The Holy
These are scrolls placed upon the entrances to Jewish homes containing verses from the Torah.
mezuzot (singular mezuzah)
This is the (original) language of the Tanakh.
Hebrew
This Hebrew term is the most standard and appropriate greeting and blessing, meaning "hello", "goodbye", and "peace" all in one
Shalom
The Jewish calendar counts days as beginning at this time, thus all Jewish holidays begin at this time.
sunset
This is the most important Jewish holiday of all.
Hint: It is a restful celebration of Creation.
Shabbat
Ritual garb worn to recognize the holiness of God and often seen in the sacred space of the synagogue include this simple head covering which became a sign of identity for Jews and this prayer shawl worn over one's shoulders
kippah (or yarmulke)
and
tallit
These are the three sections of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (often referred to as the 'Old Testament' by Christians)
Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Prophets (aka Nevi;im): books from Joshua through II Kings
Writings (aka Ketuvim): Psalms through II Chronicles
This is considered a symbol of Judaism even though it is not actually a religious symbol but rather a national one. Despite its name, there is no reliable evidence that it was used communally before the Middle Ages.
Hint: It was adopted by the state of Israel for its flag.
The Star of David (six pointed star)
This is the system governing Jewish diet, and it is observed to different degrees and in different ways across the Jewish community. Traditionally, it means that only land animals that have split hooves and chew cud may be eaten, and then only when ritually slaughtered according to what was determined to be the most painless means. Meat and milk must not mix (extending to separate cookware and dishes) and oversight of preparation is required. Hunting is prohibited.
kashrut (i.e. kosher diet rules)
This ceremony marks the transition of a boy or girl into adulthood (around 13 for boys and age 12 for girls). At this point s/he is obligated to observe all the laws commanded by God as articulated in the Torah, explicated in the Talmud, and interpreted in rabbinical writings.
Hint: It means 'son of the law' or 'daughter of the law'
Bar mitzvah / Bat mitzvah
These are boxes and straps with verses from the Torah within them that adult Jews place upon their arms and forehead during weekday prayer services.
tefillin
Traditionally, along with written scriptures, this oral tradition (Torah sh'b'al peh) was also given at Sinai and later written down and understood to have been redacted around 200 CE by Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi.
Mishnah
At the time of publishing Strengthening Teaching About Religion, Judaism made up only this percentage of American population (this percentage is essentially the same today)
2%
This is the term for Jewish law - which is a holistic system designed to involve every aspect of human existence in which a Jewish person might participate- from what one eats, to how one speaks and dresses, to sexual relations, to dealings in business.
halakhah
The first event in the sacred life cycle of of a boy in Judaism is this, which comes 8 days after he is born.
Hint1: Abraham and Isaac
Hint2: The ceremony marking the birth of a girl and her entrance into the community is called simcha bat or brit bat (meaning rejoicing of the daughter or the covenant of the daughter)
circumcision
For this reason, Shaddai, Elohim, Eloheinu, Adonai, Ehyeh Asher ehyeh and other names are used to refer to God.
Out of reverence for God, God's name is not ever pronounced in Judaism
The Mishnah's laws were analyzed, debated, and interpreted by later rabbis and sages in a commentary called the Gemara-which together with the Mishnah, make up this.
the Talmud
When someone greets you by saying, "Shalom Aleichem", the response is "Aleichem Shalom".
This is the meaning of both phrases.
"peace be upon you"
This is the period of the first seven days of mourning after a loved one dies.
*NOTE: In Judaism, there is no one answer to what happens to an individual after death. Thus, Judaism focuses much more on the here-and-now.
shiva
Although popularly commemorated in America and popular in a commercial sense, this winter festival of lights is a minor holiday in Judaism and commemorates events that do not take place in Torah.
Hannukah
Since the Holy can be experienced anywhere, "pilgrimage" is not a central construct in Judaism. Nevertheless, Israel (especially Jerusalem) is the axis mundi or navel of the world and the place where the holy Temple stood until it was destroyed by the Roman Empire in this year.
[HINT: The only part of the Temple that remains to this day, and toward which many Jewish people face when praying, is called the "Western Wall" (Kotel) or the "Wailing Wall"]
70 CE
These are the two Talmuds. One redacted around the year 350 CE (in Hebrew and an Aramaic dialect) and the other not reaching its final form until as late as 700 CE.
Jerusalem Talmud (350 CE)
Babylonian Talmud (700 CE)
These are the four main movements within Judaism in America today:
HINTS:
1. the most religiously liberal movement and largest Jewish group in America has roots that go back two hundred years
2. the vast center ground movement with denominations originating as far back as 150 years
3. a 20th century American movement between #2 and #4
4. the movement with the most stringent interpretation of Jewish law, this can be divided into subgroups ranging from "Modern" to "Ultra"
1. Reform
2. Conservative
3. Reconstructionist
4. Orthodox
These two Jewish holidays come in Spring
and these three Jewish holidays come in the Fall
SPRING:
Passover & Shavuot
AUTUMN:
Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Rosh Hashanah (New Year), & Sukkot
In a synagogue, standard objects include handwritten scrolls of the Torah, inside the ark (Aron), under an eternal light (ner tamid). Other key ritual items include this multi branched candelabra, which is symbolic of the Temple and later of the Maccabees, and this ram's horn trumpet which calls us to repentance, ingathering, and jubilee.
menorah
and
shofar