Rituals Flashcards
Describe a Jewish marriage ceremony.
-The ceremony takes place under the chuppah which is a symbol of the home the new couple will build together. It is also open on all sides, like Abraham and Sarah’s tent to welcome people in unconditional hospitality.
-The central part of the ceremony is the giving of the ring. The ring is made of plain gold without blemishes to show the marriage will be of simple beauty and is given in front of witnesses.
-In the second part, the seven blessings are recited. These talk about God as creator and giver of joy: “Blessed are you… who makes happiness and joy, groom and bride.”
-At the end, the groom smashes glass to symbolise the destruction of the temple and fragility of marriage.
Describe two features of a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.
-One feature is the boy demonstrates what he has learnt.
-Before the ceremony, the boy will study the Bar Mitzvah and other Jewish practises as he is preparing for adulthood heard in Judges,” And the boy grew up and the Lord blessed him.”
-During the ceremony, he is called to the Bimah and will read from the Sefer Torah as a sign of what he has learnt and prepared for.
-Another feature is the celebration of family and friends. During the ceremony, the father will give a speech thanking God while other family and friends will be present at the Bar Mitzvah.
-Then after his first Aliyah (honour), family and friends will shower the boy with sweets as a symbol of sweet blessings from above. Meanwhile, the rest of the congregation will also sing Mazal Tov in celebration.
Describe Orthodox Jewish beliefs about keeping kosher.
Some Orthodox Jews may agree with this statement because they are often found in large communities around synagogues.
-Therefore, shops will be more likely to stock kosher foods to adhere to the local customers. The Rabbi Boteach claims, “When God gives commandments, they are universally applicable in every age and at every time.”
-This shows that Jews can and should always keep God’s laws. Therefore, they will still keep kosher dietary laws in Britain no matter.
-Hence, they may find it easier to keep kosher than other denominations as they will take actions to always do so such as living in a predominantly Jewish area where shops will be more likely to sell Kosher foods.
Give an influence and unconvincing argument for Orthodox beliefs about keeping kosher.
-Influence: Orthodox Jews to avoid eating at non-kosher restaurants or cafes. They can just search up whether a location is kosher or not and go there if they choose.
-This may suggest it easy to keep kosher as food items and restaurants can just be found on the internet.
-Unconvincing argument because some shops may charge more for kosher foods as they may be more difficult to stock.
-Therefore, it will be harder for poorer Jews to afford a full kosher meal and follow all of the dietary laws.
Describe Reform Jewish beliefs about keeping kosher.
-Some Reform Jews may disagree with this statement because they find it inconvenient to keep all mitzvot in the modern day (including kosher laws).
-In Leviticus, Jews are not allowed to eat animals with “divided hoof and that chews the cud… that have fins and scales.” This restricts Jews from eating a number of food products.
-However, rules such as those were written to keep the Israelites safe in the desert. In turn, Reform Jews may believe they have no place in a modern-day Britain.
-As a result, they may not keep all kosher dietary laws as it is difficult to do so now, and many foods have few dangers this many years later.
-Hence, Reform jews may find it difficult to keep kosher as it inconveniences their lives.
Give an influence and convincing argument for reform beliefs about keeping kosher.
-Influence: Reform Jews to choose which laws they keep.
-Many rules are seen as outdated so they may update them or discard them if they are difficult to follow in the modern day such as the kosher laws.
-Convincing: other rules like not mixing meat and dairy are also costly in the modern day as it difficult and an inconvenience to have two of everything in a kitchen just to make sure all rules are being followed.
Describe other Jewish beliefs about keeping kosher.
-Some Other Jews may disagree with this statement because keeping kosher also affects how food is prepared.
-This may be costly and hard to achieve for some people. In Deuteronomy, Jews are told, “Do not eat the blood.”
-Therefore, for animals to be kosher, they must be prepared in a certain way known as shechitah. For this to happen, the animals’ throat must be slit by a shochet who has been specially trained to kill in a kosher way.
-They will then drain the blood to keep with kosher laws. However, a shochet may be difficult to find if food was needed to be prepared kosher.
-Therefore, it may be expensive for Jews to have their food prepared in such a way as shochets may charge more as their service is not very common.
Give an influence and unconvincing argument for other beliefs about keeping kosher.
Influence: other Jews to mainly eat parev foods (neither meat nor dairy).
-This is because there are no specific laws which makes it difficult to prepare or eat those foods so many Jews will mainly eat them instead as they are more convenient.
-Unconvincing argument because normal butchers may provide foods without blood if asked.
It may also be easy to keep this rule in restaurants who will adhere to food preferences if asked.
