Religious Practices that Shape Religious Identity Flashcards

1
Q

What is the Aron Kodesh?

A

The Holy Ark

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2
Q

What was the origin of the Aron Kodesh?

A

It housed the stone tablets of Moses and was kept in an inner chamber of the Temple

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3
Q

What may the Aron Kodesh symbolise?

A

The mighty presence of Yahweh

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4
Q

How is the Aron Kodesh treated?

A

It is always placed in the direction of Jerusalem, it cannot be sold, destroyed or used in a secular way

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5
Q

Why is the synagogue so important in festivals?

A

The reading of the Torah can only take place in the synagogue

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6
Q

How is the synagogue used in Rosh Hashanah?

A

There is a 4-6 hour morning service

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7
Q

How is the synagogue used in Yom Kippur?

A

Only day when 5 services are held

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8
Q

What is Simchat Torah?

A

The celebration of the completion of the annual reading of the Torah within Orthodox synagogue - scrolls are paraded around

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9
Q

What is Simchat Torah a reminder of?

A

The cyclical nature of the Torah

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10
Q

What are 2 alternative names for the synagogue?

A

Bet K’nesset or bet midrash

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11
Q

What does Bet K’nesset mean?

A

House of meeting

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12
Q

How is the synagogue a house of meeting?

A

Contains meeting rooms acting as a venue for a variety of events

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13
Q

What does Bet Midrash mean?

A

House of study

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14
Q

How is the synagogue a house of study?

A

Teaches Hebrew classes and how to read the Torah

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15
Q

What is Bet din?

A

A rabbinical court

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16
Q

What is the purpose of the bet din?

A

Makes judgements on civil disputes using Jewish law and rules on religious matters

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17
Q

What is the dayanim?

A

The panel of 3 judges in the bet din, experienced rabbis

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18
Q

What are some example actions of the bet din? (4)

A
  • settle business disputes
  • issue divorce certificates
  • declares food kosher
  • tests people for conversion
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19
Q

What does mikveh mean?

A

‘A place where water has gathered’

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20
Q

What is the mikveh?

A

A special pool where Jews may immerse to purify themselves - private and attached to the synagogue

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21
Q

When do Orthodox women use the mikveh?

A

After their period or childbirth so to resume sexual relations with their husbands

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22
Q

When do all Jews use the mikveh?

A

The day before Yom Kippur as a sign of repentance

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23
Q

When are utensils immersed in the mikveh?

A

To cleanse them is they have been in contact with non-kosher food

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24
Q

What does Bet tefillah mean?

A

House of prayer

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25
How many prayer services per day are held at the synagogue and what do they correspond with?
- 3 - the times when sacrifices were offered at the Temple
26
Where does the word 'synagogue' originate?
Greek - 'to gather together'
27
What was the original purpose of the synagogue?
To preserve Jewish identity following exile and reflect the destroyed Temple
28
What is the matzah?
A piece of unleavened bread on the seder table
29
What is the symbolism of the matzah?
Reminder of having no time to wait for bread to rise when the Israelites escaped slavery
30
What are the 7 main items on the seder plate?
1. Matzah 2. Bone 3. Maror 4. Charaset 5. Karpas 6. Roasted egg 7. Salty water
31
What is the symbolism of the roasted lamb shank bone?
Commemorates the lamb sacrifice so the angel of death would pass over
32
What is the maror?
A bitter herb
33
What is the symbolism of the maror?
Aims to recall the bitterness of slavery
34
What is charaset?
A sweet paste made of apple, cinnamon and raisins
35
What does charaset symbolise?
The mortar used by the slaves and also the sweetness of redemption
36
What is karpas?
A green vegetable
37
What does salt water symbolise?
Tears and sweat of slavery
38
What does karpas symbolise?
Spring
39
What is the symbolism of the roasted egg?
Recalls sacrifice that would've been made in the Temple
40
Where is the order of the seder meal laid out?
Haggadah
41
What does the telling of Exodus in the seder meal begin with?
The youngest member asking 4 questions about the origins of traditions and symbolism - answered by the eldest
42
How does the seder meal beckon the Messianic age?
Cup of wine set aside and door left open for the Prophet Elijah
43
Where are the origins of Pesach found?
Exodus 12-15
44
What are the main points of Exodus 12-15?
- Moses petitions Pharaoh - Refuses and God sends 10 plagues - Last plague kills first born - Lamb's blood on doorpost - Pharaoh's son dies - Begs Moses to leave - Red Sea
45
What does Pesach remember?
Jewish escape from slavery in Egypt
46
When is Pesach?
7 days in Spring, begins on 15th day of Nissan
47
What is the significance of Pesach? (3)
- Celebrated by non-observant - Theme of freedom and redemption - Beckons Messiah
48
What is the shofar?
A trumpet made from a ram's horn
49
What does the shofar symbolise?
Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac and the enter into the covenant of Moses
50
What do the 3 notes of the shofar symbolise?
Crying, expressing and yearning for the reunification with God
51
What does Tashlikh mean?
'To cast'
52
What is tashlikh?
Symbolic casting away of sins of the previous year by tossing pieces of bread into a body of flowing water
53
When does tashlikh take place?
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah
54
What are the 10 days of returning?
The period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, providing Jews with the opportunity to repent
55
What may Jews do during the 10 days of returning?
Make the effort to contact anyone they might have wronged in order to ask for forgiveness
56
What does the 10 days of returning symbolise?
The period of time which God takes to finalise his judgement
57
What are the 5 services of Yom Kippur?
1. Kol Nidrei 2. Shacharit 3. Musaf 4. Afternoon service 5. Neilah
58
What is Kol Nidrei?
The opening service of Yom Kippur, states all religious vows that will be uttered are null and void - acknowledgment that all promises to God can't be kept
59
What is Musaf?
The second service of Yom Kippur which aims to release people from guilt for the past
60
What does the Afternoon Service include?
Reading of the Book of Jonah with its theme of repentance
61
What does Neilah mean?
'closing of the gates'
62
What is Neilah?
The final service of Yom Kippur, ended with a single blast from the shofar
63
What is Yom Kippur?
The Day of Atonement
64
What do Jews refrain from during the 25 hour fast on Yom Kippur?
Luxurious bathing, using perfumes, having sex and wearing leather
65
What is the purpose of Yom Kippur?
To cleanse for past sins and make amends for wrongdoing
66
What does Rosh Hashanah mean?
'Head of the Year' - Jewish New Year festival
67
When is Rosh Hashanah?
The 1st and 2nd of the Jewish month Tishri
68
What is Rosh Hashanah the anniversary of?
Creation of Adam and Eve
69
What are selichot?
Prayers for forgiveness - said in the month leading to Rosh Hashanah
70
What is recited on Rosh Hashanah?
the 13 Attributes of Mercy
71
How do Jews bless each other when leaving the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah?
'May you be written down for a good year'
72
How is Rosh Hashanah observed at home?
A round challah loaf, apple dipped in honey and a pomegranate
73
What are the purposes of Rosh Hashanah? (3)
- let go of resentment - ask God for forgiveness - be judged favourably in the Book of Life to have a good next year
74
Acknowledgement of sin is a failure of spiritual development:
1. Every year 2. Mitzvot 3. True penitence
75
Acknowledgement of sin is not a failure of spiritual development:
1. Self-examination 2. Closer to God 3. Non-acknowledgement
76
Festivals are effective for enforcing identity:
1. Shabbat 2. Attending synagogue 3. Community
77
Festivals are not effective for enforcing identity:
1. Everyday life 2. Inheritance 3. Conjunction
78
Redemption is relevant today:
1. Worship and prayer 2. Pesach 3. Messiah
79
Redemption is not relevant today:
1. Reform 2. Present 3. Everyday life
80
Pesach is the central festival in Judaism:
1. Commemoration 2. Messianic age 3. Unites community
81
Pesach is not the central festival in Judaism:
1. Rosh Hashanah 2. Yom Kippur 3. Shabbat
82
The synagogue is the heart of the community:
1. Social centre 2. School 3. Purification and ritual
83
The synagogue is not the heart of the community:
1. Home 2. Parental education 3. Rare attendance
84
The synagogue has a main purpose:
1. Meeting place 2. Preservation 3. Historic role
85
The synagogue does not have a main purpose:
1. Variety 2. Home 3. Torah study
86
Ark - Talmud
'it is a mitzvah to set aside a special place for them, to honour that place and beautify it'
87
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
'and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children'
88
Ezekiel 36:25
'I will sprinkle water on you, and you will be clean: I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols'
89
Passover and Exodus - Anderson
'In this poetic portrayal the event is more than a deed of liberation. It is the event of the creation of a people'
90
Exodus 12:12
'on that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals'
91
Rosh Hashanah - Pilkington
'the need to face up to mistakes, to let go of resentments, to feel that others have let go of resentments towards you, and to feel the genuine chance of a fresh start'
92
Isaiah 1:18
'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow'
93
Yom Kippur - Rabbi Sacks
'God has given us free will and thus the strength to turn from bad to good'