1. Judaism is the religion of the world's approximately 15 million Jews. It is one of the oldest religions and the first monotheistic religion to teach the belief in one God. Both Christianity and Islam have similarities with Judaism. These religions accept the belief in one God and the moral teachings of the Hebrew Bible.
2. The basic laws and teachings of Judaism come from the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.
3. The Hebrew Bible is the most important holy book of Judaism. It is a collection of writings called the "Tanakh" in Hebrew. It is divided into three parts: Torah (Instruction), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).
4. One God: The most important teaching of Judaism is that there is one God, who wants people to do what is just and compassionate. Judaism teaches that a person serves God by studying the holy writings and doing what they teach. These teachings include both ritual practices and ethical laws. Judaism teaches that all people are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
5. The Covenant with God: The covenant with God is an agreement that Jews believe God made with Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish people. According to the Bible, God promised to bless Abraham and his descendants if they worshiped God and were faithful to Him. God made this covenant with Abraham's son, Isaac, and Isaac's son, Jacob. Jacob was also called Israel, and so his descendants were known as the "Children of Israel" or the Israelites. God later gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments and other laws through their leader, Moses. These laws told the Israelites how to live their lives and build their community. The Jews are sometimes called the "Chosen People", meaning that they have special duties and responsibilities commanded by God. For example, the Jews must establish a just society and serve only God. Thus, the covenant assures the Jews of God's love and protection, but it also makes them accountable for their sins and shortcomings.
6. The Messiah: Jews believed that God would send a Messiah to save them. The word Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiah, which means "the anointed one". The Book of Isaiah describes the Messiah as a just ruler who will unite the Jewish people and lead them in God's way. The Messiah will fix wrongs and defeat the enemies of the people. Many Jews still expect a Messiah to come. But others speak instead of a Messianic time of world peace. They believe a time of justice and peace will come through the cooperation of all people and the help of God.
7. The Commandments: The Ten Commandments are: (1) Believe in God. (2) Do not worship anyone or anything except God; do not make, bow to, or worship an image or statue that is supposed to be God. (3) Do not take God's name in vain. (4) Observe Shabbat, that means, rest on the seventh day. (5) Honor your parents. (6) Do not murder. (7) Do not commit adultery. (8) Do not steal. (9) Do not testify as a false witness. (10) Do not be jealous of anything someone else has.
8. Shabbat: One of the commandments is to keep the Jewish Sabbath or Shabbat. Shabbat starts every Friday at sunset and ends on Saturday at sunset. Religious Jews follow special rules on Shabbat. These rules require Jews not to do creative work on Shabbat. For example, they do not start or stop a fire; do not drive a car; no cooking; no (creative) writing; do not carry things in the street; do not use electrical machines like computers, TV, or an elevator; do not buy or sell things. Traditional Jews are very careful about Shabbat. But liberal Jews do not follow all of the same rules. They go to synagogue and visit friends and have special meals, and yet they may drive cars, go shopping, and use electricity.
9. Kashrut - Jewish Food Laws: Jews who follow the religious rules called "kashrut" only eat some types of food that are prepared by special rules. Food that a Jew can eat is called kosher food. Traditional Jews are very careful about kashrut. They usually can not eat in non-kosher restaurants or in the home of someone who does not keep kosher. (Note: Liberal Jews may or may not keep kosher. It is best to ask them individually.)
10. Non-kosher foods: Jews can not eat animals that do not have split hooves and do not chew their cud. For example, a pig has split hooves, but does not chew its cud. For this reason, it is not kosher. A cow has split hooves and chews its cud, so it is kosher. Jews can not eat rodents, reptiles or amphibians. Jews can not eat any sea animal that does not have scales and fins. For example, sharks, eels, crabs, shrimp and lobsters are not kosher. Jews can not eat birds that eat meat, which are mentioned in a list in the Torah. Jews can not eat any insects, except for a few types of crickets or locusts.
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There are many interesting things for us to learn, so we attended a special meeting (seminar) at St. James' Church this afternoon. The instructor was Miss Stephanie DeHann, who came (together with Miss Katie Clark) from Boston, USA, and is now teaching the summer camp at St. James'.
Only some of the participants are included in the following picture, which was taken after the seminar.
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