Lesson about Judaism and its philosophy

1. TANAKH
• Old Testament or Hebrew Bible
• Written over a period of 1000 yrs (c. 1300 BCE
to 300 BCE)
• Includes history, fiction, nonfiction, laws, myths,
instructional guides etc.
• This contains the Torah, the prophets and the
writings (basically all of the ‘Old Testament’).
• For Jews, the most important section = TORAH
(Pentateuch)

3. • Written over 400 years. The word Torah means “revelation,”
“teaching,” or “instruction.” For Jews it means a way by which
to live.
• Torah = first 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures (also called
Pentateuch)
• Genesis = myth and story about creation.
• Exodus = the story of Moses leading Israelites back to Canaan
• Leviticus = rituals and ceremonies performed during TEMPLE
worship (done by Priests called Levities)
• Numbers = Outlines the Israelites faith growth while
wondering for 39 years in the desert before entering the
Promised Land
• Deuteronomy = Outlines the 613 LAWS that Jews are called to
follow (in addition to the 10 Commandments). These include
KOSHER, Marriage, Family, Property, Murder, etc.
TORAH

5. THE TALMUD
• Talmud = commentary on Tanakh written by Rabbis
• It is a collection of written Jewish Law and oral traditions
pertaining to the Law. Basically, it is an interpretation of the
Pentateuch. It developed as a collection of materials used to
settle problems concerning the obligations imposed on Jews
by the Law.
• In addition, the Talmud contains a collection of oral stories
dealing with how Yahweh intervened in the lives of the
Hebrew people. Such stories were handed down by word of
mouth (not written) from generation to generation.
• The Talmud is divided into two sections:
• The Mishnah – a collection of oral laws handed down from
around 200 C.E.
• The Gemara – a collection of discussions on the Mishnah
(a discussion on the discussion)

7. CREED
• Shema = MOST important/fundamental statement of
Jewish beliefs taken from the
Torah
• Statement refers to two
fundamental concepts: One is
that God is their God and that
the Jewish people are the
“chosen people”. The second
is the belief in Monotheism.
• “Hear, O Israel, The Lord is our
God, the Lord is One”.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

9. CREED (FIVE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS)
Philo (20 BCE – 50 CE), a Jewish philosopher
• There is a GOD
• There is only ONE God
• God created the WORLD, but it
will not last forever
• There is only ONE Universe
• God CARES for the world and all
of its creatures

10. CREED (13 ARTICLES OF FAITH)
• Maimonides (1135-1204 CE), adopted Philo’s 5 Concepts into 13 key
statements of belief
– The existence of God, the creator: There is only one God
– God's unity: There is only one universe
– God's incorporeality: God is all-knowing
– God's eternity: God is eternal external to time
– The obligation to worship God alone
– The truth of the words of the prophets
– The superiority of the prophecy of Moses (TORAH)
– The Torah as God's revelation to Moses
– The immutability of the Torah (unchanging)
– God's omniscience
– Retribution in this world and the next (Punishment OR Reward)
– The coming of the Messiah
– The resurrection of the dead

11. CREED (OTHER BELIEFS)
• Chosen People – they were picked by God
and set apart from others
• Promised Land (Israel)
• Messiah will come, bring peace and
prosperity for the Jews, resurrect/judge dead
and rebuild Temple
• 10 Commandments (creed and code)

12. For you are a holy nation to the Lord your
God. The Lord your God has chosen you
out of all the nations on the earth, to be His
own.
Deuteronomy 7:6

13. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the
Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and
spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey--the home of
the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and
Jebusites.
Exodus 3:8 (NIV)
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said,
“To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to
the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites,
Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites
and Jebusites.
Genesis 15-18-21 (NIV)

14. Messiah is the one who will
rescue the righteous, judge the
wicked, and restore peace of
the world.

15. TEN COMMANDMENTS
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the
waters below.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for
the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in
the land the LORD your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10.You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet
your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or
donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

16. MITZVAH
• Keeping the covenant means following God’s mitzvot
(the act of doing a good deed, more specifically a
commandment from God that gives people ethical
direction).
• Bible contains 613 Mitzvoth including:
• The 10 Commandments (the heart of the law)
• Prayer 3x/day – Morning, Noon, Night
• Tzedakah – Charity, 10-15%
• Shabbat – Friday SUNDOWN to Saturday SUNDOWN,
no work
• Following Mitzvot helps Jews live in right relationship
with God.

17. KOSHER
• Several Jewish laws are devoted to food.
These laws are called kosher or kashrut
• Jews may eat all fruits and vegetables, divided hoof and that
chews the cud animals (sheep, goat, etc.) , Chicken, Turkey, Duck
& fish with fins and scales but cannot eat horses, pigs, birds of
prey or shellfish.
• Permitted foods must be slaughtered in
ritual fashion (all blood is drained) and
must be killed with as little
pain as possible.
• No meat or dairy can be eaten together
and all utensils for each type must be kept
separate.

18. 1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all
the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You
may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.
4“‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided
hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the
cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for
you. 5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided
hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud,
does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the
pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is
unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their
carcasses; they are unclean for you.
Leviticus 11:1-8 (NIV)

19. Camel walks on their
paws, not on their
nails.

20. Horse walks on
nails but does not
have a divided
hoof.

21. 9“‘Of all the creatures living in the water
of the seas and the streams you may eat
any that have fins and scales. 10 But all
creatures in the seas or streams that do not
have fins and scales—whether among all
the swarming things or among all the other
living creatures in the water—you are to
regard as unclean.
Leviticus 11:9-10(NIV)

22. KOSHER (5 Reasons)
• Hygienic: Judaism forbids eating animals that
died without proper slaughter and the draining of the
blood (which is a medium for the growth of bacteria).
Judaism also forbids eating animals that have
abscesses in their lungs or other health problems.
• Moral Lessons: Jews are taught to be sensitive to
others' feelings – even to the feelings of animals.

23. • National Reasons: The Jewish people have a
mission of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. A
special diet reminds them of their mission and keeps
them together as a people to fulfil it.
• Mystical: The Torah calls the Jews a "holy
people" and prescribes a holy diet. You are what you
eat. Kosher is God's diet for spirituality. Jewish
mysticism teaches that non-kosher food blocks the
spiritual potential of the soul.
• Discipline: If a person can be disciplined in what
and when he eats, it follows that he can be
disciplined in other areas of life.