Dr. Howell and Rabbi Murray Ezring met with an audience of MPUMC people and Temple Israel people to discuss Judaism and Christianity.
Rabbi Ezring began with saying another session is planned on "Are Biblical Miracles Real?" He does not yet have a date to announce.
Dr. Howell began by asking who are the chosen people. He talked about how it felt to be "unchosen" like a teen at a dance who doesn't get asked to dance. It doesn't feel good to be part of the unchosen. God did choose Abraham and Israel.
In Deuteromy 7, God tells Israel not to intermarry with other peoples and to destroy their idols. Deut 7:6 "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the earth, to be his people, his treasured possession." So Chosen means to have responsibility. God asks of us as well as blesses us. Genesis 12: 1-4 "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram went, as the Lord has told him..."
Is God breaking his promise to the Jews by also choosing the rest of the world with Jesus? We think of God as a promise keeper, not an untrustworthy promise breaker. God does the choosing, not humans - so God chooses both - He chooses to bring us all into covenant with him. In Isaiah 43, God chooses and fashions a people and when they sin he blots out their sin and forgives. Isaiah 43: 1-3 "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:23 "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." Then in Isaiah 44, the people choose and fashion a god - it is idolatry when people make their own gods. It is not people who choose gods, rather it is God who chooses and fashions people.
Being a chosen people implies it is God who does the choosing. He can choose more than one group of people. Americans often think they are chosen. But this becomes a way of attaching arrogance to God's name because we think our preferences are God's preferences. It implies that our preferences are the "chosen" ones since we, as Americans, are the chosen.
Christians, over the years, have done terrible things to the Jews and this is tragic since we should be friends of one another.
John Calvin had a high view of God's promises because he said God promised and does not break his promises. Karl Barth at the University of Berlin said Jews are to this day the chosen people of God and if we Christians also have this promise, it is only as guests in their house.
John 4:22 "Salvation is from the Jews."
Romans 9 discusses whether God has rejected his people and the answer comes back, "no". In Romans 11: 1 and 2, Paul writes "I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew." Paul continues that salvation has come to the Gentiles too.
Dr. Howell mentioned a writer (Palikan?) who says the church has suffered due to its loss of Jewish thought. God does not choose a single people but a people. God gave the Torah, the law on how to live a holy life.
In modern politics, what is the Protestant viewpoint on policy about Israel. Are the Palestinians victims and justice should be on their side. Some believe that deeply. Dr. Howell believes we should be in sorrow over the tensions there but we are obligated to be friends of the Jews.
Rabbi Ezring: It feels good to be one of the chosen people. But he thinks actually God calls Jews to be a special people to God, rather than use the word, "chosen." In the Sinai experience, God put Israel in the place of the bridegroom with the Torah as the bride. Torah was a gift before creation even began and he gave it to the people at Sinai. The bride chooses the bridegroom in a wedding. So does this mean the Torah chose Israel. However, the groom also chooses the bride so the choosing is mutual. Israel and the Torah chose each other mutually. There is a story that God offered Torah to other peoples but only Israel chose to accept it.
Jews do not believe they are the only ones with a relationship with God. They are Jewish because of God's covenant with the Jewish people. Jews willingly accept their Jewishness. If they do not, then they are not considered Jewish even though they were ethnically born as a Jew.
He went into the fact that Jews make up only .02% (14MM Jews) of the world's population yet have won 24% of (161 of 700) Nobel Prizes. Jews look at their special relationship with God at a responsibility rather than as giving them privileges. Their efforts in the areas honored by the Nobel Prize are seen as evidence of their striving to meet those responsibilities to the world.
However, Jews think Christians, Muslims and other religious groups have their own path to God. Jews do not think they have the ONLY path to Him. God loves each of us.
Howell: Luke 17:20-21 "Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming and he answered, " the Kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed;....the Kingdom of God is among you." Some translations have Kingdom of God is within you. Dr. Howell thinks this is an unfortunate translation. Jesus was talking to the unchosen at the time he said this and these people were not respected as a group of people so Jesus meaning was that the Kingdom of God was among the people.
Jesus was primarily a Jewish teacher. He did not go around thinking of himself as anything other than that. He told stories in order to teach. His stories were full of the surprise of grace to those who were not chosen. It was all about blessing and God's mercy and grace.
The Kingdom is still out there but it is not wrought yet. Jews accept the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, the 613 commandments are accepted. The Kingdom of Heaven is spiritual and brought to a world with an honest relationship with God.
Ezring on how people are considered Jewish: Nowhere in the Bible does it say Jewishness is only by heredity. You can choose to become a part of the Jewish faith but it is a long process and not to be taken lightly. Ezring says Paul wanted a big population of believers so he did away with the requirement of circumcision (which was painful and not done by other groups back then) to become a member of the Christian community.
Dr. Howell said Paul was not just interested in numbers. His understanding of Jesus was that of a saving story. You did not get to salvation by adherence to laws but the the grace and mercy of God. Paul believed laws made people overly judgmental and people could not keep all of them. Each one was meant to have a core, spiritual meaning. Paul had a transformed view of what the laws meant to convey.
Ezring said Jewish law is not used for judgment but to give a path to the proper way of living. Jews don't accept Pauline thought since it takes away personal responsibility. It takes away the law which is what makes religious life different. In paganism, life has no real value except for what can be given to the gods. The Bible teaches we have value in our eternal soul so it is important how we live and what we bring to the world. The law changed human history and changed the way we look at the value of each other.
Dr. Howell: Christians have loads of rules on how to live. Grace comes and then you want to do good.
Ezring: The Holy Roman Empire was followed by the Crusades. The law slackened and bad things were wrought by Christians.
Howell: Christians have had a bad record of thinking their own warring power is somehow attached to God and religion. The book of James says we need to keep the law and works do count vs Paul who says Gentiles can be part of God's people without adherence to the law.
Christianity began to spread throughout the Mediterranean and Jews and Christians split into two groups.
God's purpose in choosing people: Howell says it is for the task of bringing God's love to everyone else. God chooses unlikely people for his people and we have to respond to his call.
Ezring: Amos 3:2 "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." God is punishing because he chose these people and they were not doing right. When chosen, you are to be a light to other nations. Live a life of goodness, honesty, and openness. Love has to do with trust.
Ezring told of a camp sponsored by houses of worship where youth of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths are brought together and it shows how we need to help one another and honor the rights of all. But faith is tested publicly this way and we need to put it to a private test.
Howell said the accomplishments of the Jews earning Nobel Prizes and other awards is commendable and notable but in the New Testament, we are also called on to embrace the world's poor and lowly.
Ezring was asked if it is possible to be born Jewish and not be Jewish and he answered yes and gave an example of a boy born to a Jewish family, adopted by a Catholic family and who was deemed not to be Jewish when he wanted to go to Israel to open a Christian organization. But he said traditionally, once a Jew always a Jew. If a Jew leaves for another faith and later wants to come back, it is done right away. Jews believe we are all children of God and those who are not part of the chosen Jews still need to follow the covenant laws.
Acts 15 agrees that those who are Jews will continue to follow the law.
Rabbi Ezring spoke of the seven laws of Noah which are inferred from Genesis 9 and 10. Traditional Judaism hold that God gave these laws to Noah and his family to observe when he saved them from the flood. These commandments are:
(1) to establish courts of justice
(2) not to commit blasphemy
(3) not to commit idolatry
(4) not to commit incest and adultery
(5) not to commit bloodshed
(6) not to commit robbery
(7) not to eat flesh cut from a living animal (The way we treat lower forms of life is reflective of your own goodness.)
These commandments are simple and are recognized by most of the world as sound moral principles. Any non-Jew who follows these laws has a place in the world to come. These laws are binding on all people since all people are descendants of Noah. The 613 mitzvah of the Torah are only binding on those who accepted them at Mt. Sinai and on those who take them voluntarily (by conversion). Also the Noahic commandments are applied more leniently to non-Jews than to Jews because non-Jews do not have benefit of the oral Torah to guide them in interpretation. (from jewfaq.org).
Howell: Jesus and Paul were good Jews. Jesus didn't say to make a new religion called Christianity. He taught, he crossed social boundaries and led by example. We do try to mimic Jesus' behavior but we don't say we must mimic Jesus. We can't come close to living like he did. We believe by grace of God and by faith in God, we are saved. Jesus did not think so much about himself. He was focused on others. Abraham did think about himself. Jesus was killed because he didn't defend himself. Jesus as Messiah can be a divisive statement so would rather look at how Jesus loved others.
Martin Buber (Jewish) - When asked about Messiah, said "I'm waiting for the Messiah to come. You think he has already been here and is coming back again. So let's wait for him together."
Isaiah 53 - Asked what suffering servant refers to if not the coming of Jesus, Rabbi Ezring said the suffering servant refers to Israel. In Exodus, Israel is referred to as "my chosen son" so that is how Judaism comes to that conclusion.
Asked about second coming, Howell believes there will be an accounting. How did we use our resources? Ezring believes there will be a time when history will be no more and an end of pain will come and people will live in harmony. God's presence will fill the world. Doesn't know if this will be in form of a personal Messiah or a Messianic era. However, we should all do things because it is right, not because we are trying to bring about a Messianic Era.
Jewish theology is about personal and collective suffering. Judaism is constantly changing to meet the needs of the day and the way people think. God does not get you back for things. We are given free will and we control some things ourselves. Those choices we make have consequences. God set a world order in process and he is not punishing and rewarding every time we act. We learn to find blessings in the world to make life meaningful. God and faith give us strength to face the world.
Judaism is a community religion. Jews can't practice Judaism alone. They need others for prayers, for keeping kosher (which is very difficult). The sense of community and family gives strength. Just witness a bar-mitzvah and you will see that. During Yam Kipper, forgiveness is asked and the prayers don't say "I" apologize but "we" have all sinned. We face judgment together.
Howell: We ave lost communal identity to some extent. We are often there for our personal salvation. Confession is not great in the Christian church. We don't have a corporate confession. Dr. Howell spoke of going to the Holocaust museum and being behind a Jewish group who was saying this is what Christians of Germany did to Jews. Howell apologized to the man and was criticized for doing so.
Ezring says the Holocaust did not bring Jews closer together. Orthodox Jews did not support Israel as a state after. So Jews were at odds over Israel.
On Judgement day, Jews will be judged on what they do. We need right reasons but just doing the right thing gets credited too. So just do it because you are supposed to and if you have right reasons and do it from the heart, maybe you get double credit. But just doing it gets credit too. The rationale for doing something isn't what counts. The fact that you did it is what counts.
Howell mentions an author (Ann Tyler) who said she thinks God should give us credit for what we thought of doing but didn't do.
Upon that the crowd was told we need to disperse. The meeting had lasted about 2 hours.
Showing posts with label Judaism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judaism. Show all posts
2/28/10
2010.02.25 Judaism and Christianity
Rabbi Ezring from Temple Israel spoke at church tonight along with Dr. Howell, our senior minister. They took many questions from the audience and the purpose was to have a dialog between the two religions.
Rabbi Ezring began by asking the audience the meaning of revelation. One of the audience members mentioned that Revelation is the last book of our New Testament Bible. Rabbi Ezring acknowledged that but wanted the meaning of the word which he and others gave as something being revealed, enlightenment. He said that for Jews, revelation occurred at Mt. Sinai when Moses came down from the mountain. It was such a wonderful moment the people were awed by it and asked Moses to meet with God alone and report back. Moses then came back with 16 commandments (not explained but Christians count commandments differently than the Jewish people). In the Jewish Torah, God commands people 613 times. Jews believe these laws or commandments tell us how to live. What God said to Moses is still relevant to us today.
Therefore on Saturdays, Jews don't work. He said he could lead his congregation on Saturday because proclaiming God's word is not work. It is a pleasure.
Right now, Jews are reading Exodus in their services. This talks of Jews having slaves and servants which he said is not comparable to American slavery in the early days of American history. American slavery took an unacceptable form, being cruel often. Slaves in the Bible were treated better. If you hurt a slave back then, you had to free the slave. The law told an ethical way to treat the slave. The law says the punishment for murder (taking life with intent to kill) is always capital punishment. But if you take a life by accident, there are other ways to handle punishment. One thing brought out is that the death of a fetus is not considered murder, at least if the death is caused without intent. He made it clear he is not advocating abortion but Jews look at the life of a fetus differently.
Law can only be understood by the living according to Rabbi Eleazer. That has been Rabbinic attitude since early times and law is important so it can't be determined lightly.
Jews have laws around their food and it is harder for them to go out to eat and find things they are allowed to eat. He says he and Dr. Howell go out sometimes to restaurants and Dr. Howell eats what he wants whereas Rabbi Ezring has to be much more selective due to following Jewish law. For instance, Jews do not mix dairy and meat in case the dairy and meat came from mother and calf which is against Jewish law.
Rabbi Ezring said this struggle between law and the Bible is what being Jewish is about.
Dr. Howell said this importance placed by the Jews on the interpretation of scripture is to be admired and we Christians don't do our interpretations to the same detail. We Christians are more selective in what we think is important in the old laws. We are not about laws but we do think the Bible is special and to be followed.
Matthew's Jesus is interested in the law. The Letter of James says to be doers of the word and not hearers only. So many Christians get confused about the meaning of grace and its role in our responsibility to do works. Many Christians think grace forgives any works. Dr. Howell seems to come down on the side of still needing to do good works whenever we have the opportunity. Paul boasted of obeying the law but in Romans 10:4 said Christ is the end of the law. We don't know his exact meaning for those words. Paul says we can have salvation apart from the law and also said people don't need to be Jewish in order to convert to Christianity. This left open the door for people who did not follow the law to become fully Christian. As Christians we do believe in the law of Moses but we do not follow the food laws and don't believe ourselves bound by them. Yet Paul says we need to leave some for the stranger, the poor, an the hungry when doing our harvest.
Jews are asked to take a leap of action even more than a leap of thought. We Christians are willing to and often do work on Sundays, our Sabbath. Jews are not allowed this. Dr. Howell mentioned a book by Christopher Ringwold about keeping Sabbath holy. But restriction can bring joy. Christians are often more the thinkers about Scripture. As an example, Matthew 5 says Jesus expects us to obey the law. For instance, we are not to kill but Jesus says if we even harbor thoughts of anger, then we have done the equivalent of killing. Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace. So we have lots to ponder in New Testament teachings, some of which seem to conflict.
Rabbi Ezring says there is a a fear of law as it limits us in what we want to do. It limits our free will. God tells us the law but He also gave us free will. Adultery is one law - it says don't mess with another man's wife but it doesn't say don't mess with a single woman. Men did and they wound up with more than one wife this way and it was legal. But in a way, law is not limiting because it evolves over time. Sometimes, law is revolutionary as in the civil rights movement. Those laws came into being as a result of unrest of our African American citizens but we still have a way to go with this as the laws can't just be in print, they must become a part of people's hearts.
He asked can we really love our neighbors as ourselves and he concluded this is don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself. Love your neighbor including the resident alien. This is a commandment too. People ask why love of God does not come first in these laws and Rabbi Ezring says loving other people is how we learn to love God. We must love God's creatures in order to love God. Rabbi Ezring says Jews believe in personal responsibility so they can't get their ideas around one person paying the price for everyone's sins and then responsibility is taken away from the individual.
Dr. Howell said God is interested in all we do and think so we can offend God by our actions. God is mortified and saddened by the actions of some. How do Christians view Jews who are worried about following the law? The effort to do what God says in the law puts Jews in conflict with society at large and society does not do enough to help them follow the law - such as provide kosher food products at all restaurants or planning around Jewish holidays the same as planning is done around Christian holidays.
Rabbi Ezring gave an example of having an election one year on Rosh Hoshana, a holy day which meant Jews should not go out to vote on that date. The election offices would not allow Jews to get absentee ballots because they were not out of town or disabled. This was taken to court and Jews won the right to vote absentee in this case.
Rabbi Ezring said it is only difficult to be a Jew if Jews are in the minority. It is not hard to be a Jew is Israel where Jews are a majority. It is harder there to be Christian.
Someone asked what kind of Messiah the Jews are expecting. He said Jews do not expect an incarnate God. They do not believe God would reduce himself to human body. The Messiah will be anointed and will restore the Davidic Kingdom as King of Israel. When Israel is a Jewish state with a Jewish king, then God will come and his focus will be on the earth and humanity.
Rabbi Ezring does not believe in the miracles that Jesus is said to perform were such big things since he said there were many other rabbis who claimed to do similar things. He doesn't believe any human can die on behalf of others. We all have to answer for our own sins. No one else can do that for us. Judaism lets God judge, not man. There are 39 forms of work not allowed on the Sabbath and there are varying degrees of how Jews observe this. For instance, they are not allowed to shove, carry, winnow, separate, or sponge. Some Jews don't brush their hair on the Sabbath because this could be viewed as separating and some do not bathe as this is sponging. Jews are not allowed to write two letters together. They can write one letter since there is no Hebrew word that is only one letter. So if you write one letter, you have done nothing.
Parents are required to do for their children: teach them about Torah, to read, to trade, and to swim. They also are required to find their children a spouse. They are required to teach children to swim as they need to learn how to "sink or swim," i.e. to take care of themselves.
God left man in the Garden of Eden. When man disobeyed God, man could no longer walk with and be in the physical company of God anymore. God stepped back to let man grow on his own.
Judaism is about relationships - community of and with God, community of individuals and God, and a community of individuals in group. They struggle all the time with what the law means. There are lots of things called abominations in the Torah which are tied to ritual acts. One of them is what is interpreted as homosexuality but Rabbi Ezring does not think it is necessarily homosexuality that is being referenced but one of these ritual acts that is called an abomination.
The essence of Judaism is to live well and do good and put yourself in place of where things are done wrong. We are to try and correct the wrongs of the world.
Rabbi Ezring began by asking the audience the meaning of revelation. One of the audience members mentioned that Revelation is the last book of our New Testament Bible. Rabbi Ezring acknowledged that but wanted the meaning of the word which he and others gave as something being revealed, enlightenment. He said that for Jews, revelation occurred at Mt. Sinai when Moses came down from the mountain. It was such a wonderful moment the people were awed by it and asked Moses to meet with God alone and report back. Moses then came back with 16 commandments (not explained but Christians count commandments differently than the Jewish people). In the Jewish Torah, God commands people 613 times. Jews believe these laws or commandments tell us how to live. What God said to Moses is still relevant to us today.
Therefore on Saturdays, Jews don't work. He said he could lead his congregation on Saturday because proclaiming God's word is not work. It is a pleasure.
Right now, Jews are reading Exodus in their services. This talks of Jews having slaves and servants which he said is not comparable to American slavery in the early days of American history. American slavery took an unacceptable form, being cruel often. Slaves in the Bible were treated better. If you hurt a slave back then, you had to free the slave. The law told an ethical way to treat the slave. The law says the punishment for murder (taking life with intent to kill) is always capital punishment. But if you take a life by accident, there are other ways to handle punishment. One thing brought out is that the death of a fetus is not considered murder, at least if the death is caused without intent. He made it clear he is not advocating abortion but Jews look at the life of a fetus differently.
Law can only be understood by the living according to Rabbi Eleazer. That has been Rabbinic attitude since early times and law is important so it can't be determined lightly.
Jews have laws around their food and it is harder for them to go out to eat and find things they are allowed to eat. He says he and Dr. Howell go out sometimes to restaurants and Dr. Howell eats what he wants whereas Rabbi Ezring has to be much more selective due to following Jewish law. For instance, Jews do not mix dairy and meat in case the dairy and meat came from mother and calf which is against Jewish law.
Rabbi Ezring said this struggle between law and the Bible is what being Jewish is about.
Dr. Howell said this importance placed by the Jews on the interpretation of scripture is to be admired and we Christians don't do our interpretations to the same detail. We Christians are more selective in what we think is important in the old laws. We are not about laws but we do think the Bible is special and to be followed.
Matthew's Jesus is interested in the law. The Letter of James says to be doers of the word and not hearers only. So many Christians get confused about the meaning of grace and its role in our responsibility to do works. Many Christians think grace forgives any works. Dr. Howell seems to come down on the side of still needing to do good works whenever we have the opportunity. Paul boasted of obeying the law but in Romans 10:4 said Christ is the end of the law. We don't know his exact meaning for those words. Paul says we can have salvation apart from the law and also said people don't need to be Jewish in order to convert to Christianity. This left open the door for people who did not follow the law to become fully Christian. As Christians we do believe in the law of Moses but we do not follow the food laws and don't believe ourselves bound by them. Yet Paul says we need to leave some for the stranger, the poor, an the hungry when doing our harvest.
Jews are asked to take a leap of action even more than a leap of thought. We Christians are willing to and often do work on Sundays, our Sabbath. Jews are not allowed this. Dr. Howell mentioned a book by Christopher Ringwold about keeping Sabbath holy. But restriction can bring joy. Christians are often more the thinkers about Scripture. As an example, Matthew 5 says Jesus expects us to obey the law. For instance, we are not to kill but Jesus says if we even harbor thoughts of anger, then we have done the equivalent of killing. Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace. So we have lots to ponder in New Testament teachings, some of which seem to conflict.
Rabbi Ezring says there is a a fear of law as it limits us in what we want to do. It limits our free will. God tells us the law but He also gave us free will. Adultery is one law - it says don't mess with another man's wife but it doesn't say don't mess with a single woman. Men did and they wound up with more than one wife this way and it was legal. But in a way, law is not limiting because it evolves over time. Sometimes, law is revolutionary as in the civil rights movement. Those laws came into being as a result of unrest of our African American citizens but we still have a way to go with this as the laws can't just be in print, they must become a part of people's hearts.
He asked can we really love our neighbors as ourselves and he concluded this is don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself. Love your neighbor including the resident alien. This is a commandment too. People ask why love of God does not come first in these laws and Rabbi Ezring says loving other people is how we learn to love God. We must love God's creatures in order to love God. Rabbi Ezring says Jews believe in personal responsibility so they can't get their ideas around one person paying the price for everyone's sins and then responsibility is taken away from the individual.
Dr. Howell said God is interested in all we do and think so we can offend God by our actions. God is mortified and saddened by the actions of some. How do Christians view Jews who are worried about following the law? The effort to do what God says in the law puts Jews in conflict with society at large and society does not do enough to help them follow the law - such as provide kosher food products at all restaurants or planning around Jewish holidays the same as planning is done around Christian holidays.
Rabbi Ezring gave an example of having an election one year on Rosh Hoshana, a holy day which meant Jews should not go out to vote on that date. The election offices would not allow Jews to get absentee ballots because they were not out of town or disabled. This was taken to court and Jews won the right to vote absentee in this case.
Rabbi Ezring said it is only difficult to be a Jew if Jews are in the minority. It is not hard to be a Jew is Israel where Jews are a majority. It is harder there to be Christian.
Someone asked what kind of Messiah the Jews are expecting. He said Jews do not expect an incarnate God. They do not believe God would reduce himself to human body. The Messiah will be anointed and will restore the Davidic Kingdom as King of Israel. When Israel is a Jewish state with a Jewish king, then God will come and his focus will be on the earth and humanity.
Rabbi Ezring does not believe in the miracles that Jesus is said to perform were such big things since he said there were many other rabbis who claimed to do similar things. He doesn't believe any human can die on behalf of others. We all have to answer for our own sins. No one else can do that for us. Judaism lets God judge, not man. There are 39 forms of work not allowed on the Sabbath and there are varying degrees of how Jews observe this. For instance, they are not allowed to shove, carry, winnow, separate, or sponge. Some Jews don't brush their hair on the Sabbath because this could be viewed as separating and some do not bathe as this is sponging. Jews are not allowed to write two letters together. They can write one letter since there is no Hebrew word that is only one letter. So if you write one letter, you have done nothing.
Parents are required to do for their children: teach them about Torah, to read, to trade, and to swim. They also are required to find their children a spouse. They are required to teach children to swim as they need to learn how to "sink or swim," i.e. to take care of themselves.
God left man in the Garden of Eden. When man disobeyed God, man could no longer walk with and be in the physical company of God anymore. God stepped back to let man grow on his own.
Judaism is about relationships - community of and with God, community of individuals and God, and a community of individuals in group. They struggle all the time with what the law means. There are lots of things called abominations in the Torah which are tied to ritual acts. One of them is what is interpreted as homosexuality but Rabbi Ezring does not think it is necessarily homosexuality that is being referenced but one of these ritual acts that is called an abomination.
The essence of Judaism is to live well and do good and put yourself in place of where things are done wrong. We are to try and correct the wrongs of the world.
12/18/09
2009.12.18 So You Think You Want to Learn Hebrew???!!!!
On December 16, 2009, Barbara and I finished the last of 10 Hebrew 101 classes at Temple Beth-El. In it, we learned the basic Hebrew alphabet (which has no vowels by the way). By this I mean, we learned the symbols and sounds associated with the symbols. Whatever speaking we did was mostly just sounding out the symbols presented with occasional information telling us what the words meant. I don't even think everything we sounded out represented a word or words. Vowels are designated by a series of dots or dashes or apostrophe-looking signs surrounding the letter. Most of these vowel designations are below the letter but some are beside or above. Also, some of the "letters" look VERY similar to other letters so you had to look carefully toward the end to see which letter is which. I liked the letter P, which looks for all the world like a little Pac-Man (including a dot that looks like his eye) from an old Atari game I used to play. The letter K looks very much like our P except the rounded part nearly meets but does not quite meet the line. One version of the letter, F, looks like the pac-man without an eye in it.
Our teacher, Dahlia, was from Israel and was very enthusiastic about her subject. Both Barbara and I thought she was a very good teacher. Many of the other students in class had attended Temple services for years and knew the Hebrew prayers that were often given as examples of words used from the letters we were learning. Barbara, another Oriental-looking lady, and I appeared to be the only three who were not familiar with those prayers so the examples were a little lost on me at least. The Oriental-looking lady was married to a Jewish guy who was in the class and who was always very friendly and nice to Barbara and me. She did not attend the last two classes and often said "Pass" when it was her turn to read a "word." I think her husband was a little disappointed that she gave up and didn't attend the last two classes.
Barbara and I had perfect attendance and neither of us ever "passed" when it was our turn. I wasn't always successful in reading the letters right but I did give it a try.
Some letters such as the M, N, F and TS sounds had two symbols - one if it were inside the word and another symbol if it ended a word. Other letters also had two symbols but had nothing to do with whether it was at the end of the word or not. I think on some of them, you just get to choose which symbol you like best - that was not really explained in any other way. The throaty "CH" (as is said at the end of Bach) sound had three symbols- one of which was a final "CH", the T had two, S has two. Two of the symbols (ayin and alef) were silent but could be put somewhere if you needed to add a vowel designation without a consonant being present.
Proportion of the letters was also important as that is the only way to tell the difference between some letters which look the same except for length or width of a line. A few letters go a bit above the line or a bit below and you need to know which ones are appropriate for that. Lamed (L) was one that went above the line, Final Nun or Nun Sofit (N) was one that went below the line as was final Feh (F), final Tzadi (TS), Kaf (K), and final Khaf (CH).
Also, the teacher made symbols on the board that did not look exactly like those shown in our book. Sometimes that could be confusing. And, vowel sounds can sometimes be silent even though they are shown as part of the word. There were six rules for this that were put on the board every week. I might get used to those rules over time but did not while I was in this class. I was concentrating on what the sounds were for all the symbols. I would have had to take this for quite a while to start adding in the rule variations for vowel sounds.
In Hebrew 102, some of the prayers are read and learned so reading is more important there and I don't feel adequate for that yet. Maybe if I took 101 again, the second time with the base of knowing most of the letters by looking at the symbol - maybe then I could move to 102 with a little more comfort that I would get something from it.
Since I don't have keyboard keys for the symbols we used, this lesson in Hebrew will do for now. I did pick up certain words as Shalom Shabbat, Torah, Alleluia, Amen, Adonai (looks like two apostrophes side by side - these symbols are called Yod and normally have a "Y" sound). The Yod is also used to turn a vowel sound into something more distinct such as an "ah" sound into an "a-ya" sound. But if you see two of these symbols together in a prayer book, the word to say is Adonai.
There are actual symbols for the sound oy (as in toy) and ooey (as in gooey). These were the last two sounds we learned in class.
Overall, I am glad I took this class and I think I will miss it. Barbara told me she practiced in front of her cats so I did a little of that too. Milo slept through most of it and Gray just left the room.
By the way, we went through Halloween, Thanksgiving and part of the Christmas season during all this and one perk is that I got to walk through Barbara's yard at Halloween. I have never seen a more decorated place for Halloween and Don and I had great fun on that adventure - especially at the head-removing witch at the end. Barbara's husband loves the holidays and loves doing up the yard especially at Halloween. I think kids all over the neighborhood must view a visit to their house as their favorite trick or treat place. We also saw the outside Christmas decorations her husband has put up after the class last Wednesday. Beautiful and complete with a countdown sign showing the days, hours and minutes until Christmas. Barbara and I ate at Izzy's Restaurant before the last two classes. The last time, we had a sandwich called the Providence which was a great chicken salad sandwich (not on the menu but available on request - at least when Barbara is the requestor).
Shalom!!!
Our teacher, Dahlia, was from Israel and was very enthusiastic about her subject. Both Barbara and I thought she was a very good teacher. Many of the other students in class had attended Temple services for years and knew the Hebrew prayers that were often given as examples of words used from the letters we were learning. Barbara, another Oriental-looking lady, and I appeared to be the only three who were not familiar with those prayers so the examples were a little lost on me at least. The Oriental-looking lady was married to a Jewish guy who was in the class and who was always very friendly and nice to Barbara and me. She did not attend the last two classes and often said "Pass" when it was her turn to read a "word." I think her husband was a little disappointed that she gave up and didn't attend the last two classes.
Barbara and I had perfect attendance and neither of us ever "passed" when it was our turn. I wasn't always successful in reading the letters right but I did give it a try.
Some letters such as the M, N, F and TS sounds had two symbols - one if it were inside the word and another symbol if it ended a word. Other letters also had two symbols but had nothing to do with whether it was at the end of the word or not. I think on some of them, you just get to choose which symbol you like best - that was not really explained in any other way. The throaty "CH" (as is said at the end of Bach) sound had three symbols- one of which was a final "CH", the T had two, S has two. Two of the symbols (ayin and alef) were silent but could be put somewhere if you needed to add a vowel designation without a consonant being present.
Proportion of the letters was also important as that is the only way to tell the difference between some letters which look the same except for length or width of a line. A few letters go a bit above the line or a bit below and you need to know which ones are appropriate for that. Lamed (L) was one that went above the line, Final Nun or Nun Sofit (N) was one that went below the line as was final Feh (F), final Tzadi (TS), Kaf (K), and final Khaf (CH).
Also, the teacher made symbols on the board that did not look exactly like those shown in our book. Sometimes that could be confusing. And, vowel sounds can sometimes be silent even though they are shown as part of the word. There were six rules for this that were put on the board every week. I might get used to those rules over time but did not while I was in this class. I was concentrating on what the sounds were for all the symbols. I would have had to take this for quite a while to start adding in the rule variations for vowel sounds.
In Hebrew 102, some of the prayers are read and learned so reading is more important there and I don't feel adequate for that yet. Maybe if I took 101 again, the second time with the base of knowing most of the letters by looking at the symbol - maybe then I could move to 102 with a little more comfort that I would get something from it.
Since I don't have keyboard keys for the symbols we used, this lesson in Hebrew will do for now. I did pick up certain words as Shalom Shabbat, Torah, Alleluia, Amen, Adonai (looks like two apostrophes side by side - these symbols are called Yod and normally have a "Y" sound). The Yod is also used to turn a vowel sound into something more distinct such as an "ah" sound into an "a-ya" sound. But if you see two of these symbols together in a prayer book, the word to say is Adonai.
There are actual symbols for the sound oy (as in toy) and ooey (as in gooey). These were the last two sounds we learned in class.
Overall, I am glad I took this class and I think I will miss it. Barbara told me she practiced in front of her cats so I did a little of that too. Milo slept through most of it and Gray just left the room.
By the way, we went through Halloween, Thanksgiving and part of the Christmas season during all this and one perk is that I got to walk through Barbara's yard at Halloween. I have never seen a more decorated place for Halloween and Don and I had great fun on that adventure - especially at the head-removing witch at the end. Barbara's husband loves the holidays and loves doing up the yard especially at Halloween. I think kids all over the neighborhood must view a visit to their house as their favorite trick or treat place. We also saw the outside Christmas decorations her husband has put up after the class last Wednesday. Beautiful and complete with a countdown sign showing the days, hours and minutes until Christmas. Barbara and I ate at Izzy's Restaurant before the last two classes. The last time, we had a sandwich called the Providence which was a great chicken salad sandwich (not on the menu but available on request - at least when Barbara is the requestor).
Shalom!!!
9/25/09
2009.09.14 Tabor on What Kind of Jew was Jesus
Jim Tabor from UNCC gave a talk on "What Kind of Jew was Jesus" based on his archeological experience in the Holy Land and his theological studies. The talk was billed as "Judaism in the time of Jesus" but Professor Tabor indicated he had not known this was the title and he changed it up-front before he gave his talk. Professor has a book called "The Jesus Dynasty". He has a web site with the following link and this particular link leads to other sites having to do with Professor Tabor's work or subjects related to his work:
http://jamestabor.com/
Also this is a good one:
http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/JDTABOR/indexb.html
The first link, www.jamestablr.com, leads to ther links which include sites about the Mt. Zion dig that he has participated in and the Jewish Roman World of Jesus and more.
In his lecture, he said "What new things do texts and archeology tell us?"
He participated in a dig at Mt. Zion and there the archeologists found a snail which had a hole drilled in it. Thje Torah says every Jew has to have a fringes on their clothing with a thread of blue in it. There are also references that this blue dye comes from the shell of a snail. The hole drilled in the shell says there was dye extracted from this particular shell.
Professor Table said Judiaism is not a singular word but a plural word, Judaisms. There were all kinds of sects or groups, all of whom called themselves Jews. Some of the major ones were Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots. These were some of the largest groups extant at the time of Jesus. The Essenes are mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Yet no one identified themselves as being a pure Pharisee, Essene, Sadducee, etc. They took parts of their beliefs from different Sect beliefs, so that there were as many Judaisms as there were people almost.
Hillel was the best known rabbi of Jesus' day. But Jesus did not fit into any of these sects either.
We can use archeology to find out more facts on how people lived in Jesus day and before his day and after his day.
In pictures of the modern day, Jesus has many different looks as well. He showed us pictures of the "Protestant Jesus" which is a very familiar picture from my own childhood and is still in many churches (and homes) today. It shows Jesus facing the viewer's right and a stream of light coming down on his face or radiating from it depending on your perspective. There is the Jewish heritage Jesus which shows a picture of a man with curls and a shawl. And there is an anthopologic image which takes skeletal remains found and recreates the look people of that day would have had.
In Jesus' day, Sepphorus was the largest urban center. It was 3 miles to the Northwest of Nazareth. So Jesus lived in the suburbs of a major city of his time. Sepphorus was being built at the time of Jesus. And it was the center of a North/South route to and from Egypt and an East/West route to and from the sea. This major urban center is now a tell, a ruin where archeologists can dig and find out information about the time. Living in Sepphoris are rulers of Galilee. Herodius is the guy who had John the Baptist beheaded and he lived in Sepphorus.
Hippocretae means merely actor in Greek. It later came to be a derogatory word.
Jesus moves his family to the Sea of Galilee. There are harbors around this sea and you could walk about a mile into it without getting in over your head. Now there are whole docks which are exposed.
Capernaham is the largest population center on the lake. Simon, James, John, came from there. Peter's house was there and has had some excavation. Jesus sets his grouop up at Capernaham. They are all Galileans, coarser than the more urban Sepphorus people.
There is a 2000 year old boat at Migdal which is believed to be a fishing boat like the one Jesus and his disciples would have used. It could hold 15 to 20 people.
In the last days of Jesus, he sets out for Jerusalem. He crosses the Jordan (in John) and hides out in a wadi (ravine). In the last winter of his life he lived in an area beside Samaria (to the north) and Judah (to the south).
He gets to Jerusalem in th elast week of his life and he went to the Temple. There he turned over the money tables and was angry over the way people had turned this house of God into a money-making enterprise. The Romans, Sadducees mainly, had Jesus killed because they ran the temple, they were the priests, and they were beneficiaries of the system of selling sacrificial animals near, at, or in the Temple. These Sadducees lived in palatial homes and now, archeological digs are finding many of these homes. Archeological digs are also finding stone vessels which priests were required to use for eat and drink. And they are finding mosaic frescoes in these ruins.
Jerusalem today is smaller than in the time of Jesus. The temple is on the right in the picture Professor Tabor showed us. The Old City Wall dates from the 1500s during the Turkish period so was not there at time of Jesus. The Older wall is in a different place from the wall people see today as the "Old City Wall."
Now, UNCC is digging in the only place a dig is allowed in the city of Jerusalem. It is a very small area. Other digs are outside the city. Other digs are
Pool of Salom - near Hezekiah Stone. The Pool of Salom is a huge ritual pool for cleansing and healing prior to people entering the Temple.
The threat Jesus represented was economic and social. Masses of the population congregated at the pool - it would have been thousands of people. It was a sacred area wehre people get in to ritually cleanse themselves. Everyone has to be fully immersed. It would be similar to Lourdes to Catholic Christians where there are said to be miraculous properties to the water there. Such areas gather great crowds.
Every day, Jesus comes down from the Mount of Olives and enters at the pool and goes up into the Temple. He is a revolutionary who puts himself into the crowd. It is a volatile situation. The Temple has an Upper Room where Jews commemorate the tomb of David. Tabor believes, the Last Supper was in a private home on Mt. Zion. So think about Jesus at the Pool with masses during the day and in the quiet of a private supper at someone's home for his last night before being taken into custody.
Professor Tabor then showed a picture of some a gate in front of some "steps to nowhere". These steps are believed to have been part of the grand entrance to Herod's palace.
The Via de la Rosa which people follow as the path Jesus took to the crucifixion site dates back to the Crusader period so this was not necesarily the route Jesus took.
So archeology has shown us Jesus was living among aristocrats. The gate in front of the steps to Herod's palace is where Jesus went up and Herod came out and the Jews tried him there. So when you walk or sit on these steps, you touch ground Jesus touched on his last morning. At the time, Herod Antipas was staying in the house of his father. Herod Antipas is half Jewish and would have come to the Temple to cleanse and do worship. Jesus threatened his way of life.
Every family coming to the Temple needed a lamb to sacrifice. It was hard to travel with the lamb so people waited and bought one at the Temple. Then there were other economic benefits to this system such as people needing food and lodging when they got to Jerusalem. Jesus threatened all this. Jesus quoted Jeremiah, "It is written, my house shall be a house of worship for all people. You have made it into a den of robbers."
On a dig that Professor Tabor was on, someone found a bone with a crucifixion nail through it. In archeology, you do not excavate tombs unless they are open already. But some are open and this is where this bone with a nail through it was found. In Roman superstition, a crucifixion nail is believed to bring good luck.
An ossuary (bone box) has been found near Jerusalem believed to contain the remains of Caiphus.
Jesus was probably a stone masonas most houses were made of stone, not wood. Jesus was a carpenter is only in Mark 6. Jesus lived outside Sepphorus, appeared before Pilate but was sent to Herod Antipas. He was not likely a Zealot as they had violent expectations and Jesus did not. Mostly their violent expectations were in the form of "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord."
God will bring judgement in God's own time. Sort of "The Kingdom is already here....but not yet."
Is it easier to associate John with the Essenes. This is partially true. John said don't drink alcohol but also says to share, be content with your wages, etc. John baptized a completely diverse group. The Essenes would not have done that.
Go to http://www.digmountzion.com/ for more information about the dig there.
We also had a handout which Professor Tabor went through quickly.
In the handout, he reiterates the idea of several Judaisms which recognizes the diversity of what we call Jews and Judaism. Josephus tells us much about the major groups of Jews - Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots. Jesus is usually slotted with these last 3 groups of Jews. Contemporary understanding of Mishnah and the Dead Sea Scrolls has added to our understanding of these groups. Archeology is now seen as a sort of fifth Gospel in terms of understanding Jesus in light of geographical evidence.
There was also an Enochian Judaism. It was a kind of Judaism shown in the Book of Enoch which was written between the Old and New Testaments and is not part of our Scripture.
Dead Sea Scrolls were written by "an apocolyptic, wilderness, messianic, new covenant, baptizing, anti-Temple, community..." (quote from handout which cites the quote as being from the Dead Sea Scrolls and written 100 years before Christ.) Writings are attributed to the Essenes.
The handout gives several quotes from the Dead Sea Scrolls which are similar to words and phrases used in the Gospels of the New Testament. Such as "This is a time for preparation of the way into the wilderness."
Jesus was a revolutionary but he was also a humanist. (This is one of my random notes on the handout and I thought it worth putting into this blog somewhere.)
Another Dead Sea Scroll: "They shall separate from the habitation of unjust men and shall go into the wilderness to prepare there the way of Him." This reminds us of the way Jesus joins John the Baptist who talks of preparing the way.
There is a quote about a Prophet and Messiahs of Aaron and Israel which are to come. When are these Messiahs coming? is the question asked.
There is talk of a New Covenant in the land of Damascus. Groups believed they are part of the New Covenant and they believe they are in the end times. This concept of the New Covenant is mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls 100 years before Christ.
There is talk of flesh being sprinked with purifying water and sanctified by cleansing water. It shall be "made clean by the humble submission of his soul to all the precepts of God". This appears to be talk of baptism in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Josephus writes of turning away from wickedness. This is repentence and John the Baptist sounds like an Essene in this way.
The Essenes also say build a sanctuary of people, "He has commanded that a Sanctuary of men be built for Himself, that there they may send up, like the smoke of incense, the works of the Torah." Then Josephus, "They shall atone for sins without flesh of holocausts and the fat of sacrifice and prayer shall be an acceptable frangrance of righteousness."
Another quote from this period (Josephus or Philo?): "All those who freely devote themselves to His truth shall bring all their knowledge, powers, and possessions into the Community of God." This means sell what you have and give proceeds to the community and it parallels Jesus words.
There are many parallels between words like this and Jesus' words but Jesus was not an Essene. They would not have liked him as he talks to Samarian women, takes water from unclean people, i.e., he used un-Kosher utensils. Essenes also say if animal falls in a well on the Sabbath, you cannot get him out. Jesus said to save the animal even on the Sabbath. So Jesus was not an Essene but he came from part of that heritage.
GREAT TALK. Would have liked more than one hour's worth.
8/27/09
2009/08/26 Lesson in Shabbat Service for Friday Evenings
We went back out to Temple Beth-El where Canter Bernard, Rabbi Micah Streiffer, and Rabbi Judy Schindler taught a class on the Shabbat Services for Friday evenings. There are different services for morning and also for holidays.
We arrived about 10 after 7 for the 7:30 class and we found the room without much trouble. Mr. Matt Wells came by to greet the class members about 7:15 but only Don and I were there by then. Anyway it was nice that he thought to come by. A lady brought in lemonade, ice water, and cookies and set up the food on a table.
The class started filling up and Canter Bernard came in and asked someone to go get the class some prayer books for use during class. There was a piano and two chairs in the center of the room.
The Friday night service begins with the Kabbalat Shabbat. This came from the mystics who would go into a field in the evening to welcome the Shabbat as the sun went down. They would welcome Shabbat as people welcome a bride. In today's services, Shabbat is symbolically welcomed by turning to the entrance door (which faces west in synagogues since the altar faces east). Shabbat is a foretaste of the perfect world to come so we welcome it every week.
The Kabbalat Shabbat consists of six Psalms representing the six days of the week gone by. This and other prayers/psalms are chanted in Hebrew by the canter. The congregation often joins in when they are able to use the Hebrew and many are. Some people in class joined in with the canter often during class.
The Psalms making up the Kabbatlat Shabbat are taken from Psalms 95 through 99. In the prayer book, the readings were Psalm 95: 1-7, Psalm 96: 1-6 and 11-13; Psalm 97:1-2 and 10-12; Psalm 98: 1-9; and Psalm 99: 1-5 and 9. The Kabbalat Shabbat is intended to make us think of the week gone by which is busy and difficult to stop the activity of the week. So we are gathering up the week gone by, embracing it, and then letting it go.
The Kabbalat Shabbat begins with the Hebrew version of Psalm 95:1-7 from the Jewish sequence of the Psalms (the Christian sequence may be different) which reads in English:
"Come let us sing joyously to Adonai;
raise a shout for our rock and deliverer;
let us come into His presence with praise;
let us raise a shout for him in song!
For Adonai is a great God,
the great ruler of all divine beings.
In God's hands are the depths of the earth;
the peaks of the mountains are His.
His is the sea, He made it;
and the land, which His hands fashioned.
Come, let us bow down and kneel,
bend the knee before the Lord our maker,
for He is our God,
and we are the people He tends, the flock in His care.
O, if you would but heed God's charge this day"
This chant is followed by the other 5 readings from Psalms included in the Kabbalat Shabbat which are listed above.
The Kabbalat Shabbat is a later addition to the service and the traditional service used to begin with the Bar'chum discussed below.
The Kabbalat Shabbat service is joyful in tenor and mourners do not attend right away after losing a loved one. They attend other services during that time of deep mourning.
Then comes a poem called L'Chah Dodi. The poem is by Shilomo Halere Alkabetz. There are nine verses to this poem but not all nine are done at all services. Usually five or six are chosen and quite often they use the same five or six week after week so the people can get accustomed to them. This is where the congregation stands and faces the back of the church to welcome the bride (Shabbat). (Safardic congregations have a center area where worship is conducted by the rabbi so they cannot face the back as there really isn't one section that is the back.) The L'Chah Dodi was chanted and there were lilting Laladelalalala's added that are nowhere in the Hebrew words in the Prayer Book. Someone asked about that and the answer is that Jewish tradition (nigume - sounds like) goes without words in music. In music, you can get beyond the precise meaning of the text. During the week, we use words all the time. Music doesn't mean anything. The mystics used this to help us get past the words and lift our souls. Some pieces go beyond the words and thus the added ladeladedalalalalala's. It is joyful.
Then we go to Psalms 92 and 93. Psalm 92: 1-7 and 13-16 are chanted and Psalm 93:1-5 is chanted. Psalm 93: 1-5 was demonstrated by the canter. This deals with the completion of creation and 93:1-5 goes:
"Adonai is sovereign,
God is robed in grandeur;
Adonai is robed,
God is girded with strength.
The world stands firm;
it cannot be shaken.
Adonai's throne stands firm from of old;
from eternity You have existed.
The ocean sounds, O Lord,
the ocean sounds its thunder,
the ocean sounds its pounding.
Above the thunder of the mighty waters,
more majestic than the breakers of the sea
is Adonai, majestic on high.
Your decrees are indeed enduring;
holiness befits Your house,
Adonai, for all times."
The next segment of the service is an invitation more than a prayer. It is the Bar'chum and is similar to the call to prayer by the Muslims. This is the call to prayer used in Judaism. Many people stand for this and some people cover their eyes. This is where traditional services began - with the Bar'chum or call to prayer. The previous sections were later additions to the service.
The leader calls out the command (in Hebrew); "Praise Adonai to whom praise is due forever." The congregation replies, "Praise be Adonai to whom praise is due now and forever."
Some of trhe pages of the prayer book have a blue line around it. This is where there are two versions of the same prayer side by side on two pages. You only use one side in this case and you can really choose which to follow. You either follow the right side prayers or the left side prayers but not both. The right side offers the more traditional options for a prayer. The left side gives more interpretive versions of that same prayer. But in any case, one side covers the 2-page spread.
Then comes Ahavat Olam which is a blessing and then the Sh'ma which is central to the service.
Sh'ma is often taught to Jewish children to be said first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It is:
"Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is One."
Then "Blessed is God's glorious majesty forever and ever."
The Hebrew is:
"Sh'ma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Eched." (This is the Hear, O Israel line).
Then "Baruch shem k'vod mulchutz l'olam va-ed." (This is the Blessed is God's ... line).
In the evening service, readings often talk about darkness coming while the morning services talk about light coming.
In the morning service, you might use the Latimah: Baruch atah, Adonai, hama arivim. which is Blessed are You; Adonai is the beginning.
People often stand for the Sh'ma which reminds us of God's Oneness and is not really a prayer. It is not a prayer to God but a reminder to ourselves of God's Oneness. Sometimes people cover their eyes when saying the Sh'ma. People used to sit for this and bend over and cover eyes to make themselves seem small and also to concentrate on prayer and not be distracted.
Then comes the V'ahavta and the L'maan tizk'rn.
Then the Mi Chamachah which is in Torah and was sang during the escape from Egypt.
So we have Welcomed Shabbat and Praised God. Now we do our petitions. Traditonally, people take 3 steps forward to signify the 3 parts of the service. Before we ask God for things, we sing "Adonai, open up my lips, that my mouth may declare your praise." This prayer focuses your mind since sometimes it is harder than other times to get focused on prayer.
In the prayer book, I spotted these words which seemed worth hanging on to:
"Pray as if everything depended on God. Act as if everything depended on you." I like that.
There is a prayer in the prayer book which is a weekday prayer. In it, you pray for 19 things but the Shabbat prayer only asks for 7. On Shabbat, the petitions are removed. This gives God a rest on Shabbat as well.
Avit V'Imahot: This prayer asks that God bless us because our forebears were good, not because we are. We are remembering our parents here. The Shabbat prayer asks that God resurrect the dead or in reformed thinking, instead of resurrect, ask for renewal. It also asks for God's strength, God's holiness (Holy is the day), it asks that God accept our prayers, then we give a prayer of gratitude, a prayer asking for peace, then silent prayer.
Page 86 of the prayer book shows a prayer for abundance. We can ask God indirectly if we don't want to say something so directly as "Blessed are you, Adonai, who blesses our wants and gives us abundance."
On Friday, the Reformed Temple reads Torah in the middle of the service. It used to be read on Shabbat morning and on Monday, Thursday. So it was read Monday, Thursday, and Saturday so the whole Torah was read once per year. But not as many people attend morning service so the Reformed Temple here reads it on Friday evening when more people are in attendance.
Torah services contain songs that ask for blessings such as "May Torah come forth on Israel" or "May people study war no more". Then comes a sermon-like talk which takes the words read in Torah and the rabbi (or sometimes a learned member of the congregation) talks about the reading.
There is a saying about turning Torah around and around for two reasons: (1) it is read through each year during services and (2) it is on scrolls which turn.
Torah is called the Tree of Life. It is alive to the Jewish people and it is on a scroll which turns on wooden rods. So it is a tree because it nurtures us and we live and grow through it.
Closing prayers. Aleim - We have prayed the whole service and we now need a sense of purpose for going into the world. The first prayer at the end of the service is the Aleim where we praise and thank God who has set us (Jews) apart from others. We give thanks that we have a special purpose and we try and lift the world to a perfect state. We (the Jews) are working for a Messianic Age and we all have a piece of that work to do to make the Messianic Age come about.
Kadesh is a reminder we are all part of a chain in this endeavor to bring about the perfect world. This prayer remembers those who came before us. Mourners Kadesh is what this is called but it does not talk about death. It is a doxology (a prayer in praise of God) and we re-commit ourselves to the work of making the world a better place.
It is:
"Exalted and hallowed be God's great name
in the world which God created, according to plan.
May God's majesty be revealed in the days of our lifetime
and the life of all Israel - speedily, imminently, to which we say Amen.
Blessed be God's great name to all eternity.
Blessed, praised, honored, exlalted, extolled, glorified, adored, and lauded
be the name of the Holy Blessed One beyond all earthly words and songs of blessing,
praise, and comfort. To which we all say Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and all Israel.
in which we say Amen.
May the One who creates harmony on high, bring peace to us and to all Israel.
To which we say Amen."
On this, class ended and we visited with other class members. I met a lady named Maxine who told me she is taking Hebrew through individual tutoring over the phone. She arranged this through an organization called Partners in Torah.
We arrived about 10 after 7 for the 7:30 class and we found the room without much trouble. Mr. Matt Wells came by to greet the class members about 7:15 but only Don and I were there by then. Anyway it was nice that he thought to come by. A lady brought in lemonade, ice water, and cookies and set up the food on a table.
The class started filling up and Canter Bernard came in and asked someone to go get the class some prayer books for use during class. There was a piano and two chairs in the center of the room.
The Friday night service begins with the Kabbalat Shabbat. This came from the mystics who would go into a field in the evening to welcome the Shabbat as the sun went down. They would welcome Shabbat as people welcome a bride. In today's services, Shabbat is symbolically welcomed by turning to the entrance door (which faces west in synagogues since the altar faces east). Shabbat is a foretaste of the perfect world to come so we welcome it every week.
The Kabbalat Shabbat consists of six Psalms representing the six days of the week gone by. This and other prayers/psalms are chanted in Hebrew by the canter. The congregation often joins in when they are able to use the Hebrew and many are. Some people in class joined in with the canter often during class.
The Psalms making up the Kabbatlat Shabbat are taken from Psalms 95 through 99. In the prayer book, the readings were Psalm 95: 1-7, Psalm 96: 1-6 and 11-13; Psalm 97:1-2 and 10-12; Psalm 98: 1-9; and Psalm 99: 1-5 and 9. The Kabbalat Shabbat is intended to make us think of the week gone by which is busy and difficult to stop the activity of the week. So we are gathering up the week gone by, embracing it, and then letting it go.
The Kabbalat Shabbat begins with the Hebrew version of Psalm 95:1-7 from the Jewish sequence of the Psalms (the Christian sequence may be different) which reads in English:
"Come let us sing joyously to Adonai;
raise a shout for our rock and deliverer;
let us come into His presence with praise;
let us raise a shout for him in song!
For Adonai is a great God,
the great ruler of all divine beings.
In God's hands are the depths of the earth;
the peaks of the mountains are His.
His is the sea, He made it;
and the land, which His hands fashioned.
Come, let us bow down and kneel,
bend the knee before the Lord our maker,
for He is our God,
and we are the people He tends, the flock in His care.
O, if you would but heed God's charge this day"
This chant is followed by the other 5 readings from Psalms included in the Kabbalat Shabbat which are listed above.
The Kabbalat Shabbat is a later addition to the service and the traditional service used to begin with the Bar'chum discussed below.
The Kabbalat Shabbat service is joyful in tenor and mourners do not attend right away after losing a loved one. They attend other services during that time of deep mourning.
Then comes a poem called L'Chah Dodi. The poem is by Shilomo Halere Alkabetz. There are nine verses to this poem but not all nine are done at all services. Usually five or six are chosen and quite often they use the same five or six week after week so the people can get accustomed to them. This is where the congregation stands and faces the back of the church to welcome the bride (Shabbat). (Safardic congregations have a center area where worship is conducted by the rabbi so they cannot face the back as there really isn't one section that is the back.) The L'Chah Dodi was chanted and there were lilting Laladelalalala's added that are nowhere in the Hebrew words in the Prayer Book. Someone asked about that and the answer is that Jewish tradition (nigume - sounds like) goes without words in music. In music, you can get beyond the precise meaning of the text. During the week, we use words all the time. Music doesn't mean anything. The mystics used this to help us get past the words and lift our souls. Some pieces go beyond the words and thus the added ladeladedalalalalala's. It is joyful.
Then we go to Psalms 92 and 93. Psalm 92: 1-7 and 13-16 are chanted and Psalm 93:1-5 is chanted. Psalm 93: 1-5 was demonstrated by the canter. This deals with the completion of creation and 93:1-5 goes:
"Adonai is sovereign,
God is robed in grandeur;
Adonai is robed,
God is girded with strength.
The world stands firm;
it cannot be shaken.
Adonai's throne stands firm from of old;
from eternity You have existed.
The ocean sounds, O Lord,
the ocean sounds its thunder,
the ocean sounds its pounding.
Above the thunder of the mighty waters,
more majestic than the breakers of the sea
is Adonai, majestic on high.
Your decrees are indeed enduring;
holiness befits Your house,
Adonai, for all times."
The next segment of the service is an invitation more than a prayer. It is the Bar'chum and is similar to the call to prayer by the Muslims. This is the call to prayer used in Judaism. Many people stand for this and some people cover their eyes. This is where traditional services began - with the Bar'chum or call to prayer. The previous sections were later additions to the service.
The leader calls out the command (in Hebrew); "Praise Adonai to whom praise is due forever." The congregation replies, "Praise be Adonai to whom praise is due now and forever."
Some of trhe pages of the prayer book have a blue line around it. This is where there are two versions of the same prayer side by side on two pages. You only use one side in this case and you can really choose which to follow. You either follow the right side prayers or the left side prayers but not both. The right side offers the more traditional options for a prayer. The left side gives more interpretive versions of that same prayer. But in any case, one side covers the 2-page spread.
Then comes Ahavat Olam which is a blessing and then the Sh'ma which is central to the service.
Sh'ma is often taught to Jewish children to be said first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It is:
"Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is One."
Then "Blessed is God's glorious majesty forever and ever."
The Hebrew is:
"Sh'ma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Eched." (This is the Hear, O Israel line).
Then "Baruch shem k'vod mulchutz l'olam va-ed." (This is the Blessed is God's ... line).
In the evening service, readings often talk about darkness coming while the morning services talk about light coming.
In the morning service, you might use the Latimah: Baruch atah, Adonai, hama arivim. which is Blessed are You; Adonai is the beginning.
People often stand for the Sh'ma which reminds us of God's Oneness and is not really a prayer. It is not a prayer to God but a reminder to ourselves of God's Oneness. Sometimes people cover their eyes when saying the Sh'ma. People used to sit for this and bend over and cover eyes to make themselves seem small and also to concentrate on prayer and not be distracted.
Then comes the V'ahavta and the L'maan tizk'rn.
Then the Mi Chamachah which is in Torah and was sang during the escape from Egypt.
So we have Welcomed Shabbat and Praised God. Now we do our petitions. Traditonally, people take 3 steps forward to signify the 3 parts of the service. Before we ask God for things, we sing "Adonai, open up my lips, that my mouth may declare your praise." This prayer focuses your mind since sometimes it is harder than other times to get focused on prayer.
In the prayer book, I spotted these words which seemed worth hanging on to:
"Pray as if everything depended on God. Act as if everything depended on you." I like that.
There is a prayer in the prayer book which is a weekday prayer. In it, you pray for 19 things but the Shabbat prayer only asks for 7. On Shabbat, the petitions are removed. This gives God a rest on Shabbat as well.
Avit V'Imahot: This prayer asks that God bless us because our forebears were good, not because we are. We are remembering our parents here. The Shabbat prayer asks that God resurrect the dead or in reformed thinking, instead of resurrect, ask for renewal. It also asks for God's strength, God's holiness (Holy is the day), it asks that God accept our prayers, then we give a prayer of gratitude, a prayer asking for peace, then silent prayer.
Page 86 of the prayer book shows a prayer for abundance. We can ask God indirectly if we don't want to say something so directly as "Blessed are you, Adonai, who blesses our wants and gives us abundance."
On Friday, the Reformed Temple reads Torah in the middle of the service. It used to be read on Shabbat morning and on Monday, Thursday. So it was read Monday, Thursday, and Saturday so the whole Torah was read once per year. But not as many people attend morning service so the Reformed Temple here reads it on Friday evening when more people are in attendance.
Torah services contain songs that ask for blessings such as "May Torah come forth on Israel" or "May people study war no more". Then comes a sermon-like talk which takes the words read in Torah and the rabbi (or sometimes a learned member of the congregation) talks about the reading.
There is a saying about turning Torah around and around for two reasons: (1) it is read through each year during services and (2) it is on scrolls which turn.
Torah is called the Tree of Life. It is alive to the Jewish people and it is on a scroll which turns on wooden rods. So it is a tree because it nurtures us and we live and grow through it.
Closing prayers. Aleim - We have prayed the whole service and we now need a sense of purpose for going into the world. The first prayer at the end of the service is the Aleim where we praise and thank God who has set us (Jews) apart from others. We give thanks that we have a special purpose and we try and lift the world to a perfect state. We (the Jews) are working for a Messianic Age and we all have a piece of that work to do to make the Messianic Age come about.
Kadesh is a reminder we are all part of a chain in this endeavor to bring about the perfect world. This prayer remembers those who came before us. Mourners Kadesh is what this is called but it does not talk about death. It is a doxology (a prayer in praise of God) and we re-commit ourselves to the work of making the world a better place.
It is:
"Exalted and hallowed be God's great name
in the world which God created, according to plan.
May God's majesty be revealed in the days of our lifetime
and the life of all Israel - speedily, imminently, to which we say Amen.
Blessed be God's great name to all eternity.
Blessed, praised, honored, exlalted, extolled, glorified, adored, and lauded
be the name of the Holy Blessed One beyond all earthly words and songs of blessing,
praise, and comfort. To which we all say Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and all Israel.
in which we say Amen.
May the One who creates harmony on high, bring peace to us and to all Israel.
To which we say Amen."
On this, class ended and we visited with other class members. I met a lady named Maxine who told me she is taking Hebrew through individual tutoring over the phone. She arranged this through an organization called Partners in Torah.
7/16/09
2009/07/15 Eighth Introduction to Judaism Class Notes
Teacher: Rabbi Judy Schindler
Class Members Present were Jonathan Stewart, Beth Stewart, Tammy Hawa, Melanie Pace, Nikki Lathrop, Malia Daniels (engaged to Ricky Segal), and Ricky Segal.
We began by going around and saying what each was going to do with these classes. Most were planning to convert or had taken the classes as a refresher or to be with the one who might convert. Don, Melanie and I were not planning to convert but had each gotten much meaning out of the classes. Judaism is certainly a rich and wonderful faith tradition from which Christians can gain insight into their own roots, I think. There are other classes being offered. I think the classe geared more toward conversion are called Finding Your Inner Jewish Identity (FIJI) and there is also a Jewish University at Beth-El where much more can be learned about Judaism. Both are offered at the same time and there is a study of Torah going on right now that sounds very detailed and informative, not just about the written Torah but the Talmud and other information about it as well. More info on both is available on the Web Site, www.beth-el.com .
Rabbi Schindler began by saying all faiths have their truths and not everyone needs to believe alike.
There are differences between what Judaism and Christianity teaches. Rabbi Schindler said to imagine we were the rabbi and people come to you and ask about marrying a Jewish person and a Christian. What advice would you give? But first, we went over the differences she had compiled for our class and she let the class come up with ideas as well.
Christian Beliefs compared to Jewish Beliefs:
Christians have a New Testament in addition to the Hebrew Bible which they call the Old Testament. Jews have the Hebrew Bible plus oral tradition and other writings such as the Talmud. The Hebrew Bible for the Jews is not in the same order as the "Old Testament" in the Christian Bible.
Christians believe the Messiah has come and he was a man called Jesus. Jews believe the Messiah will come but has not come yet. He will come when the world is perfect and Jews strive to live their lives so that the world becomes a place where it is acceptable for the Messiah to come.
Christians believe in God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a monolithic view. There is one God but three parts to God. Jews have many images of God but there is only one God. The Orthodox view of God is more rigid while the Reformed view is more liberal.
Christians are evangelical. They proselytize, hoping to win converts. Judaism is more closed. It is said they turn away people three times saying, you just think you want to convert. We are a persecuted people, why do you want to be Jewish? They want true inner conviction that someone wants to convert, not just that their spouse is Jewish so they want to be Jewish too or any other reason that might be outside their true desire to be Jewish. Reform Judaism is more open to these conversions than the Orthodox.
Christian Old Testament ends with Malachi and the last verse ends with "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." These words indicate that Israel might be rejected rather than the Jewish hope that they will return to Zion someday. Thus, Jesus is made to succeed and supplant the Hebrew prophets. And also, the old covenant is broken and Israel comes to depend on the resurrected Savior for redemption. The Jewish Bible is not in the same order as the Christian Bible and the last book is II Chronicles. The last verse refers to King Cyrus who is charged with rebuilding God's Temple in Jerusalem. Cyrus is referred to as a messiah, the anointed one, meshiach. He proclaims to the Jewish people "Whoever is among you of God's people, may the Lord be with you. Go up!" This is a more hopeful message to the Jewish people than the rejection indicated by Malachi.
Christians believe in original sin and that man is guilty of sin throughout life although forgiveness can be sought and granted. Christians confess sin in most of their services on a regular basis. Jews do not believe in original sin. They believe we are born with negatives and positives and that we must learn to reign in our bad side. In other words, we all sin and we then get it right. We learn to do better. They say "We have sinned" as a community, not "I have sinned." There is a confessional deathbed prayer that is said that basically asks God to take the dying person into his care and says the person has tried to live a good life.
There are 613 commandments in Judaism. 365 are positive and 248 are negative. Since there are no more animal sacrifices, there are about 300 laws for which Jews are responsible for following.
We went on to read some New Testament scripture and see that things changed from one scripture to the next.
Matthew 5: 17-19 says "Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets. I tell you solemnly, til Heaven and Earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved." It goes on to say that keeping the Law will make one considered great in the kingdom of heaven and infringement of the law will make one be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. But then in Galatians 2:15, the New Testament says, "Though we were born Jews and not pagan sinners, we acknowledge that what makes a man righteous is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Jesus Christ." So Christians believe faith is the key to gaining heaven. Jews believe their actions are what get them to heaven. So to Jews, actions are very important.
Matthew 7:12 says "So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets." This (Christian) wording means to treat others as you would like to be treated and is different from the Old Testament (Jewish) "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Chrhistian: Matthew: 19:16-22 tries to reduce the law (613) down to five, with four of the five being part of the ten commandments. In this reading, a young man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to possess eternal life and Jesus tells him "These. You must not kill, You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness, Honor your father and mother; and, you must love your neighbor as yourself." When the man says he has kept all these, he asks what else? Jesus tells him, "'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth." Giving up all you own is not a Jewish belief. Jews believe in giving but people are not required to live in poverty.
Jews want their good deeds to outweigh their bad deeds so that at the end of life the scales are weighted toward the good deeds. Christians put more emphasis on faith. Leviticus 18:5 says "The Law is not even based on faith, since we are told: the man who practices these precepts finds life through practicing them." So, again Judaism is based more on actions rather than faith.
In Galations 5:1-6, Paul tells people if they allow themselves to be circumcised then Jesus will not be of benefit to them. "With all solemnity I repeat my warning: Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged to keep the whole Law. But if you look to the Law to make you justified, then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace. Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for those rewards that righteousness hopes for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference - what matters is faith that expresses itself in love." Paul is looking upon circumcision not as a medical act but one of putting oneself in with the covenant of the Jewish people and he is saying don't do that.
Another difference between Christians and Jews is that of prayer. Christians do pray alone and Jews do more in the way of community prayer. Matthew 6:5-6 says "And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. I tell you solemnly, they have their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." In Judaism, there are some prayers that require a group of 10 people to be said such as Kaddish. A time for individual prayer is giving during Shabbat services but some of the prayers that are said at each service require a minion (group of 10).
Christians have different takes on whether divorce is allowed and under what circumstances. Catholics almost do not allow it unless there is abuse involved. Matthew 5: 31-32 "It has also been said, Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adultress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Jews allow divorce under certain circumstances such as adultery. Reform Jews allow it more leniently than the Orthodox since if the love is gone out of a relationship, why make it continue. This does not mean that people should not try or should give up too easily. But when a divorce is granted, the wife must have a "get" which gives the wife money and other things on which to live. This is agreed on at marriage and must be honored. In Hebrew the word man is pronounced Eesh and woman is Eesha (sorry, I don't know the spelling). When they marry, they come together and the two should be stronger than the one. When this bond is broken, then they should separate.
Christians believe Jesus is the suffering servant referred to in Isaiah 42: 1-4. Jews believe we are all suffering servants. Jews believe they were chosen for the responsibility of keeping the commandments. Jews - we lost the Temple and we are all suffering servants but we will get the Temple back. Isaiah 42: 1-4 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, My beloved, the favorite of my soul. I will endow him with my spirit, And he will proclaim the true faith to the nations. He will not brawl or shout, Nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets, He will not break the crushed reed, Nor put out the smouldering wick Till he has led the truth to victory; In his name the nations will put their hope."
Matthew 13: 24-30 was read where good seed (wheat) was mixed with bad (darnel). The master said to await the harvest when the wheat and darnel would be separated and the darnel burned. Then in Matthew 13:36-43, Jesus explained the parable as meaning "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingsom all things that provoke offenses and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Christians believe John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life." Jews do not believe God can be in human form.
Christianity believes you must believe in Jesus as Savior and Messiah to be saved.
Mark 16:16: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." And Acts 4:12: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." And Matthew 21:22: "And if you have faith, everything you ask for in prayer you will receive."
In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus says He has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth and tells his disciples to go to all nations and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jews believe there is a coming Messiah (meaning anointed) who will restore the Davidic kingdom and act as God's agent in bringing about the Messianic age. It was asked whether we can identify those who are David's descendants and the answer is that Elijah will return and identify this Messiah for us. In Kings, Elijah did not die and Jews believe he is here in evey generation. He won't reveal the Messiah until we deserve it. The Messiah will bring peace to the land and He will be a military leader, but one who has laid down his sword. This last part was put in later as we discussed whether He would be a warring "person." The rabbi will try and find more about this descendant of David and email Don with some more information about it. However, it is believed this Messiah will bring about a time of peace in the land and the Messianic age will be a time of perfection. It is important to do good in order to help bring about this age. This Messiah will be someone chosen by God. He will be an anointed one and chosen to lead the people. All mankind will be redeemed at this time, not just Jews. The golden age of man and the world is in the future. This Messianic age is possible for man to achieve. The (Jews,people?) will be gathered and restored to their land. People will live peaceably and be united in their land.
I looked up something on the Web about it to be sure it was Elijah who will come back and identify the Messiah. Malachi 3:23 (Malachi 4:5 in the Christian Bible) says "Behold I will send you Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord." This is traditionally interpreted to mean that Elijah will precede the coming Messiah who will bring about a Messianic age of peace. The next verse in my Bible says "He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse." See above that this last phrase is taken as a negative by the Jews and it is the end of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible.
Christians believe that Christ was the savior and he died on the cross in atonement for man's sins. The way to salvation is through faith and that is the source of hope for the world. Man's fate is at the mercy of God's grace and the individual can be passive. Personal and individual redemption comes only for those who accept faith through Jesus. The golden age, the coming of the Messiah, is in the past and only faith in his saving power is needed now.
So we concluded that it would be difficult to be in a Christian/Jewish marriage and raise children "both ways." There are too many differenes. The conclusion was to advise parents-to-be to raise the children in one faith or the other but expose them to the traditions of the other faith. Until the children are adult enough to understand the complexities of religious beliefs, they are little able to choose between the different traditions and not grounding them in one or the other specifically leaves them open to having no religious grounding. I hope that explanation is true to the spirit and gist of our last class discussion.
As we were leaving class, I mentioned to Rabbi Judy that the concept of grace as the means to forgiveness and heaven was an important Christian concept and a difficult one for most of us to grasp. I noticed this concept was not mentioned in class and suggested it might be one to look into. Faith in Jesus as Savior is very important but I hear much about grace in the churches I have attended throughout my life and I think grace warrants coverage in any discussion of the Christian belief system.
FROM PREVIOUS CLASS: I looked up something on Pharisees in a Rabbi Telushkin book that our first Introduction class teacher used. It said most Jews at the time of Jesus called themselves Pharisees but the term became synonymous with Hypocrit due to Christian writings. The term was therefore given up and Jew or Judaism became the prevalent identifier. I am going to read more on this in other books but I never knew this and find it very interesting to discover more about these groups which the Christian Bible uses throughout the New Testament.
Class Members Present were Jonathan Stewart, Beth Stewart, Tammy Hawa, Melanie Pace, Nikki Lathrop, Malia Daniels (engaged to Ricky Segal), and Ricky Segal.
We began by going around and saying what each was going to do with these classes. Most were planning to convert or had taken the classes as a refresher or to be with the one who might convert. Don, Melanie and I were not planning to convert but had each gotten much meaning out of the classes. Judaism is certainly a rich and wonderful faith tradition from which Christians can gain insight into their own roots, I think. There are other classes being offered. I think the classe geared more toward conversion are called Finding Your Inner Jewish Identity (FIJI) and there is also a Jewish University at Beth-El where much more can be learned about Judaism. Both are offered at the same time and there is a study of Torah going on right now that sounds very detailed and informative, not just about the written Torah but the Talmud and other information about it as well. More info on both is available on the Web Site, www.beth-el.com .
Rabbi Schindler began by saying all faiths have their truths and not everyone needs to believe alike.
There are differences between what Judaism and Christianity teaches. Rabbi Schindler said to imagine we were the rabbi and people come to you and ask about marrying a Jewish person and a Christian. What advice would you give? But first, we went over the differences she had compiled for our class and she let the class come up with ideas as well.
Christian Beliefs compared to Jewish Beliefs:
Christians have a New Testament in addition to the Hebrew Bible which they call the Old Testament. Jews have the Hebrew Bible plus oral tradition and other writings such as the Talmud. The Hebrew Bible for the Jews is not in the same order as the "Old Testament" in the Christian Bible.
Christians believe the Messiah has come and he was a man called Jesus. Jews believe the Messiah will come but has not come yet. He will come when the world is perfect and Jews strive to live their lives so that the world becomes a place where it is acceptable for the Messiah to come.
Christians believe in God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a monolithic view. There is one God but three parts to God. Jews have many images of God but there is only one God. The Orthodox view of God is more rigid while the Reformed view is more liberal.
Christians are evangelical. They proselytize, hoping to win converts. Judaism is more closed. It is said they turn away people three times saying, you just think you want to convert. We are a persecuted people, why do you want to be Jewish? They want true inner conviction that someone wants to convert, not just that their spouse is Jewish so they want to be Jewish too or any other reason that might be outside their true desire to be Jewish. Reform Judaism is more open to these conversions than the Orthodox.
Christian Old Testament ends with Malachi and the last verse ends with "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." These words indicate that Israel might be rejected rather than the Jewish hope that they will return to Zion someday. Thus, Jesus is made to succeed and supplant the Hebrew prophets. And also, the old covenant is broken and Israel comes to depend on the resurrected Savior for redemption. The Jewish Bible is not in the same order as the Christian Bible and the last book is II Chronicles. The last verse refers to King Cyrus who is charged with rebuilding God's Temple in Jerusalem. Cyrus is referred to as a messiah, the anointed one, meshiach. He proclaims to the Jewish people "Whoever is among you of God's people, may the Lord be with you. Go up!" This is a more hopeful message to the Jewish people than the rejection indicated by Malachi.
Christians believe in original sin and that man is guilty of sin throughout life although forgiveness can be sought and granted. Christians confess sin in most of their services on a regular basis. Jews do not believe in original sin. They believe we are born with negatives and positives and that we must learn to reign in our bad side. In other words, we all sin and we then get it right. We learn to do better. They say "We have sinned" as a community, not "I have sinned." There is a confessional deathbed prayer that is said that basically asks God to take the dying person into his care and says the person has tried to live a good life.
There are 613 commandments in Judaism. 365 are positive and 248 are negative. Since there are no more animal sacrifices, there are about 300 laws for which Jews are responsible for following.
We went on to read some New Testament scripture and see that things changed from one scripture to the next.
Matthew 5: 17-19 says "Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets. I tell you solemnly, til Heaven and Earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved." It goes on to say that keeping the Law will make one considered great in the kingdom of heaven and infringement of the law will make one be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. But then in Galatians 2:15, the New Testament says, "Though we were born Jews and not pagan sinners, we acknowledge that what makes a man righteous is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Jesus Christ." So Christians believe faith is the key to gaining heaven. Jews believe their actions are what get them to heaven. So to Jews, actions are very important.
Matthew 7:12 says "So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets." This (Christian) wording means to treat others as you would like to be treated and is different from the Old Testament (Jewish) "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Chrhistian: Matthew: 19:16-22 tries to reduce the law (613) down to five, with four of the five being part of the ten commandments. In this reading, a young man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to possess eternal life and Jesus tells him "These. You must not kill, You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness, Honor your father and mother; and, you must love your neighbor as yourself." When the man says he has kept all these, he asks what else? Jesus tells him, "'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth." Giving up all you own is not a Jewish belief. Jews believe in giving but people are not required to live in poverty.
Jews want their good deeds to outweigh their bad deeds so that at the end of life the scales are weighted toward the good deeds. Christians put more emphasis on faith. Leviticus 18:5 says "The Law is not even based on faith, since we are told: the man who practices these precepts finds life through practicing them." So, again Judaism is based more on actions rather than faith.
In Galations 5:1-6, Paul tells people if they allow themselves to be circumcised then Jesus will not be of benefit to them. "With all solemnity I repeat my warning: Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged to keep the whole Law. But if you look to the Law to make you justified, then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace. Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for those rewards that righteousness hopes for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference - what matters is faith that expresses itself in love." Paul is looking upon circumcision not as a medical act but one of putting oneself in with the covenant of the Jewish people and he is saying don't do that.
Another difference between Christians and Jews is that of prayer. Christians do pray alone and Jews do more in the way of community prayer. Matthew 6:5-6 says "And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. I tell you solemnly, they have their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." In Judaism, there are some prayers that require a group of 10 people to be said such as Kaddish. A time for individual prayer is giving during Shabbat services but some of the prayers that are said at each service require a minion (group of 10).
Christians have different takes on whether divorce is allowed and under what circumstances. Catholics almost do not allow it unless there is abuse involved. Matthew 5: 31-32 "It has also been said, Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adultress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Jews allow divorce under certain circumstances such as adultery. Reform Jews allow it more leniently than the Orthodox since if the love is gone out of a relationship, why make it continue. This does not mean that people should not try or should give up too easily. But when a divorce is granted, the wife must have a "get" which gives the wife money and other things on which to live. This is agreed on at marriage and must be honored. In Hebrew the word man is pronounced Eesh and woman is Eesha (sorry, I don't know the spelling). When they marry, they come together and the two should be stronger than the one. When this bond is broken, then they should separate.
Christians believe Jesus is the suffering servant referred to in Isaiah 42: 1-4. Jews believe we are all suffering servants. Jews believe they were chosen for the responsibility of keeping the commandments. Jews - we lost the Temple and we are all suffering servants but we will get the Temple back. Isaiah 42: 1-4 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, My beloved, the favorite of my soul. I will endow him with my spirit, And he will proclaim the true faith to the nations. He will not brawl or shout, Nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets, He will not break the crushed reed, Nor put out the smouldering wick Till he has led the truth to victory; In his name the nations will put their hope."
Matthew 13: 24-30 was read where good seed (wheat) was mixed with bad (darnel). The master said to await the harvest when the wheat and darnel would be separated and the darnel burned. Then in Matthew 13:36-43, Jesus explained the parable as meaning "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingsom all things that provoke offenses and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Christians believe John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life." Jews do not believe God can be in human form.
Christianity believes you must believe in Jesus as Savior and Messiah to be saved.
Mark 16:16: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." And Acts 4:12: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." And Matthew 21:22: "And if you have faith, everything you ask for in prayer you will receive."
In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus says He has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth and tells his disciples to go to all nations and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jews believe there is a coming Messiah (meaning anointed) who will restore the Davidic kingdom and act as God's agent in bringing about the Messianic age. It was asked whether we can identify those who are David's descendants and the answer is that Elijah will return and identify this Messiah for us. In Kings, Elijah did not die and Jews believe he is here in evey generation. He won't reveal the Messiah until we deserve it. The Messiah will bring peace to the land and He will be a military leader, but one who has laid down his sword. This last part was put in later as we discussed whether He would be a warring "person." The rabbi will try and find more about this descendant of David and email Don with some more information about it. However, it is believed this Messiah will bring about a time of peace in the land and the Messianic age will be a time of perfection. It is important to do good in order to help bring about this age. This Messiah will be someone chosen by God. He will be an anointed one and chosen to lead the people. All mankind will be redeemed at this time, not just Jews. The golden age of man and the world is in the future. This Messianic age is possible for man to achieve. The (Jews,people?) will be gathered and restored to their land. People will live peaceably and be united in their land.
I looked up something on the Web about it to be sure it was Elijah who will come back and identify the Messiah. Malachi 3:23 (Malachi 4:5 in the Christian Bible) says "Behold I will send you Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord." This is traditionally interpreted to mean that Elijah will precede the coming Messiah who will bring about a Messianic age of peace. The next verse in my Bible says "He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse." See above that this last phrase is taken as a negative by the Jews and it is the end of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible.
Christians believe that Christ was the savior and he died on the cross in atonement for man's sins. The way to salvation is through faith and that is the source of hope for the world. Man's fate is at the mercy of God's grace and the individual can be passive. Personal and individual redemption comes only for those who accept faith through Jesus. The golden age, the coming of the Messiah, is in the past and only faith in his saving power is needed now.
So we concluded that it would be difficult to be in a Christian/Jewish marriage and raise children "both ways." There are too many differenes. The conclusion was to advise parents-to-be to raise the children in one faith or the other but expose them to the traditions of the other faith. Until the children are adult enough to understand the complexities of religious beliefs, they are little able to choose between the different traditions and not grounding them in one or the other specifically leaves them open to having no religious grounding. I hope that explanation is true to the spirit and gist of our last class discussion.
As we were leaving class, I mentioned to Rabbi Judy that the concept of grace as the means to forgiveness and heaven was an important Christian concept and a difficult one for most of us to grasp. I noticed this concept was not mentioned in class and suggested it might be one to look into. Faith in Jesus as Savior is very important but I hear much about grace in the churches I have attended throughout my life and I think grace warrants coverage in any discussion of the Christian belief system.
FROM PREVIOUS CLASS: I looked up something on Pharisees in a Rabbi Telushkin book that our first Introduction class teacher used. It said most Jews at the time of Jesus called themselves Pharisees but the term became synonymous with Hypocrit due to Christian writings. The term was therefore given up and Jew or Judaism became the prevalent identifier. I am going to read more on this in other books but I never knew this and find it very interesting to discover more about these groups which the Christian Bible uses throughout the New Testament.
7/8/09
2009/07/08 Seventh Introduction to Judaism Class Notes
Teacher: Rabbi Mort Kaplan, retired
The class was to be titled Jewish History but Rabbi Mort said he preferred to call it a History of Judaism because he could not cover a Jewish History class with dates and kings and etc. in one hour. He said Judaism is more about the spiritual inheritance that comes to us from the past.
This history of Judaism is influenced by two foundations:
1) Jewish spiritual inheritance
2) Greek cultural inheritance.
History of Judaisms (with an emphasis on the plural nature of the word)has two objectives:
(1) Remember these forms of Judaism (I think)
(2) This is being taught from the point of view of Reform Judaism. This justifies modern Judaism and the salient character is the ability to either replicate or have variations of Judaism. There are a few times when Judaism mutated with revolutionary change. Sometimes this change was quiet and sometimes it was violent. The point is to demonstrate that Judaism is a religion of change and Judaism's God is a God of change.
Over time, moral sensibilities have changed and there are four different Judaisms throughout history. All have this in common - The Pentateuch, or the first 5 books of the Bible, Torah and back even further, the first chapter of Genesis which is enormously important. So all the Judaisms have God in common but the view of God has changed over time.
First form of Judaism begins with people whose stories we know such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and the enslavement of Israelites in Egypt. The prophets are important. For the first 1500 years of Israelite history, they had a religion of one God. They didn't see Him but He was knowable. God could make his will known through certain people. In Genesis 12, Abraham is told he would be a blessing and through him (Abraham), all families of earth shall be blessed. This is one reason to be Jewish - you are part of a blessed people.
The best way to say it is the People of Israel. God is concerned with this clan of people. Then they spread out after wandering the desert together and settling in Israel. Joseph ends up in Egypt which is outside Israel. Question is can God operate outside Israel and the answer comes that he can. He operates there and becomes a problem solver. He gets his people out of slavery in Egypt and provides manna for food and helps with matters of justice. God's places therefore expanded.
The people wander 40 years in the desert. Then in Joshua and Judges, they settle down. Samuel goes around judging. Then comes the problem of the Philistines. The people decide they need a King. Saul, David, Solomon were among the first kings and they were all rough characters. Solomon even brings polytheism into Israel when he takes foreign wives. The (non-literary) prophets emerged like Moses and Abraham because God speaks to prophets directly as he did to Abraham. He spoke to Moses directly also but God does not speak to ordinary man directly.
The Kingdom splits into a Northern (Israel) and Southern (Judah). Things get political. Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, wants Solomon to be king and uses politics to make it so. So the prophets were instrumental in underpinning the Kings because they had access to God.
Then emerged a new kind of prophet, a literary kind. Some of the literary prophets of Israel were Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah. They did two things aside from castigating for sins:
(a) The people of Israel were about to be defeated by Assyrians and Babylonians. If they lost this battle, then in the ancient world, their God lost too people thought. If exiled to a foreign country, then the god of that foreign country would be the winner and take over as the people's god. But not for the people of Israel. Their God is never inadequate. you may have to change your concept of God but He is never inadequate.
(b) Prophets came up with the idea of peace and justice and equity. Ideas such as turning swords into pruning shears and ideas like doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with your God. This is a giant leap forward because these people lived in a world of violence and war. There was anything but peace and equity. Prophets wanted people to pursue good and beauty. This hasn't happened even up to today but there is nothing wrong with wishing for it.
So this was the first Judaism. It was prophetic, patriarchal in form. It had nothing to do with ritual, sacrificial requirements. Religion was relatively open.
The Second form of Judaism is delineated in late Exodus, Leviticus and the first part of Numbers. This Judaism is sacrificial in nature. People bring sacrifices to the temple and the priest gives expiation for sin. Torah was the book of the priests. Sin was not bringing the right sacrifice for the ritual. Jews were living under the Persian Empire. The Persians let the Jews back after the destruction of the first Temple. The King wants to keep the tributes for himself. Then the people got rid of the Kings. The prophits are loose cannon. Some of the prophets such as Ezekiel seem to be crazy.
In Leviticus, the Persians and a few Jews made a deal and made sacrifices mandatory. This is outlined in Leviticus. But the priests got one over on the Persians in that they wrote Genesis where God made everything. So God made even the Persians so Israel is by logic better than the Persians since the God of the Jews made everything. Sacrifices of animals must have been a mess. But even the peasant could come to the temple, make sacrifice, and get expiation. Priests could not own land, But they did write the first chapter of Genesis. God created a good world and the world could be created through time. Bible is presented as history. It is written through history and history went toward a goal - Evolution is possible. God created a man and a woman,not nationalities, not skin color, etc. He created a man and a woman who ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They gained ability to choose. Genesis 1 is enormously significant. Priests were there for 250 years, then their system collapsed. Their system lasted from 444 BCE to 168 BCE. In 168 BCE, the Maccabean revolt occurred. Syrian Greeks came in and tried to deestroy Judaism. They cleaned out the temple and rededicated it. Macabbeans turned out to be bad (Hanukkah is based on Maccabean revolt).
But the Maccabean revolt brought about the third Judaism, Rabinic Judaism or Judaism of the Pharisees. Matthew calls the Pharisees hypocrits. But the Pharisees did some good things. People were not allowed to fight on the Sabbath so the Greeks tried to attack on the Sabbath. The Pharisees said if died definding Judaism, then you get everlasting life. You will be eventually resurrected.
The Bible does not deal with evil well. It just says if good, then will be blessed. But often, things don't work that way. You see this in Job. Job is tested and suffers terribly although he did not do anything wrong. So the idea that good is rewarded with good does not solve the problem of why bad things happen to good people.
The Pharisees were the first to say get a place in the world to come. Then they said on Mt. Sinai, God game a written Torah and an oral Torah. Pharisees then became teachers of the oral Torah. They established themselves as a scholar class which was an elevated position. They sold it by saying God has given law, halaha(Spelling probably incorrect, it may be chalacha)which is pathway to eternal life and someday, a resurrected body. In world to come, good and bad get their reward, heaven or hell. They also said God is a Father. In the Bible, God is severe but the Pharisees describe him as a Father, as God in Heaven, as an Indwelling presence and as a God who cares about every human being - even slaves. God cares for all and rewards in the next life. All you have to do is follow the law. God is also concerned with community. The people need to care for the sick and needy, etc. You need to treat people with justice and gentleness. The Pharisees also invented the synagogue which became a place of prayer and study.
The Pharisees converted lots of pagans to Judaism at a time when not a high percentage of the population was Jewish. It is estimated that at the time of the First Temple's destruction, only about 10% of the Roman Empire's population was Jewish.
The roots if Christianity is embedded in Pharisaic Judaism. "For God so loved the world..." came from another Pharisaic quote. When Jesus died, his followers said they saw him go up to Heaven. The Pharisees couldn't say this was impossible because they believed they might go to heaven soon also. Paul changed Jesus to a sacrificial lamb for all time. This was powerful because Christianity was able to confront and change paganism. Jews stayed Jews. Christians did not have all these rules Jews did and circumcision scared the pagans so Christianity seemed easier.
Islam is also rooted in Pharisaic Judaism. Pharisaic Judaism became rabbinic Judaism and was the only kind around after the destruction of the second Temple.
Foruth Judsism: In modern times, this takes a different fact at different places. Rabbinic Judaism served for 2000 years, then modern:
(a) Reformed or liberal Judaism and some conservative Judaism. Reformed Judaism rejected a mandatory halaha. People themselves saw that orthodoxy did not work. Reform Judaism started in Germany and prospered in North America. It did not only reject things, it also had ethical monotheism and saw the mission of the Jew to bring God's universal word to all humankind. Once all believe in this one God, then all the divisions will cease among people. For a while in the late 19th century, it looked like we were almost there. But this was only for the western Jew, not the Jew of eastern Europe. The optimism of the west made no sense to the Eastern European Jew. In 1939, it is estimated there were 12 million Jews in Eastern Europe. After WWII, these Jews could not believe in Orthodoxy any more and they could not be Reform Jews. So there arose
(b) Secular Judaism which took two forms:
(i) Zionism - called for a return to Israel and development of a secular state. Jews in USA threw off orthodoxy as well and formed a secular organization.
(ii) Socialism - Jews in Poland organized into a Jewish National Community and took a place in government.
This last mutation threw off God altogether and they went back to God later.
Optimism of the Western Jews and orthodoxy of the Eastern Jews changed after the World Wars. In 1948, all were in favor of a Jewish state. They wanted Israel to survive as a Jewish state.
So what is the Jewish identity. They have made radical changes in the past to prevent God from becoming obsolete. Changes are taking place today in Reform Judaism especially in the west. Line of descent is not as important to Reform Jews. You are a Jew if you say you are. All who believe in a new kind of Judaism still call it Judaism. If you go back to Moses and burning bush which was not consumed, God says to take shoes off because this is a Holy place. Moses says who are you and God answers, "I am who I am" literally translated "I will be what I will be" or it sometimes can mean "I am who I need to be." This is a very profound statement. God is what we need Him to be.
YHWH - Jehovah. To be is the root. He who causes to exist or He who brings into existence. God is an enabler of all existence and a creator of all diversity. God is not something that is . He is something we are searching for. God does make his will known to us but we don't think he speaks to someone on a mountaintop. He les us know through what is Good, True, Beautiful, and Holy. These things are important to us as humans. All prophets tapped much of God when they tapped into the good, true, beautiful, and holy. Humans try to tap into these things as well and they let us know we can't just be secular. We need God in our lives.
On the way out, I said something about needing to know more about the Pharisees and Sadducees and Rabbi Mort said that Jesus was likely a Pharisee except that he said he could perform miracles. The Pharisees did not like that since they said only they could do that, not Jesus. Rabbi Mort said the Sadducees were more literal interpreters of the Bible and that Jesus did not like that. I asked where one could read more about these two sets of people and he said there isn't much in writing about it. I found the topic most interesting as I have not heard it discussed to any great extent that I remember.
The class was to be titled Jewish History but Rabbi Mort said he preferred to call it a History of Judaism because he could not cover a Jewish History class with dates and kings and etc. in one hour. He said Judaism is more about the spiritual inheritance that comes to us from the past.
This history of Judaism is influenced by two foundations:
1) Jewish spiritual inheritance
2) Greek cultural inheritance.
History of Judaisms (with an emphasis on the plural nature of the word)has two objectives:
(1) Remember these forms of Judaism (I think)
(2) This is being taught from the point of view of Reform Judaism. This justifies modern Judaism and the salient character is the ability to either replicate or have variations of Judaism. There are a few times when Judaism mutated with revolutionary change. Sometimes this change was quiet and sometimes it was violent. The point is to demonstrate that Judaism is a religion of change and Judaism's God is a God of change.
Over time, moral sensibilities have changed and there are four different Judaisms throughout history. All have this in common - The Pentateuch, or the first 5 books of the Bible, Torah and back even further, the first chapter of Genesis which is enormously important. So all the Judaisms have God in common but the view of God has changed over time.
First form of Judaism begins with people whose stories we know such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and the enslavement of Israelites in Egypt. The prophets are important. For the first 1500 years of Israelite history, they had a religion of one God. They didn't see Him but He was knowable. God could make his will known through certain people. In Genesis 12, Abraham is told he would be a blessing and through him (Abraham), all families of earth shall be blessed. This is one reason to be Jewish - you are part of a blessed people.
The best way to say it is the People of Israel. God is concerned with this clan of people. Then they spread out after wandering the desert together and settling in Israel. Joseph ends up in Egypt which is outside Israel. Question is can God operate outside Israel and the answer comes that he can. He operates there and becomes a problem solver. He gets his people out of slavery in Egypt and provides manna for food and helps with matters of justice. God's places therefore expanded.
The people wander 40 years in the desert. Then in Joshua and Judges, they settle down. Samuel goes around judging. Then comes the problem of the Philistines. The people decide they need a King. Saul, David, Solomon were among the first kings and they were all rough characters. Solomon even brings polytheism into Israel when he takes foreign wives. The (non-literary) prophets emerged like Moses and Abraham because God speaks to prophets directly as he did to Abraham. He spoke to Moses directly also but God does not speak to ordinary man directly.
The Kingdom splits into a Northern (Israel) and Southern (Judah). Things get political. Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, wants Solomon to be king and uses politics to make it so. So the prophets were instrumental in underpinning the Kings because they had access to God.
Then emerged a new kind of prophet, a literary kind. Some of the literary prophets of Israel were Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah. They did two things aside from castigating for sins:
(a) The people of Israel were about to be defeated by Assyrians and Babylonians. If they lost this battle, then in the ancient world, their God lost too people thought. If exiled to a foreign country, then the god of that foreign country would be the winner and take over as the people's god. But not for the people of Israel. Their God is never inadequate. you may have to change your concept of God but He is never inadequate.
(b) Prophets came up with the idea of peace and justice and equity. Ideas such as turning swords into pruning shears and ideas like doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with your God. This is a giant leap forward because these people lived in a world of violence and war. There was anything but peace and equity. Prophets wanted people to pursue good and beauty. This hasn't happened even up to today but there is nothing wrong with wishing for it.
So this was the first Judaism. It was prophetic, patriarchal in form. It had nothing to do with ritual, sacrificial requirements. Religion was relatively open.
The Second form of Judaism is delineated in late Exodus, Leviticus and the first part of Numbers. This Judaism is sacrificial in nature. People bring sacrifices to the temple and the priest gives expiation for sin. Torah was the book of the priests. Sin was not bringing the right sacrifice for the ritual. Jews were living under the Persian Empire. The Persians let the Jews back after the destruction of the first Temple. The King wants to keep the tributes for himself. Then the people got rid of the Kings. The prophits are loose cannon. Some of the prophets such as Ezekiel seem to be crazy.
In Leviticus, the Persians and a few Jews made a deal and made sacrifices mandatory. This is outlined in Leviticus. But the priests got one over on the Persians in that they wrote Genesis where God made everything. So God made even the Persians so Israel is by logic better than the Persians since the God of the Jews made everything. Sacrifices of animals must have been a mess. But even the peasant could come to the temple, make sacrifice, and get expiation. Priests could not own land, But they did write the first chapter of Genesis. God created a good world and the world could be created through time. Bible is presented as history. It is written through history and history went toward a goal - Evolution is possible. God created a man and a woman,not nationalities, not skin color, etc. He created a man and a woman who ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They gained ability to choose. Genesis 1 is enormously significant. Priests were there for 250 years, then their system collapsed. Their system lasted from 444 BCE to 168 BCE. In 168 BCE, the Maccabean revolt occurred. Syrian Greeks came in and tried to deestroy Judaism. They cleaned out the temple and rededicated it. Macabbeans turned out to be bad (Hanukkah is based on Maccabean revolt).
But the Maccabean revolt brought about the third Judaism, Rabinic Judaism or Judaism of the Pharisees. Matthew calls the Pharisees hypocrits. But the Pharisees did some good things. People were not allowed to fight on the Sabbath so the Greeks tried to attack on the Sabbath. The Pharisees said if died definding Judaism, then you get everlasting life. You will be eventually resurrected.
The Bible does not deal with evil well. It just says if good, then will be blessed. But often, things don't work that way. You see this in Job. Job is tested and suffers terribly although he did not do anything wrong. So the idea that good is rewarded with good does not solve the problem of why bad things happen to good people.
The Pharisees were the first to say get a place in the world to come. Then they said on Mt. Sinai, God game a written Torah and an oral Torah. Pharisees then became teachers of the oral Torah. They established themselves as a scholar class which was an elevated position. They sold it by saying God has given law, halaha(Spelling probably incorrect, it may be chalacha)which is pathway to eternal life and someday, a resurrected body. In world to come, good and bad get their reward, heaven or hell. They also said God is a Father. In the Bible, God is severe but the Pharisees describe him as a Father, as God in Heaven, as an Indwelling presence and as a God who cares about every human being - even slaves. God cares for all and rewards in the next life. All you have to do is follow the law. God is also concerned with community. The people need to care for the sick and needy, etc. You need to treat people with justice and gentleness. The Pharisees also invented the synagogue which became a place of prayer and study.
The Pharisees converted lots of pagans to Judaism at a time when not a high percentage of the population was Jewish. It is estimated that at the time of the First Temple's destruction, only about 10% of the Roman Empire's population was Jewish.
The roots if Christianity is embedded in Pharisaic Judaism. "For God so loved the world..." came from another Pharisaic quote. When Jesus died, his followers said they saw him go up to Heaven. The Pharisees couldn't say this was impossible because they believed they might go to heaven soon also. Paul changed Jesus to a sacrificial lamb for all time. This was powerful because Christianity was able to confront and change paganism. Jews stayed Jews. Christians did not have all these rules Jews did and circumcision scared the pagans so Christianity seemed easier.
Islam is also rooted in Pharisaic Judaism. Pharisaic Judaism became rabbinic Judaism and was the only kind around after the destruction of the second Temple.
Foruth Judsism: In modern times, this takes a different fact at different places. Rabbinic Judaism served for 2000 years, then modern:
(a) Reformed or liberal Judaism and some conservative Judaism. Reformed Judaism rejected a mandatory halaha. People themselves saw that orthodoxy did not work. Reform Judaism started in Germany and prospered in North America. It did not only reject things, it also had ethical monotheism and saw the mission of the Jew to bring God's universal word to all humankind. Once all believe in this one God, then all the divisions will cease among people. For a while in the late 19th century, it looked like we were almost there. But this was only for the western Jew, not the Jew of eastern Europe. The optimism of the west made no sense to the Eastern European Jew. In 1939, it is estimated there were 12 million Jews in Eastern Europe. After WWII, these Jews could not believe in Orthodoxy any more and they could not be Reform Jews. So there arose
(b) Secular Judaism which took two forms:
(i) Zionism - called for a return to Israel and development of a secular state. Jews in USA threw off orthodoxy as well and formed a secular organization.
(ii) Socialism - Jews in Poland organized into a Jewish National Community and took a place in government.
This last mutation threw off God altogether and they went back to God later.
Optimism of the Western Jews and orthodoxy of the Eastern Jews changed after the World Wars. In 1948, all were in favor of a Jewish state. They wanted Israel to survive as a Jewish state.
So what is the Jewish identity. They have made radical changes in the past to prevent God from becoming obsolete. Changes are taking place today in Reform Judaism especially in the west. Line of descent is not as important to Reform Jews. You are a Jew if you say you are. All who believe in a new kind of Judaism still call it Judaism. If you go back to Moses and burning bush which was not consumed, God says to take shoes off because this is a Holy place. Moses says who are you and God answers, "I am who I am" literally translated "I will be what I will be" or it sometimes can mean "I am who I need to be." This is a very profound statement. God is what we need Him to be.
YHWH - Jehovah. To be is the root. He who causes to exist or He who brings into existence. God is an enabler of all existence and a creator of all diversity. God is not something that is . He is something we are searching for. God does make his will known to us but we don't think he speaks to someone on a mountaintop. He les us know through what is Good, True, Beautiful, and Holy. These things are important to us as humans. All prophets tapped much of God when they tapped into the good, true, beautiful, and holy. Humans try to tap into these things as well and they let us know we can't just be secular. We need God in our lives.
On the way out, I said something about needing to know more about the Pharisees and Sadducees and Rabbi Mort said that Jesus was likely a Pharisee except that he said he could perform miracles. The Pharisees did not like that since they said only they could do that, not Jesus. Rabbi Mort said the Sadducees were more literal interpreters of the Bible and that Jesus did not like that. I asked where one could read more about these two sets of people and he said there isn't much in writing about it. I found the topic most interesting as I have not heard it discussed to any great extent that I remember.
7/2/09
2009/07/01 Sixth Introduction to Judaism Class Notes
Rabbi Micah was the teacher and the class title is Holocaust/Israel.
The Holocaust and Israel have shaped Judaism as we know it.
There are two distinct Judaisms. One is European based and tends to be the way older Jews practice their faith and ethnicity. The other is Israel based and tends to be the way younger Jews practice their faith and ethnicity.
Today's Judaism is different from the way it was 200 years ago. Handout in class shows a brief outline of events in the last 200 years of Judaism.
There are two important terms we need to know while looking at this history. One is Zion which is another word for Israel. It is named for a mountain in Israel, Mt. Zion. Jews have yearned for the land of Zion over the years. Zionism arose out of this historic yearning.
Genesis 12:1-3. "The Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your native land and from your father's house to the land I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.'"
So from the beginning (even as far back as the book of Genesis), Jewish identity has been linked to Israel - the land I will show you turns out to be Israel. It is indelibly linked to being Jewish.
Brit means covenant. This is the same as bris where Jewish boys are circumcised. it is the act of bringing someone into covenant.
There are two promises in this Genesis 12 passage, (1) Great nation: "I will make of you a great nation" and (2) Covenant: "I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you."
From the tenth through the fifth century BCE, Israel was a Jewish Kingdom. Psalm 126 is a psalm of the people in exile showing their desire to return to Israel. It is written in the past tense but is understood in the future tense. This psalm was under consideration for the national anthem of Israel but was not chosen.
Psalm 126: A Song of Ascents "When the Eternal restores us to Zion, we will be like dreamers. Our mouths will be filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then shall they say among the nations, 'The Eternal has done great things for them.' The Eternal will do great things for us, and we will rejoice! Restore our fortunes, O Eternal, like streams in the Negev. They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Though he goes along weeping, carring the seed-bag, he shall come back with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves."
Yehuda Halevy was a poet in Muslim Spain. Edom is a metaphor for the Western and modern world.
Prayers- Jews face the East when they pray as that is the general direction of Israel. Prayer praises God for creation of light and for creating the natural world.
Love of Israel by Jews is ancient. It is the best place to be Jewish and they should want to return to it.
In the modern period, Zionism arose. It is a Messianic yearning for the land. This yearning has become political in the modern era. Birthright is an organization that sends young people to Israel because Jews have found that visits to Israel instill a love of Judaism into its young people and their families. It makes Jews more committed. It has a positive effect on Jewish identity. Aliyah is a going up. When Jews are called up to Torah, it is Aliyah and when a person moves (permanently) to Israel, it is Aliyah.
Kotel: Wailing wall, now called the Western Wall. The area outside this wall is treated as an orthodox synagogue with women on one side and men on the other. This is the outer retaining wall of the ancient Temple. The Temple Mount was on Mt. Moriah and was smaller due to limited space at the top of the mountain. Mt. Moriah is in the middle of Jerusalem. As we said, at one time the Temple was only on top of the natural mountain. Herod (who was a forcibly converted Jew) wanted to glorify the Temple and he fills in more dirt to make a larger mountaintop and builds a larger Temple on it. The tallest part of the Temple was the Holy of Holies. So the Western Wall is actually part of the retaining wall from the Herod enlargement of the Temple. The Temple Mount still exists and the Dome of the Rock is on the spot where the Holy of Holies once was. The Western Wall has become an outdoor synagogue. Currently, some of the Southern wall has been excavated. The area outside this wall is used for less sacred functions.
The whole city of Jerusalem is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. When asked who had been to Israel, only a couple of people in the class raised their hand. One guy, who is Jewish, said he was bar mitzvahed there and had gone again "on aleya"? The teacher discussed this for a while saying trips to Israel really meant so much to Jewish people that they became more committed to Judaism after. Don raised his hand and said his trip meant a great deal to him as a Christian also. Rabbi Micah said yes, the city is very important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
On the handout, the first page timeline is a history of how Zionism developed.
In the 1840's Europe was in the throes of nationalism. There was a rise of the states and countries separated. Earlier there were principalities such as Tuscany and Rome in Italy, but now these principalities combined into countries with their own identity. Zionism arose out of this sense of nationalism.
Jews in Germany had 2 choices: (1) Could say I am a German or a German Mosaist. Mosaist refers to Moses and is a way to stay away from saying Jewish. This is where Reform Judaism has its roots - as German Mosaists. (2) Could say I am Jewish and my land is Israel.
In the 1860s, modern settlement called Mishkenot Sha'ananim was built outside the walls of Jerusalem. This was the first modern Jewish settlement.
In 1878, the first Zionist settlement is built. It is called Petah Tikvah. and means Gates of Hope.
Jews were normalized in Europe. Jews could not own land and Christians could not charge interest so Jews became the bankers in Europe. Jews saw that real Germans worked the land in Germany so they went to Israel and worked the land. This happened in Petah Tikvah.
In 1894 the Dreyfus Affair occurred. This is where a French military officer (Jewish) is accused of treason (passing secrets to the Germans). His trial was not fair and showed latent anti-Jewish sentiment in France. Theodore Herzl was a journalist, an Austrian Jew and he was sent in the 1890s to cover the trial of the Dreyfus affair. Theodore Herzl writes about the unfair trial and this trial began the early Zionist political movement. Herzl concluded that Jews would always be outsiders in other countries so they needed their own land. The United States is a little different in that it is a land of immigrants so all are outsiders. Israel is somewhat the same except that most of its immigrants are Jewish. But Jews come in all shapes, sizes, colors so there is diversity among them.
Herzl ultimately failed to establish a Jewish homeland. He was buried in Austria but his body was later moved to Israel after parading it through the streets of Jerusalem and around the country. He is reburied on Mt. Herzl which is next to the Holocause memorial.
There is a lot of interplay between Israel being a homeland and the Holocaust but it is not exact to say that one resulted from the other. There were other factors also as the Dreyfus affair is one example of the other factors.
WWI and WWII - Israel was under British mandate. Cutoff of Jewish settlement in Israel. So illegal immigration occurred. Jews were trying to escape the Nazis.
On 5/14/48, the State of Israel was established. From 1948 through the 1950s, 650,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries resettled in Israel.
1949-1950 - 49,000 Yemenite Jews were airlifted to Israel. It was called Ooperation Magic Carpet or Operation on the Wings of Eagles because the people being airlifted thought the airplanes were the eagles written about in the Bible that would come and take people away to a better place. (They had never seen an airplane before.)
In 1990, El Al (Israeli airline) took out seats from their planes in order to fly 14,500 Ethiopien Jews to Israel in 36 hours.
So Israel has become a mosaic of all kinds of Jews coming together.
Hatikvah has become the anthem of the Zionist movement - it is the National Anthem of Israel. It says Jews have always yearned to return. Since 1/4 of the citizens of Israel are not Jewish, this song as a national anthem is problematic in some ways. Other people do come to live and work in Israel.
Hatikvah:
"As long as the heart, within,
A Jewish soul is yearning,
And to the edges of the East, eastward,
An eye watches towards Zion,
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our own land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem."
Our handout gives the song in Hebrew as well and emphasizes the words, "to be a free nation in our own land."
Israel proclaims itself to be a Jewish democratic state. Non-Jews can be citizens and can vote. The ruling body has non-Jews in it as well. However, can a state be democratic but have an ethnic/religious identity also?
From Israel's Declaration of Indepence (14 May 1948): "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom."
Reform Jews said they did not need a land of their own in Israel. They were German or Italian or whatever nationality of the land they were in. Some even refused to face East for prayer and put their Temples facing West. Orthodox Jews have always faced East for prayer and their Temples face East. Now Reformed Jews are returning to more traditions but Israelis consider Reform Jews to be anti-Zionist. Israel was a country of the Orthodox religious or the secular, non-religious Jews. So Israel did not grow up with Reform Jews. Now Rabbi Mary Gold has a case in the Supreme Court of Israel to get recognized as a Reformed Jewish Rabbi. Now most Israelis don't grow up and join a synagogue so they identify more now with Reformed Judaism than they once did. Reformed Jews get people in Israel more through schools and other organizations rather than through synagogue since people there don't usually join a Temple or synagogue. Reformed Jews believe you can be modern and Jewish at the same time. Thus, they have some orthodox traditions which they are willing to change or compromise.
Eliezer Ben Yehuda: He is street-named Ben Yehuda. He was the person most responsible for reviving the Hebrew language. Herzl wrote "The Jewish State" in German and said Jews could speak all the languages and have all the best things Europe had to offer. Ben Yehuda said if we have a state, then we must speak a certain language and that language is Hebrew. For words which had no Hebrew translation such as electricity, automobile, he invented words. Sometimes he opted for the English word where there was no Hebrew equivalent.
The Holocaust and Israel have shaped Judaism as we know it.
There are two distinct Judaisms. One is European based and tends to be the way older Jews practice their faith and ethnicity. The other is Israel based and tends to be the way younger Jews practice their faith and ethnicity.
Today's Judaism is different from the way it was 200 years ago. Handout in class shows a brief outline of events in the last 200 years of Judaism.
There are two important terms we need to know while looking at this history. One is Zion which is another word for Israel. It is named for a mountain in Israel, Mt. Zion. Jews have yearned for the land of Zion over the years. Zionism arose out of this historic yearning.
Genesis 12:1-3. "The Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your native land and from your father's house to the land I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.'"
So from the beginning (even as far back as the book of Genesis), Jewish identity has been linked to Israel - the land I will show you turns out to be Israel. It is indelibly linked to being Jewish.
Brit means covenant. This is the same as bris where Jewish boys are circumcised. it is the act of bringing someone into covenant.
There are two promises in this Genesis 12 passage, (1) Great nation: "I will make of you a great nation" and (2) Covenant: "I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you."
From the tenth through the fifth century BCE, Israel was a Jewish Kingdom. Psalm 126 is a psalm of the people in exile showing their desire to return to Israel. It is written in the past tense but is understood in the future tense. This psalm was under consideration for the national anthem of Israel but was not chosen.
Psalm 126: A Song of Ascents "When the Eternal restores us to Zion, we will be like dreamers. Our mouths will be filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then shall they say among the nations, 'The Eternal has done great things for them.' The Eternal will do great things for us, and we will rejoice! Restore our fortunes, O Eternal, like streams in the Negev. They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Though he goes along weeping, carring the seed-bag, he shall come back with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves."
Yehuda Halevy was a poet in Muslim Spain. Edom is a metaphor for the Western and modern world.
Prayers- Jews face the East when they pray as that is the general direction of Israel. Prayer praises God for creation of light and for creating the natural world.
Love of Israel by Jews is ancient. It is the best place to be Jewish and they should want to return to it.
In the modern period, Zionism arose. It is a Messianic yearning for the land. This yearning has become political in the modern era. Birthright is an organization that sends young people to Israel because Jews have found that visits to Israel instill a love of Judaism into its young people and their families. It makes Jews more committed. It has a positive effect on Jewish identity. Aliyah is a going up. When Jews are called up to Torah, it is Aliyah and when a person moves (permanently) to Israel, it is Aliyah.
Kotel: Wailing wall, now called the Western Wall. The area outside this wall is treated as an orthodox synagogue with women on one side and men on the other. This is the outer retaining wall of the ancient Temple. The Temple Mount was on Mt. Moriah and was smaller due to limited space at the top of the mountain. Mt. Moriah is in the middle of Jerusalem. As we said, at one time the Temple was only on top of the natural mountain. Herod (who was a forcibly converted Jew) wanted to glorify the Temple and he fills in more dirt to make a larger mountaintop and builds a larger Temple on it. The tallest part of the Temple was the Holy of Holies. So the Western Wall is actually part of the retaining wall from the Herod enlargement of the Temple. The Temple Mount still exists and the Dome of the Rock is on the spot where the Holy of Holies once was. The Western Wall has become an outdoor synagogue. Currently, some of the Southern wall has been excavated. The area outside this wall is used for less sacred functions.
The whole city of Jerusalem is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. When asked who had been to Israel, only a couple of people in the class raised their hand. One guy, who is Jewish, said he was bar mitzvahed there and had gone again "on aleya"? The teacher discussed this for a while saying trips to Israel really meant so much to Jewish people that they became more committed to Judaism after. Don raised his hand and said his trip meant a great deal to him as a Christian also. Rabbi Micah said yes, the city is very important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
On the handout, the first page timeline is a history of how Zionism developed.
In the 1840's Europe was in the throes of nationalism. There was a rise of the states and countries separated. Earlier there were principalities such as Tuscany and Rome in Italy, but now these principalities combined into countries with their own identity. Zionism arose out of this sense of nationalism.
Jews in Germany had 2 choices: (1) Could say I am a German or a German Mosaist. Mosaist refers to Moses and is a way to stay away from saying Jewish. This is where Reform Judaism has its roots - as German Mosaists. (2) Could say I am Jewish and my land is Israel.
In the 1860s, modern settlement called Mishkenot Sha'ananim was built outside the walls of Jerusalem. This was the first modern Jewish settlement.
In 1878, the first Zionist settlement is built. It is called Petah Tikvah. and means Gates of Hope.
Jews were normalized in Europe. Jews could not own land and Christians could not charge interest so Jews became the bankers in Europe. Jews saw that real Germans worked the land in Germany so they went to Israel and worked the land. This happened in Petah Tikvah.
In 1894 the Dreyfus Affair occurred. This is where a French military officer (Jewish) is accused of treason (passing secrets to the Germans). His trial was not fair and showed latent anti-Jewish sentiment in France. Theodore Herzl was a journalist, an Austrian Jew and he was sent in the 1890s to cover the trial of the Dreyfus affair. Theodore Herzl writes about the unfair trial and this trial began the early Zionist political movement. Herzl concluded that Jews would always be outsiders in other countries so they needed their own land. The United States is a little different in that it is a land of immigrants so all are outsiders. Israel is somewhat the same except that most of its immigrants are Jewish. But Jews come in all shapes, sizes, colors so there is diversity among them.
Herzl ultimately failed to establish a Jewish homeland. He was buried in Austria but his body was later moved to Israel after parading it through the streets of Jerusalem and around the country. He is reburied on Mt. Herzl which is next to the Holocause memorial.
There is a lot of interplay between Israel being a homeland and the Holocaust but it is not exact to say that one resulted from the other. There were other factors also as the Dreyfus affair is one example of the other factors.
WWI and WWII - Israel was under British mandate. Cutoff of Jewish settlement in Israel. So illegal immigration occurred. Jews were trying to escape the Nazis.
On 5/14/48, the State of Israel was established. From 1948 through the 1950s, 650,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries resettled in Israel.
1949-1950 - 49,000 Yemenite Jews were airlifted to Israel. It was called Ooperation Magic Carpet or Operation on the Wings of Eagles because the people being airlifted thought the airplanes were the eagles written about in the Bible that would come and take people away to a better place. (They had never seen an airplane before.)
In 1990, El Al (Israeli airline) took out seats from their planes in order to fly 14,500 Ethiopien Jews to Israel in 36 hours.
So Israel has become a mosaic of all kinds of Jews coming together.
Hatikvah has become the anthem of the Zionist movement - it is the National Anthem of Israel. It says Jews have always yearned to return. Since 1/4 of the citizens of Israel are not Jewish, this song as a national anthem is problematic in some ways. Other people do come to live and work in Israel.
Hatikvah:
"As long as the heart, within,
A Jewish soul is yearning,
And to the edges of the East, eastward,
An eye watches towards Zion,
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our own land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem."
Our handout gives the song in Hebrew as well and emphasizes the words, "to be a free nation in our own land."
Israel proclaims itself to be a Jewish democratic state. Non-Jews can be citizens and can vote. The ruling body has non-Jews in it as well. However, can a state be democratic but have an ethnic/religious identity also?
From Israel's Declaration of Indepence (14 May 1948): "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom."
Reform Jews said they did not need a land of their own in Israel. They were German or Italian or whatever nationality of the land they were in. Some even refused to face East for prayer and put their Temples facing West. Orthodox Jews have always faced East for prayer and their Temples face East. Now Reformed Jews are returning to more traditions but Israelis consider Reform Jews to be anti-Zionist. Israel was a country of the Orthodox religious or the secular, non-religious Jews. So Israel did not grow up with Reform Jews. Now Rabbi Mary Gold has a case in the Supreme Court of Israel to get recognized as a Reformed Jewish Rabbi. Now most Israelis don't grow up and join a synagogue so they identify more now with Reformed Judaism than they once did. Reformed Jews get people in Israel more through schools and other organizations rather than through synagogue since people there don't usually join a Temple or synagogue. Reformed Jews believe you can be modern and Jewish at the same time. Thus, they have some orthodox traditions which they are willing to change or compromise.
Eliezer Ben Yehuda: He is street-named Ben Yehuda. He was the person most responsible for reviving the Hebrew language. Herzl wrote "The Jewish State" in German and said Jews could speak all the languages and have all the best things Europe had to offer. Ben Yehuda said if we have a state, then we must speak a certain language and that language is Hebrew. For words which had no Hebrew translation such as electricity, automobile, he invented words. Sometimes he opted for the English word where there was no Hebrew equivalent.
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