BAR MITZVAH - A Jewish boy who reaches the age of 13 is a Bar Mitzvah. This means he is considered a man in Jewish law. He must keep all the laws that apply to Jewish men.
BAT MITZVAH - A Jewish girl who reaches the age of 12 is a Bat Mitzvah. This means that she is considered a woman in Jewish law. She must keep all the laws that apply to Jewish women.
CIRCUMCISION - The act of cutting off the loose skin at the tip of the penis known as the foreskin. It is a sign of the covenant Abraham made with God.
COVENANT - In the Tenakh (Sacred Scriptures of the Jews), a covenant is a solemn agreement between God and human beings. Usually, God gives a sign to show that he will keep his promise and the human beings do something important to show that they will keep their promise.
ISRAELITES - The name given to the people who were descendants of Israel, as Jacob was later known. The name 'Jews' was adopted much later. The Israelites were permanently divided into twelve tribes for every activity. Each tribe consisted of the direct male descendants of one of Jacob's sons, plus their wives, families and servants. Each tribe had its own place to live and duties to carry out.
KOSHER - Kosher food is food that the Torah lists as being suitable for Jews to eat. It includes any fruit and vegetables, cereals and other foods, which grow in the ground or on trees and bushes. Only fish with fins and scales, such as cod, animals, which eat grass and vegetables (and chew the cud) and have split hooves, such as cows, and a list of named birds, such as chickens, are permitted. Animals and birds must be killed in a special way called 'Shechitah' and all blood must be drained away before the flesh can be eaten.
MATZO - Unleavened bread made only of flour and water, but no yeast. It is the bread that slaves used to eat in Egypt. It is flat and crispy.
MENORAH - A seven-branched candlestick that is one of the oldest and also a common Jewish symbol.
MEZUZAH - A scroll containing the Shema mounted on the doorpost. Mezuzah designates that this is a Jewish home, reminding the Jewish inhabitants of their connections to God and the Jewish heritage.
MIKVEH - A pool of 'living' water, from rain, a river or the sea. Objects or people are completely dipped in mikveh water as a sign of religious purity.
PASSOVER - This refers to the festival of freedom from slavery. In Israel it lasts for seven days and eight days outside Israel, beginning on 15 Nisan. It commemorates the Exodus of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.
SABBATH - The seventh day of Creation. On this day, God rested from doing any further work. In the fourth of the Ten Commandments, Jews are told to remember this day every week, to rest and keep it holy.
TABERNACLE - The Tabernacle was the magnificent tent of meeting, prayer and sacrifice, which was made by the Israelites in the Wilderness, at God's command. It was the original home of the two stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments, located inside their precious golden box, the Ark. The Tabernacle was portable and was taken with the Israelites wherever they went. The Ark was always taken with the Israelites when they fought wars, to give them courage and strength.
TALLIT - A prayer shawl with fringes at each of the four corners. Orthodox men wrap themselves in a prayer shawl for many prayer services. Progressive Jews permit both men and women to wear the tallit.
TALMUD - A collection of 63 books containing interpretations of the Bible and rabbinical commentaries. Rabbi Aaron Parry’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Talmud is a useful introduction!
TEFILLIN - Tefillin are two small square boxes that contain the Shema prayer and other paragraphs from the Torah, attached to the head and arm by leather straps.
TEMPLE - King Solomon, the son of King David, built the first Temple to be the holiest place for prayers and sacrifices. It was where the two stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments inside the Holy Ark were housed. The Greeks destroyed it. A replacement was built which the Romans later destroyed. Orthodox Jews pray every day for the Temple to be rebuilt.
TORAH - The first written part of the Jewish bible. It consists of the Five Books of Moses. The books in Torah are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
YARMULKE (or kippah ) - A small round cap that Jewish boys and men wear on top of their heads. Some wear a yarmulke when praying, some wear it all day.
Question to Explore:
Explore, from various Jewish resources known to you, in what way the Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah rituals are performed in the different Jewish denominations.
BAT MITZVAH - A Jewish girl who reaches the age of 12 is a Bat Mitzvah. This means that she is considered a woman in Jewish law. She must keep all the laws that apply to Jewish women.
CIRCUMCISION - The act of cutting off the loose skin at the tip of the penis known as the foreskin. It is a sign of the covenant Abraham made with God.
COVENANT - In the Tenakh (Sacred Scriptures of the Jews), a covenant is a solemn agreement between God and human beings. Usually, God gives a sign to show that he will keep his promise and the human beings do something important to show that they will keep their promise.
ISRAELITES - The name given to the people who were descendants of Israel, as Jacob was later known. The name 'Jews' was adopted much later. The Israelites were permanently divided into twelve tribes for every activity. Each tribe consisted of the direct male descendants of one of Jacob's sons, plus their wives, families and servants. Each tribe had its own place to live and duties to carry out.
KOSHER - Kosher food is food that the Torah lists as being suitable for Jews to eat. It includes any fruit and vegetables, cereals and other foods, which grow in the ground or on trees and bushes. Only fish with fins and scales, such as cod, animals, which eat grass and vegetables (and chew the cud) and have split hooves, such as cows, and a list of named birds, such as chickens, are permitted. Animals and birds must be killed in a special way called 'Shechitah' and all blood must be drained away before the flesh can be eaten.
MATZO - Unleavened bread made only of flour and water, but no yeast. It is the bread that slaves used to eat in Egypt. It is flat and crispy.
MENORAH - A seven-branched candlestick that is one of the oldest and also a common Jewish symbol.
MEZUZAH - A scroll containing the Shema mounted on the doorpost. Mezuzah designates that this is a Jewish home, reminding the Jewish inhabitants of their connections to God and the Jewish heritage.
MIKVEH - A pool of 'living' water, from rain, a river or the sea. Objects or people are completely dipped in mikveh water as a sign of religious purity.
PASSOVER - This refers to the festival of freedom from slavery. In Israel it lasts for seven days and eight days outside Israel, beginning on 15 Nisan. It commemorates the Exodus of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.
SABBATH - The seventh day of Creation. On this day, God rested from doing any further work. In the fourth of the Ten Commandments, Jews are told to remember this day every week, to rest and keep it holy.
TABERNACLE - The Tabernacle was the magnificent tent of meeting, prayer and sacrifice, which was made by the Israelites in the Wilderness, at God's command. It was the original home of the two stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments, located inside their precious golden box, the Ark. The Tabernacle was portable and was taken with the Israelites wherever they went. The Ark was always taken with the Israelites when they fought wars, to give them courage and strength.
TALLIT - A prayer shawl with fringes at each of the four corners. Orthodox men wrap themselves in a prayer shawl for many prayer services. Progressive Jews permit both men and women to wear the tallit.
TALMUD - A collection of 63 books containing interpretations of the Bible and rabbinical commentaries. Rabbi Aaron Parry’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Talmud is a useful introduction!
TEFILLIN - Tefillin are two small square boxes that contain the Shema prayer and other paragraphs from the Torah, attached to the head and arm by leather straps.
TEMPLE - King Solomon, the son of King David, built the first Temple to be the holiest place for prayers and sacrifices. It was where the two stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments inside the Holy Ark were housed. The Greeks destroyed it. A replacement was built which the Romans later destroyed. Orthodox Jews pray every day for the Temple to be rebuilt.
TORAH - The first written part of the Jewish bible. It consists of the Five Books of Moses. The books in Torah are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
YARMULKE (or kippah ) - A small round cap that Jewish boys and men wear on top of their heads. Some wear a yarmulke when praying, some wear it all day.
Question to Explore:
Explore, from various Jewish resources known to you, in what way the Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah rituals are performed in the different Jewish denominations.
