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.
Showing posts with label Schindler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Schindler. Show all posts
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.
6/25/09
2009/06/24 Fifth Introduction to Judaism Class Notes
Rabbi Judy Schindler - Topic is Fundamental Jewish Beliefs.
Introduction to Judaism, Class 5.
Rabbi Schindler let us name the beliefs we knew about and she elaborated on them in an interactive way.
She started by saying anyone who converts can choose their own Hebrew name and would become the son or daughter of Abram and Sarah.
(1) The first belief mentioned is that History is Important to Jews. It is a part of who they are. In prayers, remembering is a frequent saying and many prayers have historical events that are remembered. One is "to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." Jews don't just keep Shabbat but they also are called on to remember it. Jews live in Torah. They are always reading and remembering.
(2) Enjoy life. Life itself is sacred . People are taught to number their days. Using days in wisdom is important.
(3) Oneness of God. God is one. The Sh'mu is said in morning and evening. "Hear O Israel, the Eternal One is our God, the Eternal God alone." Jews and all of us are to Love God with all our might. The Sh'mu is the watchword of Jewish faith. Jews believe that Judaism is complete by itself. It does not have a Jesus who is believed to be the salvation of the world. Jews believe the Messiah is yet to come.
(4) Charity (Tzedakah) is righteousness and comes from Tzeda which means justice. Jews often give to different charities. One is the Jewish Federation which is the Jewish United Way. It sends gifts all over the world to help the needy. Jews are to give 10% of their earnings (not total wealth) to charity ir tzedakah. Rabbi Judy said the children in Hebrew school at Temple Beth-El bring some change each week which they contribute to a charity at the end of the school year. The children are given a list of charities and they get to choose from that list. They had to remove animal charities from the list because all the children's contributions were going to the animals, leaving nothing for human charities.
(5) Peace - Jews are commanded to pursue justice and peace. This is written about in Deuteronomy.
(6) Everyone has his own relationship with God. Jews talk of the God of many individuals, for example, the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob, the god of Rachael, etc. We use metaphors for God and it shows we are human and we speak as humans.
(7) Jews treat their dead differently. They accompany their dead for burial and they do not look at the dead. They do not embalm and they do not normally cremate (some reformed do but it is not the tradition). Many Orthodox believe the body will be put back with the soul at the resurrection (Messianic time) so they make sure their bodies are whole in the grave. Since we disintegrate into dirt anyway, this does not seem to make complete sense but it is the way the Orthodox believe. It is not a Jewish custom to have flowers at a funeral and there is no open caskets at Jewish funerals. People bring food for the families of the deceased so they do not have to worry with preparing food. Shiva is 7 days when the family stays at home and mourns in their own way. So Jews are real about death. They bury the body as naturally as possible and use wooden caskets that also disintegrate naturally. All makeup is removed by appointed people who are allowed to handle the body, etc.
Rabbi Judy put in an aside that there is a saying in Judaism that their history can be summed up with, "They tried to kill us, we won, let's eat."
(8) What do Jews believe about the afterlife? Congregation says during services, "Blessed are you, O God, who gives new life." The cantor says "....who resurrects the dead." Orthodox Jews believe body and soul will come back together so it is important to keep any body parts together even if amputated earlier in life. They save the parts amputated to be buried with them when the pass away. Reformed Jews say "Blessed are you, O God, who renews all life."
Some Jews believe the pure evil go to Gehenna, the pure righteous go to Heaven, and the rest of us go to a place where we spend time in between Gehenna and Heaven trying to make ourselves worthy of heaven. Gehenna comes from the name of a place, Gehinom, where people sacrificed their own children. It seems like the rabbi said the perfect parts of our souls go on to heaven and the imperfect parts go elsewhere. The Jewish people say Kaddish for their loved ones (and this is part of Shabbat services that Don and I have attended a couple of times lately.)
(9) Sin comes from the word, chet, which means missing the mark. Jews look upon sin as missing the mark. There is intentional sin and there is missing the mark. Repentence is part of the daily liturgy. Jews don't believe we are all born in original sin.
Jews believe there are two inclinations:
(a) Yetzer haren - evil inclination
(b) Yetzer hatov - compassionate inclination.
Yetzer means inclination. Jews say we need to recognize our yetzer haren or worst quality and try to find ways to use it for good. Sometimes our worst becomes our best trait by finding ways to use it for good. Over zealous pursuit of things can become a persistence that stands for good no matter what, thus turning a bad trait into something good.
13 Fundamental Jewish beliefs:
(i) There is a creator, who alone created and creates all things.
(ii) He is one, unique
(iii) He has no body, no form.
(iv) He is eternal.
(v) He alone is to be worshipped.
(vi) The words of the prophets are true.
(vii) Moses was the greatest prophet.
(viii) The source of the Torah is divine.
(ix) The Torah is immutable.
(x) God knows the deeds and thoughts of men.
(xi) God rewards and punishes.
(xii) The Messiah will come.
(xiii) God, forever praised, will resurrect the dead.
Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) said "Blessed is God's name forever and ever." and "Hear, O Israel, the Eternal One is our God, the Eternal God alone." This is the Sh'ma and is repeated at Shabbat services and should be said by Jews daily morning and evening.
(10) Worship, prayer and good acts are essential beliefs of Jews.
(11) What do Jews believe about God?
(a) They believe in the oneness of God. They are not so worried about whether the world was created in 6 days with a 7th day of rest or whether the world evolved over the millenia. They believe firmly that God's hand is in creation either way.
(b) They believe God gave us Torah which is the basis of all learning. Protest is allowed if it is for the greater good and not if protesting for selfish reasons. She gave as an example a time when God did not allow protest for selfish reasons and he punished the selfish protesters by swallowing them up into the earth.
(c) Jews believe in redemption. God created the world, then He redeemed the world, then God gave us Torah. God redeemed the Jews from Egypt but the world is still unredeemed.
(d) Jews believe the Messiah will bring Jews back to Israel and establish rule in Jerusalem. Reformed Jews do not so much look for the Messiah immediately as they try to work toward making the world a plce worthy of the coming Messianic age.
(i) Elijah is called at Passover and when a baby is born.
(ii) Midrash says Elijah is here as a street person and how we treat him will tell when the world is ready for the Messiah.
(e) There are lots of angels in Judaism. Jacob had a dream where there was a stairway to heaven with angels going up and down on it is an example. There is a sense that God is everywhere. Jews say that dreams are 1/60th of prophecy and sleep is 1/60th of death.
(12) Jews do not have an equivalent of Catholic confession but they believe people should acknowledge their sin, apologize for their wrongdoing, and not make the same mistake again. You can't just say "sorry" and keep on doing what you were doing. You have to stop with the wrongdoing you are apologizing for.
(13) Jews believe in prayer and certain prayers are said in community (where at least 10 or a minion are present).
(14) Jews believe they are chosen. The Jews are the chosen people. As such, God has a direct relationship with them. Jews are commanded to carry out God's work on earth. Jews accept this responsibility. There is an historical God and Jews are in relationship with the God who came before us.
(15) God is unknowable. We don't even know his name. It cannot be pronounced. YHWH has no vowels and if we try to read it, it sounds like breathing out. This shows God is connected to our very breath. He breathes life into us and takes breath away at the end of life. Our handout shows many many names that man calls God such as Compassionate One, Lord, I am who I am, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, Shepherd, Creator of Heaven and Earth, etc. The list goes on and on. God is really limitless. It is said there are 70 faces of Torah. God is transcendant yet God is imminent. God is in our neighbor. God is here.
Introduction to Judaism, Class 5.
Rabbi Schindler let us name the beliefs we knew about and she elaborated on them in an interactive way.
She started by saying anyone who converts can choose their own Hebrew name and would become the son or daughter of Abram and Sarah.
(1) The first belief mentioned is that History is Important to Jews. It is a part of who they are. In prayers, remembering is a frequent saying and many prayers have historical events that are remembered. One is "to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." Jews don't just keep Shabbat but they also are called on to remember it. Jews live in Torah. They are always reading and remembering.
(2) Enjoy life. Life itself is sacred . People are taught to number their days. Using days in wisdom is important.
(3) Oneness of God. God is one. The Sh'mu is said in morning and evening. "Hear O Israel, the Eternal One is our God, the Eternal God alone." Jews and all of us are to Love God with all our might. The Sh'mu is the watchword of Jewish faith. Jews believe that Judaism is complete by itself. It does not have a Jesus who is believed to be the salvation of the world. Jews believe the Messiah is yet to come.
(4) Charity (Tzedakah) is righteousness and comes from Tzeda which means justice. Jews often give to different charities. One is the Jewish Federation which is the Jewish United Way. It sends gifts all over the world to help the needy. Jews are to give 10% of their earnings (not total wealth) to charity ir tzedakah. Rabbi Judy said the children in Hebrew school at Temple Beth-El bring some change each week which they contribute to a charity at the end of the school year. The children are given a list of charities and they get to choose from that list. They had to remove animal charities from the list because all the children's contributions were going to the animals, leaving nothing for human charities.
(5) Peace - Jews are commanded to pursue justice and peace. This is written about in Deuteronomy.
(6) Everyone has his own relationship with God. Jews talk of the God of many individuals, for example, the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob, the god of Rachael, etc. We use metaphors for God and it shows we are human and we speak as humans.
(7) Jews treat their dead differently. They accompany their dead for burial and they do not look at the dead. They do not embalm and they do not normally cremate (some reformed do but it is not the tradition). Many Orthodox believe the body will be put back with the soul at the resurrection (Messianic time) so they make sure their bodies are whole in the grave. Since we disintegrate into dirt anyway, this does not seem to make complete sense but it is the way the Orthodox believe. It is not a Jewish custom to have flowers at a funeral and there is no open caskets at Jewish funerals. People bring food for the families of the deceased so they do not have to worry with preparing food. Shiva is 7 days when the family stays at home and mourns in their own way. So Jews are real about death. They bury the body as naturally as possible and use wooden caskets that also disintegrate naturally. All makeup is removed by appointed people who are allowed to handle the body, etc.
Rabbi Judy put in an aside that there is a saying in Judaism that their history can be summed up with, "They tried to kill us, we won, let's eat."
(8) What do Jews believe about the afterlife? Congregation says during services, "Blessed are you, O God, who gives new life." The cantor says "....who resurrects the dead." Orthodox Jews believe body and soul will come back together so it is important to keep any body parts together even if amputated earlier in life. They save the parts amputated to be buried with them when the pass away. Reformed Jews say "Blessed are you, O God, who renews all life."
Some Jews believe the pure evil go to Gehenna, the pure righteous go to Heaven, and the rest of us go to a place where we spend time in between Gehenna and Heaven trying to make ourselves worthy of heaven. Gehenna comes from the name of a place, Gehinom, where people sacrificed their own children. It seems like the rabbi said the perfect parts of our souls go on to heaven and the imperfect parts go elsewhere. The Jewish people say Kaddish for their loved ones (and this is part of Shabbat services that Don and I have attended a couple of times lately.)
(9) Sin comes from the word, chet, which means missing the mark. Jews look upon sin as missing the mark. There is intentional sin and there is missing the mark. Repentence is part of the daily liturgy. Jews don't believe we are all born in original sin.
Jews believe there are two inclinations:
(a) Yetzer haren - evil inclination
(b) Yetzer hatov - compassionate inclination.
Yetzer means inclination. Jews say we need to recognize our yetzer haren or worst quality and try to find ways to use it for good. Sometimes our worst becomes our best trait by finding ways to use it for good. Over zealous pursuit of things can become a persistence that stands for good no matter what, thus turning a bad trait into something good.
13 Fundamental Jewish beliefs:
(i) There is a creator, who alone created and creates all things.
(ii) He is one, unique
(iii) He has no body, no form.
(iv) He is eternal.
(v) He alone is to be worshipped.
(vi) The words of the prophets are true.
(vii) Moses was the greatest prophet.
(viii) The source of the Torah is divine.
(ix) The Torah is immutable.
(x) God knows the deeds and thoughts of men.
(xi) God rewards and punishes.
(xii) The Messiah will come.
(xiii) God, forever praised, will resurrect the dead.
Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) said "Blessed is God's name forever and ever." and "Hear, O Israel, the Eternal One is our God, the Eternal God alone." This is the Sh'ma and is repeated at Shabbat services and should be said by Jews daily morning and evening.
(10) Worship, prayer and good acts are essential beliefs of Jews.
(11) What do Jews believe about God?
(a) They believe in the oneness of God. They are not so worried about whether the world was created in 6 days with a 7th day of rest or whether the world evolved over the millenia. They believe firmly that God's hand is in creation either way.
(b) They believe God gave us Torah which is the basis of all learning. Protest is allowed if it is for the greater good and not if protesting for selfish reasons. She gave as an example a time when God did not allow protest for selfish reasons and he punished the selfish protesters by swallowing them up into the earth.
(c) Jews believe in redemption. God created the world, then He redeemed the world, then God gave us Torah. God redeemed the Jews from Egypt but the world is still unredeemed.
(d) Jews believe the Messiah will bring Jews back to Israel and establish rule in Jerusalem. Reformed Jews do not so much look for the Messiah immediately as they try to work toward making the world a plce worthy of the coming Messianic age.
(i) Elijah is called at Passover and when a baby is born.
(ii) Midrash says Elijah is here as a street person and how we treat him will tell when the world is ready for the Messiah.
(e) There are lots of angels in Judaism. Jacob had a dream where there was a stairway to heaven with angels going up and down on it is an example. There is a sense that God is everywhere. Jews say that dreams are 1/60th of prophecy and sleep is 1/60th of death.
(12) Jews do not have an equivalent of Catholic confession but they believe people should acknowledge their sin, apologize for their wrongdoing, and not make the same mistake again. You can't just say "sorry" and keep on doing what you were doing. You have to stop with the wrongdoing you are apologizing for.
(13) Jews believe in prayer and certain prayers are said in community (where at least 10 or a minion are present).
(14) Jews believe they are chosen. The Jews are the chosen people. As such, God has a direct relationship with them. Jews are commanded to carry out God's work on earth. Jews accept this responsibility. There is an historical God and Jews are in relationship with the God who came before us.
(15) God is unknowable. We don't even know his name. It cannot be pronounced. YHWH has no vowels and if we try to read it, it sounds like breathing out. This shows God is connected to our very breath. He breathes life into us and takes breath away at the end of life. Our handout shows many many names that man calls God such as Compassionate One, Lord, I am who I am, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, Shepherd, Creator of Heaven and Earth, etc. The list goes on and on. God is really limitless. It is said there are 70 faces of Torah. God is transcendant yet God is imminent. God is in our neighbor. God is here.
5/23/09
2009/05/20, 05/06, 04/29 Taste of Judaism Sessions 1, 2, and 3
Don and I signed up for some Introductory classes in Judaism called Taste of Judaism at Temple Beth-El. We started in late April and finished this week. They were two- hour sessions and I think there were only three of them. We have now signed up for Introduction to Judaism which has eight one-hour sessions. We have enjoyed them all but I think the first session was the best.
Don asked for my notes so here they are and they are a little lengthy but I know I will forget if not written down soon.
4/29/09: The first Session: It was taught by Rabbi Micah Streiffer. He said Judaism is about Torah (learning), Worship, and Acts of Kindness. The synagogue is a place of prayer, study and gathering or community. The core components of Judaism are God, Torah, and Israel (meaning the people of Israel). The first five books of the Bible are the most important . These books go up through the death of Moses and tell the story of the foundation of who the Jewish people are. All the subsequent books draw their authority from the first five books.
Temple Beth-El is a reformed congregation which is a liberal brand of Judaism. There are other authoritative books that the Jewish people use. One is the Midrash (means to search) which is a series of books. Jewish people do not have denominations but they call their different "brands" streams. Orthodox is one stream and Reformed is another. Orthodox believe the Bible was written by God and Reformed believe the Bible was written by humans but was inspired by God. Another written authoritative book is the Talmud, the book of Jewish law.
Adam means human being and Adama means earth. God made the first human. There is a connnection between humans and earth. We came from the earth and we should care for it. Also , we were created in God's image . We can make choices. In Judaism, humans are higher than angels because humans can make choices and this is a Godly ability.
Rabbi means teacher. Jews repent on the Day of Atonement which is Yom Kippur. There are several high holy days and Yom Kippur is one of them (comes in the fall of each year) and Rosh Hoshana is another (also in the fall of the year). Rosh Hoshana comes first and Yom Kippur comes second.
Chet means sin in Hebrew and it means missing the mark.
Mit' veh - bringing holiness into the world.
Jews are supposed to pray three times per day as a tradition. To pray is to self-judge. Jewish people are a liturgical people - traditional prayers are a part of something larger. And Jews do personal prayer.
Interesting aside: There is a new Jewish Prayer Book used by the Reformed Jews. It gives English translations of the Hebrew prayers but still opens from what we think of as the American back of the book and the pages turn toward the front. This prayer book is blue, is brand new, contains the prayers in Hebrew and in English, and has made the prayers more gender neutral. The children in Jewish school are still required to say the prayers and learn them in Hebrew. The rabbi found the new prayer book in the room and showed it to us from his desk. We did not handle it but I always meant to ask to see one (didn't though).
YHWH: No vowels - this is the unpronounceable name of God.
5/6/09: Second Session: Rabbi Judy Schindler. Think of Judaism as a triangle with God at the top (there are 70 faces of God and 70 faces of Torah). God is many things: judge, healer, etc. God is eternal and is connected with our very breath. (If you try to pronounce YHWH, it is a breathy sound so the connection with breath is made this way.) Torah, The Hebrew Bible is another point on the triangle. Tanach is 1. Torah (5 books of Moses), 2.Prophets and 3. Writings (Psalms, Ruth, etc). Should always be studying Torah.
It is okay to challenge God in Judaism. Aaron Zeitlin has poetry about this. Torah can mean the first 5 books or the whole Hebrew Bible. Or it could mean the oral Torah - Oral Torah is where the Midrash, Talmud came from and all of it can be Torah if you are trying to be holy in your life. Torah is God and Torah is living concepts. Mitzveh means good deed but actually means commandments. There are 613 commandments in the Torah with 365 don'ts and 248 dos. The first one is "Be fruitful and multiply" because Jews need to multiply. Fruitful does not have to mean having children. To teach a child is also being fruitful and can be more fruitful than having the child. Some Jews go to their rabbi for permission to stop having children. There are 3000 years of commentary on this one verse.
613 Mitzvo (commandments) and the Orthodox believe in them all. Reformed Jews have a problem with them. About 300 involve animal sacrifice which is no longer necessary since the destruction of the temple. Jews believe the Torah was divinely revealed and divinely inspired. We do all struggle with the commandments but still believe strongly in them. Conservative Jews go to rabbis to determine what to do but Reformed Jews make their own decisions. There are also commandments between people. These are our ethics. Basic Jewish thought is that Good leads to good and Sin leads to sin. We strive, therefore, to obey even in minor things.
5/20/09: Third Session: Rabbi David E Powers: Rabbi Powers was retired I believe and he told us his father was born Catholic and converted. He seemed to think Catholics gravely misled, or at least that was my impression.
Muhammed called Jewish people "People of the Book" because they take their Scripture so seriously.
Rabbi Powers talked about Jews in community which is a very important concept to the Jewish tradition/faith/culture. There is discussion of the importance of community in ancient and in modern texts. The Jews see themselves as God's people. You are a covenant people and in covenant with each other and with God. They believe all Jews whether born at the time or not were at Mt. Sinai when Moses brought down the Torah from the mountain. Christians call their covenant with God the New Covenant or New Testament. Deuteronomy 29:9-14 is read at Yom Kippur as it is such an important passage and belief to the Jewish people.
Numbers 13: 9-13 Word and fact can be the same. So some believe it is dangerous to say something because then it might happen. This is an ancient belief. King Barak (some Bibles call him Balak) summoned Balaam to put a curse on the Jewish people. Numbers 22:5, 6 and 23:11. So King Barak hired a prophet to curse the Jewish people and this belief that saying things would make them come true was the foundation of that practice. (Numbers 22:5 and 6) He (Barak or Balak) said (to Balaam, the prophet) " A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people , because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed." Then Numbers 23:11 and 12: Barak(Balak) said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them." He (Balaam) answered, "Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth!"
There is a passage that says "There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations." This is again a passage about the Jewish people being set apart from others and this idea/concept can be a source of pride and a source of anti-Semitism. Jews still tend to live near one another but it is not as distinct as in past times where Jews really did live to themselves. Nowadays it is hard for a Jewish person to have no contact with others but in past times, that is the way they lived. Still Jews do tend to live close to temples/synagogues and this puts them in communities near one another and set apart somewhat from the rest of the world.
Later Rabbinic Texts: Mishneh (Hebrew for Second Torah): Quotes from this are:
1) Do not separate yourselves from the community.
2) All Israel is responsible for one another (This is why Jewish charities are so successful).
3) If I am not for myself, who will be for me. If I am for myself alone, what am I.
Jewish sacred Texts:
Shabbat says to do all this in community:
1) Study in the house of study daily. In other words, do not study alone. Tradition says there must be 10 in a group to make the study meaningful.
2) Welcome the stranger.
3) Visit the sick.
4) Rejoice with the bride and groom.
5) Accompany the deceased to their rest.
6) Pray with sincerity.
7) Make peace between one person and another.
Tradition says worship service must have 10 people. Reformed does not pay as much attention to this as orthodox or conservative.
God did not just give written law, he gave oral law as well and Shabbat came from this oral law. Shabbat comes from post-Biblical literature but it has the weight of Torah. Shabbat is derived from Torah, not added to Torah.
Synagogue is where the individual soul and the community are joined (Rabbi Alexander Schindler, 1991).
Rabbi Powers proceeded to give examples of Jewish prejudice in America starting with Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672) who said the Jews were poor and would be a burden and they should be encouraged to leave. The Dutch East India Company responded that the Jews had provided them with money (they were stockholders) and had helped them take Brazil so the Jews would stay if they wished. George Washington said to Let the Jewish people continue to merit and enjoy the good will of other inhabitants, as though they could earn their way into community. He used a conditional phrase about merit and he talked of them as a group, not as individuals.
Someone in class said all Jews would recognize the initials, MOT, as being a Member of the Tribe.
(Added 7/13/09) I believe this is the class where a question came up about men wearing a yamulke (skull cap) sometimes spelled yamaka according to some web sources. The rabbi said there is no law concerning the wearing of yamulke. It is just a hat and there are no rules about it. Wearing these by men is primarily something that has become a tradition and it is identified with the Jewish people. But it is every person's choice as to whether they wear them.
Important laws around community are:
1) Ahavet Rea: Love your neighbor. (Leviticus 19:18) Care for one another and love your neighbor as yourself.
2) Hospitality - Hachnasat Orchim. You can't leave as a guest until getting food. Insults host if you do not partake in food.
3) Bikku Cholim - Visit the sick.
4) Respect the elderly, Hidur P'nay Zakayn, Leviticus 19:32 "You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old."
5) Deuteronomy 16:20: Tzedakah (means charity in Hebrew) stands for social justice. Deut 16:20 "Justice, justice shall you pursue."
6) Shalom (Peace) "Be as sons of Aaron"
7) Honoring the dead, K'vod Ha-met. Very important work by the Jews toward one another. Someone sits with the dead person at all times. They bury dead quickly and do not look upon their bodies in order to afford them respect and allow them to keep their modesty.
8) Comforting the bereaved - Nichum Avelim - Jewish law says when you go to house of mourning, sit with them in silence. If they speak to you, then you can respond. Shivah is 7 days of mourning and meals are sent in by neighbors to the bereaved.
9) Acts of loving kindness (Gem'lut Chasedim). World is sustained by Torah, Worship and Acts of Loving Kindness. Jews are a kinship group and they feel the pain of other Jews.
10) Communal worship - tradition says pray 3 times per day in groups of 10 or more. Most synagogues do not do this any more but tradition says to do this. Sacred is communal worship.
11) Talmud and Torah - Study the Torah meaning the entire Hebrew Bible.
Institutions of Jewish community are:
Synagogue is a
house of assembly (it is social)
house of study (it is a place for education)
house of prayer (it is liturgical)
Today there are Jewish schools, Jewish community centers, Jewish Hospitals, Jewish libraries. and national Jewish organizations. There are kosher foods in grocery stores with a symbol with a U in the center of a circle.
Mikveh means hope and tells of a ritual bath which is used to remove ritual uncleaness. This bath is taken by a woman after her monthly cycle. Men can't touch woman during this time until 7 days after the cycle according to Jewish law. Else the man becomes unclean.
Rabbi Powell talked some on circumcision and ritual sacrifice as well as Kosher butchers and he named a number of national organizations and movements that are particular to the Jewish people.
Don asked for my notes so here they are and they are a little lengthy but I know I will forget if not written down soon.
4/29/09: The first Session: It was taught by Rabbi Micah Streiffer. He said Judaism is about Torah (learning), Worship, and Acts of Kindness. The synagogue is a place of prayer, study and gathering or community. The core components of Judaism are God, Torah, and Israel (meaning the people of Israel). The first five books of the Bible are the most important . These books go up through the death of Moses and tell the story of the foundation of who the Jewish people are. All the subsequent books draw their authority from the first five books.
Temple Beth-El is a reformed congregation which is a liberal brand of Judaism. There are other authoritative books that the Jewish people use. One is the Midrash (means to search) which is a series of books. Jewish people do not have denominations but they call their different "brands" streams. Orthodox is one stream and Reformed is another. Orthodox believe the Bible was written by God and Reformed believe the Bible was written by humans but was inspired by God. Another written authoritative book is the Talmud, the book of Jewish law.
Adam means human being and Adama means earth. God made the first human. There is a connnection between humans and earth. We came from the earth and we should care for it. Also , we were created in God's image . We can make choices. In Judaism, humans are higher than angels because humans can make choices and this is a Godly ability.
Rabbi means teacher. Jews repent on the Day of Atonement which is Yom Kippur. There are several high holy days and Yom Kippur is one of them (comes in the fall of each year) and Rosh Hoshana is another (also in the fall of the year). Rosh Hoshana comes first and Yom Kippur comes second.
Chet means sin in Hebrew and it means missing the mark.
Mit' veh - bringing holiness into the world.
Jews are supposed to pray three times per day as a tradition. To pray is to self-judge. Jewish people are a liturgical people - traditional prayers are a part of something larger. And Jews do personal prayer.
Interesting aside: There is a new Jewish Prayer Book used by the Reformed Jews. It gives English translations of the Hebrew prayers but still opens from what we think of as the American back of the book and the pages turn toward the front. This prayer book is blue, is brand new, contains the prayers in Hebrew and in English, and has made the prayers more gender neutral. The children in Jewish school are still required to say the prayers and learn them in Hebrew. The rabbi found the new prayer book in the room and showed it to us from his desk. We did not handle it but I always meant to ask to see one (didn't though).
YHWH: No vowels - this is the unpronounceable name of God.
5/6/09: Second Session: Rabbi Judy Schindler. Think of Judaism as a triangle with God at the top (there are 70 faces of God and 70 faces of Torah). God is many things: judge, healer, etc. God is eternal and is connected with our very breath. (If you try to pronounce YHWH, it is a breathy sound so the connection with breath is made this way.) Torah, The Hebrew Bible is another point on the triangle. Tanach is 1. Torah (5 books of Moses), 2.Prophets and 3. Writings (Psalms, Ruth, etc). Should always be studying Torah.
It is okay to challenge God in Judaism. Aaron Zeitlin has poetry about this. Torah can mean the first 5 books or the whole Hebrew Bible. Or it could mean the oral Torah - Oral Torah is where the Midrash, Talmud came from and all of it can be Torah if you are trying to be holy in your life. Torah is God and Torah is living concepts. Mitzveh means good deed but actually means commandments. There are 613 commandments in the Torah with 365 don'ts and 248 dos. The first one is "Be fruitful and multiply" because Jews need to multiply. Fruitful does not have to mean having children. To teach a child is also being fruitful and can be more fruitful than having the child. Some Jews go to their rabbi for permission to stop having children. There are 3000 years of commentary on this one verse.
613 Mitzvo (commandments) and the Orthodox believe in them all. Reformed Jews have a problem with them. About 300 involve animal sacrifice which is no longer necessary since the destruction of the temple. Jews believe the Torah was divinely revealed and divinely inspired. We do all struggle with the commandments but still believe strongly in them. Conservative Jews go to rabbis to determine what to do but Reformed Jews make their own decisions. There are also commandments between people. These are our ethics. Basic Jewish thought is that Good leads to good and Sin leads to sin. We strive, therefore, to obey even in minor things.
5/20/09: Third Session: Rabbi David E Powers: Rabbi Powers was retired I believe and he told us his father was born Catholic and converted. He seemed to think Catholics gravely misled, or at least that was my impression.
Muhammed called Jewish people "People of the Book" because they take their Scripture so seriously.
Rabbi Powers talked about Jews in community which is a very important concept to the Jewish tradition/faith/culture. There is discussion of the importance of community in ancient and in modern texts. The Jews see themselves as God's people. You are a covenant people and in covenant with each other and with God. They believe all Jews whether born at the time or not were at Mt. Sinai when Moses brought down the Torah from the mountain. Christians call their covenant with God the New Covenant or New Testament. Deuteronomy 29:9-14 is read at Yom Kippur as it is such an important passage and belief to the Jewish people.
Numbers 13: 9-13 Word and fact can be the same. So some believe it is dangerous to say something because then it might happen. This is an ancient belief. King Barak (some Bibles call him Balak) summoned Balaam to put a curse on the Jewish people. Numbers 22:5, 6 and 23:11. So King Barak hired a prophet to curse the Jewish people and this belief that saying things would make them come true was the foundation of that practice. (Numbers 22:5 and 6) He (Barak or Balak) said (to Balaam, the prophet) " A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people , because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed." Then Numbers 23:11 and 12: Barak(Balak) said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them." He (Balaam) answered, "Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth!"
There is a passage that says "There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations." This is again a passage about the Jewish people being set apart from others and this idea/concept can be a source of pride and a source of anti-Semitism. Jews still tend to live near one another but it is not as distinct as in past times where Jews really did live to themselves. Nowadays it is hard for a Jewish person to have no contact with others but in past times, that is the way they lived. Still Jews do tend to live close to temples/synagogues and this puts them in communities near one another and set apart somewhat from the rest of the world.
Later Rabbinic Texts: Mishneh (Hebrew for Second Torah): Quotes from this are:
1) Do not separate yourselves from the community.
2) All Israel is responsible for one another (This is why Jewish charities are so successful).
3) If I am not for myself, who will be for me. If I am for myself alone, what am I.
Jewish sacred Texts:
Shabbat says to do all this in community:
1) Study in the house of study daily. In other words, do not study alone. Tradition says there must be 10 in a group to make the study meaningful.
2) Welcome the stranger.
3) Visit the sick.
4) Rejoice with the bride and groom.
5) Accompany the deceased to their rest.
6) Pray with sincerity.
7) Make peace between one person and another.
Tradition says worship service must have 10 people. Reformed does not pay as much attention to this as orthodox or conservative.
God did not just give written law, he gave oral law as well and Shabbat came from this oral law. Shabbat comes from post-Biblical literature but it has the weight of Torah. Shabbat is derived from Torah, not added to Torah.
Synagogue is where the individual soul and the community are joined (Rabbi Alexander Schindler, 1991).
Rabbi Powers proceeded to give examples of Jewish prejudice in America starting with Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672) who said the Jews were poor and would be a burden and they should be encouraged to leave. The Dutch East India Company responded that the Jews had provided them with money (they were stockholders) and had helped them take Brazil so the Jews would stay if they wished. George Washington said to Let the Jewish people continue to merit and enjoy the good will of other inhabitants, as though they could earn their way into community. He used a conditional phrase about merit and he talked of them as a group, not as individuals.
Someone in class said all Jews would recognize the initials, MOT, as being a Member of the Tribe.
(Added 7/13/09) I believe this is the class where a question came up about men wearing a yamulke (skull cap) sometimes spelled yamaka according to some web sources. The rabbi said there is no law concerning the wearing of yamulke. It is just a hat and there are no rules about it. Wearing these by men is primarily something that has become a tradition and it is identified with the Jewish people. But it is every person's choice as to whether they wear them.
Important laws around community are:
1) Ahavet Rea: Love your neighbor. (Leviticus 19:18) Care for one another and love your neighbor as yourself.
2) Hospitality - Hachnasat Orchim. You can't leave as a guest until getting food. Insults host if you do not partake in food.
3) Bikku Cholim - Visit the sick.
4) Respect the elderly, Hidur P'nay Zakayn, Leviticus 19:32 "You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old."
5) Deuteronomy 16:20: Tzedakah (means charity in Hebrew) stands for social justice. Deut 16:20 "Justice, justice shall you pursue."
6) Shalom (Peace) "Be as sons of Aaron"
7) Honoring the dead, K'vod Ha-met. Very important work by the Jews toward one another. Someone sits with the dead person at all times. They bury dead quickly and do not look upon their bodies in order to afford them respect and allow them to keep their modesty.
8) Comforting the bereaved - Nichum Avelim - Jewish law says when you go to house of mourning, sit with them in silence. If they speak to you, then you can respond. Shivah is 7 days of mourning and meals are sent in by neighbors to the bereaved.
9) Acts of loving kindness (Gem'lut Chasedim). World is sustained by Torah, Worship and Acts of Loving Kindness. Jews are a kinship group and they feel the pain of other Jews.
10) Communal worship - tradition says pray 3 times per day in groups of 10 or more. Most synagogues do not do this any more but tradition says to do this. Sacred is communal worship.
11) Talmud and Torah - Study the Torah meaning the entire Hebrew Bible.
Institutions of Jewish community are:
Synagogue is a
house of assembly (it is social)
house of study (it is a place for education)
house of prayer (it is liturgical)
Today there are Jewish schools, Jewish community centers, Jewish Hospitals, Jewish libraries. and national Jewish organizations. There are kosher foods in grocery stores with a symbol with a U in the center of a circle.
Mikveh means hope and tells of a ritual bath which is used to remove ritual uncleaness. This bath is taken by a woman after her monthly cycle. Men can't touch woman during this time until 7 days after the cycle according to Jewish law. Else the man becomes unclean.
Rabbi Powell talked some on circumcision and ritual sacrifice as well as Kosher butchers and he named a number of national organizations and movements that are particular to the Jewish people.
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