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
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.
yep
how Judaism approaches family and community life (i.e., births, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, funerals)
circumcision, what they do at bar/bat mitzvahs, breaking the glass, sitting shiva
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
Gen 9:18 The sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was peopled. Gen 9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.” 26 He also said, “Blessed by the LORD my God be Shem; and let Canaan be his slave. 27 May God make space for Japheth, and let him live in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave.”
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
Exod 21:17 Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death. Exod 21:18 When individuals quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist so that the injured party, though not dead, is confined to bed, 19 but recovers and walks around outside with the help of a staff, then the assailant shall be free of liability, except to pay for the loss of time, and to arrange for full recovery. Exod 21:20 When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment; for the slave is the owner’s property. Exod 21:22 When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine. 23 If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
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.