Judaism Worksheet PDF

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Judaism summary with questions and answers from textbook...

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Judaism Worksheet RS 100 Please fill out this worksheet and upload it to the Canvas page by 11:59pm on March 26th. Your answers to each of these questions should be at least four sentences long.

1. What does Prothero mean when he says that “Judaism is about narrative”? (244) Prothero explains that Judaism begins and ends with a story. He states that, “To be a Jew is to retell a story and to wrestle with its key symbols: the character of God, the people of Israel, and the vexed relationship between the two.” Stephan Prothero then goes on to explain that this religion has everything a good novel has in it. He says “It has sex, deceit, love, murder, transgression, and tragedy or biblical proportions.”

2. What are the two scriptures of Judaism? How do Jews approach these texts? The two scriptures of Judaism are the Hebrew Bible or The Torah and the commandments. The Hebrew bible starts with God’s creation of the world in seven days and with Adam and Eve. Prothero explains that the Torah is made up of three parts: “Torah (in the narrow sense of the five books of Moses), Neviim, and Ketuvim. Throughout the rest of the paragraph the author explains that the Jews approach to this is to keep the narrative of their religion “striving”.

3. What is the central “problem” in Judaism? What is the solution? The central problem in Judaism now is that most of them live between exile and return but also liberation and law. Prothero explains that “For the prophets, ethics was central, and many Reform Jews have located the essence of Judaism in the Golden Rule.” This Golden Rule revision seems promising and is probably the solution.

4. What role does the concept of covenant play in the solution to Judaism’s central “problem”? The author explains that “He later enters into particular covenants with the Israelites through Abraham and Moses.” Prothero then goes on to explain that these “covenants” are blessings from God. In the chapter he says that, “God promises blessings to those who follow His commandments and punishments to those who do not.” It is this that the Jews use to justify why they wanted freedom and how they became servants of God.

5. What are the rules surrounding the observance of the Sabbath in Judaism? Shabbat observance laws are based on the building of the tabernacle. These laws are called "the 39 melachot (works) of Shabbat". Shabbat is a Jewish holiday that symbolizes the connection of Jews with Hashem. Hashem gave the Shabbat as a Jewish rest day in resemblance of day seven' Hashems rest day of world creation. Orthodox Jews believe that Hashem created the world in six days and rested on Shabbat. Shabbat is called the "bond - brit" between Hashem and the Jews. In this holiday their diet is very restricted and they must conduct specific prayers.

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6. What are the customs surrounding the observance of the Passover in Judaism? Major holidays such as Passover showcased people in ancient times gathered in Jerusalem with their agricultural offerings. In this chapter the author explains that there are several mitzvot (events) unique to Passover, which are clear in the customs and rituals of the holiday to this day: matzah; maror; chametz; biur chameitz (removal of leaven from the home); and Haggadah.

7. What are the key life cycle rituals in Judaism? In Judaism, special life cycle rituals have surrounded birth, puberty, marriage, death, and mourning. The author explains that “Jewish mourning practices include a seven-day period of sitting shiva in the home following a burial, Kaddish prayers for the dead, and a death anniversary remembrance called the yahrzeit.” Prothero also states that Jews also performed a ritual that would later be recognized as the “Thirteen Principles”, and goes even further to say that all Jews agree to focus on this part of life.

8. Explain the differences between Reform, Conservative and Orthodox forms of Judaism.

9. What aspects of the tradition do Jewish feminists emphasize?

10. Compare Kabbalistic Judaism with other forms of mysticism (Islamic, Christian and Buddhist) we have read about in this unit....