Jewish+Religion

**JEWISH RELIGION: SONIA CHRIS-UKAH.**

What is Judaism? It is a religion based off the Old Testament Bible and the Talmud. It is the Center piece of the Jewish faith. Both the Bible and the Talmud are written in Hebrew and therefore members of the Jewish community learn to chant passages.In Judaism, God is the creator of everything and the source of all goodness.Followers of Judaism,whether converts or born into the Jewish nation(including secular) are called Jews.In the book, //Color of Water//,Ruth(formerly known as Rachael Deborah Shilsky) and her family were orthodox Jews.Now,who is an orthodox Jew? They are Jews that adhere to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts ("Oral Torah") and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox Jews have distinctive characteristics and beliefs.Some are minor while some are major.Minor ones include:dietary laws,intensive study of laws and separation of men and women in the synagogues. Examples of the major ones are their beliefs and its strict interpretation.  They strictly believe in the Old Testament.These ver ses are memorized and recited at synagogues and at passover.Every evening after supper,Tateh(Ruth's father) would sit me and Sam down and make us study the old testament."He'd read the words to us and make us repeat them back to him".Of course,they repeated after him,not because they really were interested,but because they were forced to."I learned them out of .....not out of love for God but just out of..."pg 61.Although some of them they couldn't interpret,they pretended.Jews only believe in the old testament,and a rabbi with his children should be able to memorize it.   Passover is celebrated starting Friday night and carried into Saturday."On passover,we had to clean the house spic-and -span.Not a crumb or speak of leavened bread could be found anywhere",pg 43.Ruth and her family,weren't just Jews,as families of rabbi,they had extra preparations for this event."We loved to get ready for it".On the passover,they ate kosher and other traditional Jewish food."Friday night before passover,"you light your candles,no light switches could be turned on or off,no tearing of paper,no riding in cars or going to the movies,all you do is sit tight and read by candle light" pg 17. . This film, from //Fiddler on the Roof//, gives you a basic idea of the Jewish passover feast. media type="youtube" key="LnaZqHy2ZHE" height="344" width="425"
 * PASSOVER**

As a rabbi,Tateh's job was to interpret texts and laws.According to Judaism,he was also to Refrain from murder, idolatry, and certain biblical-prohibited sexual practices such as adultery and incest .Receiving ordination, however, is not the end of the rabbi's career as a student of the Torah. On the contrary -- it's just the beginning. A community rabbi will continue his search for knowledge and truth for the rest of his life, in the hopes of attaining greater clarity and comprehension of God and the Torah.         One of the Rabbi's major job is to show the members of the community how to bring more spirituality into their lives.This means that his goal is not to emphasize what they cannot do,but instead to instruct them in how to take everything that they can do and infuse it with a spiritual purpose.Finally,the rabbi's job is to inspire community members to become better people.He does both through individual example and by sharing knowledge he has obtained by becoming a rabbi.Below is a video of a Jewish rabbi,preaching to his congregation.media type="youtube" key="dor92NFq1JY" height="344" width="425" All the listed qualities are characteristics of rabbis,but Tateh had only few of them.On the contrary,instead of not enforcing what they cannot do,he insisted on enforcing what his family cannot do.There was no love,there were too many rules to follow,too many forbiddens and "you cant's and you mustn't" pg 2.At home,he was the opposite of whatever he preached."He was a fox especially when it came to money,and he was as hard as rock" pg 2. He had absolutely no love,"Tateh hated black people"pg 61 or respect for his family,"We had no family life,that store was our life" pg 41..Judaism,as a religion forbade incest or adultery,but he didn't,"When i was a young girl,Tateh got in bed with me at night and doing things sexually to me that i could tell no one about"pg 42.On the issue of inspiring people to become better people,he wasn't even a good person,actually he was the one who needed redemption."He thought black folks were always trying to steal from him.he was actually the one robbing those folks blind,charging them a hundred percent mark up on cheap goods,yet he was worried about them stealing fro him"!pg 59.Again,he was just a man,who preferred to pursue shadows.
 * RABBI**

Judaism generally focuses on strictly following God's commandments rather than on details of after life or rewards after death.Orthodox jews believe in internal life.Traditional Judaism already believe in the world to come,the coming of the messianic age heralded by the messiah and a resurrection of the dead.But beliefs vary,some believe souls of the righteous go to heaven,or are reincarnated,while the wicked suffer from a hell of their making or remain dead.some believe God will resurrect the righteous to live on earth **after messiah comes to purify the world**.This last word,shows that they don't believe God has sent a messiah yet. Also,as orthodox Jews,they never also spoke about death."You weren't allowed to say the word death" pg18.The old time Jews,they would spit on the floor whenever they said the word "death" in Yiddish."I don't know if it was superstition or not,but if my father said "death",you can bet two seconds later spit would be flying out of his mouth" pg 18.Also a Jew is to be buried that same day."They buried him sundown that day"pg 18.They believe that burial should take place as soon as possible after death.The Torah requires the burial of a person as soon as possible, even for executed criminals.This means that burial will usually take place on the same day as death, or, if not possible, the next day.
 * JUDAISM AND ITS ISSUE OF DEATH**

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