Chapter 10 - Pocket Guide to World Religions (B)

(Originally written February 21, 2007 in Book 14)

Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan

Chapter 10 - Judaism (continued)

Religious Buildings

Jewish houses of worship are called synagogues.

A synagogue is not a temple. The temple in the Bible is where the sacrifices took place. The synagogue is where services of prayer and teaching are done.

In every synagogue there is a:

1) bema: a platform where the rabbi and cantor lead the service
2) menorah: a seven branched candlestick
3) ark: a cabinet with Torah scrolls in it.

Home practices

The home is central to Judaism. Family time is crucial to worship practices.

Bar Mitzvah is the coming of age ceremony for every Jewish boy. Bat Mitzvah is the coming of age ceremony for Jewish girls in Reform Judaism sects.

Clothing

Orthodox Jewish men wear a skull-cap called the yarmulke.

They also wear an undershirt which has fringes that stick out over the top of their paints.

Orthodox men do not cut the sides of their hair.

Diet

The Jewish diet is called the Kosher diet.

Kosher diets permit all vegetables, animals that have hoofs, seafood with scales and fins and birds like chicken and duck.

When animals are slaughtered all of the blood must be drained immediately.

Calendar

Judaism maintains a lunar calendar which is adjusted to keep with the solar year.

The Jewish year is counted from what is considered the creation time. A.D. 2000 was the Jewish year 5,761.

The Jewish year begins with Rosh Hashanah in September or October.

Yom Kippur happens ten days later and is the day of atonement.

The Sukkoth comes right after Yom Kippur and is a weeklong festival commemorating Israel's wandering in the wilderness.

Hanukkah is an eight day celebration of God's deliverance from oppression in the second century A.D. It occurs in December.

Purim is celebrated in March in remembrance of Queen Esther.

Passover is the celebration of God's deliverance of the Israelites in Egypt.

"Judaism is the religion of a people who have made great contributions to the world but who have suffered much persecution at the hands of those for whom they made the contributions" (Corduan, 104).