2009/04/29 Taste of Judaism Session #01
Don and I signed up for some Introductory classes in Judaism called Taste of Judaism at Temple Beth-El. We started in late April and finished this week. They were two- hour sessions and I think there were only three of them. We have now signed up for Introduction to Judaism which has eight one-hour sessions. We have enjoyed them all but I think the first session was the best.Don asked for my notes so here they are and they are a little lengthy but I know I will forget if not written down soon.
4/29/09: The first Session: It was taught by Rabbi Micah Streiffer. He said Judaism is about Torah (learning), Worship, and Acts of Kindness. The synagogue is a place of prayer, study and gathering or community. The core components of Judaism are God, Torah, and Israel (meaning the people of Israel). The first five books of the Bible are the most important . These books go up through the death of Moses and tell the story of the foundation of who the Jewish people are. All the subsequent books draw their authority from the first five books.
Temple Beth-El is a reformed congregation which is a liberal brand of Judaism. There are other authoritative books that the Jewish people use. One is the Midrash (means to search) which is a series of books. Jewish people do not have denominations but they call their different "brands" streams. Orthodox is one stream and Reformed is another. Orthodox believe the Bible was written by God and Reformed believe the Bible was written by humans but was inspired by God. Another written authoritative book is the Talmud, the book of Jewish law.
Adam means human being and Adama means earth. God made the first human. There is a connnection between humans and earth. We came from the earth and we should care for it. Also , we were created in God's image . We can make choices. In Judaism, humans are higher than angels because humans can make choices and this is a Godly ability.
Rabbi means teacher. Jews repent on the Day of Atonement which is Yom Kippur. There are several high holy days and Yom Kippur is one of them (comes in the fall of each year) and Rosh Hoshana is another (also in the fall of the year). Rosh Hoshana comes first and Yom Kippur comes second.
Chet means sin in Hebrew and it means missing the mark.
Mit' veh - bringing holiness into the world.
Jews are supposed to pray three times per day as a tradition. To pray is to self-judge. Jewish people are a liturgical people - traditional prayers are a part of something larger. And Jews do personal prayer.
Interesting aside: There is a new Jewish Prayer Book used by the Reformed Jews. It gives English translations of the Hebrew prayers but still opens from what we think of as the American back of the book and the pages turn toward the front. This prayer book is blue, is brand new, contains the prayers in Hebrew and in English, and has made the prayers more gender neutral. The children in Jewish school are still required to say the prayers and learn them in Hebrew. The rabbi found the new prayer book in the room and showed it to us from his desk. We did not handle it but I always meant to ask to see one (didn't though).
YHWH: No vowels - this is the unpronounceable name of God.
