates and affirms both traditions): Interfaith dialogue and even worship (e.g., for Thanksgiving) are becoming more common activities among more liberal Jews and Christians in attempt to understand each other’s beliefs and practices and to appreciate their common heritage and basic moral agreement. Such attempts to expand a general understanding of Judaism in the larger society is especially significant in relation to issues involving Jewish children in the public schools.
• Interfaith marriage, assimilation and secularization are felt to be a threat to the future of Judaism (waters down the tradition): Today, some 50% or more Jews marry non-Jews. Orthodox tradition holds that if the mother is Jewish, the children are automatically Jewish. If not, they must be converted into the faith to be accepted as true Jews. If the spouse converts, then there is no question of the Jewishness of the children. Reform Jews accept the children regardless and actively encourage the non-Jewish spouse to participate with his or her Jewish family in synagogue life. In this way, the next generation of Jews will not be lost.
• Converting to Judaism: Judaism does not actively seek converts but accepts sincere desire of those who would convert. An adult male who converts would have to be ritually circumcised (or the ritual words are recited and he is symbolically circumcised with a small drop of blood if it was already done medically). Another part of conversion is a ritual ablution in a Mikvah (the ritual bath used periodically among the Orthodox for purification, esp. for women following menstruation and childbirth). One who would convert must first talk with a Rabbi and usually take some classes to learn what it means to be Jewish and to learn the "how-to’s." (the Biblical book of Ruth is an example of ancient conversion to Judaism)
• Christian proselytism to Jews: Groups such as "Jews for Jesus" and "Messianic Judaism" are not Jewish groups but, rather, Christian groups seeking to appeal to Jews through maintaining Jewish traditions and identity but with Christian beliefs. Many involved in these groups were born Jewish but converted their beliefs to fundamentalist Christianity. Judaism does not accept them as Jewish and is very concerned about such subversive attempts to proselytize to Jews. However, those born to Jewish ancestry continue to be seen as Jewish by heritage if not by faith and practice.
• Judaism and Christian beliefs:
• Jews and Jesus: Why don’t Jews accept Jesus?
• Jewish views of Jesus: Jews do not use the New Testament (a non-issue, emotional taboo). Most Jews know very little about Jesus ("that man", "Mr. Christ"). When Jews hear the name "Jesus" they think "human", when Christians hear the name "Jesus" they think "the Christ" - god become man (that’s how each was taught from early childhood).
• The Jews of Jesus’ day saw him as undermining Jewish tradition and ritual; they saw him as a radical and non-conformist. Such radical movements in those days served only to cause friction with the ruling party (the Romans) rather than to foster beneficent relationships.
• Jews today may be aware of Jesus as having been Jewish, they may accept him as having been a good and even wise man but not as an incarnation of God. Such notions are anathema to Jewish understanding of the distinctions between the Creator and the created, between God and humanity. God is entirely non-physical and, although God may effect physical events (e.g., through acts of history), the Creator does not directly manifest Itself in the form of the created. The infinite God cannot manifest in finite physical form.
• Jewish concept of Messiah: Messiah=entirely human, political leader who’s activity will return the Jews to their Promised Land and restore self-governance and inaugurate world peace. Jesus did not achieve this and so he does not fit the Jewish expectations for the Messiah (Christians reinterpreted the meaning of Messiah to be a spiritual rather than political savior)
• Jews and "original sin": Jews see no need for a spiritual savior for they do not believe that humans are by nature sinful. It is human actions, not human beings, that are sinful and are atoned for through religious observances. Jews see no need for a mediator between human beings and God. God has communicated to human beings through prophets and directly to the individual through heartfelt prayer, faith and devotion.
• Jews and the Trinity: God as "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" appears to Jews as antithetical to monotheism. To the Jewish mind, this appears to be worship of three different Gods. Judaism does have a concept of the "Holy Spirit" (in Hebrew: Ruach HaKodesh). This is the "spark of God" innate within each of us which gives us life and enables us to connect with God.


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