Israel’s Story
Jews trace their story to the man God called to leave Ur and journey to Canaan. Who was he?
Abraham
If Judaism could be summed up in three words, which three would they be?
Almsgiving, Faith, Fasting, God, Hope, Israel, Love, Prayer, Torah
God, Torah, Israel
Jewish families observe this weekly day of rest from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. What is it called?
Shabbat
In 70 CE, Roman soldiers stormed Jerusalem and destroyed what forever changed Judaism?
The Second Temple
At the time of Jesus, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots were all voices within what religious or philosophical movement?
Judaism
Which event do Jews retell every year as the master story of their people?
The Exodus from slavery in Egypt
Observant Jews pray these words every morning and evening: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” What do we call this prayer?
Sh’ma
During Sukkot, Jewish families build a temporary hut and eat their meals in it, remembering forty years in the desert. What did the fragile hut teach them?
A. That wealth and comfort quickly pass away
B. That the harvest belongs to the whole community
C. That God alone was their true protector
C. That God alone was their true protector
With the Temple gone, the sages called prayer “service of the heart.” What did prayer replace?
Temple sacrifice
Jews call this feast “the time of the giving of our Torah.” Fifty days after Passover, it is also when the Spirit came at Pentecost. What is it?
A. Simchat Torah
B. Sukkot
C. Shavuot
C. Shavuot
Jews honor the Torah scroll with a touch, a kiss, even a dance. What does the word Torah mean?
“Law” or “teaching”
To Jews, the commandments of the Torah are...
A. a way to earn God’s love and favor.
B. a response to God choosing them for the covenant.
C. a burden that guards them against punishment.
B. A response to God choosing them for the covenant
Jews consider Yom Kippur the holiest day of the year, during which they...
A. pray, fast, and repent
B. confess sins to a rabbi and family
C. feast on the last fruits of summer
A. pray, fast, and repent
Even before the Romans destroyed the Temple, the authority to define Judaism passed from priests to whom?
Rabbis, who taught the Torah
DAILY DOUBLE
Catholics believe Jesus is the Messiah. What do most Jews believe about the Messiah?
A. A Messiah is yet to come.
B. No Messiah or new age will ever come
C. A Messianic age is still to come.
Jews call their Bible the Tanakh, a name built from its three parts. Which three?
A. Torah, Talmud, Prayer Book
B. Law, History, Wisdom
C. Torah, Prophets, Writings
C. Torah, Prophets, Writings
DAILY DOUBLE. What do Jews mean when they call themselves God’s Chosen People?
A. God loves them more than other nations
B. They were chosen only until Jesus came
C. They were chosen to receive the Torah
C. They were chosen to receive the Torah
Hanukkah is well known in America. Where does it stand in Jewish tradition?
A. It is the Jewish Christmas, its greatest feast
B. It is a later feast, not one of the Torah’s holidays
C. It is the holiest day of the Jewish year
B. It is a later feast, not one of the Torah’s holidays
Jews describe their movements as branches on one tree of Jewish life. What mainly divides Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist Jews?
A. Which books belong in their Bible
B. How they understand and keep Jewish law
C. Which leader they recognize as their head
B. How they understand and keep Jewish law
Jews and Catholics agree on many facts about Jesus. Which belief belongs to Catholics alone?
A. He was born to a Jewish mother named Mary
B. He rose from the dead
C. He was crucified by the Romans around 30 CE
B. He rose from the dead
The Babylonians destroyed the First Temple and carried the people into exile. What happened to their faith far from the Temple?
A. It grew stronger as the exiles found ways to keep their identity
B. It faded, since sacrifice could be offered only at the Temple
C. It blended with the religion of Babylon into a new faith
A. It grew stronger as the exiles found ways to keep their identity
Being Jewish is complicated. It is possible for a person to be both Jewish and an agnostic. Why?
A. Belonging comes through a creed each Jew professes
B. Belonging comes through blood, creed, and/or community.
C. Belonging is decided by each local rabbi
B. Belonging comes through blood, creed, and/or community.
At the Seder, each person is to see himself as though he came out of Egypt. What does that teach?
A. Each believer is freed from slavery to sin
B. Every Jew descends from those who left Egypt
C. The Exodus is unfinished while anyone is enslaved
C. The Exodus is unfinished while anyone is enslaved
After the Temple fell, the rabbis wrote down the Oral Torah, which Jews believe Moses also received at Sinai. Where is it found?
A. In the Prophets and the Writings
B. In the Gospels of the New Testament
C. In the Mishnah and the Talmud
C. In the Mishnah and the Talmud
In 1965, the Catholic Church made a major statement about the Jewish people, called Nostra Aetate. What did it say?
A. Jews must become Catholic to be saved
B. God’s covenant with the Jews has ended
C. Jews today are not to blame for Jesus’ death
C. Jews today are not to blame for Jesus’ death