Monday:
Judaism Place of worship
- Jews worship in a synagogue
- led by a rabbi
Hat on their head
- Yarmulke is worn during prayer
Rabbi with Payot- they have long hair, they don't cut it
Menorah (candles)- It is a symbol of the nation of Israel and a mission to be "a light unto the nations"
Bar Mitzvah-Bat Mitzvah
- what is their celebration? Becoming an adult
Ritual, worship and celebration
- Many Jews make the pilgrimage to the "wailing wall in Jerusalem"
- built in the 2nd century BC
- remains of a temple that had stood for close to 500 yrs
- destroyed by the Romans
- thought to be the most sacred of places
- Praying at the wailing wall signifies being in the presence of the Divine
Judaism Beliefs
- Jews believe that there is a single god (Yahweh) who not only created the universe, but with whom every Jew can have a personal relationship
- They await the Messiah, who will be an earthly king
- They believe in heaven, but the Torah doesn't say a lot about it and focuses more on how to live your lives(615 mitzvah)
- ten commandments is the basic code of law
Kosher foods
- Foods are kosher when they meet all criteria that Jewish law applies to food
- Characteristics that make a food non-kosher:
- The mixture of meat and milk
- the use of cooking utensils which had previously been used for non-kosher food
- animals with split hooves
- Leviticus 11:3 says that Jews may eat all animals that have cloven hooves and chew their cud
- Six mammals are specifically not allowed:
- Camel
- Hyrax
- Hare
- Pig
- whales
- dolphins
- kosher animals are as follows:
- cows, goats, sheep, antelope, deer, bison
- most fish
- chicken, duck, turkey
- milk and cheese are kosher but cannot be eaten with meat or mixed with meat
- Preparation
- The slaughter of animals is designed to minimize the pain-usually done by a slice across the throat
- this eliminates the practice of hunting for food unless it can be captured alive and ritually slaughtered
- all blood and veins must be removed from the meat
Tuesday:
Problems facing Jews
- Anti-semitism in History
- Diaspora- a group of people in a small area that are forced out/ scattered people-forced out
- They were forcing the Jews out of their land
- Pograms- organized beatings, violent riot towards Jewish people
- Holocaust- 2/3 of European Jews killed
- Israel established as a Jewish state after WWII (1947)- led to several wars and a lot of terrorism in the area
- Israel vs Palestinians
- Land for peace- palestinians want land, might give some land so there would be a israel and a palestine side by side
- Israel vs Palestinians
- Comments from former Iranian President Ahmadinejad and other middle east groups
- Why have Jews been despised throughout history?
- killing Jesus, controlling money, businesses and movies?
Christianity
- Christians are divided into three main branches: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestantism
- beliefs are based on the life, teachings, and death of Jesus Christ and founded in 33 AD
- The cross is a symbol used to represent life, death and resurrection
- Jesus Christ's death made salvation and forgiveness of sins possible for everyone
- Three days after his death he was resurrected and later ascended to Heaven
- The resurrection of Christ is celebrated on Easter, which is considered Christianity's most important holiday
- The first Christians were Jews who came to believe Jesus was the Messiah
- 78.4% of US adults identify as christian
Christian Belief
- Christians believed that they can have a personal relationship with God, and that they are saved by faith, and good works (according to some)
- They believe in heaven and hell
- They believe that the bible is the word of God
Wednesday:
Christians way of life
- fellowship with god
- our relationships with others
- obedience to gods commands
- discipline
- good works
Triune god
Father, son and holy spirit
Hinduism
- based from India
- Hinduism is derived from a Sanskrit word that means "dwellers by the Indus river"
- There is no single founder of Hinduism
- It consists of thousands of different religious groups that have evolved since 1500 BC in that area
- The Hindu belief is that gods can take many forms, but all form one universal spirit called Brahman
- There is no single Hindu book of doctrine
- The Vedas are the primary literary works, containing sacred verses and hymns composed in 1500 BC
- Two other important texts are the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita
Hinduism beliefs
- The Hindu belief involves reincarnation of the soul, which is rebirth after death
- Hindus believe the conditions of one's present life are due to karma, or accumulated good or bad behavior in past live
- The purpose of life is to obtain liberation from the cycle of reincarnation
- People reach true enlightenment and happiness Moksha- when they free themselves of earthly desire
Dharma
- Signifies behaviors that are considered to be in accord with the universe
- includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living"
- People are encouraged to practice good Dharma and they may come back into a higher class/better life
Caste system in India outlawed since 1948
- Best of the best was the Brahman
- lowest is untouchables
- women are looked down upon, traditional, arranged marriages
Thursday:
Four stages of life
- Ages 12-24 you get educated and trained
- Ages 24-48 you get married, raise a family, make money, get involved in many things
- Ages 48-72 you become a mentor to a young person and start isolating themselves from the outside world
- At age 72 you end ties to the outside world and get rid of your worldly possessions prayer and devotion become very important. (getting ready for Moksha)
- Mostly aimed at men and is not followed as much as it used to be
Hindu Gods
- Many considered Hinduism to be Polytheistic
- most Hindus would say they worship one God
- There is only one ultimate god, Brahman, but shows itself in many forms
- the gods Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, for ex. are diff aspects of Brahman
- Brahma reflects gods divine work of creating the universe
- Vishnu reflects gods work in keeping universe in existence
- Shiva reflects gods work in destroying it
Budism
- Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) was the founder of Buddhism in 560 BC
- Buddha means "awakened one"
- He grew up in a wealthy family but decided to follow a path of self denial
- He did not find truth until he sat down under a tree, now known as Bo tree
- There he was "enlightened" and obtained the knowledge he had been looking for
- He discovered four noble truths and the Eightfold Path to Nirvana, or ultimate bliss
The Four Noble Truths of Buddism
1. Existence is suffering
2. The cause of suffering is craving and attachment
3. Suffering ceases at some point and turns to Nirvana
4. There is a path to Nirvana which is made up of 8 steps called the EIghtfold Path
Friday:
NO SCHOOL
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