Febuary 27th, 2012

Today in class we had our 3rd vocabulary quiz and the 3 words were Kosher, Mitzvoth, and Covenant. All 3 are concerned with living out the Jewish faith and doing things in the name of God. Mitzvoth and being Kosher are ways that Jews today honor the covenant with God. They both involve giving something up for God. This is the orthopraxis part of Judaism which reflect the customs and traditions of this faith.

During the second part of the class we watched The Fiddler on the Roof

This is an example of a Kosher Gift basket, related to one of our quiz words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdfX7ut8gw

This video is a selection from Fiddler on the Roof when the papa sings tradition, which is really what the whole movie is based on. It talks about the importance of tradition yet the world is changing so much that 'tradition' is not always honored.

Class of February 23, 2012

This class, we had an open notes quiz on the ritual packet.  The terms in question were:

• Rash Hashannah
• Yom Kippur
• Shabbatt

Next, we all read a packet describing various opinions on the Jewish afterlife.  Then class read aloud the World View section of Judaism in our text book. We took notes on the Jewish perspective on the world, absolute, human condition, community, and ethics, which were collected.

Absolute - The Jewish God is beyond all other things. He is kind, just, and loving. Naturally, he deserves the utmost love and dedication from His children.

World - The world is ultimately a good and beautiful place. Being God's designated shepherds of the earth, human beings can feel free to love and enjoy the fruits of creation.

Community - The entirety of the humanity is God's children. However, it is the people of Israel that are God's chosen people. The Jews are held up to higher standards and suffer from many tests of faith.

Ethics - Among the many sects of Judaism are a variety of outlooks on life issues. Changes in divorce and homosexuality laws are accepted by some reformist Jews, while they are looked down upon by more conservative Jews.

Problem for Humans - Humans are sinful creatures. Very often they break the covenants with God or disobey His laws.

Solution for Humans - Humans must attempt to restore the withered bonds with God. They can do this by upholding His laws and covenants. In addition, they must endure the suffering of mortal life and await the coming of a Messiah.

We also watched the music video for "Candlelight", be the Maccabeats, a Jewish a capella group.  Here is their website, as their songs can be helpful for understanding Jewish rituals.
http://www.maccabeats.com/

February 16th, 2012

Today we attended the service fair in the gallery. I think it was really helpful to see all the projects and look at the brochures, seeing as a lot of us need service hours still! We also finished filling in information about the different rituals and feasts celebrated by Jews. These included:






I also think this picture gives good examples of symbols for the different Jewish holidays that we studied :)

• Bris (circumcision)


• Bar Mitzvah (son of the commandment)


• Shiva (mourning)


• Shabbat (rest; Sabbath)


• Yom Kippor (atonement, fasting)


• Rosh Hashanah (Creation)


• Shavu'ot (early harvest)


• Hanukkah (Feast of Lights)


• Purim (deliverance)


• Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Rememberance Day)

We also began watching "Fiddler on the Roof." The first song sung was very important because it talked about tradition and how vital it is to the Jewish religion. The practices, rituals, and tradition is what keeps the Jewish community united.

February 14th, 2012

Today in class we focused a lot on the rituals of Judaism and Shabbat. We did a group activity defining words and identifying translations, timing, symbols, and rituals.

Our group translated these words as follows:

WORD TRANSLATION TIMING RITUALS SYMBOLS (in order)

Bris: covenant 8th day of boys life circumcision covenant

Bar Mitzvah: son of commandment 13 yr old boy reading from Torah adulthood

Shiva: Sitting 7 days mourning deceased death

Shabbat: rest Friday sundown to Saturday Sundown light candles and the four blessings family and bread

Yom Kippur: 24 hours of atonement and fasting; 10th day of days of awe; prayer and fasting; repentence

Rosh Hashanah: celebrating God's creation; first day of days of awe; prayer and self-examination; creation

Sukkoth: booths 8 day autumn festival commemorating exodus and celebrating harvest autumn

Shavuot: revelation spring celebrating early harvest 10 Commandments

Hanukkah: Feast of Lights 8 day celebration @ end of solar year lighting of menorah oil and light

Purim: lots early spring celebrates story of Esther and Mordecai with party and costumes & plays

Yom HaShoah: Holocaust Remembrance April 20th memorials star of david

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwFFQScUcT4

• This youtube link is really helpful in displaying the rituals which are a very important part of Shabbat

This is a great image of the symbols of Shabbat!

February 21, 2012

The first blue day, and, ergo, Blue 2 period in which our IB World Religions I resides, of the week fell on Tuesday the 21. A substitute Mr. Poletto covered for Ms. Egan's absence.

A quiz was had on the terms Shabbat, Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashanah.

Shabbat being the "sabbath" for Jews, a day of rest.

Yom Kippur being the day of atonement in Judaism.

Rosh Hashanah being a day of celebration for creation.

The remainder of the class was spent watching the film Fiddler on the Roof. The feature features a tale of a Jewish male and his eager-to-marry daughter living in Russia. Philosophic questions on tradition vs. the new are a high point to this film.

February 10th, 2012

This class was continuing to introduce us to Judaism.  We began class with a prayer lead by Mrs. Egan.  A "Hail, Mary", to be exact.


Afterwards, we went straight into the first Vocabulary Quiz for Judaism.  The word were:
Talmud - The collection of rabbinic teachings. It had deep influence over the lives of Jews from the beginnign of the medieval period. The Mishnah and the Gemara were incorporatedin the Talmud.
Aggadah - The nonlegal, story aspect of rabbinic literature. It is distinguished from Halakhah, the legal side of Judaism.
Torah - Teachings that copmrise the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.


What's that, you say?  You wish there was a more convenient way to study these vocabulary words with such free services as Quizlet?  Well, courtesy of the wonderful Jillian Wessel, here is a Quizlet for all the Judaism Vocabulary Words.

http://quizlet.com/9452003/judaism-terms-flash-cards/

Following the Quiz, Ms. Egan proceeded to lead us to the gallery to eat miniature donuts.  Why?  Because Mrs. Egan is awesome.

We then returned to room 109 For what is possibly the most impressive overview of Jewish History I have ever seen in twenty minutes.  But, then again, I don't think I have seen very many twenty minute Jewish History presentations, if any.  Still, it went over everything from the earliest prophets to World War II and the Holocaust.

A theme of this class is that Jews have been pushed around quite a bit.  The holy land has been conquered several times.  One example is in Judah, when Babylonians exiled the Jews in 597 BCE.  This picture shows Jewish people in exile under a Babylonian.

Links:

Vocabulary?  Well, instead of doing a section of the vocabulary, here is a Quizlet of all the Judaism vocabulary in place of one link.

http://quizlet.com/9452003/judaism-terms-flash-cards/

Here is a timeline of the Holy Land and the various groups that have fought over, seized, or taken ownership of it.

http://allfaith.com/Religions/Noahide/timeline.html

February 8th, 2012

Today in class we took a map quiz, and also explained what the Hallowing of Life in Judaism is.
It is the practice and importance of rituals in Judaism which is based upon the belief that all life is a reflection of God. They see God as the source of all piety; even the smallest thing can be a reflection of God. He prepares the world for the coming of the Kingdom of God when everything will be redeemed and the holiness of God's creation will be clearly seen.

We then discussed the Jewish Torah (scrolls) which is the center of Jewish spiritual life. It unites community of believers in law, history, culture, and practice. There are twenty-four books in the Hebrew Bible (which is called the Tanak; T-N-K). It consists of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. The Canon was established in 600 BCE.

The Jewish Talmud is the book of Jewish scholarship and learning. It contains religious laws, history books, and story books. It comes from the Hebrew word talmed, or study. It has two parts called the Mishah (Jewish law from Biblical times- Hebrew shanah which means to repeat) and the Gemara (explanation of the Mishnah- Aramaic gemar which means to teach).

Class of February 6, of the Year 2012

The class of this day, Monday, marked the introduction of our study on the world religion known as Judaism. In continuation of our past viewings for the other religions, Ms. Egan arranged for us to watch the Judaism episode of the CPD religions video series. Among the many aspects of Jewish life brought up, the three classes of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews (becoming more liberal sequentially from left to right) were focused on. In addition, the many sacredities and customs of the Jewish people in the home, temple, as well as in daily life, were explained.

In the class's beginning, Ms. Egan gave a few words on the recent mandate issued by the federal government which some believe to hamper the religious freedom of American citizens.

At class's end, the presentation preliminary work was handed back, graded.