Jews are those who experience their long and often difficult history as a continuing dialogue with God. Israel refers to anyone who answers the call. Who acknowledges and strives to obey the one God, through the Torah, or “teaching”, given to the patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. The history has been one of persecution.
Introduction
Judaism is a religion of approximately 15 million people. But it is one the world’s oldest and most enduring religions. Both Christianity and Islam developed from the teachings of Judaism.
Judaism is monotheistic, and has never accepted any other gods or idols. A person serves God by studying the scriptures and practicing what they teach. Teaches that all people were created equal in the image of God and must be treated with dignity and respect.
Judaism has no designated leader, no international body, only local rabbis.
Synagogue- Jewish house of worship, education and community activities. Usually constructed so that worshippers face Jerusalem. Much of the worship takes place in the home. Daily prayers, lighting of Sabbath candles, blessing of food.
The Sabbath- Saturday, the day of rest from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. For some Jews this day means no work, travel or purchasing.
High Holidays- most sacred days of the Jewish year.
Rosh Hashanah- the Jewish New Year, celebrates God’s creation of the Earth.
Yom Kippur- Day of Atonement- fasting and expression of regret for bad deeds.
-at 8 days of age a boy is circumcised- a symbol of the covenant God made with Abraham. At 13 years of age: Bar Mitzvah- boy becomes a member of the synagogue.
Chosen People: God chose the Hebrews to carry out special duties and responsibilities. Makes them especially accountable for their shortcomings= punishments. Judaism does not attempt conversion, religion only of the children of Israel.
Messiah: Judaism believes that God will send a saviour to rescue them. He will lead the Hebrews and destroy their enemies. Christianity claims that that saviour was Jesus Christ (4 BC – 29 AD)
Orthodox, Conservative & Reform
Orthodox Judaism: strictly observes all the traditional Jewish beliefs and way of life. Pray three times a day, wear yarmulkes at all times as a sign of respect for God.
Conservative Judaism: developed during the mid 1800s, interpret scriptures in light of modern knowledge.
Reform Judaism: Consider the Talmud a strictly human creation, follow moral guidelines, not strict observances.
A History of the Jewish People
Jewish history begins with the stories in the Hebrew Bible- Tanakh (Christians: “Old Testament”) The Tanakh ends at approximately the 2nd Century BC. It discusses creation, Moses, the Ten Commandment. See the Talmud.
Biblical Stories
Abraham
Jews hold the Pentateuch-“5 Books of Moses” beginning of the Tanakh as most sacred of the scriptures.
Creation to The God of Abraham
Genesis
Some think the creation story was written in 586 BCE by scholars/ priestly class.
The theme of exile reappears continually in the Hebrew Bible, and later in Jewish history. The Biblical narratives emphasize that the people risk God’s displeasure every time they stray from God’s commands. Continually exiled from their spiritual home and continually seek to return to it. The role of the Jew is to raise the imperfect world back up to the condition of perfection in which God had created it. The way out of exile was wisdom and righteous living.
Story of Noah’s Ark
Israel: ”The one who struggled with God.”
Judaism in Historical Perspective
The encounter of humans with the reality beyond is the foundation of Judaism and Christianity. Yahweh was the God who revealed himself to Moses in a burning bush as the God of the Hebrew patriarchs. “I am who I am”.
Moses led the Israelites out of slavery. Yahweh delivered Israel out of the hands of the Egyptians. Yahweh chose the Israelites to be his instrument in history. For the Jew, the Exodus from Egypt became the central event in religious history.
Exodus 14:31
Exodus 15:2
The Covenant between God and his people. Israel was a religious event, ruled by religious law. Yahweh was the author of a code, given to the people by Moses.
The Torah
The Lord spoke to Israel face-to-face at Sinai, the sacred covenant.
Deut 5:3
Deut 6:4-7
Yahweh and the people had a relationship governed by the covenant. It set out the path of divine life. Yahweh appeared to the people, this determined their destiny, the Destiny of the Israelites.
Deut 30:15-16
The Holocaust
Used to signify the mass slaughter of European Jews by the Nazis during WW2
-worst chapter in human history and religious intolerance at its worst
-Holocaust means “destruction by fire”
Hitler planned to wipe out the entire Jewish population as part of his to conquer the world
-blamed the Jews for many of the economic hardships suffered by Germans
-killed over 6 million Jews, over two thirds of the entire Jewish European population
-Also executed up to 10 million Poles, Gypsies, Russians, communists, homosexuals and disabled persons
Nazi persecution began after Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933
-imposed many laws restricting Jewish employment & travel + deprived Jews of their right of possessions
-prohibited Jews from attending universities, seized their property and businesses
-Nov. 9, 1938, taken the excuse of the assassination of Germany’s ambassador to Paris - Kristallnacht
1939 Germany invaded Poland and gained control over that country’s approximately 3 million Jews
-Jews were forced to move into special enclosed areas of major cities, ghettos
-also forced to work as slave labourers
-1941 - conquered lands consisted of over 10 million Jews, Hitler suggested Final Solution
Special Nazi units followed the rapid advance of Nazi troops and executed all Jews discovered - mass graves
-millions of Jews were also imprisoned in concentration camps
-forced to work as slave labourers in deplorable conditions
-Those who could not work (too old, too young, too sick) were killed in gas chambers using poison gas
-many of those strong enough were also worked to death - others chose to throw themselves on electric fences
-many others died of starvation
-doctors performed cruel experiments on some prisoners, Dr. Joseph Mengele of Auschwitz
Germans kept their actions as secret as possible
-A New York Post headline in 1943 indicated that we knew what was happening in Europe
-major camps at Auschwitz, Dachau, Treblinka, Buchenwald, Sobibor, Berge-Belsen
Anti-Semitism existed in both Canada and the US during the 1930's and 1940's
-desperate Jews were attempting to escape persecution in Germany - denied admittance into North America
-politicians realized the strong anti-Semitic feelings in the country + their own feelings
-Canada’s of Immigration during WW2 stated that “none was too many”
1939 - St. Louis - Ship carrying 907 German Jews was refused permission to enter the USA
-polls showed that 83% opposed allowing Jewish refugees into the country
After WW2 - Zionist movement gained strength
-partly based on world-wide guilt and sorrow for the genocide experienced by Jews
-hundreds of thousands of Jews fled Europe for Palestine - leading to fighting over territory with Arabs
-1947 - UN partitioned Palestine into Arab and Jewish zones
