Judaism Essays

“Big mouth” is an adult animation sitcom which is about the Jewish teenager daily life story in Westchester county, New York. The drawing style was very similar with “The Simpsons.” It was not my personal taste but number of my friends told me that the “Big Mouth” has similar laughing code and it was quite fun to watch. It looked like the author is trying to make fun some of the factors to reduce antisemitism. Anyway, the show does include...

In Judaism, ​rabbis​ possess one of the most critical roles within their communities. They are scholars, teachers, and leaders. They resolve disputes about religious law and lead prayers at synagogues. Despite having no proper authority over any other member of the community, rabbis are well respected as the people closest to God. Being a rabbi is a full-time profession, and therefore all rabbis must complete degrees at ​rabbinical universities. For centuries these universities were for men only because women were...

Introduction Jewish music has changed throughout history with numerous Jewish musicians who have revolutionized this unique musical landscape which is still today widely celebrated in Jewish culture. Beginning in early biblical times, Jewish music was traditional religious cantors that were sung in synagogues. Then Jewish music evolved into more secular music such as Klezmer, Classical or Israeli Pop Rock of today. Jewish music has been evolving with new musicians rising and sharing their music with a new generation of fans....

The Abrahamic faiths of the twenty-first century in America include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These monotheist traditions were all born in the Middle East and have slowly intertwined with one another throughout history all the way up to the twenty-first century. When Abrahamic faiths were first conceived into the world, the traditional values, morals and practices have radically changed throughout time and they have adjusted to what society deems to be acceptable in the twenty-first century. Starting with the oldest...

Conservative Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world that has survived some structural and religious changes over thousands of years. Judaism is an ancient Jewish religion that is predominantly practised in Northern America popularly known as Marti Judaism. Conservative Judaism is based on the basic principles of the Mosaic Law strict observance of the scriptural teachings based on the old testament of the bible. This paper seeks to outline the religious practices of this denomination, the form...

When comparing religions, people may claim that many of the laws of certain religions are unfair and unjust, this is seen often on social media and the way Judaism is portrayed on television, books and movies; women are portrayed as if they do not have any worth. They are looked down upon and forced to follow laws that do not seem fair since men are not forced to follow such laws. However when looking closer, it is evident that women...

Though Europe stands as one continent, the extreme variance in the way Jews were treated, lived, and worshipped up to the 1870’s casts a division between the East and the West. Western Jews ultimately were acculturated into society, rising from poverty into the middle class and pursuing more rational thought through the Haskalah, while Eastern Jews remained steadfast in placing the importance on their Jewish identity above all else. However, Jews in Eastern Europe suffered economically and legally to a...

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are similar in that they all believe that God showed himself to Abraham. Each believe that there is only one God and conceive God to be the Creator and the foundation of law that is fundamentally moral. There is consistency in their religious texts with many of the identical figures, similar histories, and places. They are sometimes are presented with dissimilar roles, viewpoints and meanings. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, God and the universe are vastly...

Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, famously said “there is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” Milton Steinberg certainly did not write his book with the intention to have it critiqued, but if he was worried about that, he would not have written it all. As a Driven Leaf is a historical novel written about the Talmudic character, Elisha ben Abuyah. In light of the Talmud mentioning Elisha’s name, it refers to him as achar,...

The idea of the afterlife, and the statement “death is not the end of life”, is often discussed throughout today’s evolving Judeo-Christian community. Atheists, however, do not believe in a God and contrary to Christianity and Judaism, all atheists believe that once someone dies, that’s the end of life. Scientists are a great part of the atheist community due to their beliefs revolving around the need for proven evidence and research on the possibility of their being eternal life; including...

From the Maccabees to the Mishnah is a book by Shaye J. D. Cohen, Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University. The third edition of this book contains a shortened version of In Between: Jewish-Christians and the curse of the Heretics which is the eleventh chapter in Partings: How Judaism and Christianity Became Two. As the Name suggests, the book discusses Ancient Judaism between the Maccabean revolution to the Mishnah while also discussing Ancient Judaism in the Second...

Judaism ethics pervade into the everyday lives of Jewish adherents. They stem from the legal system that has developed alongside Halachah, meaning ‘a going with God’ and prescribes how a Jewish person should behave. The basics of ethics originated from the decalogue given to Moses, determining that ethical life requires a spirit of mishpat (justice), tzedakah (righteousness), chesed (kindness) and rachamin (compassion). Rabbi Hillel summed up how to live an ethical life for Jewish adherents, “what is hateful to yourself...

The reconstructionist movement of the Jews is, in my opinion, beneficial to both the modern-day Jew and the older generation of Jewish people. For many reasons, this movement has helped to save what I would consider a much more conservative era of Jewish people who relied on the traditional ways of practicing Judaism. The reconstruction of the present-day Jew is one of progression and mindfulness during these radical times in our changing world. This new outlook on how you practice...

INTRODUCTION Religion may not be easy to define, as it is defined differently for different people.it may be defined as the belief in and worship. Religion may also be used to justify class, gender and colonial forms of discrimination and exploitation. Religion may heal and also hurt people. Teaching and learning about different religions educate citizens to live in a multi-religious world and nation. JUDAISM Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. It is an ancient monotheistic, Abrahamic religion...

Disobedience is a romantic drama starring Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz and directed by Sebastian Lelio. Lelio teamed up with Rebecca Lenkiewicz to write the film based on the novel of the same name by Naomi Alderman. In this review, I will discuss the plot and how the film portrays Jewish identity through the lens of Orthodox Judaism, homosexuality and the struggle of having to choose between the two identities. The film is set in an Orthodox Jewish community in North...

Theological anti-semitism is a dislike or intolerence of Jewish people based on their religious thought and beliefs. That is today’s definition of anti-Sematism. If you look at the Ancient Origins power point it gives a list of semetic speaking languages. Anti-Sematism actually means a dislike of the semetic speaking languages, including: Arabic, Maltese, and Hebrew (Morisson-Santana, 14). When the word was first created it meant disliking people that speak semetic languages but the connotations it gives today is a dislike...

Judaism Abraham who was considered as the first prophet to have made a covenant with God is the father of Isaac who is the ancestor of Jewish people and Ishmael who is the ancestor of the Muslim people. Isaac’s family line practices Judaism as well as Christianity. While Ishmael’s family line practices the religion of Islam. Because Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all recognize Abraham as their first prophet, they are also called Abrahamic religions. Judaism is world’s oldest monotheistic religion....

Religion forms the foundation of morality for many societies and individuals and continues to inform the ethical views of adherents within a contemporary society. The relevance of world religions in modern society is undeniable as it plays a predominant role in shaping responses to complex ethical questions that have been raised in recent years due to modern scientific developments. According to esteemed professor of religious studies, Peta Goldburg (2009) the term ethics can be defined as a “a major branch...

KOSHER Kosher food is blessed by Jews before consuming and certain types of food can be Kosher without a rabbi or priest giving permission. Kosher food is within the laws of Shabbat and an observant Jew is one who abides these laws. There are 3 simple elements of Keeping Kosher, according to Jewish Law. These include; “Not eating any non-kosher animals, avoid eating meat and dairy together and only eating meat that was slaughtered in a certain way, and drained...

In the religion of Judaism, the concept of Israel is known as someone who struggles in relation to god. This is said in the Torah to be very common, and that all people go through this. In the Jewish Bible, there are different examples of this struggle that shows how god shows up during times of despair. There are also different times in the history of Judaism where we can find the God comes in during a time of pain...

Judaism is the religion of the Jews and essentially is full of aspects that the Jews see as definitely essential in their beliefs. History for the most part is one of the many aspects important to Judaism pretty due to the fact that the historical events that have really happened in Jewish history determined the development of the religion and the identity of the Jews themselves and God in a big way. Jews also basically find it important to be...

Menorah is the holy candle in the Jewish tradition that has a history of being miraculously lit by god for 8 days. It is a candle with 7 stems. An interpretation of it is that, the 7 stems represented the 7 days of creation. Another interpretation is about the 7 attributes of a godly man given in Kabbalah that it symbolizes. After leaving the tyrannical rule in Egypt, the Israelites started moving towards Jerusalem and god asked them to make...

Judaism, as a living religion has grown and developed over time and influences the lives of its adherents through aspects of their principal beliefs and core ethical teachings. This is due to significant people such as Moses Maimonides and core ethical teachings such as sexual ethics, which heavily contribute greatly to making Judaism a living religion as it allows adherents of Judaism to deeply interact with these characteristics of the Jewish religious tradition Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) significantly contributed to the...

A woman participated in the opening of the Minyan service at the Conservative Jewish synagogue on that Friday evening. There were several other women in the congregation. Based on my research prior to my visit, I knew that a Minyan service needed 10 males present in order to begin; I was curious to know if I counted toward that quota. Therefore, I was interested to know what the standard was and how it had changed. The research revealed that while...

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson also referred to as the “Lubavitcher Rebbe” and sometimes just “the Rebbe,” was the seventh leader in the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty and is considered to be one of the most important rabbis in modern history. During his lifetime, he had a significant impact on Jewish religious life as well as religious life in America in general. Using his unique approach of outreach and emphasis on education, the Rebbe helped with many religious challenges faced during his lifetime....

Introduction Whenever I think of Festivals and Celebrations, I always think of happiness, laughter and most importantly food! After all, what is a celebration without food? My Aunt is Jewish and lives in a suburb of Johannesburg called Sydenham. It’s a Jewish community and when I get the opportunity to visit her I get to learn more about the Jewish cultures and beliefs especially when it comes to their “Festivals & Celebrations”. Like my aunt always says: “you cannot practice...

Sacred texts such as the Tenach, Talmud and Torah give guidance for all jews as to what they should be doing to live right and just with God. Judaism supports its adherents through these texts to ensure that they live their lives as good jews and have a fulfilling future and hope. Key correspondents to ensuring that the Jewish faith is followed right are the teachings of Rabbi Soloman Isaac (Rashi), Marriage and sexual ethics. All correlating back to the...

The research question for my topic of beliefs in the Judaism religion was do beliefs define us as people? When looking at the beliefs in Judaism we see how Jews express the belief of having only one god this is called monotheism. Jews believe strongly that god created the world and have an independent and unique relationship with god. ”This relationship is known as a covenant relationship which the Jews thank him for all the deeds he has done”. The...

Introduction There are approximately 14 million Jews worldwide concentrated mainly in the United States and Israel. The Jewish people believe the place of origin is Israel, in the Middle East, where Abraham was believed to have talked with God, or in Hebrew Yahweh. Jewish people believe Abraham is the founder of Judaism because God first revealed himself to him. Abraham is believed to be the first patriarch of Judaism because God made a covenant with him and his descendants are...

Traditional and Reformed Judaism was becoming a definite battle in the 19th century. Both sides fighting over who is right. Many Jews started converting to Protestantism and many assimilated men and women considered conversion. As was the case for Weininger. “The conflicting pressures on sensitive young men and women invariably caused much bitterness. Among some of the most privileged or gifted it produced a reaction later known as “Jewish self-hatred”.4 This was a direct response to the times; as things...