What is Hannukah?
8 day festival of lights--celebrates the re-dedication of the temple (enough oil for one night lasted 8)
What is the Tanakh?
Hebrew Bible consisting of Torah, Prophets & Writings (similar to Christian Old Testament)
If someone is "sitting Shiva," what has happened?
Someone has just died. Shiva is a 7 day period of mourning for the dead beginning immediately after the funeral.
What is a bar mitzvah? What is it called for girls?
The religious initiation ceremony of a Jewish boy who has reached the age of thirteen. Bat Mitzvah. Means "son/daughter of the commandment"
Name a Jewish Nobel Prize Winner.
Albert Einstein, Elie Wiesel, Niels Bohr, Milton Friedman, Yitzhak Rabin, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nadine Gordimer, Saul Bellow, Lev Landau, Franco Modligliani
What is Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur?
Festivals that celebrate the Jewish New Year (marked by fasting & prayers of repentence)
What is anti-Semitism?
Hostility and prejudice toward Jews (some is based, in part, on the idea of "Chosen People" which does not imply superior status, but a partnership God & human
Name some dietary laws of Kashruth (eating kosher).
meat comes from animals that have split hooves & chew their cud (cows, sheep, goats, OK; pigs, NO), meat and dairy separated, animals slaughtered humanely, etc
Name 3 major sects of Judaism.
Orthodox, Hasidism, Reform, Conservative
What are two other (historical) names for the present-day Israel?
Palestine; Canaan
What is a rabbi?
A Jewish scholar or teacher, especially of the law; a person appointed as a Jewish religious leader.
What was King Solomon's most significant contribution?
built a temple that would serve as the centre of worship for the Jewish faith for the next millennium (present-day Western Wall)
What event is celebrated in the Jewish festival of Passover?
10th plague of Egypt=death all first-born; death would "pass over" those that smeared lamb's blood on door; indicates they are Hebrew/descendants of Abraham
What does the Star of David symbolize?
Shield of David; will to survive, source of pride
What is Judaism's most sacred text?
The Torah (The Five Books of the Law)
What does the menorah symbolize? How many branches does it have?
symbolizes light; 7 branches- one branch for each of the six days of creation, and one for Sabbath
Name 3 significant events in which Jews were either persecuted, oppressed, or faced serious challenges (other than the Holocaust).
drought in Canaan, enslaved in Egypt, invaded by Assyrians (721 BCE), by Babylonians (586 BCE, temple destroyed), 168 BCE Maccabbean revolt, 64 BCE Romans,
Name 3 significant events involving Moses.
killed an Egyptian, burning bush, 10th plague, the Exodus- led the Israelites out of oppression, 10 commandments, parting of the Red Sea,
Name 2 symbols of Judaism.
The Menorah & The Star of David
What was the Exodus?
The significant event in which Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. The word exodus means “going out” or “departure
What is a synagogue?
A place for congregational worship that emerged during the Exile and became important in the period after the destruction of the temples in 586 BCE and 70 CE.