Religion 102 (01)
Introduction to World Religion
Fall, 1997
Israel
midrash
Rosh Hashanah
Tanakh
halakhah
Yom Kippur
Talmud
haggadah
Sukkot
Pentateuch
Mishnah
Hanukkah
Semite
Shekhinah
Passover (Pesach)
Torah
ghettos
Seder
Ark of the Covenant
Kabbalah
Orthodox
Gentiles
Hasidism
Reform
Sadducess
Zionism
Conservative
Pharisees
kosher
Reconstructionism
Essene
Sabbath
rabbis Bar Mitzvah
synagogues
Bat Mitzvah
II. Focus Questions:
1. What is Judaism and what does it mean to be Jewish today? Select one of these groups - Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Hasidic, Reconstructionist - and answer those two questions from the perspective of that group. Search out support for your answers from the chapter.
2. What are the major beliefs of Judaism?
3. What was the role of the Temple for ancient Judaism?
Why was the Temple so important
for ancient members of this faith?
4. What was the Holocaust? What religious impact did it have on Judaism?
5. What relationship does the nation of Israel have to Jewish identity and faith?
III. Questions while you view "Judaism: The Chosen People"
1. What is the covenant or contract that the Jew has with God? How does it strengthen Jewish feelings of self-identity and community membership?
2. What is the point of Elie Wiesel's story about the people who put God on trial?
3. According to Rabbi Peli, what is the role of prayer?
How is this similar to the view that, in studying the Talmud,
the purpose is not learning, it is living?