What is Judaism

1. The synagogue is a House of Assembly, House of Study, and House of Prayer. Jews use the synagogue as a place for meeting with other Jews. It is also used to study the Torah and other holy texts. The synagogue is also used to pray to God.


2. The Ark is located on the eastern wall of the synagogue. The ark is the repository for the Torah scrolls when they are not in use. It also serves as the focus for one's prayers. The Torah is handwritten by a trained scribe on parchment made from a kosher animal. The Torah has to be written with no mistakes; the letters must be clear, the writing must not be faded. If there is something wrong with the Torah it cannot be used until it is repaired by a scribe. The scrolls themselves are covered by cloth mantles, or covers, elaborately designed on the front. The Ten Commandments are kept



3. A rabbi is a teacher of the Torah. The requirements to become a rabbi are different from each sect of Judaism. For example, the entrance requirements for an Orthodox yeshiva include a strong background within Jewish law, liturgy, Talmudic study, and attendant languages such as Yiddish. In a nutshell, being a rabbi requires years of study and being able to know the Torah in and out. The rabbi differs from other clergymen because he has no power over the people. The role of the rabbi is to teach the people the meaning of the Torah.


4. Shabbat is the most important ritual observance in Judaism. It is the only ritual observance instituted in the Ten Commandments. It is also the most important special day. The Shabbat occurs on the day of rest from sundown Saturday to Sunday.


5. The Torah is the Jewish sacred book. It is the first five books of the bible that includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers. The Talmud is known as the “Oral Torah” and this is how the stories of the Torah should be interpreted.

6. Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Humanistic, and Zionist. Orthodox Jews follow Jewish law as laid down in the Torah . 5 million American Jews are Orthodox. Reform Judaism began after the Enlightenment. They believe that while the Torah is a valuable cultural and philosophical body of work, it was not delivered by God at one time, but developed over centuries. Reform says Judaism must continue to evolve. Conservative Judaism arose due to a break between Orthodox and Reform. Some Conservative synagogues are similar to Reform, while others are close to Orthodox. Finally, Theodore Herzl created the Zionist branch of Judaism. Historically, some Orthodox Jews had opposed Zionism because the Messiah had not appeared. But there were many religious Zionists as well.

7. Hebrew is a member of the Canaanite group of Semitic languages. Hebrew is the national language of Israel and it is said that the bible was written in Hebrew.



8. Yiddish was the primary language of Ashkenazic Jews in the shtetl, found throughout eastern and central Europe. One of the Germanic languages, Yiddish is written in Hebrew characters. It began between the 9th and 12th centuries in southwestern Germany as an adaptation of Middle High German dialects to the special needs of Jews.


9. Mazal Tov means Congratulations, Shalom means Hello,Peace,Goodbye, and Mitzvah means party


10. Birth includes the ceremony of circumcision, by which a boy enters the Covenant of Israel on his eighth day of life, goes back to Abraham, who was commanded by God to circumcise himself. Following the circumcision, the child's Hebrew name is announced. Bar/Bat Mitzvah- Every Jew becomes a Bar Mitzvah automatically. It is a change of legal status; it has nothing to do with how much an individual knows or has learned. No ceremony, certificate, or special service is required. However, it is a change of status that affects the entire community, since now there is an additional member to count in the minyan, and thus it has been customary to celebrate this milestone since the 1300's, though celebrations have always been small and modest until this century. The centerpiece of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration is the child's first aliyah: the first time the child is permitted to recite the scriptures from the Torah. Wedding- In Jewish tradition, a marriage is termed Kiddushin which connotes that the husband and wife are sanctified to one another and enjoy an exclusive relationship. This relationship also has legal ramifications. The actual marriage ceremony is originally kinyan, one of acquisition, modeled on the transfer of property in the ancient world. In the case of marriage, the woman accepts a ring from the man, and thereby accepts the terms of the marriage. A ketubah is read during the ceremony. Witnesses are required not required for the signing of the ketubah but they are required for the kinyan ceremony. In the United States, when a rabbi officiated at a wedding, it is a legal wedding by the law of the United States. Go Jews!



11. Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. Yom Kippur- The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. Jews don’t go to work and some fast. A fun fact is that on Yom Kippur, the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is closed. Jews may also go to the synagogue to pray. First off, Hanukkah is not a very important religious holiday in Judaism. Hanukkah is the celebration of the menorah staying lit for eight days. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. Passover is the most observed Jewish holiday even by secular Jews, so it can be interpreted as Christmas for Atheists. The day before Passover is the Fast of the Firstborn, a minor fast for all firstborn males, commemorating the fact that the firstborn Jewish males in Egypt were not killed during the final plague. In a nutshell, Passover celebrates God freeing his people from slavery in Egypt.


12. Before this assignment, I knew what the Torah and the Talmud were. Jews take very special care in their scripture. Also that at age 13 the jewish boy becomes a man.



13. The most surprising thing I found was the rigorous amount of work and significance of a bar mitzvah.




14. Passover is a Jewish tradition similar to mine because during Holy Week in the Catholic church, this very story is the Old Testament reading.




15. One aspect of Jewish life that is different from mine is the language. Hebrew and Yiddish are Jewish languages but I guess this isn’t very different from my religion because Latin is the main religion of Christianity.