Religious Studies: Shabbat.

Religious Studies: Shabbat Holly Rigby 10E 5/03/04 A) Define Challah bread. The Challah is a plaited loaf of bread that is eaten at the Shabbat meal and often at festivals. It can be brought from a kosher bakery or made at in the home. A small lump is taken from the original dough when baked, and cooked with the Challah to represent a sacrifice to god. There are two loaves and this represents the double portion of 'manna' which God provided for the Egyptian Jews when they were in the desert. During the meal, the Challah is blessed, cut, and dipped in salt. B) Give an account of the Havdalah ceremony. Havdalah literally means a 'separation or division'. Havdalah is the ceremony that separates Shabbat from the rest of the week. The ceremony can be performed in the synagogue or at home. During the ceremony, a prayer is said which explains the distinctions God makes e.g. light and dark, Shabbat and the rest of the week. On the table there is a glass of red wine which is blessed, and then some of which is spilt into a saucer to represent the excess of God's blessings at Shabbat. A plaited candle with many wicks is also placed on the table to represent God's many blessings. Sweet smelling spices are also passed around the table to remind Jews of the sweetness of Shabbat. C) Explain the importance of Shabbat for Jews. Shabbat is a ritual that is carried out from Friday

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Shabbat means to cease or to break off from work, therefore Jews are not allowed to work during Shabbat.

Shabbat Shabbat means to cease or to break off from work, therefore Jews are not allowed to work during Shabbat. It begins on Friday evening when the sunsets and night falls. This is a holy day and symbolises when God made the world in six days and he rested on the seventh day. When Shabbat begins, it is welcomed into the house. All the preparations are done beforehand, as no work can be done on Shabbat. When winter falls and the days become shorter, the parents must leave work early and the children leave earlier and help clean and tidy the house and prepare for Shabbat. An important part of the Jewish Children's upbringing is that they are always asked to help with preparations for Shabbat. The best cutlery and crockery is used for Shabbat, and all the cooking is done beforehand, and kept warm on the stove. When the work has been finished, every member of the family has a bath and get dressed into their Shabbat clothes. When everything is done, just before sunset, the mother lights the candles, marking the time when Shabbat begins. It is always the woman's privilege to usher the Shabbat, she covers her eyes and beckons with her arms, and recites a blessing. She uses this moment to say a prayer for her family. It is a very holy moment, for Shabbat has arrived. The father blesses his children, usually in Hebrew. It is a pray-ful wish that his children will grow up to be

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Pesach, or Passover, the oldest holiday, celebrates the beginning of the Jewish people.

Pesach, or Passover, the oldest holiday, celebrates the beginning of the Jewish people. It was on Passover three thousand years ago, under the first full moon of spring, that the Israelites escaped from Egyptian slavery. During the weeklong holiday, which falls on the fifteenth of Nisan (late March to mid-April), Jews remember the power and importance of this event by eating special foods linked to the bitterness of slavery and the sweetness of freedom. After the Pharaoh told Moses to take the Israelites out of Egypt immediately, the left as fast as they could carrying whatever they could, including dough that didn't have time to rise (Matzah). The Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his soldiers to stop the Israelites. As the Hebrews got to the Red Sea, they heard the thunder of Pharaoh's army behind them. Miraculously, a strong wind came up to part the sea, and the Israelites walked on the floor of the sea with walls of water on either side. After they crossed safely, the water closed and the Egyptians drowned. The Seder The Seder is a dramatic yet playful meal rich with stories, food and song. Seder means order, and a book called the Haggadah (The Telling) takes everyone through the fifteen steps of the evening celebration that retells the story of how the Jews became free people. The ceremony begins by reliving slavery and ends by imagining what the world will be like

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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GCSE RE: Sabbath

Shabbat is a Jewish day of rest. Other names for Shabbat include the Sabbath. This is a weekly day is a main part of the Jewish family life. This holy begins on Friday evening and ends on Saturday night, when tree starts appear in the sky. The time Shabbat actually happens differs from different time zones. Around the world Shabbat means 'rest' or 'period of rest'. In the Jewish bible the Shabbat is mentioned as the fourth of one of the ten commandments. Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it. Before, during and after Shabbat has arrived a number of rituals need to be met out of respect for the holy day. There are two commandments Jews have to recognise. To remember and to observe the Shabbat. The mother of the house covers her head out of respect and covers her eyes as she wants to delay the pleasure of seeing Shabbat as this is special to them. The Jewish are permitted to be hospitable when it comes to Shabbat and they won't leave anyone out so, they greet family member and other Jewish guests, with the phrase Shabbat Shalom ??????? ??????? Shalom meaning

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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The Presence of so many divisions within Judaism suggests that it is no longer a strong faith, Discuss

"The Presence of so many divisions within Judaism suggests that it is no longer a strong faith." How far would you agree with this statement? Quantitatively speaking, the presence of many divisions within Judaism neither implies nor negates a weakening of the Jewish faith. Judaism has been a faith of divisions practically from its inception. It is the quality and nature of these divisions, including the motives that provoked them and the practical implications for Jewish religious life that must act as the criteria for ascertaining how pluralism affects the strength of the Jewish faith. When the Jewish people experienced the Exodus from Egypt they were divided into 12 tribes. Each tribe camped together in the desert. When the Jews entered into "The land of Israel," each tribe lived separately in an allotted piece of land. In temple times (according to the zohar 3, 170a) each tribe had a specific gate by which to enter the temple courtyard, that only members of that tribe could enter. Similarly (Magen Avraham, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim sec 68, shulchan aruch HaRav 86:2,) all cite the view that each tribe had a specific variant of the prayer liturgy unique for themselves. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi explains that rather than being an arbitrary division, dividing one nation into 12 sub-nations; each tribe possessed a distinct, unique spiritual, emotional and intellectual

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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The Jewish home is more sustaining Judaism than the synagogue. Do you agree?

The Jewish home is more sustaining Judaism than the synagogue. Do you agree? This essay is giving an argument on both sides of the story for the home and for the synagogue on the subject which is more sustaining Judaism. Then I will give my opinion on which I prefer at sustaining Judaism. Many Jews think that teaching in the home is very much more important than teaching at the synagogue for sustaining the Jewish faith and tradition. Although a lot of the Jews are taught at home and in the synagogue. Jewish families say that it is tradition to the family to teach their children the same way and things their ancestors taught them. Jews that say that the home is more sustaining have a busy life with doing work then coming home to teach their children the Jewish faith. What sort of things do the parents teach their children? The children have to be taught the importance of the Jewish dietary laws and they have to be so strict on what is kosher and the opposite treyfah and if in doubt should either call the help line or the Rabbi for any assistance. How to dress to a Jewish festivals wearing Jewish religion clothing such as the kippah etc. The children are also expected to keep their family tradition going through their generations to come. The children are also taught the religions of Judaism such as the Mitzvots and the bat chayil etc. The parents are also meant to look after

  • Word count: 735
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Can you be a proper Jew if you dont follow laws of Judaism?

You can only be a Proper Jew if you keep all the laws of Judaism' Task Two I agree that you can only be a proper Jew if you keep all the laws of Judaism, because the purpose of life for a Jew is obedience to God. How Jews live is to 'obey the law, atone for sin and obey God's commandments'. If they didn't keep all the laws of Judaism; they would be contradicting their whole religion. But on the other hand; I think that you can be a proper Jew without keeping all the laws of Judaism because Orthodox Judaism is the most traditional expression of modern Judaism. Orthodox Jews believe the entire Torah was given to Moses by God and remains authoritative for modern life in its entirety, furthermore Orthodox Jews reject the changes of Reform Judaism and hold fast to most traditional Jewish beliefs and practices. For example, Orthodox would not cook on the day of the Sabbath; it would have been prepared and cooked the day before. They would not turn on or turn off the TV. But Orthodox Jews consider Reform and Conservative Jews adherents of the Jewish faith, but do not accept many non-Orthodox Jewish marriages, divorces, or conversions on the grounds that they were not performed in accordance with Jewish law. Many Orthodox Jews believe that you can only be a proper Jew if you obey Orthodox Judaism. Other Jews disagree to this; they believe that you don't have to obey all the laws of

  • Word count: 466
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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What does the word synagogue mean and how did synagogues come in to being?

What does the word synagogue mean and how did synagogues come in to being? The word synagogue means a meeting place the synagogue is a Greek word for meeting or an assembly. The synagogue can also be called shul, which is a Yiddish word for school, because the synagogue is also a place to learn as well as meet and socialise and pray. The synagogue also helps Jews to share their problems and talk about their issues with their community and discuss them. Other names reflect its function too, for example it may also be called a Beth hatefilla (house of prayer) as it is also a place to go to worship and stick to the commandments of the torah. It is also known as Beth ha-hneset (house of assembly) and Beth ha-midrash (house of study) as Jews go to the synagogue mostly to study the torah. Jews also go to the synagogue for celebration, for example a lot of festivals and prayers, such as Yom Kippur. The first evidence of the synagogue is as far back as the third century BCE, this was not a synagogue but a temple founded in Egypt in Palestine. After the destruction of the first temple, Jews were taken into exile in Babylon, but even the Jews gathered and met in secret confinements to keep there faith alive. "Thus said the lord: though I have removed them far away among the nations and though I have scattered them along the lands, yet I have been for them a small sanctuary

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Describe some of the different ways in which Shabbat is observed in Jewish homes and the synagogue.

A) Describe some of the different ways in which Shabbat is observed in Jewish homes and the synagogue. Every week Jews have a day of rest known as the Sabbath. Jews usually call it Shabbas or Shabbat, coming from the Hebrew root Shin-Bet-Tav meaning to cease, to end or to rest. Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday evening and ends on Saturday night when the stars appear. Shabbat is the Hebrew name for the seventh day of the week. When God made the world he rested on the seventh day, "By the seventh day God finished what he had been doing and stopped working. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation and stopped working." (Genesis 2: 2-3). The fourth of the Ten Commandments, sacred to both Jews and Christians, commands 'observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. You have six days in which to do your work but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me' (Exodus 20:8-10). This is why Jews have made resting on the seventh day of the week a tradition in commemoration of God resting on the seventh day of creation. Shabbat is a holy day for them concerned with both remembering (zachor) and observing (shamor). First of all, I intend to explain how Shabbat is observed in Jewish homes and then how Shabbat is observed in the Synagogue. No work can be done on Shabbat therefore all the food has to be prepared before

  • Word count: 1460
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Sabbath. Every week, Jews have a day of rest called Sabbath or Shabbos

Every week, Jews have a day of rest called Sabbath or Shabbos; it begins at sunset on Friday and ends Saturday night until three stars appear in the sky. Sabbath is a day for Jews to rest and are forbidden to do any work because its holy day, not just a day off. They are forbidden to do work so they can devote themselves to prayer and to study the torah. By resting on Sabbath, Jews show their belief that god created the world, and rested on the 7th day, as they rest on Sabbath, they see themselves imitating God. Sabbath is also used as a way for the family to spend quality time together after a week of working and of school. Reformed Jews believe that it is up to each individual person to decide whether to follow the prohibitions on Sabbath or not, for example some reformed Jews may find cooking or writing do not count as 'work' and do not follow some of the rules of Sabbath. Orthodox Jews generally follow the rules strictly, and accept them all. Melachot is the name given to the 39 prohibited activities on Sabbath, they aren't so much activities but more like categories of activities, some people are confused by some of the prohibited activities for example lighting a fire, we can make fire by using matches or a lighter or rubbing to sticks together, but it also includes turning on a light because that means producing fire in a light bulb. Jews are also not allowed to

  • Word count: 2007
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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