2. 1. Monotheistic traditions: Judaism -
Christianity – Islam
Monotheistic: these traditions believe in a single divine
Being who is personal, that is, possessing mind and will;
eternal, that is, not subject to the limits of time or change,
all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good.
Creation: God creates a world distinct from himself, a world
which is real, not illusory, though totally dependent on
God; a world which is good.
Revelation: In a unique historical event, God reveals his will,
requiring obedience (disobedience being sin. The
revelation in each case is given in writing).
Immortality and Judgment: There is a life after death; at
death, God will judge each individual, for reward or
punishment.
(Adopted from Patrick Burke’s “The Religions of Semitic Origin” introduction. The Major Religions, 191.)
3. 2. Breakdown of World Religions
Question: So, why do we
study Judaism in a course
such as this?
4. 3. Why study Judaism?
source of western monotheism, including Christianity
and Islam
source for other important aspects of western
civilization, including
understanding of history as morally significant;
creation (including human beings) as good;
idea of social justice
source of wisdom
5. 4a. Humanity’s Problem (diagnosis) +
Solution (prescription)
Note: Problem + Solution = based on the community, not
the individual
Humanity’s problem: exile – distance from God
Humanity’s solution: return – go back to God; return “home”
How? “to remember and to obey” (Prothero 253-254)
Narrative (story-telling) + Law
6. 4b. Huston Smith’s approach to Judaism
Meaning: finding and making
Meaning in God
Meaning in Creation
Meaning in Human
existence
Meaning in History
Meaning in Morality
Meaning in Justice
Meaning in Suffering
Meaning in Messianism
7. 5. Part I. Jewish Belief
Three relationships:
God and the world
God and human beings
Human beings and the world
These relationships are spelled out in the sacred
scriptures of Judaism.
GOD
The World
Human Beings
8. 6. Scriptures of Judaism
The Jewish Bible: Tanakh - traditionally understood as
revelation by God: “Written Torah”; composed over several
hundred years (about 900 B.C.E. to about 100 B.C.E.)
Talmud, or “Oral Torah”: “record of the ongoing task of study,
commentary and interpretation through which God’s
continuing communication to human partners is discerned”
(Philip Novak, 176).
Midrashim – collection of legend, exegesis, and homily –
“inexhaustible mine for scholarship, anecdote and cultural
identity” (Smith, abridged, 203).
9. 7. The Jewish Bible: Tanakh
1. Torah
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Tanakh is an acronym for:
2. Prophets (Nevi’im)
Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel,
1 and 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel
Plus 12 minor prophets (Hosea,
Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah,
Malachi)
3. Writings (Ketuvim)
Psalms, Proverbs, Job,
The Song of Songs,
Ruth, Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, Esther,
Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah,
1 and 2 Chronicles
10. 8. Torah: The Five Books of Moses
The Pentateuch (the “Five Scrolls”) or Torah:
Genesis: story of the creation of the world &
histories of fathers of Hebrews (including
Abraham)
Exodus: story of the rescue of the people out of
Egypt
Leviticus: contains main provisions of Law
Numbers: gives variety of further ordinances &
stories
Deuteronomy: summary of the material in the
preceding books
Patrick Burke, The Major Religions, 200.
11. 9. The Prophets
Prophet: “one who speaks on behalf of another” (in this case, on
behalf of God):
The prophets:
gave instructions in the name of God concerning the actions of
the people;
interpretations of what had happened or predictions of what
was going to happen;
calls to repent of their (the people’s) sins.
Chastised the people for neglect of social justice and charity
Judgment moves from the whole of the people to particular
individuals (with Jeremiah).
The Prophetic Principle: God has high standards! (191).
12. 10. Examples of prophetic writings
“Hear, O heavens, and give ear,
O earth,
For the LORD has spoken:
‘I reared children and brought
them up –
And they have rebelled against
Me!
An ox knows its owner,
An ass its master’s crib:
Israel does not know,
My people take no thought.’
Ah, sinful nation!
People laden with iniquity!
Brood of evildoers!
Depraved children!
They have forsaken the LORD
Spurned the Holy One of Israel,
Turned their backs.
… Your land is a waste,
Your cities burnt down;
Before your eyes, the yield of
your soil
Is consumed by strangers –
A wasteland as overthrown by
strangers!”
- Isaiah 1:2-4,7
13. 11. The call to justice –
(Dr. Martin Luther King’s words in their original, biblical context).
“I hate, I despise your festival, and I take no delight in
your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain
offerings, I will not accept them… Take away from me
the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody
of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like
an ever-flowing stream.”
- Amos 5:21-24.
14. 12. Finding Meaning: God and the
World
Monotheism
Creation
God’s role in history
Source:
http://www.kidlink.org/albums/album42/EnricoCreazione.jpg
15. 13. Monotheism
The Shema – basic prayer of
Judaism: “Hear of Israel, the
Lord your God, the Lord is
One.” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
God is:
Supreme Being;
Creator of the Universe
Judge & Ruler of history
Supreme Lawgiver
Also described as:
Father
Shepherd
Judge
King
God has no relatives or human
needs
God is: sovereign ruler of
nature
i.e., all is dependent on him as
the creator.
16. 14a. Jewish view of Creation: Some
Implications
The world is separate from God (vs. monism)
The world is real (vs. illusory)
God is the creator – like an artist or carpenter – while the world is
dependent upon God for its creation
God is good: ethical monotheism.
The world is good: despite hardship, we still have opportunity to
make meaning
physical matter isn’t evil/bad
God intends for us to be good – an offense against morality is an
offense against God (sin).
17. 14b. Jewish view of Creation
“When God began to create heaven
and earth – the earth being
unformed and void, with
darkness over the surface of the
deep and a wind from God
sweeping over the water – God
said, ‘Let there be light’; and
there was light. God saw that the
light was good, and God
separated the light from the
darkness. God called the light
Day, and the darkness He called
Night. And there was evening
and there was morning, a first
day.”
Genesis 1:1-5.
Tanakh: A New Translation
of the Holy Scriptures
according to Traditional
Hebrew Text.
Jewish Publication Society,
1985.
Gustave Dore’s Creation
by Light
Question: What do
you notice here?
18. 15a. God & History
Salvation history – God brings about certain, definite events; these are
the “founding” events that bind God and the people
History = linear
begins with creation
Continues until final consummation
I.e., History is a drama, with a beginning, middle and an end (e.g.,
narrative)
But: Holidays/remembering = cyclicals
God, through history, offers and brings redemption
19. 15b. God & History: Formation of an
Identity
[The people are directed to recite:] “My father was a
wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt with
meager numbers and sojourned there; but he became a
great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt
harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy
labor upon us. We cried to the LORD, the God of our
fathers, and the LORD heard our plea and saw our
plight, our misery, and our oppression. The LORD freed
us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched
arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents.
He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a
land flowing with milk and honey.”
- Deuteronomy 26: 5-9.
20. 16. God Operating in History –
The Founding Stories
God appears to Moses in a burning bush
God rescues the people from slavery in Egypt
God takes care of the people when they wander in the
desert
God reveals his Law to the people through Moses on
Mt. Sinai
God leads them back to Palestine
God appoints Saul and David as Kings
21. 17. God and Human Beings
Positive view of human nature
Role of sin
Relationship between the divine and human beings:
Covenant
Chosenness
Role of the Law in that relationship
22. 17. God and Human Beings
Positive view of human nature: Genesis 1:26-27
“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image,
according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and
over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So
God created humankind in his image, in the image of God
he created them; male and female he created them.”
23. “Make way, make way, make way for the image of God!”
– Rabbinic saying, cited by Smith, 185.
24. 18. Sin
Sin: any departure from God’s
way, or any transgression of the
divine commandments
“missing the mark” (Smith 185)
Different from Christianity’s
concept of original sin
No sin is unforgivable, but to be
pardoned requires repenting,
confessing to God, making
restitution (if needed) & charity
25. 19. Relationship between God and humans
Covenant: a contract that involves
the pledging of total selves (Smith
200-201).
Covenantal relationship between the
Hebrew people and their God
= solemn agreement which binds
both parties:
people bound through observance
of the law; God, obligated to protect
and preserve the people and to give
them possession of the land of
Canaan.
Biblical basis of idea of covenant…
26. 20. The concept of Chosen-ness
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God: the Lord your
God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of
all the peoples that are on the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy
7:6).
Chosenness means responsibility.
Israel is to be a prophet to the nations of the world, to bring
salvation.
Also, sometimes called the doctrine of election
Smith: “the scandal of particularity” (200).
Teaching was rejected, or amended, by some modern non-
Orthodox Jews.
27. 20b. Messianism
Jewish concept of “Messiah” : embodiment of hope for the future
“politico-national”: deliverance from enemies & eventual importance
on the world geopolitical stage
“spiritual-universal”: political deliverance leading to moral progress
Some expect “actual Messiah”; others see it as God’s intervening in
history
Restorative (returning to what once was) vs. Utopian (creating what
has never before been)
28. 21. The covenant with Abraham
Seat forth initially by God (Yahweh) to Abraham:
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared…
and said to him, ‘I am El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in
My ways an be blameless. I will establish My covenant
between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly
numerous… This is My covenant with you: You shall be the
father of a multitude of nations. And you shall no longer be
called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I will
make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make
you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and kings
shall come fort from you. I will maintain my covenant
between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an
everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you
and to your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an
everlasting holding. I will be their God.”
- Genesis 17: 1-8.
Marc Chagall, 1931.
The covenant with Abraham.
29. 22. The covenant with Moses: a theophany
“Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law… [at Horeb,
the mountain of God]. There the angel of the LORD
appeared to him a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked
and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed… God
said to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said,
‘Here I am.’ then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the
sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are
standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of
your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
god of Jacob.’ and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to
look at God.’…[Moses asks, what shall I say when the
people ask me your name?]. God said to Moses, ‘I AM
WHO I AM.’”
- Exodus 3:1-15
30. 23. Elie Wiesel on the Sinai theophany
“Think about it. God decided for the first and last
time.. To reveal himself… You would expect God to
give you a lecture on theology at least. After all it’s
his domain… Instead.. He gave you all kind of
commands about human relations: Thou shall not
kill; Thou shall not lie;… Why did he do that? It was
so simple. But this was the lesson: God can take
care of himself. What he had to give man was the
dignity of man.”
-Qtd in Novak, 186.
31. 24. Human beings and the world
What is our relationship to the world? Dominion?
Role of justice; social concerns
Finding meaning – and the possibility of redemption – in
suffering.
Role of vicarious suffering – Suffering on behalf of another (in
this case, the world).
Jewish Messianism - the redemption of the world
32. 25. Jewish practice
“Judaism is less an orthodoxy than an orthopraxis. Jews are
united more by what they do than by what they think. One
evidence of this is that Jews have never promulgated an
official creed that must be accepted to belong to this faith.
Observance, on the other hand.. Is decisive…. Ritual.. In
Judaism… aims to hallow life – ideally, all life.”
-Smith 196, my emphasis
33. 26. Hallowing life: Cycles of Observance
Day to day observances
Dietary Laws (Kashrut)
The Shema: “Binding the law on your
heart”
Daily prayer
Weekly cycle of observing the Sabbath
Yearly cycle of holy days and festivals
Rites of passage: from birth to death
34. 27. Keeping Kosher
Kosher: literally means “pure” in Hebrew;
“ritually fit.”
Kashrut: dietary laws
Pertains to food that is permissible under the
Jewish dietary laws
given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai
Reasons: hygiene; unhealthy; elevated spiritual
state; symbolic significance.
“For I am the Lord your God:
consecrate yourselves therefore,
and be holy, for I am holy. You
shall not defile yourselves with
any swarming thing that crawls
upon the earth. For I am the Lord
who brought you up out from the
land of Egypt, to be your God;
you shall therefore be holy, for I
am holy” (Leviticus 11:44-45).
35. 28. The Shema
Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD
alone. You shall love the LORD your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your might. Keep these words that I am
commanding you today in your heart. Recite
them to your children and talk about them
when you are at home and when you are
away, when you lie down and when you
rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix
them as an emblem on your forehead, and
write them on the doorposts of your house
and on your gates.
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9; my emphasis).
36. 29. Hallowing life: Cycles of Observance
Day to day observances
Weekly cycle of observing the Sabbath
Day of rest
commanded by God in the Ten
Commandments (Exod 20:8-11)
understood as a sign of the covenant
(Exod. 31:12,16).
observed between sunset on Friday until
sunset on Saturday
Yearly cycle of holy days and festivals
Rites of passage: from birth to death
37. 30. Observance of the Sabbath: To
Keep and Remember the Law
Service begins at home:
Light the Sabbath candles (traditionally by woman of house)
Recite “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has
hallowed us by your commandments and commanded us to kindle the
Sabbath light.”
Service continues at synagogue
Friday night concludes with ceremonial meal at home:
blessing of the children
kiddush prayer over a cup of wine
washing of hands
blessing of bread
Singing table hymns
Grace after meals
Saturday: service on Saturday morning and afternoon.
Ends with the Havdalah ceremony: blessings
38. 31. Hallowing life: Cycles of Observance
Day to day observances
Weekly cycle of observing the Sabbath
Yearly cycle of holy days and festivals
Pilgrim festivals:
Passover (Pesach)
Feast of Weeks (Shauvot)
Feast of Booths (Sukkot)
High Holy Days
New Year (Rosh Hashanah)
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
Minor festivals
Feast of Lights (Hanukkuh)
Feast of Esther (Purim)
Rites of passage: from birth to death
39. 32. More on Holidays
Passover - Pesach: to pass over, to exempt or to spare
Begins on the 15th day of Nisan (spring)
Commemorates exodus of the Israelites from slavery in
Egypt – celebrates freedom
High point is the family seder (dinner)
Leavened bread prohibited
Rosh Hashanah – New Year – Day of Judgment /
Remembrance
Commemorates God’s act of creation
Begins 10 days of repentance
Sound shofar (horn) & eat Challah bread dipped in honey
Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement
Most solemn day of year – fasting & praying
Includes repentance
40. 33. Hallowing life: Cycles of Observance
Day to day observances
Weekly cycle of observing the Sabbath
Yearly cycle of holy days and festivals
Rites of passage: from birth to death
Brit Milah; a bris: circumcision
Sign of entering the covenant; 8th day after
the birth of the male child
Bar/Bat Mitzvah: Becoming a son or daughter
of the commandment (Torah).
Marriage
Funerals
41. 34. Circumcision: a sign of the covenant
God to Abraham: “This is my covenant which you shall keep
between me and you and your descendants after you; every
male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be
circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a
sign of the covenant between you and me.” (Genesis 17:9-11).
42. A celebration of humans
“O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is your name throughout the
earth,
You who have covered the heavens with Your
splendor!
From the mouths of infants and sucklings
You have founded strength on account of Your
foes, to put an end to enemy and avenger.
When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your
fingers,
The moon and stars that You set in place,
What is man that You have been mindful of
him, mortal man that You have taken note
of him, that You have made him little less
than divine, a
And adorned him with glory and majesty;
You have made him master over Your
handiwork,
Laying the world at his feet, sheep
and oxen, all of them; and wild
beasts, too;
The birds of the heavens, the fish
of the sea, whatever travels the
paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic
is Your name throughout the
earth!”
- Psalms 8.
43. The covenant with Noah
never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a
flood, and never again shall there be a flood to
destroy the earth.’ God further said, ‘This is the sign
that I set for the covenant between Me and you,
and every living creature with you, for all ages to
come. I have set My bow in the clouds, and it shall
serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the
earth.”
- Genesis 6-9 (Abridged by Novak, 179).
“The LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth.. But Noah
found favor with the LORD… And when the waters had swelled on the
earth one hundred and fifty days, God remembered Noah and … the
waters subsided. … And God said to Noah.. ‘I now establish my Covenant
with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is
with you…:
44. Discussion questions
What role does religious ritual play (according to Huston
Smith; according to you)?
What is Jewish messianism?
What meaning is there in suffering? What is vicarious
suffering?
What is the Jewish doctrine of election (chosenness) and
why is it controversial?
