We are going to learn about
Judaism
Can you think about ways that Judaism is like
Christianity?
What is Judaism?
Judaism is the world’s oldest religion
– it is around 2,000 years older than
Christianity!
There are around 13.2 million Jews
living in the world today – nearly
half of these live in a country called
Israel.
Judaism and Christianity both
have very important symbols....
Can you think of the
symbol that represents
Christianity? Clue: there’s
one in your school hall!
The Jewish symbol is
the Star of David, a
six-pointed star
that we draw by
drawing two
triangles, different
ways up. It is named
after the Jewish
king David, who
defeated the giant
Goliath.
The symbol of the cross represents
Christianity, just like the Star of
David represents the Jewish
religion.
Both Judaism and Christianity have
important holy texts as well....
The holy book
that
Christians
read is called
the Bible
The Jewish holy book is
written in the language
of Hebrew. It is on a
large, decorative scroll
and has the same
stories as the first five
books of the Christian
Old Testament – so it
tells of Noah’s Ark,
Adam and Eve and
Moses. It is called....
The Torah
What About Worship?
When Christians want to worship God
they go to the church.....
Jews go to a holy
building to
worship as well.
They come in many
shapes and sizes
and can be
decorative or very
plain. They are
called....
Synagogues
A Rabbi
A Jewish holy man
is called a Rabbi –
he takes the
services and
ceremonies in a
synagogue, just
like a priest or
vicar would in a
Christian Church.
Here is a Rabbi reading the Torah
Do Jews pray?
At school we pray to God during collective
worship and at the end of the day. Jewish
people pray too – mainly in their homes and
in the synagogue.
What do you notice
about this Jewish man
praying?
Did you notice what he was
wearing?
This man is
wearing a
special shawl
called a tallit
or a tallis, and
also a special
hat called a
skullcap, or a
kippah.
Why do they wear these?
Kippahs and tallits
are worn to cover
the head –
sometimes all the
time, but mainly
inside the
synagogue. This is
so Jews always have
something dividing
them from God
above them in
heaven – so God will
not be offended.
Can you think of anything like
this in Christianity?
Although Christians
do not have any
traditions exactly
like this, in many
churches, women
and men must
both make sure
their shoulders
are covered – as a
mark of respect
to God.