The Torah

Torah means “teaching” and refers to the five books of Moses- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

A Torah scroll is made from sheets of parchment, which is made from the skin of a kosher animal.

It is written by hand in Hebrew by a professional scribe, called a sofer. Hebrew is read from right to left.

The sofer takes at least one year to write out the Torah.

He is not allowed to write from memory. He must copy from a book of the Torah, and keep checking for mistakes. Letters must not be smudged or touch another letter.

If the sofer makes a mistake; he scrapes of the letters using a glass tool.

 

The most sacred word that he writes is the Hebrew name for God. He cannot correct this-he must start the whole sheet of parchment again. The sheet with the error on it is buried in Jewish cemetery.

When all sheets of parchment are finished they are sewn together  and wound around wooden rollers.

The Torah is regarded as holy and is decorated as beautifully as possible.

Questions on Judaism

1. What language do the Jewish people speak?

Jewish people speak Hebrew.

2. How do the Jewish people read Hebrew?

It is read from right to left.

3. Why is Israel important to the Jewish People?

Israel is important to the Jewish people because it was the Promised Land, promised to Abraham and Moses by God.

4. When was the present state of Israel formed?

The present state of Israel was formed in 1948.

5. What makes it unique in the world?

Israel is the only Jewish state in the world.

6. Who is the chosen prophet if Judaism?

Moses is their chosen prophet.

7. What do the Jews believe God thinks of their people?

They believe God thinks they are the Chosen people who have a special covenant with God.

8. How do the three main religions differ in their view of Jesus?

In Judaism it is believed that Jesus was not the Messiah, in Christianity it was believed that Jesus was the peoples saviour.

9. Why do the Jewish people not celebrate Christmas?

Jewish people do no celebrate Christmas because Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ the saviour and the Jewish do not believe Jesus was the saviour/Messiah.

10. What festival do they celebrate instead?

Hanukah is celebrated by Jewish people instead of Christmas.

11. What event is celebrated at this festival and what is the significance of the number 8?

The number 8 is significant because the after Greek soldiers seized the Jewish temple in 168 B.C.E it was regained and then cleansed by burning ritual oil for 8 days. It was said that the oil they had would only last 1 day, but miraculously it lasted the full 8 days.

12. What is the name of the sacred text of the Jewish people?

The Torah is the sacred Jewish text.

13. How is their text similar to the Christian Bible?

It is the same as the Old Testament of the Christian bible

14. How many commandments do the Jewish people have to follow?

There are 613 commandements.

15. What is the name of the leader of a Jewish religion?

A Rabi is a Jewish priest.

16. What is a Talis?

A Talis is a Jewish ‘prayer shawl’.

17. What is a Tefilin?

A Tefilin is a box holding a Torah.

18. What is a Kippah?                                                                            

A Kippah is a cap worn on the head by Jewish men.

19. What is the word used to describe the food Jewish people can eat?

The food Jewish can eat is called Kosher.

20. Where is the only Kosher Mc Donalds?

The only Kosher McDonalds is in Israel.

21. Why is a Cheese burger not Kosher?

A cheese burger is not Kosher because dairy and meat can’t be eaten in the same meal.

The History of Religion

What is religion?

It has many different definitions but its basics are:

• the worship of a God or gods
• guidelines about how to behave
• answers to life's biggest questions

What are beliefs?

Beliefs are what one follows; they are a set of rules or guidelines followed by person of religion. However it is also and individual or groups' values on how they commit to life and what they do.

Animism: The earliest kind of religion that was developed while humans were living as hunter-gatherers. It is the belief that humans/animals have spirits.

Polytheism: Belief in many gods. The first human civilisations followed different types of polytheism.

Pantheism: The belief that everything is part of one god. Hinduism is more Pantheism than Polytheism.

Monotheism: Belief in only one God.  This was what the Jews started following and is in the Old Testament.

Agnosticism: Uncertainty about God or Gods. Some Greek thinkers were moving away from religion and developing ideas in science and philosophy.

Atheism: Belief in no Gods

Old Testament Stories

Genesis-Story of creation

When did it occur?

3000BC

Who are the main characters?

Adam, Eve and God

What happened?

God creates man (Adam) and Eve is created from one of Adams ribs and they live in the Garden of Eden. A snake tempts Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and they do eat it against Gods word. They are then banished from the Garden.

Why is it important?

It is the story of creation. Adam and Eve create the original sin which everyone is born with.

Exodus-Exit

When did it occur?

1200BC

Who are the main characters?

Moses

What happened?

Moses leads his people from slavery/Egypt and heads to the Promised Land.

Why is it important?

He was the most important phrophet to the Jews. Like Abraham God tells Moses he will give him the Promised Land. Gos also tells him the commandments.

Samuel-David and Goliath

When did it occur?

900BC

Who are the main characters?

David and Goliath

What happened?

David lost his name to the throne and then slayed Goliath to become king again.

Why is it important?

The star of David was established.

Revelations-Judgement Day

What Happened?

The apocalypse. People would be punished for there sins.

Why is it important?

It is something that couuld destroy mankind.

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