Give a detailed account of the Jewish food laws and their origins

Give a detailed account of the Jewish food laws and their origins In Judaism, Jews have to eat kosher food. Kosher literally means fitting or correct and the kosher food laws are called 'kashrut'. Foods which are not allowed are called 'Treyfah' which means torn. Kosher food can be bought from specialist kosher shops and some supermarkets now have special kosher sections. If a Jew lives in a Muslim community they are able to buy kosher food as Islam also states that Muslims should eat kosher food. All the food laws can be found in Leviticus chapter 11 in the Torah. Jews can only eat animals that chew the cud and have cloven hooves. This originates from the sentence in the Torah that says 'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat. You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. There are some that only chew the cut or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them.' (Leviticus 11:2-4). The cud is when some animals have little balls of grass form in their stomach after swallowing. The animal then brings the grass up to their mouth and chews it again before digesting the cud. These animals include cows, sheep, goats and deer which means the only meat Jews can eat is beef, lamb, veal and venison but not pork, rabbit or horse. The Torah repeatedly says that Jews must not eat these as 'they are unclean for

  • Word count: 1015
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Describe in detail the way in which a fully observant Orthodox Jewish family would keep this mitzvah. You should explain the symbolism of the various ceremonies and rituals where relevantShabbat is the only Jewish holiday

Religious Studies Coursework - Feb 2004 - Judaism SHABBAT (1) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Exodus 20:8 Describe in detail the way in which a fully observant Orthodox Jewish family would keep this mitzvah. You should explain the symbolism of the various ceremonies and rituals where relevant Shabbat is the only Jewish holiday enjoined by the Ten Commandments, making it an especially important one to the whole family. It is observed on the seventh day in commemoration of the seventh day on which God rested after completing the Creation, and of God's role in history and his covenant with the Jewish people. Along with all Orthodox Jews, the family are strictly obligated to sanctify Shabbat at home and in the synagogue. They will all avoid work on this day and will engage in worship and study. The Talmud specifies the activities which they are to abstain from and, being Orthodox, the family would say that anything resembling these is work and is therefore forbidden on Shabbat. They stop their creative work in order to reflect on the powers God has given, making sure they make the right use of them. A member of the family, usually the mother or father, will use a Jewish calendar, diary or newspaper to find out the precise time Shabbat begins on that Friday evening. This is because it varies from week to week and it is therefore uncertain to which day the

  • Word count: 10818
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Explain why the Ten Commandments are central to Jewish life

Explain why the Ten Commandments are central to Jewish life. The Ten Commandments were given to the Jewish people via Moses, from G-d at Mount Sinai, also known as Har Horeb. Since this day, these commandments have been central to Jewish life. They can be found twice in the Torah. Firstly in chapter twenty of the book of Shemot (Exodus) and they are then repeated in chapter five of the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy). There is a slight variation in this repetition which concerns the fourth commandment, this law regards Shabbat. In Shemot, it reads "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy" however in Devarim it reads "Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy". The reason for this is that G-d spoke the Ten Commandments simultaneously, something that we as humans cannot do. Of course it is important to both remember and observe, so this is another reason why we are reminded. The fact that Shabbat is in the Ten Commandments show us that it is one of the fundamentals of our religion. It is how we show in our daily life that the world which we live in was created by Hashem. Furthermore, the fact that the commandments are repeated further emphasises the importance of them to Jewish people and hence Jewish life. The Ten Commandments are the fundamental rules of the Jewish faith, the foundation of which is ethical monotheism. The word monotheism means belief in one G-d and in

  • Word count: 972
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Search for the Jewish Messiah

Search for the Jewish Messiah The term Messiah traditionally referring to a future Jewish king from the line of David who will be anointed with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic age. But who is the messiah? What is his purpose for the Jewish people? When will he come? How will he be recognised? And can it be said that he has already come or are the Jews still waiting? Within the many divisions of Judaism there is different perspectives of who is the Messiah and how can they tell him apart from everyone else. The Orthodox tradition believes in the Messiah. Their thought had mainly been held at the idea that the Messiah is to be the anointed one; this means that he would have been chosen by a divine intervention. Furthermore they believe the Messiah would descend from his father via the Davidic line of King David. Orthodoxy also believes that the Messiah would gather the Jews back in the holy land, known as the land of Israel and as well the Messiah would usher in an era of peace. Orthodox Jews do this by having a goblet at Sabbath which is full of wine and waiting for the Messiah to come and drink from it. Another division, Hasidic Jews hold a particularly strong and passionate belief that the Messiah is coming. The Hassidic community also believe that there personal devotions and actions have the properties that are able to hasten his

  • Word count: 2481
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Describe the origins of two modern Jewish groups and explain the ways in which they have developed.

Q1- Describe the origins of two modern Jewish groups and explain the ways in which they have developed. There are two main Jewish group, reform Jews and Orthodox Jews. In some ways the groups could be seen as opposites but thought this is partly true both groups have their similarities to each other. Orthodox Jews are very strict when it comes to their religions. A colloquial term used by Jews for the word 'strict' is 'frum'. The more frum the Jew is the more strictly he or she keeps to the mitzvots given by God to Abraham. There are many different Jewish groups as well as these including 'Jews for Jesus'. Jewdaism is the personal relationship between god and the Hebrews which was established through Abraham. Abraham is believed by Jews to be the first person to recognise and worship the one god. Moses is also an important figure because he united the Jews as a people when god brought them out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was also the person who was given the Torah (Laws and Teachings) by God on Mt. Sinai. Chassidics are the traditional Jews follow the laws of Judaism very closely, both written and oral. They believe that the laws from god are absolute and unchanging. Orthodox Jews are willing to accept Jewish traditions and practices and realise their importance even if they don't observe them themselves. The major reason that Jews divided into the two main groups, Reform

  • Word count: 1592
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Importance of Holocaust Today

The Importance of the Holocaust to Today's Young People In an age that marks an increase in anti-Semitism, racism and other prejudices, an education in the events of the Holocaust is more important than ever for younger generations. An awareness of this terrible part in our history will provide youngsters with a chance to learn from mistakes gone before through gaining a deeper understanding of the events. The Lessons from Auschwitz Project is creating the opportunity to bring the memory back to life among younger generations - ones with no first-hand experience of it. Firstly, a thorough education on the events of the Holocaust is desperately needed for youngsters, to provide them with a true account and to dispel all misconceptions they may have. Many find it difficult to process or even believe that groups of people, in particular Jews and Homosexuals, would be punished for no valid reason as they were by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The extremities of the deaths seemingly lead people to form the idea that the targeted groups were in the wrong, which of course was not the case. It is not uncommon today for young people today to use the term, 'Jew' or 'gay' in a derogatory way. This is clear evidence that somewhere in the education of the Nazi rule, students are misinterpreting the information they are given or are being taught incorrectly. In most cases the student

  • Word count: 615
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Different Types of Jews.

Different Types of Jews Although there are only approximately 10 million Jews in the world, today the religion is split up considerably. All Jews come under the strands of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) and Sephardi (Spanish) referring to their origin, however these only change customs and traditions. There are two divisions within Judaism that significantly differ: Orthodoxy and Reform Judaism, from which has stemmed Liberal, Conservative and other different types. There is also a division under the Orthodox label with ultra-orthodox and Hasidic Jews. I am only going to explore Orthodox, Reform, Liberal, and Conservative Judaism because they are the most substantial divisions and most widely followed in Britain. This divide between different types of Judaism has caused a lot of tension and is possibly one of the reasons for Judaism's rapid decline and assimilation into the Diaspora. I think that is a topic of great interest and in this essay; I have outlined the different characteristics of the four types of Judaism. Orthodox Judaism This is the religion of those Jews who adhere most strictly to traditional beliefs and practices. Orthodox Jews refuse to accept the position of Reform Judaism that the Tenakh and other writings do contain valid moral principles but also Laws, which are only in place due to the time of writing and so, may be legitimately discarded in modern

  • Word count: 1445
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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The Bar Mitzvah or "Son of the Commandments" is an important ceremony which Under Jewish Law, marks the obligation to follow the 613 Jewish Mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah.

The Bar Mitzvah or "Son of the Commandments" is an important ceremony which Under Jewish Law, marks the obligation to follow the 613 Jewish Mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah, along with the corresponding right to take part in leading religious services, to count in a minyan (the minimum number of people needed to perform certain parts of religious services), to form binding contracts, to testify before religious courts and to marry. Preparation for this ceremony stretches as far back as a year before the ceremony although it may be argued that preparation for this day is undertaken since the child is first enrolled into Jewish school, some synagogues demand 3 years of Jewish education prior to Bar Mitzvah training. A Jewish boy receives special training in important skills he is to display during the Bar Mitzvah ceremony. These skills include donning a tephillin, reading the haftarah and a weekly portion of the Torah. About a year before some synagogues will present the boy with his Tenak, which is the Jewish Bible and a Kippah, which is the skullcap worn by Jewish males on the head also known as the [image002.jpg] Yarmulka. These items symbolize the start of the Bar Mitzvah training. The boy will start supplementary classes in addition to his regularly scheduled classes. During these classes he will learn Hebrew and religion in order to perform rituals

  • Word count: 2054
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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What is Halakah? Give an account of the main differences between different types of Jews.

A) What is Halakah? Halakah translates in Hebrew as "to go" i.e. how Jews go about their daily lives. The Halakah is a book of the most important laws that Jews must follow in everyday life from the Talmud. It also includes important practises from the Codes and Responsa, and so the book itself is constantly being updated as more laws are brought into place or deemed important. B) Give an outline of the main differences between different types of Jews. In Judaism, there are many different "denominations" of Jewish followers, the main two being Orthodox and Progressive Jews. Although both are Jewish by religion, there are many differences in the practises and laws of orthodox and progressive Jews. This difference is shown most clearly in the synagogue. In an orthodox synagogue, men wear traditional clothes, sit separately from the women, there will only ever be a male rabbi, and all of the service will be read in Hebrew. However in a progressive synagogue, men and women will sit together, both genders may wear traditional garments, the rabbi may be a male or female, and some of the service is in English. In addition, progressive Jews are much more open to adaptations to Jewish law, and believe that it is their right to change traditions to modern life situations of the current society culture. Orthodox Jews however believe that the scriptures are sacred and should be kept

  • Word count: 879
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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All aspects of kashrut are of equal importance. Discuss

All aspects of kashrut are of equal importance (10marks) The Torah, which is the Five Books of Moses, is considered by most Jews to be the whole body of Jewish laws and teachings. In the Torah, there are six hundred and thirteen Mitzvot which is simply a commandment. That is a lot of chances to find the most important isn't it? Some of them are Positive and some of them are Negative Mitzvot. That does not mean that they are good or bad. It means that they tell us to do something or not to do something. A good number of these Mitzvot are no longer possible for us to keep. Some, because the Temple was destroyed and the Jews can no longer do the ancient sacrifices, and others because so many of us live in the diaspora and cannot follow the land mitvot. Also, long before it was common anywhere in the world, the Jews stopped all forms of Capital Punishment even though it was a mitzvah in the Torah. Keeping kosher is a mitzvah in Judaism and as it is a direct instruction from g-d which forbids a Jew from doing certain acts that a person who is not Jewish has the freedom to do. These acts include things such as not being able to eat certain foods and not being able to wear certain clothes. As keeping kosher is a mitzvah and they have been given by g-d, they all must have equal importance. Some may say that because some laws are practised on a more regular basis that other laws

  • Word count: 467
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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