Understanding Religion

 

 

The parent religion of Christianity and Islam.

Founder is Abraham who was chosen by God and told to move from Ur to Canaan.

Canaan was the land that was given to Abraham and his descendants to dwell in.Jacob was the father of the twelve sons who make up the twelve tribes of Israel

Followers are called Jews

Jews were disturbed in their history and at one time stayed in Egypt where they were later made slaves

Moses was sent  to liberate and lead them  to Canaaan.He died on the forty year journey nda Joshua became their leader

✓✓Ceremonies/ Festivals

Jewish year starts in September or Otober

New yr's day is called Rosh Hashanah,on this day Jews remember God's creation and judgement of the world

A ram's horn or Shofar is blown in the synagogue to remind people to return to God

The atonement/Yom Kippur come ten days after Rosh Hashana

On this day Jews fast and make public confessions of their sins to be holy

They fast for 24 hrs and spend the whole day in the synagogue wearing white robes.

The feast of tabernacles(Sukkot) comes five days after the day of atonement and lasts for  a week.

This is a harvest festival when they thank God for prividing them with food,water,warmth during their forty year journey to Egypt

Passover is another Jewish festival  when they remember and celebrate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt

Also called feast of unleavened bread.

They prepare special meals and sing songs 

✓✓Key teachings

- The Jews believe in the existence of one God called Yahweh who is the creator.

- The Holy book for the Jews is the Torah which contains the five books of the law also called the Pentateuch.

- Books that make up the Torah are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuterenomy.

- Every Jewish man should read the Torah in the synagogues, Jews are taught not to serve other gods besides God, not to kill and commit adultery.

- These teachings are found as laws in the book of Exodus 20, every Jewish man is taught to pray three times a day, that is in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening.

- Jews also teach that marriage is a holy union, the Jewish woman has a duty to ensure that all food eaten in the home is clean and is according to the Jewish food law.

- By so doing, she keeps the religious purity of a Jewish home, one of the most important teachings of the Jewish religion is to keep Sabbath holy by not doing any work.

✓✓Artefacts and attire

- Every Jewish family is expected to keep and use each of the following religion materials; the Torah, the Menorah, the Mezuzah, the Yad, the star of David and the Dreide.

- The Torah scroll carries the first five books of the Hebrew bible that contain the law.

- The star of David is the symbol of Judaism while the Mezuzah is the sacred scroll inscribed with the prayers from the Torah.

- The Menorah is the seven branded candle stand.

- The Dreidel is a four sided top used in a game played during Hanukkah.

- Hanukkah is a Jew festival for remembering the reopening of the temple.

- The yad is a pointer used when reading the Torah scroll.

- When in prayer and on special days, Jewish men put on a prayer shawl called the tallit, men also put on a kippah on their heads during prayer and on every other day.

✓✓Religious practitioners

- Judaism, like other religions, has special people who perform specific functions during their religious practices, functions, ceremonies and festivals.

- Religions practitioners in Judaism include priests, prophets, rabbis and scribes.

- Priests teach what God would have revealed to the people of Israel.

- They are believed to be mediums who receive direct word from God.

- The prophets speak and recall God’s commands and promises to the people.

- They also make predictions of what the future holds.

- They take God’s place when delivering his message to the people.

- Rabbis are the teachers and spiritual leaders in Judaism.

- The Rabbis are treated are treated with respect and can be called masters.

- A scribe is a person who copies, explains and teaches the law.

✓✓Food laws in Judaism

- Jews believe that physical cleanliness and food cleanliness lead to spiritual purity.

- If a person eats unclean food he or she becomes unclean. In the Jewish home, it is a woman’s duty to make sure that all food is clean according to Jewish food laws.

- Meat and dairy products are not supposed to be served together at the same meal.

- Jews only eat certain kinds of meat as listed in the book of Leviticus 11 and Deutronomy 14.

- The type and preparation is called kosher, this means that it is according to Jewish law. The Jews may eat lamb, beef and chicken.

- These animals should be slaughtered by a trained and ordained person called a shochet.

- The trained shochet makes sure the blood drains quickly from the body of the slaughtered animal and also ensures that there is minimum pain.

- After the animal has been properly slaughtered, the remaining blood is removed by soaking the meat in cold and salted water.

- The Jews do not eat animal blood in remembrance of the blood used to show Jewish houses to God during the plague of the first born in Egypt, God would Passover any house marked with animal blood as a sign that it was a Jewish house.

- The Jews are forbidden from eating food such as pork which does not have split hooves and shell fish that does not have scales, these are regarded as unclean foods.

- The Jews regard the meal table as an alter and ensure that their food is clean before it is eaten.

- The Jews make a prayer of thanksgiving to God for providing them with food.

✓✓Judaism and the environment

- Judaism teaches  that, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein”, (Psalm 24:1).

- The Jews believe in the protection of the earth, such concern shows the important respect the Jews have for the environment.

- The Jews regard the land as primary partner of their covenant with God.

- In the Torah, in the book of Genesis, God gave the land and all that is in it to man.

- God then instructed man to take good care of everything on earth, the Jews believe that since they were given land by Yahweh they should take care of it.

- The Jews preserve environmental species such as old trees, to make children grow with a sense of environmental protection, the Jews undertake outdoor lessons.

- The Jews respect the earth by planting trees during special days such as new year as a way of reforestation.

- The Jews practice environmentally friendly approaches such as conserving the indigenous species and the protection of animals.

- They use environmental products sustainably so as to conserve plants and animal species found in the environment.

- Jews also don’t believe in selling water because they say water is the source of life, because of this some Jewish homes in Harare offer borehole water for free.

Exercise

1.Name the founder of Judaism

2.Whose sons make up Israel's twelve tribes

3.When is the festival of the Jewish new year celebrated

4.Name the symbol for  Judaism

5.Where is the torah read for Jewish men

6.What is the use of the yad

7.What was given to Moses on Mt Sinai

(b) who led the Israelites after Moses

8.List 3 (a)ceremonies

(b)religious

 practitioners

(c)attire/artefacts(d)key teachings in Judaism

9. Which is the holiest day in Judaism

10.How many day are between atonement and sukkot

11.What is the work of rabbi

12.Who predicts what the future holds in Judaism

13.Which event in Judaism are religious practitioners useful

14What does Judaism teach about the environment

(b)What was man asked to do with all creation in the book of Genesis

15.Two food types considered unclean in Judaism

16.How is remaining blood of slaughtered animal removed from meat in Judaism

17.State one book in the Torah which gives food laws for the Jews