RELIGION,

RELIGIOUS
EXPRIENCE, AND
SPIRITUALITY
AS A RELIGION, it refers to the monotheistic
religion of the Jews.
It is the oldest of the world’s biggest
monotheistic religions{religions with only
one God}
It is the ancient tradition of a relatively small
community of people originally called
HEBREW OR ISRAELITES.
 FOUNDERS: ABRAHAM
(2000 BCE) and /or Moses
(1391-1271 BCE)
Considered as the first Jew,
the founder of Judaism, the
physical and spiritual
ancestor of the Jewish
people and one of the
Patriarchs of Judaism.
He was born as ‘Abram’ in
the city of Ur, 1800 BCE.
 NOTE:

ABRAHAM also plays a

noticeable role in
Christianity and Islam,
the other two major
“Abrahamic religions”,
which trace their
origins back to
Abraham.
God called upon Abraham to abandon Ur and settle
in Canaan, which God promised to give Abraham
and his progeny.
BY FAITH, ABRAHAM UNQUESTIONABLY AGREED TO
THE PACK, WHICH FORMED THE FOUNDATION OF
THE COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND ABRAHAM’S
DESCENDANTS.
COVENANT IS CENTRAL TO JUDAISM.
Abraham then relocated to Canaan with Sarah and
his nephew Lot. For some years, they were nomads
throughout the promised land.
 ABRAHAM’S GRANDSON, JACOB,
WHOSE NAME CHANGED TO “ISRAEL”
WAS THE FATHER OF THE 12 CHILDREN
OF ISRAEL OR ISRAELITES.
LATER THEY CAME TO BE KNOWN AS
THE JEWISH PEOPLE.
IN HEBREW, HE IS CALLED ‘MOSHE
RABBENU’ (MOSES OUR TEACHER)

The first five books of the Bible are

traditionally attributed to him.
Deemed as the channel between God and
the Hebrews received the rudimentary
charter for living as God’s people.
He is recognized as a religious leader,
lawgiver, and the most important prophet
in Judaism.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: SLAVERY OF
ISRAELITES IN EGYPT.
 THE TORAH IS JUDAISM’S
MOST SIGNIFICANT TEXT. THE
TERM MEANS “TO TEACH” OR
“THE LAW”

REFERS TO 3 THINGS:
1. The first 5 books of Moses (Gen
– Deut)
2. The whole Jewish bible, body of
scripture known to non Jews as
the ‘Old Testament” and to Jews
as “Tanakh” or written Torah.
3. The whole body of Jewish law
and teachings
 NOTE:
• The word “TaNaKH” IS
THERE IS NO “OLD ACTUALLY AN
TESTAMENT” in Judaism ACRONYM:
because the books that
Christians call the “New
T: TORAH
Testament” are not part
of the Jewish scripture.
N: NEVI’IIM (PROPHETS)
The old testament is
known for the Jews as
Written Torah of the KH: KETUVIM
“Tanakh” (WRITINGS)
TORAH (THE LAW)
BEREISHITH (GENESIS)
SHEMOTH (EXODUS)
VAYIGRA (LEVITICUS)
BAMIDBAR (NUMBERS)
DEBARIM (DEUTERONOMY)
NEVI’IM (THE PROPHETS)
YEHOSHUA (JOSHUA)
SHOFTIM (JUDGES)
SHMUEL (I&II SAMUEL)
MALAKHIM (I&II KINGS)
YESHAYAH (ISAIAH)
YIRMYAH (JEREMIAH)
YECHEZQEL (EZEKEIL)
THE TWELVE TREATED AS ONE BOOK
HOSEA, JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, MICAH, NAHUM, HABBAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH,
HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI
KETHUVIM (THE WRITINGS)
TEHILLIM (PSALMS)
MISHLEI (RPOVERBS)
IYOV (JOB)
SHIR HA-SHIRIM (SONG OF SONGS)
RUTH
EIKHAH (LAMENTATIONS)
QOHELETH (ECCLESIASTES)
ESTHER
DANIEL
EZRA &NEHEMIAH (TREATED AS ONE BOOK)
CHRONICLES
NAVI the Hebrew word for a prophet, comes from “niv sefatayim”
meaning “fruit of the lips” which emphasizes the prophet’s role as
a speaker.
Contains writings of God’s messenger, who spoke his word to the
Hebrews. The writings is more literary section of the Tanakh,
consisting of stories, proverbs, psamls, and poetries.
It contains the two sub-groups, the
former prophets, the narrative
books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel,
and Kings and the Latter Prophets,
Isaiah Jeremiah, and Ezekeil and the
twelve minor prophets.
Contains wisdom literature, poetry, songs,
narrative, history, religious philosophy, and
love hymns….. 12 books in total.

Books include: Psalms, proverbs, Job, Songs,

Ruth, Lamentations, Eccelesiastes, Esther,
Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles.
 TALMUD (literally ‘study’) is the
generic term for the documents
that comment and expand upon
the Mishnah/USED TO EXPLAIN
LAWS THAT ARE NOT CLEAR IN
SCRIPTURE.
It is the comprehensive written
version of the Jewish oral law and
the subsequent commentaries on
it.
It originates from the second
century CE
One of the central works of the
Jewish people. It is the record of
rabbinic teachings.
 MADE UP OF TWO SEPARATE WORKS:
MISHNAH {etymologically means “STUDY BY
REPETITION”} is the first major written ‘redaction’ of
the Jewish oral traditions known as the “Oral Torah”.
REDACTION means the process of editing text for
publication.
MISHNAH is the first major work of Rabbinic literature.
PRIMARILY A COMPILATION OF JEWISH LAWS, WRITTEN
IN HEBREW AND EDITED SOMETIME AROUND 200 CE IN
ISRAEL.
 MISHNAH is mostly written in
Mishnaic Hebrew and some parts
are Aramaic.
It is considered in Judaism as an
early written compilation of
Jewish oral tradition and the
basis of Talmud.
Gemara is the record
of the rabbinic
discussions following
the writing down of
the oral law.
 Rabbi Y’hudah HaNasi (Judah the
Prince) is thought to be the editor of
the sixty-three tractates of Mishna in
which the laws are encoded.
The main editor of the Gemara is
generally assumed to be Rav Ashi, who
spent over fifty years collecting the
material.
TALMUD IS ALSO KNOWN BY THE NAME SHAS. This is
a Hebrew abbreviation for the expression SHISHA
SEDARIM or the six orders or parts into which the
MISHNAH is divided:
1. Zera’im (Seeds) – is about laws of agriculture, prayer, and
tithes.
2. Mo’ed (Festival) – is about the Sabbath and the festivals
3. Nashim (women) – is about marriage, divorse and
contracts.
4. Nezikin (Damages) – is about the civil and criminal laws.
5. Kodashim (Holy things) - is about sacrificing and the laws
of the Temple and dietary laws.
6. Toharot (Purities) – is about the laws of ritual purity and
impurity
YAHWEH IS CONSIDERED THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, AND IS
PERFECT, ALL KNOWING, HOLY, AND WITHOUT PHYSICAL FORM.
The core teaching of Judaism is the covenant of one God with a
chosen people.
Believes that there IS ONLY ONE GOD, THERE ARE NO OTHER gods
AND GOD CANNOT BE SUBDIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT PERSONS
(UNLIKE THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF GOD).
THE COVENANT, which is SYMBOLIZED BY THE JEWISH TRADITION
OF CIRCUMCISION IS THE AGREEMENT OF THE JEWS TO FOLLOW
GOD’S LAWS SUCH AS THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
AS A REWARD:
POSSESSION OF THE PROMISED LAND
BE BLESSED WITH RICHES AND VICTORY OVER THEIR ENEMIES.
 THE MENORA
Is the seven-branched
candelabrum which
originally stood in the
Temple in Jerusalem.
THE STAR OF DAVID
Is the universal symbol of
Judaism
It appears on synagogues,
the state flag of Israel and
the Jewish ritual objects.
 THE STAR OF DAVID
The star is made of two
triangles.
During the holocaust all Jewish
people had to wear this
symbol on their arm to show
they were Jewish.
The Hebrew term is “Magen
David”
The six points of the star are
considered to represent God’s
absolute rule over the
universe.
 A MEZUZAH
Is found on doorpost in Jewish
homes. It is a little case,
containing a tiny scroll. The
writing on the scroll is from
the bible. It is in Hebrew and is
called the Shema. It says that
JEWISH PEOPLE SHOULD LOVE
GOD AND KEEP HIS RULES.
KOSHER which means “ritually correct” and
particularly refers to food preparations and
consumptions
Anything in the water that has fins and
scales is acceptable. This therefore excludes
shellfish such as lobsters, oysters, shrimp,
clams and crabs all of which are forbidden.
 FOOD CONSUMPTIONS and handling must
be done according to religious laws.
All blood must be drained before the meat is
cook ad eaten because blood, which give
life, is sacred to God.
The Jews do not eat pork and shellfish (Lev
11) because these animals are believed to be
contaminated by what they eat.
 ORTHODOX JUDAISM
Tries to observe the traditional practices and
beliefs of Biblical Judaism.
- Strict in implementation of laws and are
hesitant to revise any practices.
- - observe traditional dietary practices, they eat
only ritually clean foods, and they honor the
Sabbath.
- Believe that God gave the Torah both written
(the TaNaKh) and oral (tradition written down
after 70 CE by the rabbis.
REFORM JUDAISM/LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVE
Aims to modernize Judaism by integrating themselves in
European culture.
They reject practices that seem outdated such as kosher
laws.
In short they emphasize change.
Consider the Torah as a statement of eternal principles
with a particular historicity, and believed that it can be
changed to respond to new conditions.
Indeed they abandon much of the original Torah as no
longer relevant.
 CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM

May be said to be a moderate position between orthodox

and Reform Judaism.
- Seeks to conserve the traditional elements of Judaism,
while allowing for modernization to a less radical
extent than reform Judaism.
- Maintains that the ideas in the Torah come from God,
but were transmitted by humans and contain a human
component.
 THE SABBATH (SHABBAT)
Is recognized as a day of rest and prayer for Jews. It typically
begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until nightfall on
Saturday.
Observing Shabbat can take many forms, depending on the
type of Judaism that a Jewish family may follow. Orthodox
and Conservative Jews, for example, may refrain from
performing any physical labor, using any electrical device or
other prohibited activities.
Most observant Jews celebrate Shabbat by reading or
discussing the Torah, attending a synagogue or socializing
with other Jews at Shabbat meals.
 PASSOVER

This holiday lasts seven or eight days and celebrates Jewish

freedom from slavery in Egypt. Specifically, Passover refers
to the biblical story of when the Hebrew God “passed over”
houses of Jewish families and saved their children during a
plague that was said to have killed all other firstborn babies
in Egypt.
 ROSH HASHANAH

Jews celebrate the birth of the

universe and humanity during this
holiday, which is also known as the
Jewish New Year.
 YOM KIPPUR (DAY OF ATONEMENT)
This “Day of Atonement” is considered
the holiest day of the year for Jews
who typically spend it fasting and
praying.
 HANUKAH

A Jewish celebration, also known as the

“Festival of Lights,” lasts eight days. It
commemorates the rededication of the Jewish
Temple in Jerusalem after a period of
persecution.
It is celebrated during midwinter, which
corresponds roughly to the celebration of
Christmas among Christians.