SOR1 – Topic 2 Depth Study On Judaism

Resource Description

Depth Study 1 → Judaism

Definitions:

Creed: a formula of religious beliefs

Diaspora: the dispersion of Jews, caused by the Exile into Babylon and other scatterings of the Jewish people throughout the ages. Today, it is the generic term used to refer to all Jews who live outside the modern State of Israel, founded in 1948

Haskalah: the Jewish Enlightenment – a period in the eighteenth century of expansion in Jewish cultural and philosophical thought an in dialogue with European society at large; strongest in Eastern Europe

Sages: the rabbis of the Talmudic period

Shabbat: the Jewish day of rest and religious observance, known in English as the Sabbath. It begins at sunset on Friday and ends on Saturday night at nightfall when three stars can be seen in the sky. Shabbat is a foretaste of the peace and tranquility of the world to come. A part of Jewish mystical belief is that if all Jews kept the Sabbath, the Messiah would come.

Temple: the sacred building built in Jerusalem as a place to offer sacrifices and bring burnt offerings to God. Rebuilt several times, the Temple was finally destroyed in the Jewish war against Rome, 66-73 CE. Traditional Judaism still looks to the day when the Temple will be rebuilt.