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Chapter 4.1 The Story of Judaism History (pages 98-107). Judaism in Canada. Canada has the fourth-largest Jewish population in the world, after the United States, Israel, and France.
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Judaism in Canada • Canada has the fourth-largest Jewish population in the world, after the United States, Israel, and France. • Approximately 330 000 Canadian Jews today trace their origins back to Russian and Eastern European Jews who emigrated to escape persecution during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. • Others are descended from the 40 000 Holocaust survivors who came to Canada in 1945, after WWII. • In the 1950s, another wave of Jewish immigrants came from French colonies in North Africa. • Most settled in large cities such as Montréal and Toronto. • Many of the first Jewish Canadians were fur traders or members of the British Army stationed in the province of Québec. • Today, the largest number of Jews in Canada live in Toronto and Montréal. • Vancouver, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Calgary also have large Jewish communities. • The top twelve Jewish populations in the world (2001): • 1. USA 6,500,000 • 2. Israel 4,950,000 • 3. France 600,000 • 4. Canada 364,000 • 5. Britain 275,000 • 6. Russia 275,000 • 7. Argentina 197,000 • 8. Ukraine 112,000 • 9. Germany 98,000 • 10. Brazil 97,500 • 11. South Africa 88,000 • 12. Hungary 55,000
The top twelve Jewish populations in the world (2001): • 1. USA 6,500,000 • 2. Israel 4,950,000 • 3. France 600,000 • 4. Canada 364,000 • 5. Britain 275,000 • 6. Russia 275,000 • 7. Argentina 197,000 • 8. Ukraine 112,000 • 9. Germany 98,000 • 10. Brazil 97,500 • 11. South Africa 88,000 • 12. Hungary 55,000
Rabbi Ammos Chorny Temple Israelof London, Ontario, Canada 605 Windermere RoadLondon, OntarioCanada N5X 2P1 Phone: (519)858-4400FAX: (519)858-2070Office: office@templeisraellondon.ca Rabbi Debra Dresslerrabbi.dressler@templeisraellondon.ca
The History of Judaism Origins of Judaism • Judaism traces its origins back 3800 years to Abraham and Sarah, patriarch and matriarch of Hebrews or Israelites. • The story of Abraham, Sarah, and their descendants is told in Jewish scriptures. • It is the story of a covenant (promise) made between God and Abraham.
Links to the Past • The area we now know as Israel was once divided into two kingdoms: the kingdom of Israel in the north and the kingdom of Judah in the south. • The religion is called Judaism because the Jewish people trace their heritage to the Hebrew people who lived in the kingdom of Judah. • Throughout its sacred texts, Judaism has maintained continuity with its distant past. • Even though Judaism’s roots date back to ancient times, over the centuries it has evolved and changed from the practices of early Hebrews.
The Birth of Modern Judaism • The Judaism of King David and King Solomon was different from the Judaism of today. • The destruction of the Temple in the 1st century of the Common Era had an enormous impact on Judaism because it had been the centre of all Jewish worship and sacrifice. • In 66 CE, Judea was under the Roman Empire. • Zealots (Jewish revolutionaries) rebelled, and the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem, destroying the city and the Temple. • 3000 people perished when the Temple fell. • Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism survived, but were changed by the events.
Christianity • The destruction of the Temple forever changed a Jewish movement that had begun with Jesus of Nazareth about 40 years earlier. • The movement included Jews and non-Jews who had accepted Jesus as the Jewish Messiah or Christ. • Conflict developed between Christian Jews and Rabbinic Jews (Pharisees). • The two groups parted ways at the end of the 1st century.
Rabbinic Judaism • It was begun by Pharisees. • It found a new focus in sacred writings. • It encouraged people to gather in synagogues or study houses to study the Torah. • Torah is the “teaching” or guidance of God. • Studying and interpreting the Torah became an important way of helping Jewish people follow the laws of the covenant, wherever they lived. • Interpreters were known as scribes or rabbis, thus the name Rabbinic Judaism.
Jews in the Diaspora • In 135 CE, the Romans expelled the Jews from Judea, forcing them to take refuge in other countries. • Diaspora means “dispersion” or “scattering.” • This scattering among nations and the constant desire to return to Israel and Jerusalem is a key aspect of the history of Jews and their faith.
Jews in Christian Europe • In the Diaspora, Jews became divided into two major groups: the Ashkenazim in northern, central, and eastern Europe, and the Sephardim around the Mediterranean. • Both groups had an immeasurable influence on the intellectual, economic, cultural, and spiritual life of every country they lived in. • Jews were considered “the other” and were set apart in many cases. • In Christian countries of Europe, they were often unjustly accused of being the killers of Jesus the Messiah and were treated as unbelievers.
The Kabbalah and Hasidism • Several Jewish mystical movements became popular in the Middle Ages. • Mystics search for God through a life of prayer, meditation, and reflection. • The main Jewish mystical teachings are Kabbalah (12th century), and Hasidism (18th century).
Kabbalah • Kabbalah’s teachings are found in many texts, including the Zohar. • According to Kabbalah, the true nature of God is indescribable. • It is known as EinSof, meaning “without end.” • God has no boundaries in time or space.
Hasidism • Founder was Israel benEliezer (1698–1759), also known as Ba’al Shem Tov • He taught that communion with God happened through prayer, good deeds, humility, and joy. • He is best known for his humorous stories of people encountering God while doing simple chores.
The Enlightenment, the Holocaust (Shoah), and Modern-Day Israel • Three events have shaped Judaism in the past three centuries: the Enlightenment, the Holocaust (Shoah), and the founding of the State of Israel.
The Enlightenment • In the 17th century, a new way of knowing began to dominate Western Europe: reason. • Before that, mysticism and religion were ways of knowing and understanding life. • The Enlightenmentemphasized intellectual freedom. • Only what could be known by reason was acceptable; everything else was superstition. • People became skeptical of traditional political, social, and religious beliefs. • Less emphasis was placed on religion, and Jews in some parts of Europe became more accepted. • The Enlightenment also caused divisions within Judaism. • Ashkenazi Jews split into three traditions: Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox.
Reform Judaism • This branch attracted Jews who had mixed more frequently with the rest of the population • They wanted to enjoy freedoms like everyone else, participate in intellectual life, and work with non-Jews. • They began to interpret scripture with more modern methods. • They became less concerned with traditional purity laws, kosher laws, and the desire to return to the homeland. • Today, Reform Jews use a combination of Hebrew and English for religious services. • Men and women sit together in the synagogue. • Women are ordained as rabbis. • Many, but not all, believe as long as one parent is Jewish, the children are Jewish. • Individualism is encouraged: each person must decide what beliefs and practices are key to his or her spiritual life. • They often accept secular moral values (the values of society in general), but live by traditional values as well. • They stress tikkunolam—repairing the world through social action.
Conservative Judaism • The Conservative movement arose as a reaction to Reform Judaism. • It follows many, but not all, of the 613 commandments of the Torah, and old traditions such as the order of prayers, the use of Hebrew, and some dietary laws. • It is open to modern historical methods of study, but considers Reform Judaism too loose in its interpretation of the scripture. • The needs of the community and its Jewish identity always come before individual wants and needs. • Active participation in synagogue is very important. • Like Reform Jews, Conservatives stress tikkunolam. • Men and women sit together in the synagogue. • Women are sometimes ordained as rabbis. • It is the largest branch of Judaism in Canada.
Orthodox Judaism • Orthodox Jews continue to observe all the ancient rules and practices. • They want to avoid “watering down” the Jewish faith. • They believe God gave the whole Torah—oral and written—to Moses at Mount Sinai. • Some Orthodox Jews accept some secular moral values, but being Orthodox means following the commandments of the Torah, strictly observing the Sabbath and other Jewish holy days, using Hebrew in the synagogue, dressing modestly, and following dietary laws. • Men and women sit separately in the synagogue. • Judaism can only be passed down to children by the mother.
The Holocaust (Shoah) • During WWII, between 16 and 20 million people were killed in concentration and labour camps by German Nazis and their allies. • About 6 million of these victims were Jews. • Adolf Hitler was elected chancellor of Germany in 1933. • Even though German Jews were well integrated into European society, Hitler considered them an “inferior race” and declared them enemies of the state. • He blamed Jews for Germany’s loss in WWI (1914–1918) and Germany’s economic problems during the Great Depression of the 1930s. • Many Jews were alarmed by Hitler’s actions and tried to leave Germany.
But many countries limited the number of immigrants they would allow in during the Great Depression. • Anti-Semitism was widespread, even in Canada, which contributed to other countries’ not wanting to take them in. • The Nazis deliberately set out to exterminate all Jews in Europe; this is known as the Holocaust. • Jews were imprisoned, starved, forced to do heavy manual labour, medically experimented on, tortured, and killed. • The Jewish population of Europe was reduced from 9.5 million to 1.6 million in just 12 years.
Effects of the Holocaust on the Jewish Community • After the horrors of the war, the faith of many Jews was shaken. • They wondered if God was punishing them for their lack of faithfulness. • This is a question still faced by many modern Jews. • The fact that Judaism lives on is a testimony that came from this struggle to understand. • For others, the traditional Jewish belief that God is with us in good times and bad remains strong. • They believe goodness and love will prevail and God’s reign will triumph at the end of history.
The central message of the Torah is “What is hateful to you, do not do to others.” • This is the rallying cry for many Jews of all denominations in response to the Holocaust. • Greater emphasis on the tikkunolam has been a Jewish response to the cruelty of WWII. • The Mishnah (oral Torah) teaches that Adam was created single to teach people that the destruction of any person’s life is the same as destroying a whole world, and the preservation of a single life is the same as preserving a whole world. • Life is sacred because it is from God; for many Jews, preserving life is a key response to the Holocaust.
Zionism and the State of Israel • Zionism • The persecution Jews experienced in Europe fuelled a desire to return to the land God had promised them. • By the late 1800s, many Jews supported Zionism, a movement to establish a national Jewish state in Palestine. • Some Zionists began to emigrate to Palestine. • Arabs who lived there objected to the Jews coming to what they saw as their homeland and fighting broke out several times. • After WWII, many Western countries began to support Jewish struggles for a homeland in Palestine.
Zionism (cont’d) • Britain, which controlled the region, submitted the issue to the United Nations. • In 1947 the UN voted to divide Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish state with Jerusalem under international control. • Arabs felt betrayed by the Western countries, whom they had supported during the war. • Palestinian Arabs felt particularly betrayed by the British who, in 1915, had promised them independence in Palestine. • On May 14, 1948, Jews proclaimed the independent State of Israel. • The next day, Israel’s neighbouring Arab nations invaded in attempt to destroy the new Jewish state. • When the war ended about eight months later, Israel controlled its part and about half of the land the UN had planned for the new Arab state. • The rest was annexed by Arab neighbours. • Almost a million Palestine Arabs left the country or were expelled by the Israelis. • Most became refugees living in the Arab-controlled part of Palestine.
MAJOR HOLY DAYS • Rosh Hashanah / Jewish New Year • Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement • Sukkot / Feast of Tabernacles/Booths • Pesach / Passover • Shavu'ot / Feast of Weeks/Pentecost • Hanukkah / Feast of Lights • Purim / Feast of Lots • Simchat Torah / Rejoicing in the Torah • TishaB’Av / Destruction of Two Temples
TIME OF YEAR YearHanukkah starts at sundown on... Hanukkah ends on 2009 December 11 December 19 2010 December 1 December 9 2011 December 20 December 28 2012 December 8 December 16 2013 November 27 December 5 2014 December 16 December 24 2015 December 6 December 14
HISTORICAL EVENT • A Greek King (2200 years ago) was in control of Judah and he forbade the Jewish people from praying to their God, practicing their customs, and studying their Torah.
Zeus ~ god of the sky and thunder Image of Antiochus on coin • Antiochus forced the Jews to worship the Greek gods. It is said that he placed an idol of the Greek God Zeus on the alter in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem.
In response to this persecution, Judah Maccabee and his four brothers organized a group of resistance fighters known as the Maccabees.
The Maccabees reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. They cleaned the Temple, removing the Greek symbols and statues. When Judah and his followers finished cleaning the temple, they rededicated it.
According to tradition, when the Maccabees entered the Holy Temple, they discovered that their was only enough one days worth of oil for the temple lamp. • Miraculously, the Maccabees lit the menorah and it burned for not one, but eight days. • This is why the Hanukkah Menorah has eight candles and why Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days.
SPECIAL FOODS • Many traditional Hanukkah foods are cooked in oil, in remembrance of the oil that burned in the temple. • Latkes, or potato pancakes are a favorite food at Hanukkah.
KEY RITUALS • The Lighting of the Menorah • Blessing of the Candles • Singing and playing Dreidle • Eating Foods Cooked in Oil
THEMES • Courage • Hope • Light • Freedom
KEY SYMBOL Hanukkah Menorah
Remember: HANUKKAH IS NOT THE “JEWISH CHRISTMAS”
