Judaism Key Terms PDF

Judaism Key Terms 1. Covenant- An agreement of mutual faithfulness, like a contract or alliance, between two parties; “I will be your God and you shall be my people”; the agreement binds the parties together with mutual privileges and obligations 2. Messiah - A word meaning “the anointed one...

Judaism Key Terms 1. Covenant- An agreement of mutual faithfulness, like a contract or alliance, between two parties; “I will be your God and you shall be my people”; the agreement binds the parties together with mutual privileges and obligations 2. Messiah - A word meaning “the anointed one”; the word “Christ“ comes from the Greek word meaning the same thing 3. Diaspora - The scattering of Jews outside of Israel in both ancient and modern times 4. Ashkenazim - Central and Eastern European Jews and their descendants 5. Sephardim - Primarily Spanish, Portuguese, and North African Jews and their descendants 6. Hasidism - The founder of Hasidism was Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1759), also known as Ba’al Shem Tov. He taught that communion with God happened through prayer, good deeds, humility, and, especially, joy. 7. Shoah (pg. 111) - From the Hebrew word for “catastrophe,” “calamity,” or, as it is usually translated, “holocaust”; it refers to Nazi Germany’s deliberate attempt to exterminate the Jewish race between 1933 and 1945 8. Tikkun Olam (pg. 108) - repairing the world through social action 9. Secular Jews - An ethnic Jew who is not religious 10. Holocaust - The systematic killing of over six million Jews before and during World War II 11. Zionism - A movement that began in the nineteenth century for the purpose of creating a Jewish state in what is now modern Israel; today, “Zionism” refers to strong support for the State of Israel. 1948 12. Shabbat - Hebrew word meaning “Sabath” day of rest and celebration 13. Rosh Hashanah - New years for Jews. Held in September The main celebration is held in the synagogue, where the people declare God king again for the coming year and pray for God’s protection and blessing. 14. Yom Kippur - A day of holiday, used for anointing 15. Shofar (pg. 119) - the sounding of the ram’s horn, or shofar, to herald the beginning of the new year. After prayers are said, the rabbi blows the shofar. Ritual in Rosh Hashanah 16. Seder Meal - Ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover 17. Passover (Pesach) - The liberation of the Egyptian slaves 18. Kaddish - a special prayer of sanctification in the synagogue each morning and each evening for 11 months after the death. 19. Shiva - A seven-day period of mourning 20. Star of David - The Star of David is a six-pointed star that is formed from two overlapping triangles. It has seven spaces, the six points plus the center. The number seven is important in Judaism, for example, the six days of creation plus the seventh day of rest. 21. Menorah - a seven-branched candelabra, created in the wilderness (in Exodus) and later transferred to Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. 22. Torah Scroll - A literal scroll, it's considered the most sacred item in the religion 23. Synagogue - Their place of worship 24. Tanakh - Neviim, Prophets, Ketuvim) - Hebrew word for the sacred writings of Judaism; the word is formed from the first Hebrew letter of the three parts of the Jewish scriptures (what Christians call the Old Testament): Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim 25. Shema - Profession of faith. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.” 26. Talmud - The compilation of written interpretations of the oral Torah (the Halakhah); after the second defeat of the Jews by the Romans in 135 CE, the rabbis began to write down and interpret this oral Torah 27. Halakhah - “Laws” or “the path”; the oral tradition of Judaism 28. Mitzvot - Religious or moral path that Jews must follow; the plural form “mizvot” 29. Kosher - Food blessed by a rabbi in a special kitchen 30. Israel - Today, Israel is a country in the Middle East. The modern state of Israel was established as a Jewish homeland in 1948. In the Bible, however, “Israel” describes the Hebrew people or nation with whom God made a covenant.