Judaism Introduction

Origins

Judaism is one of the 3 Prophetic Monotheistic Religions in the world, the other two are Christianity and Islam.

It is prophetic as there were numerous Prophets who predicted the coming of a Messiah, Monotheistic as they believe in one God-mono (one) Theology (belief/ study of God).

 

History

Jews are an ancient people of around 3000 years old, their history is told in the bible and is traced back to Abraham of around 1900 BC (before common time era)

The Jews have been known as Jews, Israelites and Hebrews. (Jesus was a Jew, however the Jews accept Jesus as a wise man, but not he chosen Messiah as Christians believe, hence Judaism predates and heavily influences Christianity, but is not part of Christianity).

Abraham 

Abraham is one of the first recorded leaders of the Hebrews in the Bible. He was a wealthy man who was called by God to leave his land and move from Ur to Canaan, or Israel as it is called today.

Abraham heard the call of the Lord to stop believing in pagan Gods (like God of wind, God of Mountain etc.) and he followed God's request and led his people from Mesopotamia to Canaan. This journey is recorded in the book of Genesis. We can map his journey here.

Genesis

Day 1- Day and Night

Day 2- Waters and Earth

Day 3- Plants

Day 4- Light and Dark

Day 5- Fish, Bird and Animals

Day 6- Man

Day 7- Relaxes

Abraham

Who is Abraham?

Abraham is the father of the Jewish, Christian and Islam religions. He was the first Jew to worship one God.

What did Abraham believe? How was it different to the people of the time?

Abraham believed in one God and that God was the only creator. In comparison to Abraham's beliefs in one God; other Jews believed in many Gods and worshipped different idols.

What do you think a Covenant is and what Covenant did God make with Abraham?

A covenant is a understanding, promise or a committment. God promised Abraham to make a great nation, to make him a father of many nations, to bless everyone in his name and the promised land.

What sacrifice was Abraham requested to make and why did God ask this of Abraham?

He was asked him to sacrifice (kill) his son, Isaac for him. God asked this of Abraham to see if he truly loved him and was loyal/devoted. Patriarch means father.  

What does the word Patriarchs mean? http://www.jewfaq.org
Patriarch means father. The three Patriarchs are Abraham, jacob and Isaac.

Refugee Activity

Australia’s Refugee Dilemma!

Imagine if....

The following is an example of an imaginary scenario that can be used to encourage students to think about what it means to be a refugee.

Imagine that your mother or father arrives home from work one day and tells you that the police are about to arrive to arrest the whole family, because of your family’s religious beliefs.  You are told to pack a small backpack and be ready in 2 minutes. A family friend drives you overland to Darwin where you climb aboard a yacht. Your parents hand over thousands of dollars in cash. Six weeks later the yacht leaves you on a Japanese beach.  Police arrive and take you to a detention centre which is prison and home to refugees like yourself from various parts of the world, all speaking different languages. Only a few other people speak English.  The guards, canteen staff, doctor etc. all speak Japanese.  Your parents tell you that they are applying for refugee status in Japan, which means you will be allowed to live in the country, go to school there and eventually get a job. 

1. What would you pack in your backpack?

I’d put something special to me that’s small like jewellery or trinkets from friends/relatives, photos, books, food.

2. What would you miss most if you had to leave your home, your school, Australia?

I would miss my friends, family, relatives, my house, my books, school, my pets, my life and all the things I loved too to do for fun.

3.      What would be some of the problems of living in a detention centre in a foreign country?

If you lived in a detention centre in another country you wouldn’t know their language, way of life, their laws or expectations of people.

4.      What would be the biggest challenges for you if you and your family were accepted as refugees?

It would be difficult to learn the countries customs and language as well as be accepted by other people. We would find it difficult to adapt to the life of this country and we would miss our old home.

5.      Why is this ‘imagine’ story a very unlikely one?

 It is very unlikely this would occur in Australia because Australia is a diverse and      multicultural country and accepts people regardless of their religion, nationality and differences. Australia’s laws and beliefs insure that this would never happen.

Noble Peace Prize

The Founder of the Prizes 

• In the 1890's, Swedish,Alfred Nobel donate his large fortune to nobel Prizes.
• He dedicated his award to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, fro the abolition or eduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

An Example:

• The United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan were chosen
• ".....for their work for a bettre organized and more peaceful world......achieve peace, security....."

The First Peace Prize

• Henry Dunant, fonunder of the Red Cross, shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 with Frederic Passy, a leading international pacifist of the time.
• In addition to humanitarian efoorts and ppeace movements, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded for working within a wide range of fields including advocacy of human rights, mediation of international conflicts and arms control.

Number of Prizes

• The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 120 laureates (winners-more than one) - 97 individuals and 23 times to organizations.

The Gender Aloocation

• Of the 97 individuals awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 12 are women.

Organisations can win the Nobel Peace award           

•  e.g. Red Cross, Amnesty International      

                               

United Nations

These are ten articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 2- Freedom from discrimination-everyone is entitled to human rights

Article 4- Freedom from slavery

Article 6- The law treats everyone

Article 8- Right to remedy by competent tribunal

Article 10- Right to a fair public hearing

Article 12- Freedom from interference with privacy, family, hoe and correspondence

Article 14- Right to asylum in other countries from persecution

Article 16- Right to marriage and family

Article 18- Freedom of belief and religion

Article 20- Right of peaceful assembly and association

Village Space Presentation-Climate change

Kiribati is a country which is being effected by the worldwide issue of Global Warning.

What was the issue about?
The island of Kiribati is slowly drowning alon g with many other islands.

What is causing causing the issue?
The Green house gases that are being emitted when fossil fuels are used are causing the earth to become warmer. This is resulting in the melting of the ice in Antartica and the Artic circle, causing sea levels to rise and submerge small islands. Kiribati is one of the islands in which the sea is submerging more and more each year.

Who is affected?
Due to this issue the people of Kiribati are losing thier homes. Many of these people are becoming refugees in other countries so they can escape their island before all of it disappears.
Kiribati isn't the only island experiencing this issue. Their many pacific nations being affected.

What can be done?
To stop Global Warming people can:

• Use solar energy/solar panels
• Hydro-powered energy can be used
• Wind Turbines can be used
• Educate people abou the issue, so that they know how to help
• Reduce the amount of fossil fuels used
• Don't use elecricity unneccessarily

Human Rights

What are Human Rights?

Human rights are the rights and freedoms we all have..

• Some human rights are based on our physical needs- The right to life, food, shelter
• Other human rights protect us- The right to be free from torture, cruel treatment and abuse
• Human rights are also there to ensure we develop to our fullest potential- The right to education, work, participate in your community

Everybody has human rights, it doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, what you speak or what religion you belong to. You have a duty to respect the rights of others, have a duty to respect yourself. Nobody can take your rights away.

Why do human rights matter to me?

Human rights matter to us all.

In the UK:

• One in three children are poor
• One in four children are physically abused
• One in seven children does not have a proper home

Where do rights come from?

Human rights are based on the values of:

• Dignity (self respect)
• Justice (fairness/legal system)
• Respect (for others)
• Equality (equal treatment/justice)

Human rights were officially recognised as values by the world when the United Nations was set up.

What is the United Nations?

• The United Nations is an international organisation that was establishedn in 1945, the year the Second World War ended.
• Its founders hoped it would be able to prevent catastrophes like the Holocaust from happening in the future.
• So promoting human rights became an aim of the UN, along with maintaining international peace and reducing poverty.
• The UN base is in New York on neutral soil

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the most famous human rights agreement in the world. It contains 30 human rights.

Who wrote the UDHR?

The people who wrote the UDHR came from: Australia, Chile, China, France, Lebanon, the former sSoviet Union, the UK and the US

The Power of One

The Power of One is a movie set in South Africa during the time of the 1930's to the around 1950. The film is about the life of a young English boy named Pk and how experiences and views the racist and violent treatment of black Africans as he grows up to become a young adult. He also experiences discrimination from Germans as a young boy as well many deaths of loved ones throughout his life. Pk discovers what he really believes in and sees the wrong in the racist views of the time. He works to change these views and becomes a symbol of hope for the African people. Pk becomes a leader and strives to assist them in rising from their opression and having a future in  the racist world their living in.

I felt this movie was good to watch because it educates people about the discrimination that many races experienced not long ago and how some people did have the courage to oppose the racist beliefs about people such as the Africans.