This is my God study questions with answers PDF

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Survey of Judaism and Islam Prof. J. Chadwick Religion-C 357 Instructor Brigham Young University Study questions from the book THIS IS MY GOD by Herman Wouk In preparation for Exam #1 (on your reading of the book) THIS IS MY GOD, be able to answer the following questions. (These are formulated in the order the subjects appear in the book.) PREFACE 1. What does the author now (that is, as of 1987) take for granted?  that an educated Westerner could live a traditional Jewish existence not only without any intellectual sacrifices but much to his enrichment. PROLOGUE 2. What does Wouk call “a formidable intellectual position”?  the belief in God 3. Where does Wouk say Jews today “live as free and equal citizens”?  the United States CHAPTER 1 4. How old is the Jewish people? What does Wouk say has verified this?  over 3000 years old, verified by archaeology 5. Wouk observes that the Bible says Jews descend from three men. Who were they?  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob 6. What is the Hebrew word for the scripture law given to Moses for Israel?  the Torah 7. “To sum up,” says Wouk, who are the Jews?  Israelites, descended from the small nation which came out of the Sinai desert into Canaan 3000 years ago, with a tradition of liberation from Egypt, under a lawgiver and deliverer named Moses 8. What two things does Wouk say determines “who is a Jew”?  descent or faith 9. In Judaism, what is the “path to God” and to whom does it lie open?  right conduct, lies open to Jews and non-Jews 10. For whom does Wouk say he is “sketching Judaism”?  for those who want to know about it, whatever the source of their curiosity (23) CHAPTER 2 11. How does Wouk say Jews can be loyal to both religious law and the law of the land?  in Jewish doctrine both laws are one law. The loyalty is single. (26) 12. What is the one point over which conflict might exist in this issue?  If a state decrees that Jews may not worship their God (27) CHAPTER 3 13. What is the nearest thing to an encyclopedia in Judaism?  The Babylon Talmud (35) 14. By tradition, how many commandments does Judaism (i.e. the Law) have?  613 (35)

15. But how many of those commandments does Wouk say are “key observances”?  24 (a couple of dozen) (36) 16. What does Wouk say is the “core of Judaism”?  right conduct to other people (38) 17. What did Hillel say is the “core of Judaism”?  what is offensive to you do not do to others (39) CHAPTER 4 18. What is the only strictly Jewish symbol in the Ten Commandments?  The Sabbath (47) 19. How many prohibitions are there in the “two tables” (i.e. Ten Commandments)?  7 (against idolatry, perjury, murder, adultery, theft, false witness, covetousness) (47) 20. How many positive commands are there in the “two tablets”?  3 (worship of the one God, honoring of parents, keeping Sabbath) (48) 21. Opinion: What LDS emphasis do you think is contained in these positive commands?  22. What (“in the second place” according to Wouk) does the Sabbath mark?  the founding of the Jewish nation in the Exodus from Egypt (49) 23. The Sabbath is a recurring sign and reminder of … what two things?  creation and Israel’s beginning (51) 24. In the presence of emergency, what vanishes on Sabbath?  all the restrictive laws (52) 25. What does Wouk say is the second layer of Judaism’s bedrock?  common sense (52) 26. What seems to be the definition of Sabbath emergency?  peril to life or limb (52) CHAPTER 5 27. What is the nature of the Jewish religious calendar (Solar, Lunar, Other)  lunar (54) 28. What is Judaism’s spring festival called? (know the English and Hebrew terms)  pesakh (passover) (feast of the exodus) (54) 29. What central and picturesque rite of Passover no longer exists?  the eating of the paschal lamb (55) 30. What is the word “seder” a popular name for?  the feast (56) 31. What is a Hagada?  script of the seder or story (book in Hebrew telling the exodus tale w. some Talmudic embellishment and analysis) (56) 32. What substance has to be completely removed from homes for Passover?  leaven and leavened foods (57) 33. How many days after Passover until the festival of Shavu’ot (i.e. Shavuos)?  50 days (60) 34. What is Shavu’ot (Shavuos) the Hebrew word for? What’s the connection?  weeks (counting of omer was 7 weeks) (60) 35. Why did Greeks call this festival Pentecost? How long does it last?  Pentecost = greek for the 50th day, lasts 1 day, 2 outside Israel (60) 36. What season of the year is the Shavu’ot (Shavuos) festival associated with?  summer (60)

37. In addition to wheat harvest, Shavu’ot is the anniversary of … what?  the Sinai revelation (the anniversary of the Giving of the Law) (60) 38. With what season is the festival of Sukkot (Sukos) associated?  autumn (61) 39. What does the Law of Moses require for seven days at Sukkot (Sukos)?  all Jews live in huts partially roofed by green boughs, palm branches, or piles of reeds (62) 40. What does the Hebrew word Sukkot mean in English (modern & archaic versions)?  modern: harvest-time hut, archaic: tabernacle (62) 41. In the sukkah (suko) what does there have to be room for?  a table and chairs (63) 42. Of the four species carried at Sukkot, what is an etrog (esrog)? What is it like?  a fragrant yellow fruit native to the Holy Land, like a lemon but larger with a curious brownish button at the tip (the withered blossom which never really drops off) (63-64) 43. Along with a palm branch, what two other tree branches are bound and carried?  willow and myrtle (64) 44. What kind of branch is a lulav? What action is done with the lulav?  palm branch, the congregation brought a set out of its treasury and all the worshippers took turns reciting the benediction and waving the branch (64) 45. When does Shemini Atzeret (Sh’mini Atzeres) occur?  8th day (at end of sukos) (64) 46. What is another name for Shemini Atzeret, and what does it mean?  simkhas torah (celebration of the law) (65) 47. But outside the land of Israel, on what day does Simhat Torah (Simkhas Torah) occur?  the added ninth day (65) 48. With what sacred item in their hands do people dance in the synagogue on Simhat Torah?  all the Holy Scrolls (65) 49. What will teach you more than reading forty books on Judaism?  carrying out in a single year the duties and the pleasures of the festivals (66) 50. See note at end of chapter – what Hebrew pronunciation did Wouk’s father use?  Eastern European (66) CHAPTER 6 51. On what day do many Jews, who might not attend any other time, go to synagogue?  yom kippur (67) 52. What is the term for the Jewish new year?  rosh hashana (67) 53. What two days are the High Holy Days?  yom kippur and rosh hashana (10th day of 7th month, 1st day of 7th month) (68) 54. What are two other “days of” names for the period of these holy days?  days of awe, days of repentance (68) 55. On Yom Kippur, what are the five abstentions of the 24 hour fasting period?  eating, drinking, sex, bathing, anointing the body with oil, wearing leather shoes (70) 56. In the metaphor of the High Holy Days, what is written in the scrolls of fate?  every man’s hand has written his deeds of the year past (70) 57. Which of the High Holy Days the day of “horn blowing”?  rosh hashana (71)

58. In the machinery of penitence, atonement begins with two things … what are they?  repairing the injury in full, seeking God’s absolution (72) 59. In Judaism, what is there no machinery for? (two things)  for confession to a human being or for release from sin through an agency on earth (73) 60. Jewish liturgy says three things can “dissolve the evil decree” … what are they?  repentance, prayer, good works (77) CHAPTER 7 61. What three minor (post-Mosaic) holidays does Wouk discuss?  the ninth of av, purim, hanuka (79) 62. What does Tisha B’av mean?  the ninth of av (79) 63. What does Tisha B’Av commemorate?  the capture of Jerusalem and the ruin of two temples (Babylonians broke into temple of Solomon and sacket it, 655 yrs later on same day the Romans destroyed the second temple) (79-81) 64. How do observant Jews mark Tisha B’av (i.e. what do they do or not do)?  a fast and all the Yom Kippur abstinences, no work stoppage. Some eat no meat during first nine days, very pious observe mourning customs (let beard and hair grow, avoid festive events), in last meal before the fast one dish is eated sprinkled with ashes (often an egg). Congregation assembles after sundown in a darkened synagogue, after evening prayers the congregants sit on low stools or on the floor, touch ashes to their foreheads and w candles/flashlights follow the chanting of the dirge over Jerusalem, book of lamentations, sing medieval mourning songs the Keenos w funereal melodies (80) 65. When (in the modern calendar) does Tisha B’av normally occur?  July or August (81) 66. What biblical book is the source for the festival of Purim?  Esther (81) 67. When (in the modern calendar) does Purim normally occur?  February or March (81) 68. Purim is the nearest thing Judaism has to a … what?  carnival (81) 69. What is the Jewish holiday not rooted in the Bible narrative?  Hanuka (84) 70. What does Hanukkah (Hanuka) celebrate?  the successful revolt of the Jews in the days of the Second Temple against the Seleucid Greeks, inheritors of the syyrian chunk of Alexander the Great’s collapsed empire. (8485) 71. Who was the Seleucid king that persecuted the Jews?  Antiochus epiphanes (85) 72. Of what priestly family was Mattathias, who started the revolt?  Hasmonean family (85) 73. Who was the son of Mattathias, and what did he do that Hanukkah celebrates?  Judah Maccabee, recaptured the temple and began eight days of purifying and rededicating ceremonies (85) 74. What does the Hebrew term Hanukkah (Hanuka) mean?

 dedication (85) 75. The oil in the Temple menorah burned for (how many) days on Hanukkah?  8 days (88) CHAPTER 8 76. A traditional Jew prays (how many) times a day? And when?  3 times a day, morning, afternoon, night (92) 77. The synagogue began as a kind of … what?  popular law school (96) 78. What is “the very heart of synagogue practice”?  the reading of the Torah, week by week, in fifty-two sections (96) 79. Synagogue filled “the vacuum at the core of the religion” after what event?  when the first temple fell and the great daily service in Jerusalem stopped (97) 80. The synagogue “evolved into a house of” … what?  worship (97) 81. What is the Shema (Sh’ma), the prayer which Wouk calls the synagogue “creed”?  the essence of our law, contains the one verse of scripture that probably every Jew knows by heart (Deut 6:4) (99-100) 82. What does the word Shema mean, in English?  Hear (99) 83. What is the first verse of scripture of the Shema?  Deut 6:4 (100) 84. What is the Shemone Esray (Shmone Esrai), the prayer Wouk calls the “service”?  the link between the synagogue and the ancient temple (99) 85. What do the words Shemone Esray mean?  The Eighteen (99) 86. AT THIS POINT, please go to the end note section and read the prayers on pp 295-301. 87. What have Jews always clung to as their language of liturgy and prayer?  Hebrew (101) 88. What two general communities of Jews pulled together after the Roman dispersion?  The Ashkenaz of North and East Europe and the Sefard of the Mediterranean lands (104) 89. Where, geographically, do Ashkenazim (the Ashkenazi Jews) have their heritage?  North and East Europe (104) 90. Where, geographically, do the Sefardim (the Sefardi Jews) have their heritage?  Mediterranean lands (104) CHAPTER 9 91. Jewish diet – the Torah gives one brief reason for the laws … what is it?  they will help discipline Israel to holiness (109) 92. From the Bible, what features must an animal have for Jews to be able to eat it?  a spit hoof and cud-chewing (110) 93. Other than the obvious pork, what kinds of animals may Jews not eat?  beasts of prey, rodents, reptiles, swine, horses, pachyderms, primates (110) 94. From the Bible, what features must sea creatures have for Jews to be able to eat them?  fins and scales (111) 95. What kinds of seafood may Jews not eat?

 shellfish (shrimps, oysters, lobsters, sea urchins, snails, mussels, frogs, octopuses, squids…) (111) 96. What kinds of birds does the Torah list as forbidden (proscribed) for eating?  birds of prey or carrion eaters (111) 97. Other than “pure” what is the nearest English word for the meaning of “kosher”?  fit (111) 98. What foods does the word ‘trayf’ (trefe) describe or extend to as used by Jews?  torn (112) 99. The Torah has four main rules for preparing meat. What does the second one forbid?  bars the eating of flesh cut from a live creature, forbids drinking of blood, you shall not boil a kid in the mild of its mother (separation of flesh and dairy food in Hebrew diet), bans suet, bans sciatic nerve of the hindquarter (112-113) 100. How is the third main ruled interpreted today? What cannot be mixed or eaten together?  meat and dairy (food from the ground/sea is eaten with meat meals or dairy meals, meat and mild or their products never appear together on the table, observant homes have separate utensils and crockery for the two types of meals (113) 101. A What is Jewish kosher slaughtering law supposed to insure for the animal involved?  a painless death (114) 102. What is a talit (tallis)? When is it worn for prayer? What does it have on its corners?  a four-cornered fringed shawl, worn for morning prayers, has fringes on its corners 103. The law of fringes is found in what biblical book?  Numbers (121) 104. What are tefillin (phylacteries)? When are they worn for prayers?  a pair of black boxes of leather which tie with leather thongs on forehead and left biceps, worn every morning (121) 105. What is inside the tefillin? How are the tefillin worn?  they enclose small parchment scrolls containing the Sh’ma and other Bible verses, Torah says to bind these words as a symbol on your arms and let them be emblems between your eyes (tie with leather thongs on forehead and left biceps) (121) 106. What Jewish movement discarded the wearing of head covering, tallis, and tefillin?  the Reform movement (121) 107. In Europe, what was the wide, dark skullcap called?  yarmulke (122) 108. It is also customary for women to wear something in the synagogue … what?  a head covering (122) 109. What is a mezuza? What is inside a mezuza? What does the word mezuza mean?  a small case containing these passages written on parchment (passages in the Torah that prescribe the binding of words on head and arm, also require them to write the words on the doorposts), the box is known by the Hebrew word for doorpost, mezuza (122) 110. To what part of a Jewish house is a mezuza affixed (usually with small nails)?  the doorway CHAPTER 10

111. Regarding circumcision (Hebrew bris) what does the Hebrew word bris mean?  covenant (124) 112. Instructor’s note: In Israeli Hebrew, the act is referred to as brit milah  113. Who pronounces the blessing at the ceremony (also called bris) of circumcision?  the father (124) 114. What is a mohel (in the US, often pronounced ‘moyl’)?  circumciser (125) 115. What does the term bar-mitzva mean?  son of the commandment (125) 116. How old is a Jewish boy, at the minimum, when he becomes bar-mitzva?  13 (126) 117. What does the term bat mitzva (bas-mitzva) mean? Who is the ceremony for?  ceremony for girls, means daughter of the commandment (129) 118. The two major Jewish movements (other than orthodoxy) are … what and what?  Reform and conservatism (132) 119. Traditional Jewish separation of men and women in worship goes back to … when?  temple times (almost 2000 yrs old) (132) 120. The ban on musical instruments in the orthodox synagogue is linked to … what?  the custom of mourning for the destruction of the Temple (132) CHAPTER 11 121. One fourth of the vast Talmud consists of material on the subject of … what?  women: seven long tractates treating the relation between the sexes in all its branches (134) 122. How does Judaism regard sex? And for what four purposes?  the cord that secures the union of two lovers for life for shared strength, pleasure, ease, rearing of children (137) 123. When do orthodox Jewish couples sleep apart? Why?  12 days after the masses begin (during) or seven days after they cease, because they rejoin at the time the wife is most likely to conceive (139) 124. How does the orthodox Jewish wife mark the end of the abstinence?  immersion in an ocean, river, or lake or a ritual pool built on an ancient plan (mikva) (140) 125. What is a Jewish ritual immersion pool or font called?  mikva (140) 126. The rite of the pool, which takes a few seconds, is … what?  wholly symbolic (141) 127. Judaism regards divorce as … what?  a catastrophe that is bound to occur in a certain number of mistaken marriages (142) CHAPTER 12 128. What is Kaddish and when is it said?  a refrain in the synagogue liturgy having no open reference to death or mourning, it’s an ancient Aramaic prose-poem sanctifying God’s name and praying for the speedy coming of his kingdom, closed each section of the service, a litany of prayer leader and congregation. (155-156)

129. How long is a Shiva and what is done? How long is a Shloshim and how is it related?  7 days, the mourners remain at home seated on low stools receiving a continuous stream of condolence calls, shloshim is 30 days, they resume normal activity, avoiding places of entertainment and continue to observe certain forms and prayers (155) 130. When do Shiva and Shloshim take place?  first seven days after, after shiva for 30 days CHAPTER 14 131. What does Wouk call the survival of the Bible?  a miracle (162) 132. What five biblical books comprise the Torah?  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (164) 133. What is the theme sounded in the last words of Malachi?  “Remember the Torah of Moses my servant that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel, laws of faith and laws of justice” (167) 134. In Hebrew scripture, the law itself is called … what? Meaning what?  halakha or the way (168) 135. The rest of this literature is light on the law, called … what? Meaning what?  hagada, or the story (169) 136. Scholars call the Hebrew text of the Bible the _M__________ Text.  Masoretic text (172) CHAPTER 15 137. What is the Talmud? What is the Mishna? What is the Gemara?  Talmud: two books run together (Mishna and Gemara, a pair of very old classics of Jewish law some three hundred years apart in time, neither are original works, both are compendiums of life) Mishna: a report of the legal decisions of a line of analysts and judges, the Tanna’im or teachers, stretching over some four hundred years. Rabbi Judah the prince compiled the Mishna (the review) about the year 200 Gemara: legal analysis in Hebrew and Aramaic which can branch off into tales, poems, prayers, history, reminiscence, science, or table talk (the completion) (177) 138. What is the term for the Talmud’s parables, sermons, and allegories?  the hagada (180) 139. What is the Jews’ common law?  the Talmud (181) CHAPTER 16 140. The core of Jewish common law is … what?  precedent (182) 141. What is the “slow veto” in Jewish law?  the veto of the long run or of social process (184-185) 142. What kind of damages does “an eye for an eye” refer to?  theoretical liability (189) CHAPTER 17 143. Who was Maimonides? [in 20 words or less, create your own summary]  the Spanish jew known as the rambam, wrote the Mishna Torah, set in order the Jewish tradition by the critical standards of western intelligence, basically summed up the laws in clear words… (195)

144. What does the term Rambam mean?  rabbi moses ben maimon (194) 145. What was the major literary work of Maimonides?  Mishna Torah (law review) (194) 146. What is the Shulkhan Aruch? [in 20 words or less, create your own summary]  the Ready Table, this commentary made by Joseph Caro, defends Maimonides from the barbs of his enemies, an extract from the house of Joseph. Is the backbone of all rabbinic training, constitutes present-day Jewish law (199) 147. Who produced this work?  Joseph Caro (199) CHAPTER 19 148. What is haskala?  enlightenment (210) 149. Where and when did this enlightenment primarily take place?  Renaissance era Europe (209) CHAPTER 20 150. Who are the Hassidim? And against...