Judaism

Practices

Structure

Conflict

Practices—Major Holidays

• Rosh Hashanah—Jewish New Year.

• Yom Kippur—A focus on repentance.

• Passover—Celebrates God’s faithfulness.

• Chanukah—A celebration of a defeat of Jewish oppression.

Practices Continued

• Bar Mitzvah—Rite of Passage of a boy becoming a man. Age 13.

• Bat Mitzvah—A girl becoming a woman. Age 12.

• Shabbat—Day of rest. Also known as the Sabbath. This starts at sundown on Friday and lasts until sundown on Saturday.

Practices—Clothing

• Tallis—A prayer shawl.

• Yamulkah—Small cap for head to show respect for God.

Practices—Food & Music

• Kosher—Most basically, Jews cannot mix dairy and meat products.

• Music– Klezmer music—

sounds like an upbeat polka.

– Traditional Hymns—Jewish prayer sung to music.

Structure

• Four major sects of Judaism from most strict to least strict.– Hasidic– Orthodox– Conservative– Reform

• Rabbi—Jewish religious leader.

• Temple—Place of worship.

Conflict

• Hebrews were slaves in Egypt.

• Since the Diaspora the Jews have faced persecution around the world.

• The Holocaust—World War II.

• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict over land in Israel/Palestine.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Jewish Population in the world