Judaism

Judaism

In relation to the other histories of Assyria, Babylon, Egypt and Syria, Jewish history is strictly a minor league. Why?

This is because most of these countries had different religions and beliefs that made their histories more complicated compared to Jewish history, which has a clear trail and one defined supernatural being.

Define ‘anthropomorphism.’

Anthropomorphism is a term used to refer to human intentions, traits, as well as their emotions attributed towards non-human beings or entities, and in social psychology, it is regarded as an innate tendency.

Use one or two sentences to explain each concept below.

God as personal.

Also known as a ‘personal god;’ God as personal is a sacred and divine supernatural being, who instead of being related to impersonal forces, can be linked to as a person.

            God as one (monotheism).

Believing that only one God exists is known as monotheism. God as one is a belief that only one God exists, all the creation was done by him, he rules in the world, and he has all the powers.

            God as Moral..

God as moral is a belief, according to Judaism, that deity possesses unruly behaviour towards his beings. As such, people should abstain from evil deeds as it makes God angry, although he is patient and merciful.

            God as Benevolent.

In Judaism, the concept of God as Benevolent is used to refer to a supernatural being or deity, for instance, God who is infinitely good and loving all the time. Christians also use this triad to refer to their God ‘Yahweh’ who was not fast to punish his people instead forgive them.

What does it mean to say “God looked upon what he created and saw that it was good?” How does this reflect the idea that what is God-created has impeccable worth?

God created the entire earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, which he blessed it and considered it holy. The whole creation was in accordance with the highest standards and had no fault because apart from God taking an entire day to create, most of these creations were created through word of mouth (apart from human beings).

  What are the three corollaries from the idea that humans are both bodies as well as a spirit?

1. When God created human beings, he moulded them using soil in his own image and likeness to form the body.
2. After completing to mould, he breathes life (his spirit) to his creation to give it life
3. When human beings die, at last, the spirit returns to the creator awaiting final judgement.

According to Judaism, how are humans?

Frail?

Grand?

Sinful?

Free?

God’s Children?

Look at the above list. Which one do you agree or disagree with and why?

The characteristics of humans that Judaism posits such as the value of the natural human environment, freedom, psychological composition, and recognizing the bound are entirely within the realms of ethics. The choice of either being obedient or disobedient belongs to this ethically free creature as they stand within a covenant relationship.

What is at stake if we were to claim that there is no meaning in history i. e. history is meaningless?

The future of humanity will be at stake because history plays a significant role in ensuring individuals understand their past. And by understanding and analyzing the past, people can comprehend what is unfolding currently as well as provide an insight of diverse cultural origins and beliefs.

Use a sentence or two to explain the four reasons that history has ‘towering significance’ to the Jews.

The history of Jews is of high importance because it provides an explanation of the human origin and their past as well as the vital laws and regulations that guide the relationship between God and humans and humans to other humans. It also elaborates the course of human beings on earth for their creator and what happens after death.

Write a few sentences about how India viewed the idea of history, according to Smith. Explain how this was different from the Jewish view of history.

The dominant religion in India is Hinduism, which is also its birthplace, and they believe that several gods are varying from sect to sect. On the other hand, the Jewish, who have Judaism as the main religion and centred in Israel, believe the land belongs to their forefathers who worship one god.

Is it possible to have societal benefit? In other words, can you ‘fix’ or better society according to Judaism? Why?

Yes. The religion believes that God is a loving and merciful father who is ready to forgive his children rather than punish them. Judaism fosters that prayer and faith in God is the ultimate way of fixing society because God listens to his people.

Why are the Ten Commandments (or at least the four Smith discusses) the minimum needed for the social order?

This is because the four commandments discussed by Smith highlights the relationship between humans and God and these laws can have very little influence on social order because the choice to follow them is up to individuals.

What do all the prophets have in common? (Bottom of page 292.)

All the prophets, whether major or minor, proclaimed the messages from God as well as warning the people of God’s wrath if they sin and turn away from him.

What does it mean that suffering was redemptive for the world?

This is used to refer to Jesus Christ, who received humiliation and suffering from human beings, but his suffering and death saved them from God’s punishment.

Why does being an underdog have meaning for the Jews regarding the Messiah?

Jesus Christ was the only son of God sent by him to rescue the world from destruction and change their deeds. His presence on earth on a human flesh trying to fulfil the will of God depicted the authority of the Messiah on earth.

What three features have remained constant in the messianic hope? (297 bottom)

God’s love for his people

Restoration of God’s people

Life after death

What came about because of the unification of the political and the longings of the Jewish people?

The Jewish people longed for a physical or human leader apart from having God as their ultimate ruler, and when this was fused with the political grounds of the Jewish, it leads to the formation of kingdoms and kings.

What is the point of ritual?

The core purpose of a ritual is to remind the people of the interconnectedness of all of life as well as offering a sense renewal.

Define ‘piety.’ And, to the Jews, what is its relationship to the divine?

Piety is a term used to refer to a supernatural being with exceptional qualities and deeds; for instance, ‘God’ in Judaism, who is considered divine because he is all-powerful, all-knowing and all present.

What event caused the Jews to become aware (revelation) of God’s power?

After the Jews became slaves in Egypt, they experienced pain and suffering until they were liberated by Moses who had been sent by God. through the miraculous works of God through Moses and the ten plagues that befell the country before the release of the Jews, made them aware of God’s power.

What are the three characteristics which God discloses by orchestrating ‘The Exodus?’

God is all-powerful

God is caring and merciful

God never abandons his people

What are the Jews, according to Smith? (307 top)

According to Smith, a Jew is an individual belonging to a nation and an ethnoreligious family that originated from the Israelites and the Hebrews.

Instead of being singled out for privileges, what were the Jews singled out to do?

The Jews were a chosen nation of God, and they were singled out to worship God and to spread his word to the entire world by making more followers.

Why did the Jews survive to this day? (308 bottom)

Throughout much of their history — booked on ancient and contemporary colonial experiments — Jews existed under the control of the Gentile hosts as a country of the diaspora.

What caused the shift of Judaism from being a ‘temple’ religion, to being a religion of the ‘book, i.e. Rabbinic Judaism?’

The destruction of the temple as well as going to exile, made the Jewish change from a temple religion to Rabbinic Judaism.

The separation of the Jewish people caused what?

The destruction of the temple and formation of two kingdoms; the northern and the southern.

What are the four great sectors of Judaism which constitute its anatomy?

Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi)

Secular (Hiloni)

Religious (Dati)

Traditional (Masorti)

What are the four reasons why Israel was formed?

The formation of Israel was due to the Zionism movement that demanded the establishment of a Jewish territorial state after surviving persecution. It was the only way of protecting the Jews from antisemitism as well as overcome Arab oppression.

What are the three things that make Judaism a living religion? How does each function within Judaism?

Covenant, monotheism and identity are the three main things which make Judaism a living religion. These three things are related to the existence of humans is due to a covenant with one God and to be just and compassionate in their deeds as a way to identify themselves as the children of God.

What is segregationist Judaism? And what is integrationist Judaism? What are the reasons which each group thinks that they should do either separate or integrated?

Segregationist Judaism means that an individual, more so a Jew, believes that there are two ways of doing this and that people with different faith or race should be separated. And on the other hand, an integrationist is a person who supports, believes and also works to promote social integration. The core reason why these groups think this way is because of the difference in their perspectives about religion, race and ethnicity.

List the segregationist and integrationist groups below.

Segregationist                         Integrationist

Hasidic                                    Orthodox

Yeshiva                                   Reform

Conservative

What is antisemitism? In your opinion, what causes antisemitism?

Also known as anti-semitism or anti-semitism, antisemitism refers to the discrimination and prejudice against the Jews. Anti Semite is the person who practices the hostile act because it is regarded as one type of racism. Some of the causes of these acts are the perception the people have against the Jews who are thought to be greedy, especially during the Medieval period when the Jews ran large parts of money lending portions.