Vocabulary
Known as the father of the Jewish people. God made a covenant with him, promising him land and descendants.
Abraham
Coming of age ceremony of boys aged 13. Literally "Son of the Commandment".
Bar Mitzvah
Coming of age ceremony for girls aged 12. Literally "Daughter of Commandment"
Bat Mitzvah
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD…
Isa 11:6 The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
yep
explain the main story of the Hebrew Bible
the garden and the land of Israel, obedience to God, an example for the world, disobedience, the need for a messiah
A binding promise/agreement; God's agreement to look after his chosen people.
The Covenant
(Shekhinah) Belief that God is beyond human understanding but his presence may be experienced/known.
Divine presence
Food that is ‘clean’ and that meets the requirements of the dietary laws.
Kosher Food
Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
sure
A period of rest from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday each week. This commemorates God's rest after the six days of creation. Jewish people attend synagogue on Fridays and Saturdays to worship. Orthodox Jewish people are more observant, refraining from even flipping a light switch or pressing an elevator button out of a desire to rest from all labors.
Literally ‘the anointed one’. Orthodox Jews believe that the Messiah will be a human person sent by God to establish justice and peace on the earth. For Reform Jews, the Messiah is a symbolic figure.
The Messiah
The mountain where Moses received the Law and where the covenant between God and Israel was made.
Sinai
Key moral principle related to making the world a better place (Hebrew ‘tikkun olam’).
Healing the world
Exod 20:1 Then God spoke all these words: Exod 20:2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me. Exod 20:4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
okay
Explain covenants
In the Bible there are the covenants between God and humanity, Noah, Israel, David, and the New Covenant (Jewish people might debate the 'new covenant' because of its role in Christian theology). Covenants are more than contracts; they are promises made from superiors to inferiors. They are based on suzerain-vassal treaties from the ancient Near East. Exodus 20-24 reflects the structure of ancient Near Eastern covenants. Israel disobeyed the covenant but God remained faithful.
The holiest part of the synagogue containing the Torah scrolls.
Aron hakodesh (ark)
The reading platform in a synagogue from which the Torah is read.
Bimah (reading platform)
Mitzvot (singular is ‘mitzvah’) are the 613 Jewish commandments/rules found in the Tanakh.
Mitzvot
Ps 110:0 Of David. A Psalm.
1 The LORD says to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Ps 110:2 The LORD sends out from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your foes.
3 Your people will offer themselves willingly
on the day you lead your forces
on the holy mountains.a
From the womb of the morning,
like dew, your youthb will come to you.
4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”a
Ps 110:5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter heads
over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the stream by the path;
therefore he will lift up his head.
uh huh
synagogues
answers will vary. It would be great if you mentioned sacrifices, the temple in Jerusalem, synagogues around the world, and how all of those are connected.
A feature of the synagogue; a light that is above and in front of the aron hakodesh, which burns constantly as a symbol of God’s presence.
Ner tamid (ever-burning light)
The Day of Atonement – a day of repentance and fasting on the tenth day after Rosh Hashanah. The holiest day of the Jewish year.
Yom Kippur
The ‘standing prayer’. Recited as part of public acts of worship in the synagogue.
The Amidah
Exod 4:21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: Israel is my firstborn son. 23 I said to you, “Let my son go that he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; now I will kill your firstborn son.’” Exod 4:24 On the way, at a place where they spent the night, the LORD met him and tried to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ feet with it, and said, “Truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then she said, “A bridegroom of blood by circumcision.”
yes
Please explain either Ner tamid or tikkun olam
the eternal light or healing the world... God's presence for the first, the whole point of the garden of Eden and Israel and the temple and the Torah for the second.