Remember it!
- The Hebrew Bible, the Tenakh has three parts, the Torah, the Nevi’im and the Ketuvim.
- The Torah has five books, Bresheit (Genesis), Shemot (Exodus), Vayicra (Leviticus), Bamidbar (Numbers), and Devarim (Deuteronomy). The Nevi’im contains the words of 14 prophets, with four called the Former prophets and ten called the Latter prophets. The Ketuvim contains text that has less authority than recognised prophecy.
- The Talmud contains the body of Jewish Law and has two parts, the Mishnah and the Gemara. The Mishnah is the written version of the oral law while the Gemara records discussions about interpretation. Jewish law is called the Halakah.
- A Rabbi or a Chazzan (also called a Cantor) leads the Jewish religious service.
- A synagogue includes a Bimah (pulpit), the Aron Hakodesh (a wooden cabinet containing the Torah scrolls), the Ner Tamid (an ever-burning light) and a Menorah (a seven-branched lamp representing enlightenment).
- Shabbat is the weekly Jewish holy day which is observed from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday.
- Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the Jewish New Year. Yom Kippur marks the day when the Book of Life is completed and shut for the year. Pesach (the Passover) commemorates the liberation of the Jews from enslavement in Egypt.
- Observant Jews eat only food prepared according to Kosher rites. Non-kosher food is called Trefah.
- Jewish boys are circumcised soon after birth in a ceremony called Brit Milah.
- The Bar Mitzvah is the ceremony that marks the transition from childhood to adulthood for boys and Bat Mitzvah is the ceremony for girls.
- Jewish marriage ceremonies include the Tena’im (smashing a china plate), the Ufruf (public announcement of the marriage) and Mikveh (ritual washing for the bride).
- When a Jew dies the Kaddish, a prayer to God, is recited. The body is washed and dressed in a white sheet, the Tachrichim. In a ritual called Keriah, mourners tear their clothes to show their grief. After the funeral comes Shiva, seven days of mourning.
- Nazi Germany’s leader Hitler pursued a deliberate policy of exterminating Europe’s Jews, killing six million of them. This catastrophic event is called the Holocaust.
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Test it!
1) What are the three Abrahamic faiths?
2) What is the most important Jewish holy text called? What are the names of its three parts? Describe the three parts.
3) Describe the Talmud.
4) Name three important interior features of a synagogue.
5) Describe the festivals of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Pesach.
6) What is Yad Vashem and what does it commemorate?
7) What is a Tefillin?
8) Describe the Jewish coming of age ceremonies.
9) What are the most important Jewish marriage ceremonies?
10) How do Jews mark a funeral?
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Some top tips!
- Print out the Test It! Questions – it will allow you to replicate exam conditions and also allows you to give your eyes a rest from the computer screen whilst doing your crucial revision.
- Make a copy of the Remember It! Section and put in a place that you often look at. i.e. front of a journal, next to a mirror, on a kitchen cupboard door, etc. That way you can do some cheeky religious studies revision whilst doing those things you have to do!
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