Fundamental questions

• 1. What is the human condition?– God created humans in his image and endowed them with free will, which

leads to a constant choice between yetzer ha-ra (bad inclinations) and yetzer ha-tov (good inclinations).

• 2. Where are we going?– Judaism emphasizes observance in this life rather than elaborating on the

hereafter. There is, however, the expectation of a Messianic age of peace and justice for humankind in this world and a belief in Olam Ha-Ba (the world to come).

• 3. How do we get there?– We accomplish this through living a life in accordance with God’s will and in

readiness for the coming of the Messianic Age. This will be achieved by:• being the House of Israel or Chosen People• obeying all the mitzvot (commandments) of the Covenant that God has revealed in

the Torah• living according to the Shema.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn the history of the growth of the Hebrew Bible.

2. Explore the history of the Jewish people.

3. Come to understand Jewish taboos, including kosher food laws.

4. Know about the varieties of Judaism in the modern world.

5. Understand the Holocaust.

Key Names, Concepts, and Terms

Page 243

1. Torah

2. Kosher

3. Anti-Semitism

4. Talmud

5. Exodus

6. Mishnah

7. Holocaust

 

Chapter 11

1. Prophet

2. Synagogue

3. Rabbi

4. Gaon

5. Sefer Hazohar

6. Yarmulke

7. Bar Mitzvah

8. Bat Mitzvah

9. Yom Kippur

10. Sabbath (Shabbat)

11. Passover (Pesach)

12. Shavuot

13. Rosh Hashanah

14. Sukkot

15. Chanukah (Hanukkah)

16. Purim

c. 1900-1700 BCEc. 1300-1200

c. 1010-970961-931

722586

c. 535168 BCE

70 CEc. 90

c. 200c. 5001095

c. 1720-17801933-1945

1948 CE

Abraham, the 1st patriarchMoses frees Israelites from EgyptDavid, king of Judah and Israel King Solomon builds 1st Temple Northern kingdom of Israel fallsSouthern kingdom of Judah fallsJews return to JerusalemMaccabean RevoltRomans destroy 2nd TempleCanon of Tanakh setMishnah compiledBabylonian Talmud completedCrusaders massacre JewsEnlightenment in EuropeHolocaust, World War IIState of Israel declared

Timeline

I) Introduction

A. The Challenge of Defining Judaism– Cannot be defined primarily in terms of

religious belief or race.

B. The religion of Judaism generally unified by belief in one god who acts in human affairs and chose the Jewish people as agents

I) Introduction

Judaism, which has no single founder and no central leader or group making theological decisions, is the diverse tradition associated with the Jewish people, who may be defined either as a religious group or as an ethnic group.

I) Introduction

• A History of the Jewish People – The Jewish sense of history begins with the stories

recounted in the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh– Jews hold the “five books of Moses” as the most sacred part

of the scriptures (Torah)– The theme of exile reappears continually in the Hebrew

Bible, and in later Jewish history the people are rendered homeless again and again

Mrl torah

“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor:that is the entire Torah;the rest is commentary;go and learn it.

Hillel the Elder

The Torah

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

II) Biblical Patriarchs A. God Promises Abraham He Will Have Descendants and

They will be God’s Special People with their Own Land Abraham was promised that he would become the father of

a great nation, possess a land, and become a blessing to all people if he were faithful to his part of the covenant with God

B. Abraham is succeeded in the covenant by his son, Isaac, his grandson, Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons. These men are the patriarchs.

Abraham’s Son Isaac, Grandson Jacob, and Twelve Great-Grandsons Become the Fathers of the Hebrew People

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

II) Biblical Patriarchs

c. Hebrew Patriarchal Religion

1. Worshipped one god, often referred to as El

2. Worship was conducted without temples or churches

3. God worshipped by burning animal sacrifices in the open air; temple worship comes much later

4. Basic animistic tendencies in patriarch’s worship

5. Patriarchs circumcised males as sign of covenant with Abraham (although circumcision not unique to Hebrews)

6. Patriarchs kept a Sabbath day

III) ExodusA. The Exodus is one of the most important events in Judaism

B. Abraham Promised Homeland (Canaan) by God, but Descendants Become Slaves in Egypt

C. Story of Liberation from Slavery and Journey out of Egypt (Exodus) are Heart and Soul of Judaism

1. God, calling self YHWH, asks renegade murderer Moses to lead Hebrews out of Egypt by speaking to him through a burning bush

2. Ten miraculous plagues afflict Egypt before the king (pharaoh) agrees to release Hebrew slaves to Moses

3. Pharaoh pursues runaway Hebrews while crossing the Red (or Reed) Sea, which opened miraculously for them and closed again to drown the Egyptian army

D. Their exodus from Egypt, journey to Canaan, and conquest of the land had to be accomplished before God’s promise to Abraham could be fulfilled

IV Sinai and the Law

A. The Israelites came to Mount Sinai during their journey to Canaan

1. YHWH Gives the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments and the Renewal of the Covenant with Abraham

2. They stressed loyalty and obedience to YHWH and decent behavior toward members of the community 

B. The Formation of Mosaic Law during Forty Year Journey in Desert on the Way to Canaan becomes Basis for the Pentateuch (First Five Books of the Hebrew Scriptures)

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

V) Post-Sinai Religious Institutions

A. The years in the Sinai wilderness gave the Jews two other religious institutions:

1. The Ark of the Covenant • Box carrying relics of Exodus and Commandments• Eventually placed in Solomon’s Temple• Likely destroyed with temple by Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.

2. The Tent of Meeting• Provided a place for worship

B.  Hebrews Invade and Conquer Land East of Jordan River, and Under Joshua Invade and Gradually Conquer/Displace Canaanite Peoples

VI) Religion in the Time of the Hebrew Monarchy

A. David, the First Effective King of the Hebrews1. Captures Jerusalem and makes it capital

2. David develops Israel into powerful and wealthy nation

B. The Temple1. David’s son Solomon builds temple in Jerusalem

2. Design for temple similar to Canaanite Baalim temples

3. The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Temple

4. Class of priests practice animal sacrifice in temple

5. Possibly sacred dancing before Ark a form of worship

6. Worship of YHWH took on a more formal status

VI) Religion in the Time of the Hebrew Monarchy

C. The Prophetic Movement1. Prophets as ecstatic visionaries with healing powers

2. The royal prophets: the religious advisors to the king

3. Some prophets denounced wickedness among the people and the kings

4. Four classical Jewish prophets of the eighth century B.C.E. denounce social injustice and call for fidelity to covenant• Amos• Hosea• Isaiah• Micah

5. Classical prophets warn that YHWH will reject the chosen people and take away their land if they do not repent

D. Civil War after Solomon’s Reign Divides Nation into Two Countries: Israel in the North and Judah in the South

E. People of Israel Erased Forever from History by Assyrian Invaders in 722 B.C.E.

VII) Exile and Return

A. After the reign of Solomon, a rebellion split the nation of Israel in two

B. Babylonian Empire Invades Judah (586 B.C.E.), Exiles People1. During Babylonian captivity, certain theological changes were

forced on the Jews

2. The Temple was destroyed and the people were scattered to strange lands

3. While in exile the Judeans encounter Zoroastrianism

4. Prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah teach that YHWH is god of all people in all lands, not a geographically limited deity

5. Cyrus the Persian liberates Judeans from exile

VII) Exile and Return

C. When the Jews returned from Babylon, Ezra was an important figure1. The Priest Ezra (428 B.C.E.) Reforms Judaism After Exile, Begins Process of

Forming Hebrew Scriptures

2. Ezra read Scripture to the citizens of the rebuilt Jerusalem

3. He probably began the process of canonizing books as the word of God

D. The Temple was rebuilt and Jewish life flourished4. Second Temple Built in Jerusalem Sixth Century B.C.E., Lasts Until 70 C.E.

5. Under the Hasmonean kings, three sects of Jews formed in Judaea:• Sadducees: priests and wealthy businesspeople, conservatives intent on preserving the letter of

the law• Pharisees: more liberal citizens from all classes who sought to study the applications of the

Torah to everyday life• Essenes: A third general movement was uncompromising in its piety and its disgust with what it

considered a corrupted priesthood

VIII) Diaspora

A. Diaspora: Scattering of Jews All Around World1. After the Assyrian destruction of Israel, the

scattering of the Jews to foreign lands was called the Diaspora

2. Diaspora both voluntary and forced

3. Large Jewish community in Alexandria compels Jews to translate Hebrew scriptures into Greek (the Septuagint)

VIII) DiasporaB. Synagogue

1. Because the Jews were now separated from each other and the Temple, the institution of the synagogue developed as a center for prayer and study

2. From Greek synagogue, assembly

3. Offers Jews outside Jerusalem opportunity to pray and worship together

4. The rabbi (literally “my master”) emerges as teacher and leader• Attempts to answer how does one apply laws written by nomadic and

agricultural people to Jews in the Iron Age?• inheritors of the Pharisee tradition• founders of rabbinic Judaism, which has defined the major forms of

Jewish practice over the last 2,000 years• teachers, religious decision-makers, and creators of liturgical prayer• Rabbis sought hermeneutical principles for applying god’s law in

Torah to the people• Debates between rabbinical schools arise• Rabbis guide Jews in Diaspora seeking to live differently than non-

Jew (gentile) neighbors

Jewish Synagogue

Definition of Jewish Rabbi

VIII) DiasporaC. Diaspora Jews Hope for Coming Messiah to Defeat the

Enemies of Jews and Re-establish the Davidic Monarchy1. Some Jews consider the Messiah a political figure

2. Some Jews consider the Messiah a military figure

3. Some Jews consider the Messiah a spiritual figure

D. Jewish/Zealot Uprising of 66 C.E.4. Violent revolution against Roman rule of Palestine smashed

by Roman military in 68 C.E.

5. Romans besiege Jerusalem 70 C.E., destroy temple

6. Rabbis meet in Yabneh to discuss future of Judaism, decide on an official list of books in Jewish scriptures; affirm five books of torah, prophetic books

VIII) Diaspora

E. The Mishnah1. A collection of legal commentary that became a milestone of Jewish

history

2. It explains Jewish attempts to live God’s laws

3. Judah ha-Nasi brings together all Jewish legal commentary and disputes since days of Ezra in the Mishnah (repetition)

4. The Mishnah illustrates dilemma of being Jewish without a Jewish nation or temple

5. The Mishnah redefines Judaism as religion of the law• Secondary level of laws added so that keeping them will prevent violating

primary law (Torah)• The Mishnah adds detail and specifics to the Torah in order to guide

religious practice to the true, deeper meaning of the Torah• It also helped to explain how Jews could follow God’s law correctly Jewish

rabbinical leadership moves center of discussion to Galilee region in second century

VIII) Diaspora

F. The Talmud1. Included additional authority on the Mishnah and Torah

2. After compilation of the Mishnah, center of Jewish life and learning moves to Babylon• Zoroastrians in Babylon accepted Jews, who prospered there• Constantine’s granting official status to Christianity in Roman Empire made

life difficult for Jews• Jewish-Christian tensions drive many Jews to Zoroastrian Babylon

3. The Gemara offers additional commentary on Jewish Mishnah and Torah, plus commentary on all areas of Jewish life

4. When Gemara added to Mishnah the result is the Talmud • Palestinian Talmud completed in 425 C.E.• Babylonian Talmud completed in 500 C.E.• Babylonian Talmud three times as large as Palestinian Talmud (2.5 million

words)

VIII) Diaspora

F. The Talmud1. Talmud contains Halachah and Haggadah

• Halachah (the proper way): legal material, debates, decisions• Haggadah (tale, narrative): history, folklore, sermons• 30 percent of Babylonian Talmud is Haggadah

2. Jewish scholars form academies for study of Talmud • Talmud scholars who ran academies known as Gaon• Period from 600-1000 C.E. known as Gaonic period• Saadiah ben Joseph (882-942 C.E.), last great Gaon • Karaite rebellion against authority of Talmud, appeal for return to

pure biblical law

IX) Medieval Judaism

A. Judaism and Islam1. As Islam spread, Muslim tolerance of Judaism was inconsistent 2. Jews in Babylon, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, North Africa, Spain

come under Islamic rule in seventh and early eighth centuries C.E.3. Although Jews resided all over Europe, Spain and Babylon were

favored sites for early Jewish life4. Jews suffer sporadic periods of persecution under Muslims

• Jews and Muslims live in relative harmony and intellectual cooperation under Abbasid Dynasty, Baghdad becomes center of Jewish religious authority

• Persecution begins in 847 C.E.• Jews in Spain were given the option of conversion or expulsion – although

this was not evenly applied• Internal strife afflicts Judaism as Exilarchs and Karaites challenge academic

heads, Geonim

IX) Medieval Judaism

B. Judaism in Spain1. Jewish presence in Spain dates to first century C.E.

2. Jews in Spain persecuted by Christianity: forced to convert or be expelled; law unevenly enforced

3. Muslim conquest of Spain in 711 C.E., begin golden age of freedom and tolerance for Jews

4. Many leading Jewish intellectuals emerge from Spain• Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides) (1135-1204) excelled as physician, Talmud scholar,

philosophy• Maimonides’ Guide to the Perplexed endeavors to synthesize Aristotle’s philosophy

and Judaism

5. Muslim rule of Spain declines in thirteenth century, and resurgent Christians persecute Spanish Jews• Forced conversions to Christianity common, but many conversos secretly practice

Judaism• Thousands of Jews massacred in 1391 C.E.• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expel Jews from Spain in 1492 C.E.• Jews flee to Portugal, Italy, Morocco, Balkans, Turkey

IX) Medieval Judaism

C. Judaism in Other European Nations1. After Babylon and Spain, no clear center of Jewish life

2. Jews settle in many places in Christian Europe and Muslim countries

D. The Crusades3. Crusades begun in 1096 by Pope Innocent II

4. Crusaders undertake both attacks on Muslim countries in Middle East, but also widespread attacks on Jews in Europe

5. By 1286, many Jews fled to Poland and/or Muslim lands

IX) Medieval Judaism• The Kabbalah

1. The Kabbalah (literally: tradition) collects esoteric Jewish writings on angels, demons, magical incantations, charms, witches, ghouls, interpretations of dreams, date of the Messiah’s coming

2. Process of compiling Kabbalah began in Babylon between 500 and 900 C.E., produces the Sefer Yetzirch (Book of Creation)

3. The Sefer Hazohar (Book of Splendor), or the Zohar likely composed by Spanish mystical Jew, Moses de Leon• The Zohar becomes more popular with medieval Jews than Talmud • The Zohar mixes theology, cosmogony, discussions of angels, evil, and far-

fetched numerological analyses of scripture

4. Kabbalahistic group of Spanish exiles forms in Galilee under direction of Isaac Luria (1534-1572)

5. Worldwide Judaism under persecution and expulsion from many Christian countries, find solace in Kabbalah’s mysticism, found in it hope for a coming Messiah

X) Judaism and the Modern World

A. By End of Fifteenth Century Jews Expelled or Made Unwelcome in Nearly Every European Country

B. Jews Begin to Find New Home in Eastern Europe1. By end of sixteenth century a half million Jews in Poland

2. Many Jews in Poland work as tax collectors and landlords

3. In the seventeenth century, Polish Jews were attacked by the uprising of poor Cossacks and Ukrainian peasants

• In 1648 C.E., peasant rebellion in Poland leads to pogroms against Jews, who were identified with nobility

• 1648-1656 C.E., 300-500 thousand Polish Jews killed

X) Judaism and the Modern World

C. The Jews continued to have periods of peace and then persecution

D. In the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation caused Catholic retaliation against Jews1. Protestant Reformation Negatively Impacts Jews

2. Luther made fierce anti-Jewish statements

3. Catholic Counter-Reformation develops an inquisition system that persecutes Jews

E. The Ghetto System Develops to Segregate Jews in One Section of European Cities4. Jews live under curfew and many restrictions

5. Fourth Lateran Council (1215) of Catholic Church decrees that Jews must wear yellow badges

XI) Responses to Modernity

A. Shabbatai Zevi1. Seventeenth century C.E. charismatic figure who claimed to be the

Messiah, raising hopes of Jews worldwide

2. Declared the Messiah by his disciples and raised Jewish hopes all over the world

3. Entered Turkey in 1665 C.E., arrested and given choice: convert to Islam or die

4. When imprisoned in Turkey, Shabbatai Zevi converted to Islam, and crushed the hopes of his followers

B. Moses Mendelssohn (b. 1729)1. German eighteenth century Jew who won respect as poet and

philosopher among German intellectuals

2. Befriends Lessing, possibly subject of Nathan the Wise

3. Encouraged Jews to leave ghettoes, enter modern world, speak German rather than Yiddish

XI) Responses to Modernity

C. Baal Shem Tov (1699-1760 C.E.)1. Israel ben Eliezer preaches God found not in scholarly

research on Bible or Talmud, but in simple heartfelt faith

2. Created the Hasidic movement, which required simple, heartfelt faith instead of scholarly study

3. Renamed Baal Shem Tov (“master of the good name”)

4. Followers, known as the Hasidim, centered in Eastern Europe

5. Hasidim meet opposition from Orthodox rabbis• Contrary to Mendelssohn, Baal Shem Tov teaches Jews to shun

modern world, live own tradition faithfully in own Jewish enclaves• Hasidim more interested in mystical-Kabbalah tradition than

Orthodox rabbis

XI) Responses to Modernity

D. Reform Judaism1. Prohibitions against Jews ending after French Revolution, Jews

entering mainstream European life

2. Many modern Jews seek to reform Judaism to update it and make it easier for Jews to live as mainstream Europeans

3. German Jewish leaders in 1843 teach basics of reform Judaism• Judaism is continuing to develop , there is a continuation in development

of Judaism• The Talmud has no authority for modern Jews• Jews seek no Messiah, and know no homeland but the land of their birth

4. Vernacular displaces Hebrew in reform Jewish worship and kosher food laws relaxed

5. Eastern European and Russian Jews did not reform, faced serious persecution by their governments, many flee

Reform Judaism

XI) Responses to ModernityE. Zionism

1. Latent European anti-Judaism resurfaces in Dreyfus case• In 1894 French captain Alfred Dreyfus accused of betraying French military

secrets during Franco-Prussian war• Anti-Jewish hysteria grips France• Dreyfus convicted on weak evidence, later declared to be “erroneous”

evidence

2. Theodor Herzl is considered the founder of the Zionist movement

3. Jewish reporter Theodore Herzl covered Dreyfus case

4. Herzl and others decide that despite liberal-tolerant facade Jews will never be treated fairly in Europe, must seek own homeland• Zionist movement centered on Herzl’s ideas emerges, settles on Palestine

as best site• Early 1900s C.E. Jews begin buying and settling land in Palestine • In 1909, city of Tel Aviv founded• By 1920, 50,000 Jews living in Palestine• By 1928, 100,000 Jews living in Palestine• By 1931, 175,000 Jews living in Palestine• By 1933, 220,000 Jews living in Palestine

XI) Responses to Modernity

E. Zionism 5. Zionism pleads their case for a Jewish state

6. British Balfour Declaration of 1917 sows seeds of future Middle East wars

• British govern Palestine in early twentieth century• Balfour declares Britain “views with favor the

establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”

• Arab Muslims and Christians in Palestine object to Jewish occupation of their land and homes

• British seek to limit Jewish emigration to Palestine to 15,000 per year in 1939, as many European Jews seeking escape from Hitler

XI) Responses to ModernityF. The Holocaust

1. When Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in the 1930s, he changed the nation into an anti-Semitic dictatorship

2. His leadership caused the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews were taken from their homes and forced into concentration camps

3. While there, about six million Jews were executed or died from disease or starvation Background facts• Nazi Germany’s Nuremberg Laws of 1935 reduce Jews to second class

citizens in Europe• Nazi military moves across Europe, reestablishes ghettos and segregates

Jews• Thousands of Jews arrested and deported to Poland and Eastern Europe to

work as slaves• In 1941 Nazi government of Germany designs “final solution” of Jewish

problem: systematic mass execution of at least six million Jews

XI) Responses to ModernityF. The Holocaust

1. Possible causes• German racism• German troubles following WWI• Nazi madness• Modern efficiency• The silence of the rest of the world

2. Profound lasting impact on Judaism• World Jewish population reduced by one-third• Zionism given a new moral imperative among some Jewish and non-Jewish

thinkers• Jewish theology undergoes crisis

XI) Responses to Modernity

G. The State of Israel1. In 1947 United Nations partitions Palestine into

Jewish and Arab states

2. British leave Palestine in May 1948, Israel proclaims statehood

3. Israel attacked by five Arab states but survives

4. Palestinian refugees flee, live in squalid camps for decades

5. In 1967 and 1973 Arab nations attack Israel, lose more land to Israeli military advances, including old city in Jerusalem

XI) Responses to Modernity

H. Current Variations in Judaism1. Currently 14,117,000 Jews in world, with 1.8 million in New York

City alone—largest concentration in the world

2. Orthodox• Largest group, seeks to preserve traditional Jewish culture and religion

and resist the secularizing elements of modernity• Follow biblical and Talmudic law, favor Hebrew as language of worship• Tends to segregate genders in worship

3. Reform• Centered in United States and Western Europe• Emphasizes universality of traditional Jewish values, interfaith dialogue,

and social activism• Values modernity, seeks perpetual updating of the ancient faith• Prefers vernacular to Hebrew in worship• Does not segregate genders in worship; ordain woman as rabbis

XI) Responses to Modernity

H. Current Variations in Judaism (cont)4. Conservative

• Arises in nineteenth century C.E. under leadership of Sabata Morais as reaction against extremes of Orthodox and Reform

• Intellectual center in Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City• Grounded in rabbinic tradition but more relaxed than Orthodox• More interested in scientific study of the Bible than the Orthodox• Prefers vernacular to Hebrew in worship

5. Reconstructionist Judaism• Grows out of conservative Judaism under leadership of Mordecai M. Kaplan• Judaism is more than a religion—it is a culture that must be lived as a whole• Strongly support the state of Israel

6. Fundamentalist Sectarian Judaism• Hostile to non-Jews• Many active in Israel’s settlement movement• Missionary action directed to non-observant Jews

XII) Jewish Festivals and Holy Days

A. Sabbath (Shabbat)1. The seventh day for rest and worship

2. Most important holy day

3. Begins Friday at sundown, ends Saturday at sundown

B.  Passover (Pesach)1. Commemorates the exodus from Egypt under Moses when

angel of death passed over Jewish homes and killed Egyptians (first born sons)

2. Celebrated with Seder meal in March-April

C. The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)3. Celebration of Weeks, fifty days after Passover (May-June)

4. Commemorates giving of the law (ten commandments) to Moses on Sinai

XII) Jewish Festivals and Holy Days

D. New Year (Rosh Hashanah)1. Celebrated in September-October

commemorating first days of creation

2. Season begins with period of penitence

E. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)3. Follows Rosh Hashanah’s period of penitence

4. Day of abstinence from work, food, and drink

5. Prayers of forgiveness are offered, spend day in synagogue praying for forgiveness of sins and reconciliation

XII) Jewish Festivals and Holy Days

F. The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

1. Five days after Yom Kippur

2. Originally autumn harvest festival, later attached to exodus memorial

3. Remembrance of wandering in the wilderness , commemorates wandering in desert, living in makeshift tabernacles

G. The Feast of Dedication (Chanukah)

4. November-December commemoration of Judas Maccabaeus retaking temple from Greeks in 165 B.C.E.

5. Oil remaining in temple miraculously lasted eight days

6. Jews light candle for eight days to commemorate dedication of the recaptured temple

7. Proximity to Christmas has increased importance of Chanukah for Jews in the United States

XII) Jewish Festivals and Holy Days

H. The Feast of Lots (Purim)

1. Remembrance of victory over Gentile foes

2. February-March commemoration of Jewish victory over enemies plotting to kill them (Book of Esther)

3. Day’s name comes from Story of the Plot: lots were cast to determine which day Jews would be killed

I . The Son of the Commandment (Bar Mitzvah)

4. Rite of passage for thirteen year old boys

5. Reform Jews introduce Bat Mitzvah for Jewish girls

XIII) Judaism TodayA. One of the primary tasks for twenty-first century Jews is

attempting to interpret the Holocaust1. Interpreting the Holocaust Central to Jewish Identity Today

2. Judaism has always sought to understand God through history and to interpret the Exodus experience

3. How can modern-day Jews interpret the Holocaust?

B. Future of the State of Israel Central to Many Jews Today1. Many contemporary Jews see Israel as culmination of all their

centuries of Diaspora wandering

2. Israel is the haven for Jews seeking peace and security from persecution and oppression

3. Israel’s wars often interpreted theologically by many Jews

4. Many disagreements about the extent to which Israel ought to be a secular or a religious state

C. Preserving Identity in Modern Secular World Would be a Concern for Jews

The Essence of Judaism

XIII) Judaism Today

D. Jewish Feminism 1. Some feminists are coming back to religious observance

2. Since the mid-twentieth century, women have taken an active role in claiming their rights to full religious participation

3. They are redefining Judaism from a feminist perspective

E. Jewish Renewal1. Both men and women from varied backgrounds are

being attracted to newly revitalized expressions of Jewish spirituality, and conversions to Judaism seem to be increasing.

American Jews Today

Fundamental questions

• 1. What is the human condition?– God created humans in his image and endowed them with free will, which

leads to a constant choice between yetzer ha-ra (bad inclinations) and yetzer ha-tov (good inclinations).

• 2. Where are we going?– Judaism emphasizes observance in this life rather than elaborating on the

hereafter. There is, however, the expectation of a Messianic age of peace and justice for humankind in this world and a belief in Olam Ha-Ba (the world to come).

• 3. How do we get there?– We accomplish this through living a life in accordance with God’s will and

in readiness for the coming of the Messianic Age. This will be achieved by:• being the House of Israel or Chosen People• obeying all the mitzvot (commandments) of the Covenant that God has revealed in

the Torah• living according to the Shema.