Judaism Intro - Main Concepts and Celebrations
Here's an interesting idea regarding the Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D. We had a discussion about it regarding whether seeing images from so far away can help us or hinder us in our own understanding and/or belief in a god. For some it might make it easier to see God as an even more powerful entity than before. And for others it might fuel the fires of rationality and make it more difficult to accept that there is a god of any sort considering how big this place we call the universe is. Great discussion, folks, have another lookie at that short video and by all means show your parents, maybe it will be the catalyst for a great conversation!
Please see an earlier post for the Intro to Judaism slide show, (well, here it is again).
We began the class today with what I call "The Telephone Game." There are enough cell phones and computers in the class that we made teams of 3 or 4. each team was split and one part of the team was given a list of terms to look up and define but they had to text those terms to the other half of their team for them to look up. In the old days the second part of the team then had to text back the answers . . . . today we can just sit together to see who can piece together all of the answers the quickest!
Anti-Semitism: hostility and prejudice toward Jews
Ark of the Covenant: the wooden chest that held the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. The temple in Jerusalem became the home of the Ark
bar/bat mitzvah: the religious initiation ceremony of a Jewish boy who has reached the age of thirteen/Jewish girl who has reached the age of twelve or thirteen
chosen people: the idea that God chose the Jewish people to be the keepers of his covenant. The concept of “chosen” is reciprocal, with God choosing humanity and humanity choosing God.
Diaspora: word used when referring to the Jewish population living outside of Israel
Exodus: the significance event in which Moses lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land
Gerut: the process of conversion to Judaism
Ghetto: the area of a city in which Jews were required to live. The first was in Venice in 1516.
Holy Ark: a cabinet-like structure in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls
Kiddush: a blessing recited when drinking wine that has been specially sanctified for the Sabbath or a holy day
Kippah: a small circular cap worn by Jewish men, also known as a yarmulke
Kosher: fulfilling the requirements of the Jewish dietary laws
Menorah: a candelabrum with seven branches, used at home and in the synagogue on the Sabbath and holidays
Messiah: means “anointed one”. Jews believe that a great king will come to lead them
Rabbi: a Jewish scholar or teacher, especially of Jewish law; a person appointed as a Jewish religious leader
Shiva: a period of seven-day mourning for the dead beginning immediately after the funeral
Star of David: a figure consisting of two interlaced equilateral triangles. It is used as a Jewish and Israeli symbol
Synagogue: central places of Jewish worship today
Torah: the Laws of Moses, as well as the rest of the Hebrew scriptures
Judaism's Most Beloved Celebrations
Today we introduced the topic of celebration in our study of Judaism. Here's a handout for the assignment, Judaism's Celebrations. All cultures and religions celebrate rites of passage (Bar/Bat Mitzvah, etc), historic events (Passover) and other important aspects of what makes the culture or religion special, so everyone will "teach" the class about a special event on the Jewish "calendar".
The Pianist Project
This leads us to our next project which is called, The Pianist & Holocaust Survivors. We spent a bit of time in the Library and everyone found a suitable print resource as the basis for your research into the life of one survivor. We'll head back to the Library to get to work in earnest on this project, it shouldn't take more than two days to complete. We'll do our Hinduism / Buddhism test next week, but not on Wednesday!
No comments:
Post a Comment