Judaism

1. Judaism • RELS 110: World Religions

2. Love & Peace or Else Lay downLay downLay your sweet lovely on the groundLay your love on the trackWe're gonna break the monster's backYes we areâLay down your treasureLay it down now brotherYou don't have timeFor a jealous loverAs you enter this lifeI pray you departWith a wrinkled faceAnd a brand new heartI don't know if I can take itI'm not easy on my kneesHere's my heart you can break itI need some release, release, releaseWe need Love and peaceLove and peaceLay downLay down your gunsAll your daughters of ZionAll your Abraham sonsI don't know if I can make itI'm not easy on my kneesHere's my heart and you can break itI need some release, release, releaseWe needLove and peaceLove and peaceBaby don't fightWe can talk this thing throughIt's not a big problem It's just me and youYou can call or I'll phoneThe TV is still onBut the sound is turned downAnd the troops on the ground Are about to dig inAnd I wonder where is the love?Where is the love?Where is the love?Where is the love?Love and peace

3. Possible exam questions • List as many of Moses Maimonides’ 13 principles as you can remember, and explain them in a sentence or two each.

4. Divine Name • Originally, the Israelites’ name for God was “Yahweh”, written as the consonants YHWH • Jews stopped pronouncing the name of God • They would substitute another word, either • The Name (“HaShem”) • LORD (all in capital letters to indicate it stands for the divine name, not the usual word for “lord”).

5. Monotheism in Judaism • first to develop monotheism • belief in 1 God • monotheism developed gradually from henotheism • Abraham thought there were many gods. • Jews worshipped 1 non-local god

6. Representations of God in Judaism • Jewish god is invisible • God claimed to be beyond imagination • unusual among surrounding • Judaism still prohibits images of God “You shall not make for yourself a divine image with any form that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth below or that is in the water below the earth.” (Exodus 20:4)

7. The Chosen People • special relationship to God • God’s chose the Hebrews to be his people • “covenant” • developed into belief that this was in fact the only God, •  strict monotheism. • Tension: chosenness and God for everyone • special mission • higher standard than other peoples

8. An Ethnic Religion • Judaism has functioned both as an ethnic group and a religion • Many people today consider themselves Jews solely because of their familial relations and not because of any religious beliefs or practices they follow. • The rest of the world, in its turn, has tended to regard Jews the same way. • Compare Hinduism, Shinto, Daoism. • More so in Judaism because it has been a minority religion

9. The Sacred in History • Other religions had myths and legends, stories of creation and the interaction of important ancestors with the gods. • Judaism made these interactions a continuing saga of God’s relationship to his chosen people. • History doesn’t move in cycles; it is linear, • it had a beginning • It will some day have an end.

10. Orthopraxis • concern for the people’s ongoing relationship to God. • Not so much what individuals believed about God, • But how the community related to God. • most important facet of Judaism became not orthodoxy, or correct belief, but orthopraxis, or correct practice.

11. Jewish Theology • Being a good Jew is mostly about following Jewish law, not about believing anything in particular about God. • theology (literally, the study of God) is not as important as in Christianity. • Still, Jews have at times articulated Jewish beliefs about God. • One of the most famous of these articulations is the “Thirteen Principles of Faith” authored by Moses Maimonides, a rabbi who lived in the twelfth century CE in Spain.

12. Thirteen Principles of Faith • God is Creator and Guide. • God is One in a unique Way. • God does not have a physical form. • God is eternal. • God and God alone is to be worshiped. • God is all-knowing. • God gives rewards and punishments. • God has revealed his will through the prophets. • Moses is the greatest of the prophets. • The Torah was revealed to Moses. • The Torah is eternal and unchanging. • The Messiah will come. • The dead will be resurrected. (Moses Maimonides, 13th C.)

13. Summary: Basic Principles of Judaism • Judaism is best known as the first monotheistic religion. • Jews developed the doctrine of monotheism gradually over their early history. • Judaism is both an ethnic group and a religion, and the two identities are brought together in the belief that Jews are “the chosen people.” • God is believed to be actively involved in historical events in Judaism, sometimes in a way that permanently changes the relationship between God and God’s people. • Judaism is a religion of orthopraxis, valuing ritual and the keeping of God’s laws over holding particular beliefs about God.

14. Quiz fun

15. Possible Exam Question • What, according to Proverbs, are the differences between the “wise” and the “foolish” in terms of their (a) thinking, (b) behaviour, and (c) fortunes?

16. Proverbs • Introduces us to the Material, convictions, worldview shared by Jews, Christians, Muslims alike. • Proverbs 12:15: “Fools think their own way is right; the wise listen to advice” • Same kind of thing we would say today. Sounds the same; meaning a bit different. • Divides people into two categories: Fool or wise. • An Observation – this is not a command. • Proverbs 12:16: “Fools show their anger at once; but the prudent ignore an insult.” • Two groups of people: (1) principled; (2) immediate moment. • Proverbs 12:19: Truthful lips endure forever; but a lying tongue lasts only a moment. • 12:21: No harm comes to the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. • 12:22: Lying lips are an abomination; faithful are his delight.

17. Proverbs’ View of Reality • Concerns are universal, not nation-specific. • Israel is not mentioned at all. • Concerns are with this life, not the afterlife. • With the way of wisdom-created world. • Stresses importance of human choice • Like Islam: SayyedHossein Nasr: Everything in the Universe is Muslim except for Man. • Wise=righteous will prosper; foolish=wicked do not. • God’s wisdom is reflected in the moral order, as in the physical order • “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” • Wisdom begins by taking God into account.

18. Choice (in Proverbs’ worldview) • Not: a fork in the road, and no one to tell us one is right and one is wrong. • Rather: a beautiful intricate rug & a child with muddy boots. • It is appropriate to take the boots off. • We didn’t make the world; it was made a certain way we didn’t determine. • Will we respect the way the world is made? • Will we be insensitive, stupid, mean?

19. 1. What is the significance of Canaan and where is it today? 2. What is monotheism? How does it define Judaism? Judaism video 00-06

20. Cultural Context of Judaism • minority religion • anti-Semitism • most viciously from Christians who blamed Jews for the death of Jesus. • prevented from • owning land • Certain professions • segregated neighborhoods, “ghettoes”. • Persecution • Holocaust: Nazi Germany eradicate European Jews claiming racial inferiority

21. The Jewish Scriptures • The Hebrew Bible is composed of many of the same books as the Christian Old Testament. • The Hebrew Bible consists of three major sections, the most important of which is the Torah, or first five books of the Bible.

22. The Jewish Scriptures • Torah or Pentateuch: Books of Moses • Nevi’im “prophets” • Ketuvim “writings”

23. The Jewish Scriptures • The Hebrew Bible was written between approximately 900 and 200 BCE. • The Talmud, which is an interpretation of the Torah, is regarded as authoritative by the Jewish religion. • The Talmud, sometimes called the “oral Torah,” brings the Torah into conversation with continuing events in the life of the Jewish people via the practice of midrash, or “reading scripture forward” to find its significance for present times.

24. Game time!

25. Forever Young • May God bless and keep you alwaysMay your wishes all come trueMay you always do for othersAnd let others do for youMay you build a ladder to the starsAnd climb on every rungMay you stay forever youngForever young, forever youngMay you stay forever young • May you grow up to be righteousMay you grow up to be trueMay you always know the truthAnd see the lights surrounding youMay you always be courageousStand upright and be strongMay you stay forever youngForever young, forever youngMay you stay forever young • May your hands always be busyMay your feet always be swiftMay you have a strong foundationWhen the winds of changes shiftMay your heart always be joyfulMay your song always be sungMay you stay forever youngForever young, forever youngMay you stay forever young

26. Torah Case Study 1: Genesis 1-11 • Creation: good, way good. • Paradise: everything ideal. • Flood (Noah) • Gen 8:21: I’m not going to curse them. Why? Not because they’re good, but because evil is their nature. • Believe in these stories: literally or not? • Some do, some don’t. Even early interpreters were divided. • These stories tell us important things about the human condition. • Important convictions are told by the way of story: • The Vision of Reality in Genesis 1-11 …

27. 1. The universe is created by God and good. • Huston Smith on “the little word ‘very’ gives a lilt to the entire religion. The Jews refused to abandon the physical aspects of existence as illusory, defective, or unimportant. Fresh as the morning of creation, they were to be relished with zest. • In Jewish faith, there is a strict division of creation and creator. • Don’t worship nature (Mother Earth). She is sister earth, a creature, as we are.

28. 2. Humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) What does the “image” imply? • God rules all, so people are given rule over the rest of God’s earthly creation (Dominion, in 1:28). • OR: People are made with a capacity to enjoy God in ways other creatures cannot. • OR: people can serve God in ways other creatures cannot. • OR: People can reflect God’s character in ways that other creatures cannot.

29. 3. Humans are created male and female • For companionship (2:18) • Propagation (1:28) • Marriage and family are divine institutions, part of the ‘order’ of creation.

30. 4. Humans remain creatures • Humans remain dependent on God. • They need to recognize their limits. • One command, to remind of limitations • Tower of Babel

31. 5. Human existence is spoiled • Human existence, and all creation, is spoiled by human pretensions of autonomy. • When they think they can make their own rules … • when they try to do what they themselves want, independently from God … • When humans choose their own interests, not those of creation … • Jews think people have an evil inclination (Genesis 6:5) and a good inclination, with a constant struggle. • People can overcome the evil inclination. • That’s why the solution is guidance regarding what to do. It is not beyond you. • Christians say humans cannot help but sin. • It is such a part of human nature. • A more pessimistic problem; a more radical solution. • Islam: forgetfulness is the problem; in principle we can do it, when reminded. • Adam repented and became a prophet.

32. 5. Human existence is spoiled (continued) • Chaim Pearl: • “Our stories imply that man has a tendency to sin. But that is very different from the concept that he has the destiny to sin.” • Moshe ChaimLuzzatto (kaballist): • “Man's inclinations are therefore balanced between good (YetzerHaTov) and evil (YetzerHaRa), and he is not compelled toward either of them. He has the power of choice and is able to choose either side knowingly and willingly.”

33. 6. God’s commitment to the goodness of creation • God’s commitment to the goodness of creation is expressed both in divine judgement and in redemption. • He won’t allow it to be spoiled by humans. • God is merciful, compassionate, patient.

34. Possible Test Questions • What is meant by “Torah”? • What role does “Torah” play in Judaism?

35. Torah • Means “guidance, instruction, law” • Used for: • All revelation (all God says to humans) • The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exod., Leviticus, Numbers, Deut.) • Sum of all the commandments God is believed to have given Moses on Mt. Sinai. Includes: • “written Torah” in Exodus, Leviticus, some in Numbers and Deuteronomy • Supplemented by “Oral Torah” • Torah is to be the law for a whole community. A community cannon have various implementations. Not every detail is given (what is work?). Adapt Torah to new situations. • Includes Halachah and Haggadah.

36. Oral Torah • Halakhah • Tells people what they should do. • Spells out precise terms of Israel’s obligations under the covenant. • Haggadah • Narratives, illustrating and encouraging proper behaviour. • Collections of “Oral Torah” include: • Mishnah • Talmud(s) – Babylonian and Palestinian • Midrashim – commentaries on biblical books, containing both halakhah and haggadah.

37. Mishnah • A collections of laws – hard reading – concise, formulaic. • Majoring in minors: E.g., Don’t do any work: What constitutes “work”? The main classes of work are … separating two threads. • This is how we serve God – by submitting every detail to Him. • Most famous section: Avot (or Aboth, or Pirke Avot) • Near the beginning of Avot: On three things the world stands: On Torah, Worship (Service) and Loving Deeds • It is our part to be faithful, even if we don’t understand. • The fear of God comes before wisdom.

38. Gotta Serve Somebody You may be an ambassador to England or FranceYou may like to gamble, you might like to danceYou may be the heavyweight champion of the worldYou may be a socialite with a long string of pearls But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stageYou might have drugs at your command, women in a cageYou may be a businessman or some high-degree thiefThey may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody You may be a state trooper, you might be a young TurkYou may be the head of some big TV networkYou may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lameYou may be living in another country under another name But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody You may be a construction worker working on a homeYou may be living in a mansion or you might live in a domeYou might own guns and you might even own tanksYou might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody You may be a preacher with your spiritual prideYou may be a city councilman taking bribes on the sideYou may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hairYou may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silkMight like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milkYou might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat breadYou may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody You may call me Terry, you may call me TimmyYou may call me Bobby, you may call me ZimmyYou may call me R.J., you may call me RayYou may call me anything but no matter what you say You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebodyWell, it may be the devil or it may be the LordBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody

39. 3. What was Abraham’s Covenant with God? 4. What did Moses contribute to Judaism after his meeting with God on Mount Sinai? 5. What is the Torah? 6. Who are Saul, David and Solomon, and what did they do to help establish a Jewish homeland? 7. What happened to the Israelites between the reign of Solomon and the building of the second Temple? 8. What are the three parts of the Hebrew Bible? Judaism video 06-24

40. Possible Test Question • Discuss briefly the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) as a drama of the relationship of God with humanity.

41. 1. Patriarchal Period • Abraham & Sarah • Isaac & Rebekah • Jacob & Rachel&Leah • 12 sons of Jacob (including Levi, Judah, Joseph) = the 12 tribes of Israel

42. 2. Egypt & the Exodus • Moses & Aaron • (typical protest against his call, but even more than usual) • Pharaoh doesn’t know God • Plagues

43. 3. Wilderness & Mt. Sinai • Moses & Aaron • Laws • Instructions for tabernacle carried out: sanctuary • How unbelieving Israel was – God kept coming through • Jews see this as their past, but also their present. • E.g., Abraham gets promises of people & land, but does not possess people or land. • Or: story of wilderness: don’t be like that generation in the wilderness because of their unbelief. • Warning of prosperity and danger of pride. Depend on God. Don’t adopt religions of other nations.

44. 4. Conquest & Settlement • Joshua & Judges (Also Deborah, Gideon, Samson, Samuel) • People who deliver them when they cry out from oppression. • A repeated cycle. • Finally they demand a king.

45. 5. United Monarchy • Kings: Saul, David, Solomon • Saul disobeys God. • The lineage is taken from him. • God makes a commitment to David (2 Samuel 7): • Your sons will be on the throne forever • Solomon builds the temple in Jerusalem. • Has women trouble; foreign gods.

46. 6. Divided Monarchy • Northern Kingdom (Israel) • Capital came to be in Samaria • Various dynasties • Southern Kingdom (Judah) • David captured Jerusalem • Davidic dynasty: 400 years. • Assyrians captured Samaria in 722 BCE.

47. 7. Judah Alone • Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 587 or 586 BCE. • After a series of prophets had warned them to reform their ways.

48. 8. Babylonian Exile • Nebuchadnezzar (-538) captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. • Deported Jewish population to Babylon

49. 9. Postexilic Period • Persian king Cyrus conquered the Babylonians • Cyrus allowed Jews to return to their home land. • Ezra (scribe), Nehemiah (rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls) • 515 BCE- Second Temple period begins

50. Drama of the relationship of God with humanity