Starter Activity
Look at this picture of a synagogue. Can you name and tell me the
use of each of the things in the picture?
NerA Tamid
The ArkD
B
Menorah
Bimah
C
Torah
E
•To examine parts of daily life for a Jewish person.
•be able to explain differences between how a Jewish person goes
about daily life and how a non-Jewish person does the same.
The Home
Food
Dress
Responsibilities
The Home
You can tell a Jewish home
from other houses by looking
for a MEZUZAH. This is a
small container made of
wood, plastic or metal and
inside it contains a small
piece of parchment
containing some of the most
important words from the
Torah.
The Mezuzah
• The mezuzah is fastened to
the right hand door posts of
Jewish homes.
• Inside is a piece of
parchment known as the
‘klaf’. The words in the
passage are written in
Hebrew by a specially
trained Jewish scribe called
a sofer.
• Every member of the family will
touch the mezuzah before they
enter the house. This reminds them
that God is always present in their
home.
• Every 3 years the klaf inside the
mezuzah case must be taken out
and checked by a scribe. If the ink
has faded or cracked then it must
be replaced. The mezuzah is a very
holy and special object for Jewish
people
Here are a selection of different MEZUZAH. If you
look carefully, you can see some of the parchment
scrolls.
Activity 1
• Copy and complete
the worksheet on
the Mezuzah and
The Shema in your
jotter.
Responsibilities
The Torah sets out very clear responsibilities for the
Mother and Father in Jewish homes.
•Support his family.
•Study the Torah.
•See that his children
study the Torah.
•Feed the family as
the Torah instructs.
•Make sure her son
and husband have the
right clothes.
•Prepare the home for
festivals and the
Sabbath.
•Prepare their
daughter for when she
has her own home.
The Kippah (skull cap)
This is a small cap that is worn during religion ceremonies although
some Jews will wear it all of the time. It shows respect for God.
American Ex -President
George.W.Bush at the Wailing Wall
in Jerusalem.
Prince Charles visiting a Synagogue.
Here are range of different
Kippahs.
Other traditional clothes
These are Tefillin. They are
two small leather boxes with
words from the Shema in
them. One is worn on the
forehead (Shel Rosh) and the
other is worn on the upper
left arm (Shel Yad).
This is prayer shawl called a Tallit.
It has tassels on the edge of the
shawl to remind people who look at
them of the commandments of the
Lord.
Food Glorious Food!
Where do we have
?
 Kashrut Food Laws 
These are the religious laws
that tell Jews what they can
and cannot eat.
Kosher Labelling
Kosher
Label
Where are the food laws ?
• The Ten Commandments are in the 2nd
book of the Torah – called ‘Exodus’.
• There are a total of 613 laws that
Jews have to follow.
• The food laws are in the 3rd book of
theTorah – called ‘Leviticus’.
Kosher ‫כּשּׁ ךּ‬
• Food that Jews are allowed to eat is
called, ‘Kosher’.
• Kosher means = “fit to eat”.
• All plants (tomatoes,
potatoes, fruit etc…) are
Kosher so Jews are allowed to eat those.
• Food that isn’t meat or dairy is called
“pareve”.
Pareve food
Treifah ‫טּ רּפּ הּ‬
• Food that Jews
are NOT allowed
to eat is called,
‘treifah’.
• These foods that are forbidden in Jewish
law are known as “unclean” e.g. insects.
Why do Jews keep these ancient laws?
• Short answer = because the Torah says so!
• Long answer = because being Jewish is
knowing the difference between right and
wrong, good and evil, pure and unclean.
Keeping these rules is another method of
self control.
Kosher fish 
• Jews are allowed to eat fish but the
laws are very strict.
• This means that Jews can only eat
certain types of fish.
• Kosher fish have fins and scales.
Fins and scales 
Fish that are forbidden 
• Jews cannot eat
fish that do not
have fins or
scales – like
shellfish and
eels.
Shellfish 
Kosher birds 
Poultry 
Kosher food laws: Meat
The only meat that can be eaten has to be
from an animal that:
• Has cloven hooves (split
hooves)
• Chews the cud
Eat grass, split hoof 
Animals that are forbidden 
• Any animals
that have a
solid hoof and
do not eat
grass.
Meat and milk 
Jewish kitchens 
• Because the food laws
tell Jews to separate
meat and milk – Jewish
kitchens have two
separate sections.
• One section is for meat.
• One section is for milk.
KOSHER? OR NOT KOSHER?
Lesson Objective
To understand the importance of Jewish food laws
KOSHER? OR NOT KOSHER?
Could the following meals be
eaten?
Cheese burger
Bacon sandwich
Roast beef and vegetables
Fish and chips
Chicken and roast potatoes
Ham sandwich
What did you have for tea last night? If
you were Jewish would you have been able
to have it?
Kosher or not?
yes
no
Is it difficult to keep Kosher?
• It’s not difficult to keep Kosher – what
makes it difficult is that the rest of
the world doesn’t follow the same rules.
• It’s difficult in a non-Kosher restaurant
or in the home of a non Jewish friend.
• It’s difficult if you can’t afford two of
everything for your kitchen!
But why do you think these rules
are important?
•
•
•
•
•
Obeying God – written in the Torah
Love of God
Uniqueness of Jewish people
Tradition
Health
Your task –(practical)
Plan a menu for a Jewish
(Kosher) restaurant.
• Starter
• Choice of main courses.
• Puddings (can have
milky ones if you have
included a vegetarian
main course)
• Drinks
Include illustrations of
the food.