Rites and Festivals
Holidays: Times for
Communal Involvement
Rites
Male Circumcision

Circumcision of
the male child at
8 days. The
whole
community
celebrates.
Bar Mitzvah

Bar Mitzvah (Bas
Mitzvah girl) boy
reaches 13
years of age
demonstrates
acceptance of
Covenant

Marriage

Jewish
marriages are
very important.
Judaism, like
many other
religions, is
matrilineal.
Burial

For Jews the
dead need to be
respected and
the living need
to move on.
There are 4 to 5
periods of
mourning.





Aninut
Shivah
Shloshim
The First Year
Keeping Memory
Alive
Festivals
Pesach

Pesach
(Passover)
deliverance from
Egypt
Shavuot

Shavuot
(Pentecost)
harvest and
Torah. Moses
received the
Torah.
Sukkot

Sukkot
(tabernacles)
Fall Festival.
This
commemorates
the Jews
wandering in the
wilderness.
Feast of Purim

Purim
(deliverance
from the Persian
Empire). The
Queen Esther
story.
Rosh Hashana

Rosh Hashana
(New Year)
Yom Hakippurim

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
Hanukkah

Hanukkah
(victory over the
Syrians in 165
BCE)
Remembering

Yom Hashoa – A
time to remember
those who died in
the Holocaust.
Period 2
Part 2
Changes
(Period 2 - Part 2)
Everything must change
Judaism
God’s Promise
Jewish Beliefs
Jewish Belief

There is no official Jewish creed-however, there are some basic
ideas.
• Belief in God. God is one, formless, allknowing, and eternal. God is master of
the universe as its creator and judge.
God is both loving and just.
• Belief in the words of the prophets.
Jewish Belief
• Belief that God gave the law to
Moses.
• Belief that the Messiah, the savior
to be sent by God, will come some
day.
• Belief that there will be a
resurrection of the good “in the
world to come.”
Maimonides

Moses Maimonides
• Born Cordoba, Spain
in 1135
• Died Egypt 1204
• One of the greatest
Jewish scholars
• Extensive work on
the commentary on
the Torah
http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/survival_hinges_on_being_light_u
nto_nations_20080516/
13 Principles of the Jewish Faith

I believe with perfect
faith that
• God is the creator and
Ruler of all things.
• that God is one.
• God does not have a
body.
• God is first and last
• it is proper to pray to
God.
• all the words of all of the
prophets are true.
• the prophecy of Moses is
absolutely true.
• the entire Torah that we
how have is that which
was given to Moses.

I believe with perfect
faith that
• this Torah will not be
changed, and there will
never be another given by
God.
• God knows all of a man's
deeds and thoughts.
• God rewards those who
keep his commandments,
and punishes those who
transgress Him.
• in the coming of the
Messiah.
• God that the dead will be
brought back to life when
God wills it to happen.
Changes in notions
(Period 2 - Part 2)


Although the Messiah is the one who
will come was literally expected it is
no longer interpreted literally.
Along immortality of a literal nature
has often been expounded many now
emphasize the kind of immortality
which comes through one’s offspring,
acting virtuously in this world or
leaving behind charitable contribution.
Notions


Humans have a special role
because they are created in the
image of God and they have the
ability to speak, to reason, to
will, to create and to care.
They have the ability to
demonstrate divine
characteristics to the world.
Divisions within
Judaism
Divisions within
Judaism

Cultural Based

Observance Based
Cultural Based

Sephardim

Ashkenazim

Falashas, Ethiopian Jews
Cultural Based

Sephardim
• These are Jews who
lived in medieval
Spain until they
were expelled in
1492. Those who
refused to become
Christians moved to
North Africa, Italy
and Turkey.
Cultural Based

Ashkenazim
• A Yiddishspeaking group
of Jews who
settled in central
and northern
Europe. The
term in Hebrew
referred to
Germany.
Cultural Based

Falashas
• These are Ethiopian
Jews who continue to
practice sacrifices in
their temples. Israelis
recognized them
publicly as Jews by
airlifting many of them
to Israel. However,
some do not think that
they have been
completely accepted
by the some of the
Jewish community.

Observance Based

Orthodox Judaism

Conservative Judaism

Reform Judaism

Reconstructionist Judaism
The Four Branches of
Judaism
Judaism
Orthodox
Maintain traditional beliefs
and practices
Reformed
Incorporated modern
ideas and thinking
into religious practices
Conservative
Make some concessions
but maintain certain
traditional practices
Reconstructionists
Individual interpretation
Symbolisms, Metaphors
Judaism, changing cultural force
Orthodox

Orthodox Judaism
• it came into
existence after the
Reform began.
• A branch of Judaism
committed to
retaining traditional
practice and belief.
• They are hesitant
about discarding
any traditional
practices.
Orthodox

Among the things
that they believe
are:
• In synagogues
women are separate
from men
• There must be a
quorum of men for
service to begin
• Only men celebrate
the coming of age
(bar mitzvah)
Orthodox
• Males keep their
heads covered
• Social roles are
strictly separate
(trad.
Men/Women)
• Orthodox
household keep
strict rules about
diet.
Conservative

Frankel Solomon
Schchter was an
early leader of this
branch.
• The Reform movement
was too radical.
• The Torah and the
Talmud must be
followed.
• Practices can vary
from synagogue to
synagogue.
• Most of the worship
service is in Hebrew.
Conservative
• Males wear head
coverings
(yarmulkes or
kippot)
• Members are
encouraged to
observe kashruth,
kosher food laws,
Shabbat and
holidays.
• Change is accepted
but with much study
and discussion and
carefully weighing
all traditions.
Reform Judaism

David Einhorn and
Isaac Mayer Wise
inspired this
movement in the
US.
• The Torah has moral
authority but
ceremonial and
dietary laws are no
longer binding.
• A need for a Jewish
homeland was
recognized.
• An emphasis is
placed on religious
practice, observing
the Sabbath, and
keeping the
holidays.
• Most of the services
are in English and
males are not
required to wear
coverings.
• Men and women can
sit together
• Women can be
ordained as Rabbis.
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism
advocated religious
tolerance, Judaism
could be combined
with secular
culture and
embraced many of
the ideas of the
European
Enlightenment.
More Reform



Reform synagogue has
women and men sitting
together, services are
conducted in both
Hebrew and the native
tongue, there are
choirs and use of
organ.
Traditional ways of
dressing are dropped.
The idea is to totally
modernize Judaism to
be able to survive
contemporary cultures.
Reconstructionist
Judaism


Founded by
Mordecai Kaplan.
Individuals in this
form are
introduced to
traditional Judaism
but are allowed to
individually
interpret elements.



Such things as
angels, prophecy,
revealed law, and
the messiah are
taken as symbols.
God is seen as “the
power which
makes me follow
even higher
ideals.”
Judaism is seen as
a changing cultural
force.
The Holocaust
The Genocide of a People
The Holocaust

Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of
Germany in 1933 began a
campaign to remove the Jews
from Germany and eventually
Europe. He believed that
• Jews were an inferior race.
• Jews were conspirators against
Germany.
• Jewish blood poisoned Germany.
The Holocaust


He identified them and sent most
of them to extermination camps
where they were subjected to
human experimentation among
other things.
They were divided into two
groups--those who were strong
enough to work and those who
were not.
The Holocaust


First Hitler forcibly removed the Jews,
stole their property and harassed
them.
Then he systematically destroyed the
Jews.
The Holocaust


The rest were mostly--women,
children, the sick and the elderly-were killed immediately.
First they used guns but there were
too many--they constructed gas
chambers and crematoria.
The Holocaust


By the end of the war about 12
million people were killed and
they were Jews, homosexuals,
gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
prisoners of war and political
enemies.
About half of those killed were
Jews, approximately 1/3rd of the
Jewish population of the world.
Zionism
Creation of the State of
Isreal
Zionism

Theodore Hertzel was the
founder of the movement which
advocated a Jewish home
country.
Creation of the State of
Israel

Three important steps:
• Idea of a separate Jewish state,
described in a book entitled The Jewish
State.
• The Balfour Declaration of 1917 by the
British government.
• After WWII in part because of the Nazi
slaughter of the Jews the United Nations
voted to divide the British portion of
Palestine for the Jewish State.
Sources
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Slide 3 –
http://www.noharmm.org/images/brisisrael.jpg
Slide 4 –
http://www.wildernessstudio.com/BarMitzvah.html
Slide 5 –
http://www.wildernessstudio.com/JewishWedding.h
tml
Slide 8 – http://www.cmo.nl/pe/pe6/pesach.gif
Slide 9 –
http://www.israelartguide.co.il/yisrael/miryam/5a.jpg
Slide 10 –
http://www.ahavaschesed.com/images/graphics_suk
kot/outside%20sukkot%202000%2002.jpg
Slide 11 – http://ddickerson.igc.org/vinnitsaimages/purim-gnivan.gif
Sources
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Slide 12 – http://www.epopp.com/mojopro/cg/images/rosh%20hashana.jpg
Slide 13 –
http://www.bh.org.il/Images/Virtual_Exh/Photos/16.jpg
Slide 14 – http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~oberle/hanukkah.jpg
http://www.cincinnati.com/holidays/img/postcards/hanukk
ah.jpg
Slide 15 – http://kievershul.tripod.com/holidays.html
Slide 27 –
http://www.jmcponline.org/graphics/sephardi/faces.jpg
Slide 28 –
http://www.jmcponline.org/graphics/ashkenazi/faces.jpg
Slide 29 – http://www.israel-inside.com/falashas.htm
Sources
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Slide 32 –
http://www.peterlanger.com/People/Religion/Judais
m/pages/ILJER063.htm
Slide 33 – http://www.ou.org/mike/atprayer.jpg
Slide 34 – http://i-cias.com/e.o/ill/jud_orth01.jpg
Slide 35 –
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/363_Transp/shecht
er.gif
Slide 36 –
http://www.bethshalomcarrollcounty.org/images/co
nservative.gif
Slide 37 –
http://www.kenesethisrael.org/archive/RabbisSenior/RabbisSenior.htm
Sources
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Slide 38 – http://www.huc.edu/aja/IWise.htm
Slide 39 – http://www.ardom.co.il/maayanbmidbar/pic1.jpg
Slide 40 – http://uahcpsw.org/Cantor%20Choir%205%20.JPG
Slide 41 – http://www.jrf.org/rt/kaplanyoung%20big.gif
Slide 42 –
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/reading/bookexc/gillman_
conservativej/chap5/page75.jpg