Religion

World Religions AN INTRODUCTION FOR STUDENTS

jeoneane Fowler, Merll Fowler. David Nordiffe, Nora Hill,

and Diane \Valkins

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1

Judaism Mew Fowler

The Lord bless ),ou and keep you. The Lord make hLs face to shme upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you And give you peace. Nllmbers

When we think of the terms "Christian~, "'Hindu". "Muslim" and so on, we think of a person who belongs (0 a panicular religious grouping - Christians, Hindus, Muslims -all characterized by lhe common reli· gious beliefs and practices of the respecrive religion. The designation .. Jew n • however, is different, for ro think of a Jew o r Judaism simply in terms of religion is incorrect (indeed, the words Judaism and reli- gio" do not exist in Hebrew). This is mainly because whereas, for example, n Christian is baptized into Christia nity, a J ew is born infO Jud aism and will be a Jew whether or not he or she follows the reli- gious precep[S of Judaism. This seems to sugges t that (0 be Jewish is (0 belong to a particular race. Yet rhis. roo, is incorrect, for right from its beginningsJudaisDl has always been composed of a varlery of races, and lOday there are black Jews, yellow Jews, Nordic Jews and so on. Even to say that Jews are a people is misleading. because they arc not always a people on their own soil, with their own language. jews, indeed. are of mixed race, but are held together purely by (he fact of being born a jew, for a Jew is the child of a Jewish mother.'

For many Jews there is very much a sense of belong;"gness. a sense of belonging to Bel Yisrael, the hOllse of Israe l. So being born a Jew usually gives th e individual a sense of belo ngin g to the family of jews who are linked togelher by the bond of Jewishness, no matter where rhey may be, no maner what language the)' speak. and 110 maner what their particular beliefs are.

While many jews may not be religious at all, for some there is liltle, if an)" separation berween religion and culture, particularly within the more orthodox strands of Judaism. This is to sa)' that th e daily life of

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the Jcw is also a daily religious life. This is seen in terms of what the Jew will or will not eat, what is worn, the many celebrations and festi- va ls, and the speci3l nature of the days between festivals. There is no time, in bct, when the Orthodox jew. for eX3mple, is not pracming his or her religion: religion and culture a.re one. The Important linking faeror between all practising jews is the covenam which was made between God and his people in the very beglnmngs of Jewish history. We shall look at this conce pt of CO\'enanr in more detail below, but it is important (0 note in this conrext that the cove nanr binds the Jewish people togeth er now, in the preseO[, juSt as much as it did so 111 the paSt. For this reason the many celebrations and fesflvals In Judaism provide a powerful bond with past traditions, so powerful in fact, Ihat a Jew does nOt so much simply remember past events 3S reenact rhem, and live them again as if he or she had been there in the past. This we shall see when we examine Jewish festival s.

Before examining thc lifc stance of the Jew, it is imporr3n1 to realize that in the " family" of Jud aism there are a number of different sects. Arguably, the most interesting Jewish sect fO study is Orthodox Judaism, because of the richness in practice and celebration. Since Orthodox Judaism lies at the rOOt of all the other seCtS, it is mainly Orthodoxy with which we shall be concerned. However, we need to be aware at the outset of the variety of sects within Judaism. but while there are such divergences, Judaism remains one: marriages between the differenr sects are, indeed, common. In Israel itself, however, differences in culture and outlook have presented some difficulties, particularly between Eastern and Weste rn Jews whose places of origin are very different indeed. These difficulties will become 3pparent as we examine the different branches of Judaism.

Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewry For many centuries Jews have settled in diverse parts of the world, being exposed ro diverse culrures and social orders. In the period of thc Roman Empire they mIgrated from Palestine to countries such as France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Russia. This resulted in the emergence of two major culrural streams, the SeplJardic tradition which included mainly Mediterranean Jews and which owes irs name ro the medievlli Hebrew word (or che Iberian Peninsula, Sefarad, and thc AshkenaZIC tradition (Ashke"az was the medieva l Hebrew for northern France and Germany) which embraced the Jews of northern and eastern Europe. l

The pronunciation of Hebrew by these twO divisio ns is slightl)' different, but the Hebrew spoken in Israel follows the Sephardlc pronunciation.)

Orthodox judaism The term Orthodox is nOI a designation used by devotees of this form o f Judaism when spea king of th emselves. Rather,

they prefer ro describe themselves as "observant " jews, perhaps because the o rigins o f the word Orthodox in Judaism were pejorative. Strictly Orthodox Juda ism considers the first five books of the BIble, caJled the Torah, to be the divine words of God, and therefo re they must be obeyed ro the letter. Many Orthodox Jews believe that they should remain separate from the outside world and resist entirely its modemity and cha llenges lO change. They feel that obeying the commandmeors (",lIzlIo t ) of the Torah has helped them through th e man y periods of violent persecution In the past. Indeed, th e greater the persecution. rhe more Orthodox Jews immersed themselves in Torah, a nd though such persecution IS, mercifully, nor so conspicuous today, the practice of immersi on in Torah is deep ly ingrained. Orthodoxy regards itself as the true Judaism, and non-orthodox Jews as sinful Jews (but stiJl Jews nevertheless ). Fo r Orthodox Jews, the Law, the Torah, affects everything in lifc - food, dress, work, scx, marriage. family life, inheritance laws and a host of practices in dail y life. In fact, Orthodoxy is the official religion of the State of Israel, and such obser- vances as marriage, divorce, family and inheritance laws in Israel, as well as observance of the Sabbath, still come under the jurisdiction of these rcligious laws; this can lead to se riou s problems, as we shall see.

It is in Eastcrn Europe where Orthodox Judaism was, and still is, very firmly rooted. Even those Eastern Orthodox Jews who have migrated to other lands continue to re sist an y kind of modernity and change. The Eastern Orthodox Jews avoid any secular studies. They wear the same style of clo thes that their ancestors wore and seem very out of place in modern cities, where they tend to live together in dose co mmunities. Coming mainly from Russia and Poland, these Jews tended to favour settlement in Israel, though some felt that it wou ld not be fight to leave their ho mes for Israel until thc awaited Messiah co mes to lead all J ews from the corners of the earth back to the Promised Land. Those Eastern Jews who did settle in Israel or in America found their lifestyles very diffcrent indeed hom that of their co unterparts in Western Jewry. So today, we still recognize Polish Eastern Orthodox Jews by their black CIlftalls, the old fashioned black coats, accompanied with black stockings, and sometimes character- istic fur hats in the shape of a car tyre, like the oncs worn by their ancestors in the co lder Eastern European climate. In Leviticus 19:27 it says that "You shall not rOllnd th e corners of your he3d; neither shall yo u mar th e corners of the beard", and E.'Isrern Orthodox Jews have raken this co mean thai they are commanded in the Torah not to CUl the sideburns of their hair or of their beards. These Jews, then, are easily recognizable in an)' co untry by their ringlets as sidebu rns, as well as their unusual black dress:

Thus a smnge lookmg Jew emerged In self·styled umqueness He: was forcefully secluded. and, by hiS actIons, remm'ed hll11Self even further.'

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Has idic. Judaism Hastdic. Judaism is an offshoot of Orthodoxy, which has become very popular. s Has.d means "the pious one

M

, but the word "pious" here is meanr in a \'cry mystical sense, for Hastdtsm emphasizes direct mystical experience of God. Such mystical experi- ence is brough t about by fasting, meditanon and se paration from t he world. Mystical experience can be given on ly to rhose iniri:ned tntO (he secr by "special transference", which in Hebrew is termed kabalah. Here, there is much more emphasis on asceticism and wit hdrawal from the world, along with the spiritual passion for God often associated wu h mystical religion. The mystical emphasis encouraged a mystical imerpremrion of the scriptures with much allegory and symbo li sm, particularly numerical symbolism.

Hasidic. Jews believe that 311 the words of the Torah are realign- ments of the Divine Name YHWH whic h the true Hasid could fathom and become a "Master of the Name", a Baal Sbem. There is much emp hasis on evi l and good spirits and demons. and the power of the Divine Name ro comrol these. All the ideas associated with Ihis sect of Jud a ism are co nrained in an ancient book ca lled the Zohar, the "Book of Radiance", th e centra l idea of which is that of God as the ce ntre of the universe and as Infinite. The soul of man has to find its way to thi s In finite Being through rhe many layers of gross exis tence. Union with God is symbolized in the act of sex, when all dualities are los t and the individual glimpses perfect union with the Divine.

Although this seems rather memphysical, it was exactly what inspired many European Jews in rimes of immense persecurion, when life seemed hopeless. It provided a way of emphasizmg the mner, spir- ituallife of the soul, when th e ou ter, physical life of the body was so severely persecured. The Hasidic Jew is ve ry intense in hi s worship. He prays with his whole body, swaying backwards and forwards with fervour in prayer. bending the knee whenever he mentions t he Divine Name. YHWH, and often joining together with other men (Q dance in an equally ferve nt way. Man y of the Jews from Eastern Europe are Hasidic in belief.

Neo Orthodox Judaism Ln COntraSt to the Orthodox Judai sm that c hara cterize d Eastern Europe in the main, Western Jew ry was much mor e exposed to the kind of innuences that were more liberating and which encouraged Jews to immerse themselves more in the c ulrure of the country in which they lived . Neo-Orthodoxy was a response to this. Nco-Orthodoxy anempted to rerain its di sti nct Orthodox Jcwis hn ess bur at the same time integrate fully and contribure fuJly to life in society. Some Hasidic rabbis fit into t his Neo-Orthodoxy, the recently deceased Lubavitcher Rebbe in New York, being perhaps the most well -known. Neo-Orthodoxy is, therefore, more outgoin g, and one of its main beliefs is that it is the Jew's religious dury to be an example to the world, and he can hardly be this if he IS toca ll y segre-

gated from it. Having said chis, although it is importanr for the Jew to adjust ro the modern world, observance of rhe Torah is never sacri- ficed.

Rcfonn Judaism In Reform Jud aism there is much more of a turning away fro m the strict inte rpretation of the Torab, and a more obvious adaptanon to the outside world. It was a movement which appealed to Jews in the West particularly, because it stressed that Judaism needed to adapt its laws in cune with the ra pid progress of sociery. Reform Juda ism gave more individu:lliry to the Jew, suggesting that observance of commandments was much more a maner of individU:l1 choice than a question of obeying the whole Torah interpreted licer- ally. This enabled Jews to take account of scienrific theories, to modernize their views, to integrate into sociery in a much more posi- tive way, and to cast off what th cy felt to be some of the older taboos in Judaism such as th e com mandme nts co nce rning food. Reform Jew s today igno re man y of th e food laws strictl y obse rved by Orthodox Judaism, which are found in Levitiws, chapter 11 . There is no longer a need to see the Bible :lS writtcn b), the ha nd of God, but rath er as wrirren by many hum:l11 authors, perhaps inspired by God. Ultim.'ltely [he individual is the jud ge of what he or she wishes (0 accept. Reform Judaism is the refo re much less strict in its observances of religious practice. Parts of the Jewish Prayer Book have been a ltered or deleted in o rder to bring Jewis h th o ughl inca line with modern thinking. For example, the Mussar, the prayer for the restoration of animal sacrifice in the Temple, ha s been dropped e ntirely by Reform Judaism since mOSt Western Jews would find th e idea of animal sacrifice repulsive in this day a nd age. The Mussar is, however. re tained in th e On:hodox worship.

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism arose OU I of a reaction to Refo rm. which seemed to ma ny Jews to have gone too far in departing from traditional Judaism. While it accepts that all humankind must progress and that the biblical laws are more va lid for society if they arc e."er.-cha nging and evolutio nary in character, it was fe lt that there shou ld be more unanimity of deci sio n abou t whacshould be followed. Thus Conserva ti sm is traditional ye t ever-changing, a synthesis of th e two. It a ll owed Jews in Amcrica, for example, to involve th e mselves in American life, yet at the same rim e rctain their specific Jewis h traditions and hi storica l roots. By making the Jewish people them selves t.he focus of the L:lw, eac h ge nera ti on could add its changing and more advanced views to amend that Law so that Judaism itself would conti nue 10 evolve. Yet it does nor advocate lightl y the changing of the traditional laws of Judaism but rather prefers a stre tching of th e laws to accommodate modem life.

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Reconslructionist Judaism ReconStructionism emphasizes even more than Conservatism the idea of the peoplehood of Judaism, the col lective nafUre of (he Jewish people even though they are dispersed throughout the emire world. This co ll ective entity of a people is connected to the impersonal God, and all the laws of the Torah are symbols which need much reinterpretation in order to help the people collectively to strive towards that impersonal force. JeWish laws . are only felt to be valid if they have so me purposeful use for humankmd, and for the collecriveJewish people. If they do not have such purpose- fulncss, then it is permissible to discard them. L"lWS arc thus reconstructed in the Li ght of the collective experience of all Jews. In many ways Recon structionist Judaism is very humanistic, emphasizing what it calls the ethical nationhood of the Jewish people and the neces- sity of working for an improved world and a bener humanity. Its ro~ts were in Amcnca and it h:ls the kind of broad vision we :lssociate with American thinking. It allowed Jews in America to be both America n and to be Jewish. retaining all that waS most valuable in their ancient traditions.

The Covenant Jews believe that they are bound to God by a covenant, called a b'rit. The account of how the covenant or agree· ment came into being is tOld in the first five books of the Bible, which arc called the T orah - irs nearest equivalent meaning in English being "L1W " or, bener, " Instructi on". The Toral) rells th e Jews what this covenant entails. It lays down certain laws or commandments, called mitzvot in Hebrew, which must be kepI in order for the covenant ro be maintained. All the commandments tOgether represent the Halakhab. the Jewish religious law.

The covenant between God and Israel is epitomized in the revered words of wh:lt is called the Sbema. These are the injunctions of Deuterono my 6:4-9, the first word of which is Shema in Hebrew ("Hear!"), which appropriately gives its name to the whole statement:

Hear 0 Israel: The Lord our God, dI e Lord IS One; and you s hall love the Lo rd yOU T God With all your heart, and With all your so ul , and WITh a ll your might. And th~ words which I command you Ihls da)' shall be upon you r heart; ,lI1d you shall teach them dlligentl )' to your children, and shall talk of them whcn yo u si t III your ho u§!! , and when rou walk by the way, and when you li e down. and when you rise. And you s hall bind Ihern :IS a sign upon your hand. and the)' shall be as frondcrs between your eyts. And you shall wme them o n the doo rposrs of your house and o n you r gates.

These words depict the essence of Judaism. The first sratemenr is, indeed, a summation of the Jewish belief in the absolute oneness of God and the insistence that God cannot be divided into parts: there , . could be no concept of a divine trinity in Jud aism. So when Jews recite

the Shel1la, they close their eyes and traditionaJly stretch out the word "one~, ebad. so that the)· ca n meditate on God's absolute oneness while do in g 50. The following verses of the passage bind the Jews to the absolute God through the covenant, and the commandments imposed on them by God in (he Law, the Torah. An Orthodox Jew maintains all thc laws of the Torah so that his whole way of life is lived according to the 11IltZvo t. In Judaism, therefore, religion and culture are mainly one and the same thing. This is ex pressed in dress, food, ce remonies, festivals :lnd the many aspects of life which are pan of the Jewi sh way of life. Most male Jews undertake to accept and observe the IIlItZl/ot at the important ceremony of Bar Mitzvab.

Bar MUzvab This means " Son of the Commandment", and a boy of thirteen and one day becomes a "son of the commandment r al the vitally important ceremony of Bar Mitzvab. At this point in his life he is expected to observe all the commandments and religious rites, and will have been well prepared for the occasion, having learned to read Hebrew and having being given thorough instruction in the Jewish religion. He would also understand the importance of the religious dress which he wears at his Bar Mitzvah.

The Bar Mitzvah takes place on the Sabbath nearest to rhe boy's thirteenth birthday. In Jerusalem the ceremony is held on Monday mornings at the Western Wall: this is in order nOt to break the Sabb:lth law concerning travel. It is every boy's dream to have his Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem, and families travel frol11 far and near to rhe Western Wall of Herod's Temple. The scene is one of immense joy (and some trepi- dation for the reader) as boy after boy is brought into the sacred area with the Torah scroll by the male relatives of his family. Amid tears and laughter, female relatives lean on the surrou ndin g courtyard wall, wai ling in loud voices and throwing sweets.

Away from Jerusalem and the Western Wall, after the morning se rvice in the synagogue, the boy's name is called in Hebrew, and he climbs omo a platform ca ll ed a bimal1 on which has been placed a reading desk. On the reading desk is the Serer Torah, the Scroll of the Law, which has been taken outofi ts cupboard called an Ark. The boy chams portions from the Serer Torab and, if he has studied well, he may also be asked to read from the books of the Prophets. During his Bar Mitzvah, the boy wears a prayer shawl called a tallit a nd an embroidered silk skullcap called a kippah. Once his Bar Mitzvah is over, and the boy passes into adulthood, he will be able to wear the tallit when praying, like all Orthodox Jews, and he will also be able to wear the tefilll1l. The tallith and lefillin are both symbols of the cove nant between God and th e Jewish people. At his Bar Mitzvah, the boy puts on the term;" (Heb rew) or (,hyJacteries (Greek) for the first time. They are bound on hi s forehead and on his left arm, and this he will continue fa do during his morning prayers each day whether at

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home or in the synagogue. The tefilli" are [wo small square boxes conraining handwritten passages from the Torah.

After the boy has chanred the passages from the Torah , the rabbi preaches a sermon, telling the boy that he must now rake on ::Ill the religious responsibilities of an adult Jew. Finally, he gives the boy the blessing:

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shllle upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you And give' you peace'.

After his Bar Mitzvah, the boy becomes a member of the co mmu· nity and an adu lt. He can now join in synagogue worship si nce he ca n be included in th e minyan, the number of males necessary £0 form a synagogue. The mi"ya" is a quorum o f ten males; traditionally, worship cannOt rake place without this minimum number. In Orthodox Judaism only men are included in a mi"yan, whereas in Conservative Judaism women can be included at rhe discretion of the individual congregation. In Reform Judaism, no m;'lyan at all is required for worship, thou gh it is desirable. Women have equal status here with men and there are a number of women rabbis in Reform Judai sm; the first was ordained in 1972. A mi"yarl forms a synagog ue or " gathering", so a synagogue does not have to be a building; it is anywhere where ten or more male Jews meet for worship.

On the Sunday after th e Sabbath (the Sabbath lastS from sunset on Friday unril sunset on Saturday), a party is held for the boy, and many friends and relatives are invited. These parties, which ate ohen lavish affairs, illustrate the importance of the Bene Mitzvah (plural, i.e. "'sons of the command menr") in Jewish life. Liberal and Reform Jews also have a Bat Mitzvab for gi rls at th e age of twelve. Orthodox Jews, however, do not accept this practice.

Despite the importance of the Bar Mittvah, really spea king no rite of initiation is necessary for the transition from chi ldhood to respo n- sibility for mitzvot; the transition is automatic at thirteen years and one day. But for most Jews, Bar Mitzvah is one of the most imponanr occasions in a Jew's life, regardless of the seer of Judaism to which he belongs. This is the time when the boy positively identifies with his people, and the preparation for Bar Mitzvah encourages th e boy to know as much as possible about his people, about ritual, ceremo ni es, traditions, history, destiny and ethical conduct. Bar Mitzvah is thus a personal declaration of faith in all Jewish sects.

The Tallit The tallit was once a square cloak, similar to th e striped blanket worn by the Bedouin in the desert. When the Israelites were brought out of Egypt by Moses, they were given manycommandments

which held the structure of their society together during their wander- ings in the Wilderness, before they had a land of their own. It is to rhis time that the tallit is related. Moses was commanded £0:

Speak tothe people' of Israel, and bid them ro make' tassC'ls on the corners of the'ir garments throughout their generations, and to put upon the tassel of each comer a cord ofbJue; and it shall be 10 you a tassel to look upon and renle'mbe.r all the commandments of the' Lord, todo them, nOt to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to go afte't wantonly. So you shall remember and do all my command- ments, and be holy to your God. (Nllmbers 15: 37-40)

This, then, is the purpose of the tal/it. Eventually this tasselled garment became the prayer shawl worn by Orthodox male Jews. Today, the tassels are at the [WO ends of the shawl and th e strands and knots repre- se nt the 613 laws o f the Torah. A taWt can be of any co lour, size or material but it must ha ve two white tassels ca ll ed tzitzit on each corner. The tzitzit has four long strands which are looped through a hole in the corner of the garment. In o lder times, one strand of the fzifzif had to be hyacinth blue, the blue symbolizing God's heaven, and the white of the tallit purity. These, too, are the colou rs used on the Israeli flag. Blue is also an indication of royalty. In ancient times, only princes were allowed to wear blue, so th e blue colour in the tzifz it, and today in the blue stripe of th e tallit itself, confers royalty on its wearer. Sometimes the tallit has black stripes which remind the Jew of the Fall of the Temple in Jerusa lem in 70 CE o The band on [he shawl is the aflarah, which must always be on the top and the outside when worn, but is removed when the owner dies; o ne strand of [he ftirz; t is cut to make the garment pat:d o r unacceptable to God. II can then be wrapped around th e dead person.

The worshipper wraps the tallit around himself while reci ting a blessing to show that the commandments are wrapped around him. The tallit is worn during morning prayer eit her at home or at rhe syna- gogue, bur is nOt worn on the Sabbath. Orthodox Jews also wear an undergarment called a talfirh karan or anarba kanfot, which is a small tallit with tzitz,it. Reform J ews no longer wear a tal/it. Women are nOt permitted to wear a tallit at all in Orthodox Judaism though there is no real scriptural evidence to suggest why they should nOt:" indeed one ancient rabbi sewed tzitzit on hi s wife's apro n. Women are generally freed from having to obey mltzvot which are linked to special rimes of the day, because this would ca use difficulties for them when rearing children.

Tefifljn The tefillin or phylacteries are worn because of the commandment in the Shema that some of the most important precepts should be in the hean of every Jew. Tefillin are an important parr of

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worship and prayer. Indeed. the word comes fro m a Hebrew rOOt palal meaning " prayer " or " meditation". Orthodox Jews be li eve that even God himself wears tefjllin. The tefillin a re worn at the weekday mo rn ing prayer by all Orthodox Jewish males. One is placed o n the left upper arm (of a right-handed male) facing th e heart w ith the strap wo und arou nd the arm seven times right down to the wrist o nto the hand and twO fin gers. The other is stra pped OntO the forehead. When the strap is bei ng wound aro und t he middle fingers of the left hand, a special prayer is sa id :

I will betroth thee unto Me forever I will betroth thee unto Me in ri ght eous ness and in judgement and in loving ki ndn ess and in mercy ... and in faithfulness and thou shalt know the lord.

This ind icates that the tefillin are sy mbo lic of th e devotion and affec- tion between Israel and her God. They are a wedd in g bond, as the above words show, between God and the Jewish peo ple, and are a sy mbol of the cove nant and th e mutual responsibi li ty of th e twO part- ners in th e covenant, just like th e murual responsibi li ty which shou ld exist between husband and wife. Within thi s covenant rela tionship, God undertakes the ca re of his people, but certain o bligations are necessary on the part of th e Jews. These obligations are evident in this speciaJ pra ye r:

1. Ri ghteo usness: 2. Just ice: 3. Loving kindness: 4 . Fa ithfulness :

Heb. sedaqa Heb. mjspat Heb. hesed H eb. ernel

Each Jew is expected to live by th ese principles, di splaying th em not only in relanon {O God, but in re lation t o his fell ow Jew. This is beca use God showed such qualities in bringing Is ra el o ut of bondage in th e Land o f Egypt, so Jews must also show such qualities in th eir daily living. The tefillj" on the left hand opposite th e heart reminds J ews that it is their duty to subj ect th e designs of th eir hearts and their feelings t o God; the one on the forehead reminds them to concentrate their th oughts on God's service and teachings. Each of the cubes is ca ll ed a bayjt, which means " house" . On one is the Hebrew Jetter shin and o n the othe r s ide the same lener with an extra stroke ttD . This cube is placed on the head and t igh tened by the special knot at th e back. The knot is also indicative of a Hebrew lener, the lett er daleth - , - both upright and upside down L . The srraps then fall over each s ho ulder (0 th e front. Ins ide the bayil there are fou r se parate compartmems each comaining a scro ll.

The o rh er bayjt has only one compa rtment, and the words on the

four scro ll s a re written o n one scrol l. The strap has a loop o n one side which is ti ed by a knot in the shape of a lener yodh . The sig ni fica nce of the leu ers on the te(illin is debated. Some consider th e shi,,-dalelh and yodh - sh·d-). to rep resent Shadday, one of the names of the Hebrew God . The significa nce of the four-pronged shin is more myste- rious and mystica l and so mf!: co nsider it (0 be sy mboJjc of the co mpl ete knowledge of God and the true meaning of Torah . Some be li eve ir to correspo nd to th e fo ur letters of th e Divine Name YHWH. a name never spo ken by Jews. T e(illi" a re worn on ly on weekdays, nor o n Shabbat (Sa bbath Ja r holy da ys.

Inside the lefillin are four parti cular passages from the Jewish Torah, the fi rst fiv e boo ks o f the Bible re prese nting the law of Moses:

I . Deuteronomy 6:4-9 T hi s is th e centrally important Hebrew Shema, which we noted a bove.

2. Deuterollomy 1 I : 13-2 1 This passage [ell s t he j ews [h tu God will se nd [he rain s in th ei r seasons so that [he g rain a nd w ine a nd o il will be p lentiful, a lso [he grass for th ei r catri e so that the y wi ll not hun ge r, o n condirion that rh e j ews wo rship no other Gods. Again, th is is followed by th e sa me words as Deulerol/omy 6:6-9. "And t hese words whi ch I command you t hi s day shall be upon you r hea rt ... "

3. £."Codtls 13:1 - 10 This passage is conce rn ed wi th rhe Festival of Unl eavened Bread. When the H ebrews came our of Eg ypt, the y left so qui ckly that th ey had no rim e (0 leaven their bread, or a t least to wa it fo r the bread to ri se, an d so had to ea r it unl eave ned. The passage commands the Isra eli tes to kee p the Feast in orde r to rememhcr the great act o f God in bringing th em out of Egypt:

And yo u shall [('II you r son o n [hrl[ day, Mi[ is b«allsc of wh at [h(' Lo rd did for me when I came' OUI of Egypt." And it shall bt to yo u as II sign Oil yo ur hand and as II rnC'morla l be tween your ey('s. that the' law of Ih(' Lord ~ m your mou lhj for WIth a strong hand [h(' Lord has broughl you QU I of Egypt. You shall therefore keep th is ordmance al its appomted time from year to ye'a r. (Exodus 13: 8-1 0)

4. Exodus 13:11-1 6 This passage States th at the H ebrews, o n entering the Prom ised Land afte r wa nd erin g in th e Wilderness, should dedicate all first-born males o f cartle and ro en to God. When th e Heb rews were in s lavery in Egypt, Pharao h stub bo rnl y refused to release them desp ite being amicred with nin e p lagues. It was only th e final tenth plague, th e death of a ll rhe first-born men and cattle in Egypt, w hi ch ca used Pharaoh to cha nge hi s mind. The passage ends with [he words:

It shall be as a ma rk on you r hand or fromJ('fS ~tween your eres: for by a strong hand the Lord brough t us out of Egypl.

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The kippah or kappel (Yiddish yannulka ) This is the sku ll cap worn during prayer in the home or in the synagogue. Some Jews wear it permanently. It is worn to show reverence for God, and to remind the Jew that there is a lways someone (God) more imporranr than he is. Sometimes the caps are plain, bur frequently they a re made in man y dif(erenr colours and designs. A white one, however, is usually preferred for important holy days since whire is a symbol of purity.

Deuterotlomy 6:9 Stares that not only shou ld the laws be bound on the hand and before the eyes, but also:

you shall writ~ th~m on th~ doorposl:S of your hou~ and on your gates.

When enre ring a Jewish home, therefore, a small case made o f metal , glass or olive wood will be seen on the doorpost. It is called a me'4u~h and is another symbol of th e covenant. Seeing it reminds the Jews once again of their religious laws. Inside the mezuzah is parchment, just as in the tefillitl, and on it is written the Sherlin, and the injunctions found in Deuterotlomy 6:9 and t 1 :20.

The mezuzah is th~ guardian of the home in :I twofold sen~. It ensures that our hom~ is more than JUSt a physical resIdence and gIves a spi ritual dim~nsion 10 OUf immedia te physical environmenl. '

The ",ezu~h makes each room in the house inro a sanctua ry, though it may have o riginated as a protective am ulet and even toda y is a s}'mbolic protection against evil The Same letters which are featured on the tefillilt are a lso found on the ",ez,,~h - sh-d-y (Shaddny), the name of God. On the outside of the scroll on the bottom are the letters:

l.:un.w bmlllksz kwzw.

This is non se nsical, but when each lerrer is repla ced with the previous letter of the Hebrew alphabet it reads:

yiJwlJ alhynu yllwll/Adolla; Elohenu Adonal

'The Lo rd our God is thc Lord '.

Whenever a Jewish family moves {O a new home, they buy a new mezuzah from a Jewish bookseller. When the new mezuzah is fixed to the front doorpost, a shonceremony takes place. The m exuzol (pl ural ) are always fixed so that they can be fOuched easily, and so me Jews touch th e mez,,~h on the way in o r o ut of the house, possibly kissing th eir fingers after the y have touched it. Some Jews even place me'4It'4ot on the doorposts of their Jjving rooms and bedrooms. The mezllzah should be fixed to the doors (b ut nor bathroom, toilet, storeroom or

cupboard doors) within the first thiny days after moving into a house. Traditionally, inside a Jewish home, a mez,,~h should be fixed only to the doorpost of living rooms. Seeking a definition of what consti- tutes a living room, Jews concluded that this must be a room wherein food is partaken. Originally, this restricted its location {O the dining room, but today so many Jewish homes have television in several rooms, where the viewers take sandwiches, and children love to eal biscuits in their bedrooms. thai the location of the meVI'4ot within the home is far marc widespread.

Jews do nor take a meZll'{.Qh with them, it is always left in place when they move. The mezuzah is put on the front right-hand doorpost with the tOp of it poiming inside the house, so that it lies on a diagonal. According to tradition, the mezuzah is slanted o ut of respect for twO great rabbis, Hillel and Shammai. One sa id it sho uld be positioned vertically and the other sa id it sho uld be horizontal - so the Jews co mpromised by positioning it in between the two. As jt is being put into position the following words are said:

8amkh ... lIet'ZWQIIU Itkboa mezuzah Blessed are You ... He. who has command~d us to affix the mezuzah. '

A famous rabbi called Eliezer ben Jacob said:

Hr who wears Tcfillin on his head and Tcfillm on hiS arms, who carries Tzlt7.i l on hiS g.amlcnt and has placed a mezuzah on his door, IS shel- ter~d. He Will nO! fall 1010 510, as we :lr~ fOld; A thrce.fold cord will nOI easily break. (Mel/ahar 436, cf. Eccl~$lastes 4; 12)

The Torah In read ing a bout the Bar Mitzvah, we nored the impor- tance of keeping thecolllmandmenrs of the Torah, the most important of the Jewish scriptures. These are the firS{ five books of the Bible. Torah is not an easy word to interpret. It reaUy means " Instruction", though it is usually translated as " L1w "; essentially it provides God's "instruction" to his people. It is this instruction which has been trans- lated into the mitzvot thar bind the Jews to the God of th e covenant. Although it may seem as if the Torah is a law or instruction rooted in the paSt, to man y Jews it is seen as an expression of the covenant, and therefore something which is renewed each day, so mething which is a vibrant part of daily life, a living Law.

It is through the Torab that God is fclt to speak directly to the Jewish people. For some Jews this means that God 's words must be obeyed implicitly, and for other Jews it means that th ey are words which need to be interpreted by humans in an attempt to understand the message which God imparts. Naturally, such interpretation of the word of God will vary in time and will be affected by ci rcumstances. Even in the

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biblical history of the jews, the prophets found it necess,lrY to rei terpret the scriptures in times of difficulty or, indeed, in times of ea But rhls does not mean to say that anyone could mterpret rhe wor of God. This function was left to rhe rabbis who, being experts in f Law, were able to apply it to the many situations of hfe which evolv in the centuries following the giving of the Law to Moses at Sinai. S generally, the Torah is nOt static but dynamic. H aving said this, it i. genera ll y believed in judaism thar the older traditions of the rabbis are far more authentic than the later ones, simply because they are nearer to the Si1l3itic L'\w in time: the earlier rabbis are therefore given the greatest respect, and thei r interpretations of the Law are regarded a. part of the Law itself. Even when th ese great rabbis disagreed with each other, they were all felt to be right, and somehow a compromise had to be made between the different opinions so that they were all accommodated: thus, the mez.uzalJ is placed in a s lanting position on doors, as noted above, to accommodate the different views of rwo great rabbis.

The importance of the Torah in judaism is shown in the reverence with which rhe scriptures are treated in the synagogues. To be called up to read the Torah is a great honour, and one in Onhodox judaism which is accorded only to men. When th e Torah is brought out of the Ark and carried around the synagogue, many will touc h it with the tzilzil of thei r prayer shawls in reverence. The actua l wo rd Torah therefo re can mean three things. It ca n mean the words of the first five books of rh e Bible, it can mean the scroll on which those words a re written, and it can also mean the Law in the sense of a ll (he later inte r- pretations of the original Torah. Leo Trepp sums up the importance of Torah rather we ll when he says:

Torah in Ih~ fullest meaning of th~ r~rm thus IS synonymous wilh ~J~wish Hentage". II is Important to r~m~mber It. Torah cOnlalns laws. but If IS not simpl)' law; It IS instruction. Th~ m~aruns of th~ word Torah changes wilh Ihe cOnlext In which It is used. [I slands for "Splm of Judaism"; It IS the essence of Judaism. Jews arc the people of Torah. bUI they are not:1 legalistic people.'

When visi tin g a ny synagogue the focus of attention is always the Ark, the cupboard which conta in s the sacred scro ll o r scro ll s of the Torah. Usua ll y a community of jews has a number of such scrolls, often handed down from neighbouring former synagogues, so that the Ark, when opened, is full. The word "scroll " suggests straight away that the Torah of the synagogue is nOt in book form. It is found on a la rge scroll which is unwound by means of twO poles, one at each end. The words of the Law are considered to be so precious that the scroll is clothed in a velvet o r silk cover, often beautifully emb roidered by members of the community. The special nature of the scrol ls is usually

depicted by a crown placed on top, and sometimes they have a breast· lure hung on them. The breastplate usually has a little window in it

~n which a tablet (usually silver, but never gold) can ~ put. This tells ~ople to which pan of the Law the scroll is set. This is helpful when differenl texts htwe to be read in the synagogue: it is much easier to open a book and find the right place lhan to unwind a lengthy scroll. lo

Because the scroll is holy, its text is never changed, and every letter, word and paragraph is coumed to make sure tha t the text is accurate 3nd rhat there are no errors in it. This task is done by a specia ll y qual· ified person called a safer, whose sole occupation is working on such scrolls. The text is considered so sacred that it is never touched, and a special pointer called a yad is used in order to point to rhe text while it IS being read. II This poimer has a little hand on the end with a finger pointing forward to indicate the textj yad in Hebrew (pronounced yod in Ashkenazic, yarth in Sephardic) thus means "ha nd '. The script on the scrolls "sirs" on the parchment. That is to say it does not soak imo the parchmenr but JUSt li es on the top and so can be easily chipped off. Once this happens, rhe whole scroll is IJatlll, unacceptable to God, and unusable. The yad, th en, ensures that the text does nor become patl/I. All the decorations on the scro ll s are usually in si lver. Any other material may be used except for gold. This is because the Hebrews were once tempted to make and worship a go ld en calf, just a t the time when Moses was a ll Moum Sinai receiving rhe Torah from God. (Exod", 32)

When a scroll is used it is taken from the Ark, the cupboard in which the scro ll s are secured, and is carried solemn ly fO the reading desk in the synagogue where the (exr is read. The co mmunity follows th e reading in the ir own primed books. If rhe day comes when [he scroll is no longer able to be used in worship because it has been damaged and has become pat"l, th en it is buried in a jewish cemetery in a clay comainer. Some very special people are honoured by having ... Torah scroll buried with th em.

Navi';", Apart from the Torah, th e books of the Prophets conrained in rhe Hebrew Bible (what Christia ns call the Old Testament) are a lso part of rhe j ewish scriptu res. The word for "prop hets" in Hebrew is "av;'im. It was th e prophets who ensu red the s ur vival of judaism by striving to bring the Heb rews, Israelites or j ews back to the terms of the covenant each time they strayed from it, a nd also for ensuring their survival in the difficult years of exi le.

Ketubi", These are the Coll ected Writings which are pan of rhe Hebrew Bible - Psalms, Proverbs. job, So"g of 50"8S, Ruth. LJmetltatio1ls. Ecclesiastes, Esther, Da1liel. Eua and Nehemiah and Chro"icles I and II. Of these books, Psalms is particularly important in jewish worship. In all other books, God speaks lO man; in Psalms,

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humans speak ro God and it is here, in rh.is book, rhar humankind can express their grievances and the many emotions that are part and parcel of daily life. So worship begins and ends in Judaism with Psalms. The Sabbath is praised with Psalms, and holy day s are marked with a special recital from Psalms called the Hallel (Psalms'] 13-118).

If we take the first letrers of the three section s of Scripture, we find Torah, Naui'im and Ketubim, T, Nand K. So the entire Hebrew scrip- tures are called the Te1Jakh. the Hebrew Bible.

The Mislmah We have said that, apart from the Torah itself, there were also irs various interpretations by the rabbis which became known as the Oral Torah. These are believed to have been handed down from generation to generation in a continuous stream of oral tradirion. In 170 CE., a famous rabbi, Judah the Prince, came to think that the numerous interpretations of the Law had reached s uch proportion that it would be difficult for anyone to remember them in their entirety. l\l1oreover, in times of persecution some of these masters of the Torah did not survive, and there was a danger that the oral tradi- tion would be lost. So Rabbi Judah recorded the basics of the Oral Torah, raking care to include all the views of the opposing schools of rabbis.

This work became the Mishnah. It se t down all the rules and regu- lations of Judaism which are known as the "fence" around the L'lwj the oral laws provided an extra set of laws which mad e sure that the inner core of mitZIJOI would never be transgressed - hence the "fence" around the Law. A tractate known as Pirke Arval (Sayings of the Fathers), which was added to the Mishnah in about 250 cEo exempil- ifies the belief in this continuous scream of oral tradition:

Moses received (he Torah on 5ill:1I, and h:lOded it down to Joshua; Joshua to (he elders; the elders to the prophets; and the prophets handed it down to the Men of the Great A.ssembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment; raise up many disciples; and make a fence round the Torah ...

This provided Judaism with the Halakhah, the "walk" in life, the Haggadah, " preaching " about how to conduct life, and a commentary on scrtpture known as Midrash. 1l There arc six sec ti ons in the Misbnab:

Zt:raim

M""d NiJslJim Nez.ikin KadoslJ;m

Tal1arot

Seeds Appoimed days Women Damages Holy things

Purifications

deals WIth agriculture deals wilh SlJabbat and festiva ls deals with marriage and divorce deals wilh criminal law deals with Temple sacrifice and diemry rules d~ls with ritual purity

The Talmud Eventually, the Mish1lah need ed new interpretations, and it was ou r of rhis need that another great work emerged, the Talmud. The Talmud is in fact a compilation of two works, rhe Mishnah and the Gemara. The word Gemara means "completion" and it recurds aU the di scussio ns of the rabbis on the text of the Mishnah. The rabbis met together twice a yea r with prepared inter- pretations o f sections of the Mishllah and debated and argued with each other about the interprerations of the text. Every word of tbeir debate was taken down, no matter how verbose and rambling their discussion may have been at rimes. And it is this which has become the Talmlld. Obviously, it is no easy text to read! Its contelHs cover almost every aspect of human life. Since it was compiled by rabbis of the Babylonian Jewish community it is sometimes referred to as [he Babylonian Talmud.

Rabbis The forerunner s of the rabbis were the scribes, who were not a religious body but, as their name suggests, writers (!-leb. soferim) or copyistS, who dutifully recorded [he words of the Torah. The scribes were essentia lly members of a profession rather than a religious group, but a growing familiarity with the teachings of the Torah placed them in the enviable position of being qualified to prepare documents, advising society on its conduct in the light of the sacred word. 1n time, [his accumulated knowledge accorded the scribes increasi ng respect, and they became Teachers of the Law, commanding the tide Master (Heb. Rabbi), a title they accepted with no linle pride. Indeed, in the Christian New Testament the y are sometimes termed " lawyers", e.g. in Luke 10:25. The period following [he two wars with Rome found the rabbi s transmitting a cultivated Oral Tradition to writing, in the forms of the Mish"ah and the Talmlld.

When we read [he texr of the New Testaff/em we become familiar with the Pharisees, a group of Jewish reachers wh o were despi sed by Jesus of Nazareth. However, had it not been for the Phari sees, it is doubtful whether [he Jews would ever have survived the overthrow of Jerusa lem and the fall of the Temple in 70 CEo The Pharisees were both rich and poor, bur were close to the people. Collectively, at least imme- diately before and for a century and a half after the destruction of [he Jerusa lem Temple in 70 CE, rhey were known as lalmaim, a word derived from the Aramaic len; (to repeat),lJ bur each individual was known and addressed as " teacher", rabbi. Although they were part of a religious group the y were not profeSSionals and most had other occu- pations. But it was this tradition of rabbis which formulated the Jewish literature that we have reviewed. In many ways, the Pharisees were the builders of Judaism. We should nor be biased against Pharisees because of the picture built up of them in the New Testamellt. Some of them, like the famous Rabbi Hillel, were great humanists, and though remarkabl y poor, lcfr an unforgerrable legacy to Judaism,

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shaping itS destiny. There are, however, some justifications for criti- cism of a minority of Pharisees, known in Judaism as "the painted ones": it may have been to such that Jesus referred in the Gospels. They were called '"the paimed ones" because their piety was painted on - in other words, they were hypocrites. But they were certainly in the minority.

Apart from the very important ceremony of Bar Mit zvah, other major Jewish ce rem onies not connected with the ca lenda r are the rites of ci rcumcision, marriage and death.

Circumcision When eight days old, every male Jewish baby is circumcised. The ceremony usually tak es place in the home, and is ca rri ed our by a mohel in the presence of ten males (a min)'all). The act of circu mcision fulfils the requirements of the Jewish Law, so it is a mitzvah. It is the sign of the covenant between God and man, and was insritUfed in the tim e of Abraham. God had told Abraham to leave his own country a nd to go to a place which he would show him. He promised Abraham a land, and a multitude of descendants, and Abraham's part of th e bargain was (Q "wa lk before me and be blame- less" (Genesis 17: I ). It was as a sign of th is covenant that ci rcu mcision was introduced as an ourward physical act, rep resenting an inward relationship with God. Today it a lso links Jews together in a special way. At his circumcision, the boy is given his reli gious name whkh will be used at his Bar Mitzvah, on his wedding certificate, and on hi s gravestone. However, if a Jew is nor circumcised he is srill a Jew, th ough a sinful one because he has disobeyed a ",itzvah.

Circumcision is such a specia l event rh:a it must be properly performed. Some Jewish parents have their male babies circumcised o n about the third day after birth by the physician in the hospital, bur strictly speaki ng this is not acceptable under Jewish Law and would certainl y not be accepted by Orthodox Jews. So important is circ um - cision on t he eighth day that even if it falls on the Sabbath or on the high holy day of the festival of Yom Kippllr, it is sti ll perfo rm ed.

It is a Jewish father's dury to ensure that his son is circumcised at the correct time: indeed, he could carry out the ceremony himself if he wished, though few fathers do. It is a ve ry patriarchal affai r, for the mother is nOt required to attend, though today it is usually an occa- sion for celebration by th e whole family as well as other guests. Interestingly, as Trepp points out, th e baby has godparents, and the word for godfather is sandek, a word derived from the Greek syntekhos "he who accompanies the chi ld ", which is the name given to the godfather in Greek Orthodox Christianiry.'· This is therefore suggestive of a Christian origi n for the use of godparents in Judaism. It is the salJdek who has the honour of holding the baby during the operation.

B'n' mi/ah, the seal of th e covenant, is rhus a very important cere- mony. The house is decorated with flowers and candles, and a special meal follows at which hallah loaves are used . These are the two loaves of bread which are always used on the Sabbath. They are easily recog- nized by their plaited tOps. They symbolize the manila which th e Hebrews ate in the desert, when they first left Egypt to journ ey to th e Promised Land. Wine is a lso important, and the child may be given a special goblet which he wiIJ usc at specia l times in li fe. The goblet is fi ll ed with wine symbol izing a cup of joy. When this cup is raised by the mohel, the boy is given his Hebrew name for the first time.

When the ceremony takes place, the godmother brings in the baby and passes him to the sandek, then she returns to stay with th e mother. Two chai rs will be placed either side of the mohel. On the left sits th e sandel.:. and on the right is the chair of the prophet Elija h, th e guardian of Israel who is a lways a feature of important occasions. The sandek hands the baby to his father, who passes him to the mohel, and the nlohe! places the baby on EJijah 's chair and asks for Elijah's blessing. Then the child is placed on the sa"dek 's la p for the operation. No cere- monies are necessary for girls, though Reform J udaism has adapted the words of rhe B'rit into a special ceremony for them ca ll ed "The Covenant for Life".

Marriage The Hebrew wo rd for marriage is kiddushin, meaning "'to be holy", "'sanctification ", or " (0 be set aside." It is a holy covenant entered inro by the tw o con ce rn ed, so it is a very sacred re13tio nship, but is nOt a sacrament, as it is in some denominations of Christian ity. It used to be unusual for a J ew to marry a Genti le, bUI in more rece nt times such a mixed marriage has become much more common. Since it is a mitzvab to have children, celibacy would be frowned on in Judaism: a Jew withou t a wife is homeless. Traditionally, the Jew obrains the girl's consent to marriage, and then asks the parentS for their consent.

Weddings usually take place in the synagogue, th oug h some may occur in the bride's house or in the open ai r. The wedding can take place on any day except the Sabbath or a festival day but must nOt take place at twilight in case the day changes in the middle of rh e cere- mony. Traditionally, a wife was acquired in three ways, by a lega l Contract, by payment of money or by sexua l intercourse. Today, these three things are combined. The wedding ring represents the money paid for the bride, the marriage document o r ketubah is the legal contracr and yihud, being alone with each other, is th e consummation.

.On the eve of (he wedding, rh e bride and groom exchange gifts, the bnde very often giving the groom a new tal/it. On the day of rhe wedding, they both fast, and in Judaism the groom is expected to look at the bride before the ceremony to check that he has th e right one, unlike Jacob in the Story of J acob and Rachel in Ge"esis 29: 16-26! So

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the bride wears white and wears a veil, bur need not cover her face. JUSt before th e ceremony, the marri age document is signed by t he bri deg room. This doc um ent is the ketllbah and it contai ns the fo ll owing pledge:

I fanhfully promlSC that I will be a true husband untO thee. I will honour and cherISh th~, I will work for thee, I will prOftet and support thee.

After th e ket"bah has been signed by t he bridegroom and the wimesses, the groom and his father stand undernea th a hllPpah. This is an embroi dered clmh supported by fo ur poles a nd forminga ca nopy. Everyone in rh e brighd y Ijr sy nagog ue faces the enrrance of the syna· gogue to watch th e bride and her father walk up rh e ais le. Fo ll owing behind th em are the mothers of th e bride and groo m, the bridesmaids, and th e best man. As this takes place, a cantor si ngs in Hebrew. The:: ca ntor in th e synagogue is no ordinary singer, but usuall y has a ma gn ifi ce nt voice, and sings blessings for th e co upl e. The bride and groom sta nd undern eath the canop y which represe nts th eir future home. They wiJI be expected to rega rd th eir home as a san cruar y.

The co uple is addressed by the rabb i, and th e ca mo r then recites blessi ngs o f betrothal ove r a goblet of wine from which the co upl e sip, symboli cally sharing the wine as they wi ll share th eir future home an d the cup of life. Then the groom puts a ring on th e fo refinger of the right hand of th e bride saying:

Behold, thou art consecra ted UntO me by this ring according 10 the I..:Iw of Moses and Is ratl.

Once the ring is accepted by th e bride, she becomes th e man's wife. The kelllbah is read aloud and is th en give n to the wife to keep. Seven blessings a re th en given, for exa mple:

Bl essed art Thou 0 Lord our God, King of t he Umve:rse, who has created lOy a nd gla dness, bridegroom and bride ... pleasures and dtligh t ... brotherhood, peace and fe ll owsh Ip.

Once agai n, th e co uple drink from th e blessed gob let and finall y the groom brea ks a glass with hi s foot. Although rh e whole marriage ce re· mon y is a joyous occasion, this acr scrves to illusrrate that even such happ y occasions sho uld be balanced by so mc se rious th o ughts. The breaking of the glass is also a reminder o f the time when the Temple in Jer usa lem was destroyed by rhe Romans in 70 CEo Additionally, it is probably an ancient custom und ertak en [ 0 expel ev il s pirits. Fo ll owin g the ce remony is the yiJlII d, the period when th e marriage is co nsummated , the couple being led to a quiet room . The traditio nal weddin g feast then takes place.

Suiccly speaking, inrer·fai th marriage is frowned on in Jud aism becaUse it is be li eved that such a marriage would threaten the ve ry foundations of Jewis h li fe. Jews find it difficult to envisage how twO people of different fa ith s ca n have a comm on bond in the ho me. In fact Orthodox, Conservative a nd Reconscr uc[io nis t rabbis would refu~ to marry a co upl e if bo th were nOt Jews. Even in Reform Judaism, it would be rare to find a rabbi who would undertake the cerem ony, though a few feel t hat for the sa ke of any future children of the couple who might be los t fO the Jewis h faith they shou ld be prepared to pe rfo rm the ceremony:

But accommoo:Hlon m~reJyd l sgulses th e r~alities. Christians are married ~iO the name of the Fllther. the Son. and the Holy SpIrit ", Jews are married "in accordance: with the law of ,"loses and Israel". Whether o r not these wo rds a re used, they are the foundation of the: marriage" bond. The marriage may be valid unde r ,he laws of the sta te:; th e religious cere· mony, however, will rcst on a sdf-decepuon. 1l

Divorce Divorce in Refo rm Judai sm is becoming more frequent, its procedu re co nfor ming to the usual regulations o f the co untry, and is open to both men and women. Divo rce in Orthodox Judaism is less frequent. Reli gious customs here have a stabilizing and un ifyi ng effect on roc home. The fa mil y a nd the home are o f immense importance in Jewish life, and divorce, therefore, is seen as a trage dy. It is said in Judaism that the a lta r c ri es when divorce happens, though the word altar here is symbolic as Jews have had no a ltar since the destruction of the Temple in 70 CEo

Ahhough ou tside Israel a Jewish couple must have a civil divorce in acco rd ance with the law o f th e cou nt ry, for the religious di vorce, the process is very easy . The husband ha nds his wife a document called a get. This is wrinen on parc hment in Aramaic in a very exact legal form , and is signed by tWO witnesses. On this get it sta tes that the woman is freed from her marriage ob li gatio ns to her husband. No reaso n is required o ther than that the husband no lo nger find s that hi s wife pl eases him . This process is quite stmightforward , bur th ere is a reli - gious coun cal led the bel di" whi ch co ntrols (he issuing of the get, a nd this COu rt ma y order the co upl e to try a reco nciliation. The co urt may then deliberately tak e a long tim e to issue the get so that the couple ha ve time to change their minds. In addition, a wife can reject a get unless she has se ri o us ly mi sbe haved in so me way. In Orthodox Jud aism only lhe man ca n obtain a get, a nd if the woman does nOt ha ve a get, she ca nnOt re-marry. Here, if a woman has grounds for divorce she ca n rake h er case to th e bet din which ma y order her husband to iss ue a get , but th ere is linle she can do if her husband still refuses to issue onc. The bet din ma y also make some decision concerning al.imony.

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The gel is specially prepared by a sofer, a trained scribe, for there must nOt be one mistake in the document. Once the woman takes the gel into her hands she is divorced , but today it is given back to the bet din to keep, and the divorced couple are each given a certificate of divorce, to show that a get has been issued. Without the ge t, ('ven if a civil divorce has been granted, a woman is srill rega rd ed as married according to both Orthodox and Conservative Jewish law . Even if a woman's husband is missing and presumed dead , without the gel she can never remarry.

Death With the emphasis on religious ritual, festivals, the joy of the Sabbath and the importance of family life and children, it could be sa id that Judaism concenrrates more on this life than on the next one after death. h is believed that God sets a limit to each person's life and if one's name is there to encounter Malak Hamavet, the Angel of Death, then one must die. Bur, according to an old cusrom, the Angel of Death can be cheated. In the rire of shillui "a-she"" when a person is close to death it is possible to change his/her name and personality. The scriptures are opened at random and read until the first personal name occurs. This then becomes the person's new name w hi ch, if he o r she survives, is retained. The Angel of Death arrives to find the person he wanted is not there! Judaism believes in resurrection into the hereafter. Orthodox Judaism also acceprs a state of purgatory for one year afte r death, with relief for the sufferers in purgarory each Sabbath day. Resurrection means bodily resurrection, that is to say it is the physical self which is resurrected not just the soul.

There is in Jewish communities what is called a Hevrah Kadishah. a Holy Fellowship. It is an organisation which assists relatives at the last stage of someone's life and afte r the person's death. If the dying person is conscious, members wi ll encourage him or her to bless their children, confess their sins, commit themselves to God and die reciting the Shema; if the patient is not consciolls, they do these things for him or her. Once death has occu rred, each person present makes a sma ll tear in his or her clothing saying "Blessed are you, the True Jud ge". The Hevrah Kadishah then carry out all necessary preparations of the body, cleaning and dressing the body. Coffins are rough and simple and if the deceased is a male, a tallit with one tzitzil cur off to make it patlll, "' una cceptable", is placed over the shroud, so that when the body is laid in the coffin the tal/i/ is wrapped around it. Earth from Israel is sprinkl ed ove r rhe body before the lid is sea led: this symbol· izes burial in the Holy Land. Nothing else may be put in the coffin, though anything with th e deceased at the time of death remains.

Funerals are simple; mourners all dress alike ro show that death is the common denominator: in countries where coffins are used th ese are of unpolished wood for the same reason. There are no flowers, and ostentation is against the Jewish tr::lditions. The funeral takes place

quickly, withm rwenry·four hours if possible, though the law of rhe particular country may not permit thi s. Because of the belief in bodily resurrection, a postmortem is particularly distressing to families of the deceased. Jews be li eve that the body mus t return to dust and decom· pose as quickly as possible, hence the flimsy coffin. In so me countries, such as Israel, the law does nOt require the deceased to be contained in a coffin, and rhe body is simply wrapped and buried in a tallil.

It is a tm[zvah to accompany the coffin to [he cemetery. and it will be friends who wil l carry [he coffin. When the coffin is laid in the grave the relatives again perform keriah, the [earing of a piece of their clothing. The tear is about a hand's breadth long: r.he keriah for parents must never be repaired, though for others it can be after the period of mourning. Conscrvauve Jews a nach a ribbon to their clothes so mat this can be used for keriah. The clothing showing keriah is [hen worn throughout the period of mourning. Reform Jews, however, no longer observe this law. Even child ren are encouraged to attend th e cemetery: they are the first to throw earth in the g rave, followed by the relatives. Then rhe grave is filled in by those assembled there, and the traditional pmycrs are said.

Following the funeral is a period of seven days deep mourning called shivah. Mirrors a re covered so that mourners need nor see how dreadful they look, though th e CUS tom is ancient and o ri ginaUy had more to do with warding off evil sp ri ts. I ' The male does not wear leather, sits on a low stool, does nOf shave or cut his beard or hair, does not engage in religious ritual and does not study the Torah. Olhers will conduct services for him morning and evening, in th e home. Then there is a period of sheloshim, thirry days to com plete the mourning before returning to normal life, though mourning for parents continues partially for a whole year.

Jewish cemeteries are very simple. Flowers arc nOt encouraged, rhough wild ones are: the grave should blend in with its surroundings. Whatever inscription appears o n the rombstone there will usually be an abbreviation for " Here is buried" at rhe tOp, and "' May hislher sou l be bound up in the bond of life" 3t the bottom, both in Hebrew lene rs. The sto ne is set at the end of the period of mour ning when the mourners are allowed to visit the grave for the firsr time. On certain festiv31 days it is customary to visit the graves, as well as on rh e Yahrzeit, the anniversary of the death. Traditionally, the mourner leaves a pebble or stone on the tombstone after each visi t. This used to keep a mound over the grave we ll maintained in older times.

Medical ethics Euthanasia in Judaism is strictly against religious la w, and is regarded as murder. As far as life·prolonging devices are concerned, Judaism is divided in its attitudes. Strictly speak ing, Jewish tradition holds a person ro be dead when the heart and lungs cease to function, nOt the brain, so a person may be declared to be brain-dead

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on a life-s upporting machine, but would not be dead at all from [he j ewish point of view. Re fo rm judai sm has no problem here and accepts [har life-suppo rtin g equipment can be wirhdrawn if so meone is brain dead. But Orthodox and Co nservative Jud ais m do not seem to have agreed decisively on an y solu(io n. Generall y, rabbi s vary in th ei r adv ice, but while it is considered th a t it is nO[ advisable to use life- pro long ing devices in th e first place, it is inadvisable to remove them after the y have been used. Suicide is torally forbidden in J udaism for tbe supreme commandmem is to live, a nd to prese rve th e self. Do nations of o rgan s at death arc per missib le to help others, th o ugh Orthodox Judaism is less likel y to accept thi s. Auto psy, often required by law, is also probl ematic to Orthodox Jews ,md any d issec ted parts o f the body must be buried with th e bod y in rh e coffin.

The home a nd th e sy nagogue a re the focal poi nts o f Jewis h life:

Our horne is our school of life. It existS to space and shoul d be a hol y enclave in space, bu r It earns I ts title of hono ur through the J eWish spirit th a I rests in if a nd is renewed constantly by those who dwell in it. It acqui res its distinction by the way the membersof the J ew ish home shape their times together . The Jew ish home makes time live and pe rmits us to live in time that ha s meani ug.!'

The whole Jewish year is studd ed with special days, from the week ly Sabbaths fO the man y festiva ls: it is rh e home whicb is [he foca l point for maintaining these tradi ti ons. The ho me is see n as 3 sa nctuary, a nd the duty of th e Jewis h male is to sustai n it an d work for it, while (he duty of the woman is to maintain irs tradi tions.

It has alwa ys been co nsidered parricularl y meritorious in Jud ais m to have a large family. This is because if was God's command in the Torah to have children, bur it is also important in th e prese rvation o f Juda ism. Judaism is a somewhat paternalistic religion, and the birth of a boy in some sects is perhaps the occasion of greater joy than that of a gi rl. But because procrea tion is a mitz vah , children, wh ichever sex the y may be, are a blessi ng: there is no co ncept in Juda is m that th e celi- bate arc holier rhan rh e married. Children begin at a ve ry early age to understand the Jewish traditions. Traditionally it was a father 's dury to teach his children to read and write, while the mother taugh t rhe children [he blessin gs and so me of the prayers. Judaism docs no r encou rage parents lO leave the educa tion o f th eir childr en to the sc hools, the y th emselves should also tea ch.

Women The Statu S o f women varies considerabl y in Jud aism. In Eastern Orthodox Judaism, for exa mple, the wome n's status seems wholly subservient to th e male, while at the orner end of th e spectrum, a woman in Reform Judai sm fares no differentl y than any o th er

Western woman. Generally, few Jewish women give th e impression of being in any way su bse rvient o r unequa l to their male co unter part, ye t there is a difference in the respec ti ve ro les of the male and female. The woman's ro le is gene rall y concern ed wi th rh e home, bur w hen one considers th e importance o f rhe home as one of th e two focal points in Jud aism , this is not viewed as an inferior role: it is the woman who is th e upholder of the Jewish culture. Refo rm Judai sm has gone the furthest (0 promote equa li ty berween th e sexes, accepting women ra bbis, I' a nd having mi.xed male and femal e co ngregation s, unlike the trad itional separa ti on of women from men familiar to o th er J ewish sects.

Talmudic b ws sta re that a husba nd should rega rd his wife as hi s equal, ho no ur her, never hurt her, and suppOrt her, but although the woman's role in th e ho me is traditional, her influ ence barely exte nds to anything ou tside the ho me. In facr, while there is res pect for women on the one ha nd, th ere is intense cri ticism o f them in Talmudic tracts on th e orner. Much of the blame for the inequality of women in reli - gion and in society at large is placed on the second srory of crea ti on where woman is made from the rib of Adam, and because o f her diso bedience in ea ting th e forbidd en fruit . In the first accoun t o f Creati o n in Genesis I , man a nd woman arc created equall y and contemporaneously. In co mmenting o n this in the Mish nah , the rabbi s explained that Adam must have had two wives, the " first Eve " wh o was called Lilith , and the second one the Eve o f Genesis 2. Li lith, th e Jew ish commemary tell s LI S, irritated God by insisting on absolure equa li ty with her hu sband beca use she had bee n crea ted in the same way at th e same time. She co mmitted th e sin of uttering God 's name and was ch anged to a d emon to haunt humankind, striving to reduce man thro ugh the power of wo ma n. She inspired the se rpent to tempt Eve in the ga rd en of Ede n. Eve, tho ugh created from man, was supe - rior to him . It was she who had initiative, bur Cod punished her for her presumptuousne ss and took her power and position away from her, maki ng man her ruler.

Although women in the Hebrew Bible are presented favourably, Juda is m subseque ntl y reviewed its wome n with so me co ntempt. In the Mishnah we find th e rabbi s saying that th ey are gluttons, eavesdr op- pers, la zy and spiteful. The y are depicted as excitable, talkative, thieving, run -a bouts, fond of ma king themselves up and ornamenting themselves and cravi ng fun and jewellery; even one of th e bless in gs in Jud aism states, " Blessed a re yo u, God, ... who ha s no t made me a woma n" ! Alrho ugh women were once released (rom those mitzvot which requi red th em to undertake religious actions a t cerra in times- a sympathetic co ncessio n in co nsidera tion o f pregnancy, nursing o r bringi ng up child ren - eve ntuall y t hey were prohibited from such mitwot.

AU SOrts o f pro hibitio ns still o bta in in O rth odo x Jud aism. Wo men

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are nOt permined to worship alongside men, and in synagogue worship a re confined to a women's gallery be hind a mehitUlh Or screen. Orthodox women do nOt wear te(illin or lallil, or read an d study the Torah or Talmud, and they would never be called to read th e Torah in the synagogue. Additionally, Orthodox j ewish wo men cannOt for m a millyall. No n-O rth odox judaism has cha nged much of this with its acceptance of women rabbis (rhough Conservative juda ism has very few), the aboli ti on of the wome n's ga llery, and the acceptance of women being calJed up to read the Torah. Women may also wear tal/it and te(illin, and be co unted with men in a minyan, become a shobet, or a mohel, or eve n a rabbi.

Sex and sexuality in the family in Juda is m, there ha s rarel y bee n a lasting adverse a ttitude to sex. Sexuality in Judaism is somethin g to enj oy, th o ugh th e mit'l,vol to have children sho uld neve r be forgonen. Hasidic Judaism, in fact, sees the sex act as a reflecti o n o f th e myst ical unio n between God and his people.lrs importance is seen in th e fact that it is pe rmissible on rhe Sa bbath and on mOSt of the festival days, with th e exception o f Yo m Kippur, [he Da y of Atonement. There is a tim e, however, w hen intercourse is nOt pennitted, and this in vo lves the laws of IIiddah. Naddah mea ns "she who is separated", and irs laws a re fairly strictl y practised throughout Judaism with the exception of Reform Jud aism. When a wo man is menstru ating she is unclea n for seven days, and every thing she co mes into co ntact with is unclean during this tim e, including her husband. During th e days of her period and fo r seven days afterwards, hus band and wife do no t sleep in the sa me bed; the wife remains separated from her husband for at least twel ve days. At the end of this rim e her body has to be purified in ma yim hayim, the waters of life, traditionall y a stream or th e ocean, today a mikvah. The mikvah is a specia l pool, because the water must be combined with rainwate r from a cistern , or the groundwater o f a stream. The mikvah is deep enough fO stand in immersed. In ordet to end her unclean ness, th e woman removes all her jewellery. and bandages and an ythi ng which blocks access of the water to her skin. She wou ld have already bathed, brushed her ha ir a nd cleaned her nails before reaching the mikl/ah. There are usually steps leading down into the mik vah and hot water is added to ma ke th e temperarure more comforta ble. The woman walks into th e water unfil th e last strand of her hair is immersed. This she does tw ice, saying a blessing between each immersion. An attendant warches to ensure thar rh e practice is done co rrectly.

Judaism regards th e law of "iddah as important in ma intaini ng th e puriry o f th e fa mil y. The law gives wo men a ce rtain amo unt o f inde- pe nd ence and digniry! when rh e woma n belo ngs to God and ca nnot be subj ecr to any whim of her husband. Addirionally, [he wife returns [ 0 her husband's bed at th e rime when she is most likely to conceive,

d the 12-14 days' abs tin ence re news their sexual interest in each an d . h f .. ther. The law a lso ten s to prevent JewlS men rom engagmg In ~xtramarita l sex, since they wou ld have no idea w hether or nOt another wo man would be in lIiddah.

In strict Orthodox Juda is m, cont act between the sexes is minimal, and an Easrern Orthodox Jew, for exa mple, never looks at a woman, who is regarded as a temptress an d indecent. He wo uld not wa lk with a woman, be a lone with a woman, si t nex t to o ne and wo ul d not even talk toO muc h to hi s wife! Hence women, here, tend to be much more sub servient, with procreation bein g th eir main functi on in life as wel l as [he mai nraini ng o f their Jewish home.

Cont-rClceprion The use of co ntracep ti ves in marriage var ies. Contraception was permitted by the rabbis in special ci rcumstances, such as the preventio n of conception tOO soo n after a wo ma n had given birth, bur t he norm was to rega rd having a large number of children as a mitzl/ah. The mitzvah actuall y says that eve ry man is co mmanded [0 bring into t he world at least a son a nd a daughter. So Conservative Jud aism accepts th e use of contraception if [hi s comma ndment has been fulfilled. Refo rm Jud aism all ows unrestricted use o f co ntracep- tives, bur Orthodox Judaism bel ieves th ar a couple shou ld ha ve as many children as God would grant them. Any contracep ti on which is permitted by the rabbis ca n on ly be the use of th e pi ll sin ce this does not inte rfe re with natural insemination. Surgical app li ances a re ge ner- ally not accepted in Jud a ism.

With th e emp has is 0 11 having ch ildren what, we may ask, happen s in [he case o f couples who fail to have a ny children? Adoption is perfecd y acceptable in Judaism, the adopted child being considered as if the mother had given birth to it herself. In vitro inseminati o n to produce a chil d is acceptab le becallse both spe rm and egg have been raken from rh e married Jewish co uple; it wou ld be un acceptab le if the sperm ca me from a no ther do nor.

Juda ism in gene ral is opposed to abortion for conve ni ence. Bur abortion is mandatory in Jud a ism if th e mot her's life is in danger. The ferus is regarded as potential life a nd sacred, but nOt as life itself, until afte r birth. interestingly, the Talmlld actually desc ribes present-day abortion techniques when it states:

If a woman has grav~ hardship in giving binh, w~ are ro dissect th~child in her womb and bring ir out piece-by-piece, for her life takes precedence over irs life. Has rhe grea ter pa rt lof th~ child) emerged, we may not touch II , for we may nor take one life for :mothcr life. (Olahot 7:6 )

An Abortion Law was passed in Israel in 1977 whic h rejected abor- tion for co nvenience but pe rmitted abort io n in the case of minors, rape, incest, deformiry of the fetus and the like; t he law was strongly

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opposed by Onhodox jews but even today there is no consensus in judaism as to the nature or origin of the halakhic prohibition on abor· tion. 19

Illegitimacy does nOI exist in Judaism. A child born to an unmar· ried woman is totally legitimate even if the father IS mamed 10 someone else. But there is a special term for children born to women who commit aduhery or incest. This term is mamter, and a mamzer is an outcaste in Judaism, not being permitted to join in any religIous ceremonies or ro practise the religion in any way. A mamzercan only marry outside Judaism or another mamzer. Reform Judaism does not recognize the ",itzvot concerning mamzerot at all, and Conservative Judaism has relaxed its :mi tu de in the IllS[ decade, but Orthodoxy app li cs it strictly. The mother of a mamzer, however. retains her Jewish identity; she is just regarded as a si nful Jew.

Kashrnt: diel'ary laws The term kashrul is a wide one denoting the o bse rvance of laws in the correct tradition and manner. It comes from the same roOf, k-sh-r, "to be fit, proper" as the word kosln!r wit h which many non-Jews arc familiar. Nevertheless, kasbrut has become associated with the dietary laws in Judaism. These are maintained srrictly by Orthodox Jews and by mOSt Conservative Jews bUl are nOt binding on Reform J ews:

It is a bond, linking us TO ,he ge;nerations of Ihe; paSI; It is a disunguishing mark, linking Jew to Jew in the present; it creates a Je;wish style of life; it is an act of discipline, strengthening char:lcter; It is an affirmauon of ,he Jewish people and Irs will 10 survIve: 11 is a bond between Diaspora Jewry and ISr:lel; It has hygic:nK value, prC'SCrvmg health: iI IS an a(finnation of the covenant . a law of God. lO

The dietary laws in Jewish religion are very important. E.'lch Jewish housewife prepares and cooks her meals according to specia l rules. In the traditional Jewish home, every meal is a reli gious rite because ir has ro be prepared according to the comm'1I1dments of God in the Torah. It has to be kosber -fir", "proper" or "legitimate". Everything that a Jew docs in life is tied up with religion. There is, in fact, no word for "rel igion" in Jud aism s in ce each person's identiry and 3ctiviry constitute what we would call religion. Since 3ll mea ls are religious occasions Jews are reminded of their J ewish identiry and relationship with God every few hours. Similarly, Jewish people are always reminded that God is the source of their food and lives, through the practice of giving a blessing over the food they 3re eating.

According to Jewish law, in Leviticus 11:3 meal may be eaten from any anim3l which "parrs the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud", but not if it has died of natural causes, or has been killed by

another animal. LeVIticus tells us the camel, which chews the cud, and the rock badger and [he hare which also chew the cud, arc still unfit for food because they have not gOt a parted hoof. Sim..iJarly, rhe pig partS [he hoof so is cloven foored, but it does nOt chew the cud so is unfit for food. This is why Jews will nOt eat pork. Deuteronomy 14:4-5 gives a li st of animals fit for human consumption~ such as "the ox, me sheep, the goat, the han, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goal, the ibex. the antelope, and the mountain shecp". To be kosher, meat must always be slaughtered in a special way called shehitah by a shohet or professional slaughterer.

It was particularly prohibited for Israelitcs lO eat blood, for blood is life and belongs to God, and the Jewish method of s laughtcring ensures that much of the blood is drained away. The sbohet must cut both the arteries of th e neck an d the windpipe in a single, quick stroke. This causes a rapid gus h of blood from the animal's brain to prevent any sensation of pain. It is claimed that this is the most humane way of killing an animal. The sbobet examines the animal carefully after slaugh ter to make sure thaI it is not diseased in any way and then it is passed to (he butcher for the arteries and sinews lO be removed. A Jewish butcher th us has to be a religious, practising J ew. The butcher may then extract the blood, or this may be done in the home. The sinew of the thigh in particular must not be eaten because Jacob's thigh was dislocated by (he angel of God in Ge/Jesis 32:33. Before the meat is cooked it is soaked in co ld water for about half an hou r. Then it is rinsed and salted and put on a perforated board which is tilted, [0 allow further blood to drain off. After another hour, it is washed again, and then cooked.

In the Torah it also stares, "you shall nor boi l a kid in its mother's milk" (Dellteronomy 14: 12). This is taken to mean that meat and milk cannot be eaten at the same meal, and in an Onhodox and Conservative Jewish kirchen, separate sets of red a nd blue cooki ng utensils are used for the prepararion of milk (b lu e) and meat (red) dishes, and some families even have tWO dis hwashers. Strict J ews will nor eat any dairy food afrer a meal with meat; coffee with milk or After Eight Minrs would not be acceptable. Eve n separa te croc kery, for meat and dairy food, is used in some J ewish homes. The rule seems fairly easy to follow, bur even basic things suc h as frying meat in butter o r having a sandwich with burrer and meat wou ld not be kosher. The same ru le applies to the caring of fowl and milk, but combi nin g fis h and milk is pe rmitt ed. The time which one shou ld wait before eating milk or meat varies considerably from half an hour to as long as six hours.

Only fish which have fins and scales may be eaten, so shrimps, prawns, whelks. cock les, mussels, eels, crabs, etc., are unacceptable. Fowl can be eaten if it is a domesticated bird like c hicken, duck, goose, turkey, etc. Birds of prey are unfit, and Delltero/Jomy 14 : 12-1 8 gives

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a long li S{ of birds which are nor acceptable; these are all birds wh ich would not, in an)' case, be earen by many Genti les. Insects, reptiles an d t he Lik e rna)' not be eaten. Additionally, there are other items containing non-kosber materials which cannot be. used. Many soaps, for example, contain ani mal faTs and some tinned foods conrain non- kosher ingredients. A bold K fo r kosher sramped on a prod uct usually indicates to t he buyer that th e food is fit to eal. Orthodox j ews wi ll not ea t ha rd cheese, though so me Conse rva ti ve j ews wi ll. Even milk can o nl y be drunk if it comes from kosber a nimal s. so man y Orthodox Jews wi ll o nl y drink milk which has the kosher seal on it, and will not eat milk chocolate. O rth odox Jews will also only drink kosher wine.

Grace after meals is a very important J ewis h Tradition. The Torah requires that God should be th anked for the sustenance he sends, for the Land which he gave, for j erusa lem his holy city and fo r goodn ess. The se t grace is fairly lo ng, a nd it includes a song. It is designed to give the mea l a sacred character.

Special foods 1 1 At festiv al times, in panicu lar, s pecia l foods will be prepared. The bread baked for the weekly Sabba th is called hal/ah. These are several plaited loaves which a re ve ry light an d tasty. Two o f th e loaves a re blessed at the Sabbath meal. At th e New Year Festiva l o f Rosh Hashmtah, a ll members of the family eat apple dipped in honey. The act is symboli c of the hope for a sweet and fruitful yea r fo r which the family prays. At the fes tival of Hanukab it is traditiona l ro ea t da iry foods a nd foods cooked in oi l. The dairy foods remind the Jews of rhe sto ry o f Judith, wh o fed rhe Sy ri an general Holofernes great quantities of cheese in o rder ro bring about his death; the oil commemo rates th e miracle of the burning lamp in th e 5tory. ll In eastern Euro~ potato pancakes, falkes, are eaten. These consist of cooked pomto mixed with grated o ni on, flour, eggs, salt and pepper. Tablespoons of the mixture are fri ed in o il until brown on both sides. In Israel fried doughnuts called sufganiyor a re eaten.lJ

On rhe fifteenth day of Shevat, abo ut February, w hen everything is green in Israel. the New Year for Trees Festival takes pLa ce. On this day, Jewish people try to plant trees or eat different kinds o f fruit. In Israel, the people o ften ea t the seven different kinds of food which the Torah says grow in the Land of Promise:

For the Lord )'ou r God IS bringing you into a good land. a land of b rooks of water, of founta ms aod spnngs, flowing forth in valleys and hills. a land of wheat and barley, of vmrs and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey. (Deutt'ronomy 8: 7-8 )

All sortS of food a re associated w ith the Festival of I)assover. Matzoth o r unl eavened wafers are eaten, made from flour and water and baked withom yeas t. This reminds the j ews th at they had to leave

Egypt so quickly that they had no time to leaven their bread. A roasted shank-bone represents the Passover lamb and is left uneaten. Nor is th e egg eaten. The egg reminds the family of spring, new life, and the hope of resurrection. It looks dead, hur inside there is life. Parsley is dipped in sa lt water or vinega r, reminding the Jews of the tea rs they shed in bondage in Egypt, w hil e bitter herbs are a reminder of the bitterness of slave ry. Haroseth, whi ch is a mixture of ap ples, nuts, cin na mon and wine, is ea ten with the herbs and is symbo li c of the mortar used by the slaves in building for the Egyptian Pha raoh, a nd is also symbolic of the conce pt of bondage.

Thus food - such an integra l pan of daily li fe - is frequently given religious and symbolic significance in judaism. The recur ring nature of (his religious symbolism wi ll be particu larly evident when we come to look at the week ly celebration o f th e Sabba th.

judaism is ri ch in symbols We have a lready discussed the imponant symbols of the cove nant, th e talli!, le(illilt, a nd melt/zah. Additionally, many of the fest iva ls, parti cularl y Passove r, include importanr symbols which link prese nt-day acti vi ties to the tr aditio ns of the past. Other well-known sy mbols are the following:

The melforaJ,

The menorah is th e oldest symbol of Jud aism, and is a seven-branched candelabrum. A derailed acco unt of t he first menorah is found in Exodus 25:3 1-40 an d 27:20--2 1. It was made by a crafts man ca ll ed Bezalel a r the time when rh e H ebrews we re wa nde rin g in the Wilderness before rhey entered the Pro mised Land. Ar thi s tim e th ey had a sa nctuary which co uld be moved with th ei r wa nde ring - a rem, or tabernacle. All rhe items which belonged in t he tabernacle were carefully made according to the commandments wh ich Moses gave [ 0 the craftsmen, an d this specia l meltorah was always kept a li ght. When the lsradires se ttl ed in their own land, and a perma nent sanctuary, th e Temple, was bui lt, the me"orab was housed in it. When th e Templ e finally ceased to exis t in 70 CE, t he custom of bu rning a light in the place of wors hip was re:tai ned in the: synagogues. So eve r y synagogue has a IIeT (light) (am id (e tern a l) in from of the Ark which contains th e

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scro ll s of [he Torah. These lamps are always kept burning, symbol· izing that the light of Torah will never be ex6nguished. The mel/orab is frequenrly found in Jewish life; it is a fearure of the festiva l of Ha"ukah for example, an d a buge bronze menorah stands near the Kncsset, th e Israeli Parliamenr, in j er usalem. h is now the symbol of th e State of Israel.

The Star of David

The Star of David consists of twO inrerlaced triangl es. The Hebrew term for this sy mbol , magen dOfuid, actually means "shield of David". It is uncertain how the sym bol originated. Some suggest that the star represenrs the shield which Da vid used. Others consider the shape to be the Hebrew lener daleth in irs early fo rm which was a triangle. This would represe nt the first letter of King David's name. Others suggest that the six·sided inner figure represenrs the Sabbarh, and the outer six poinrs the six working days. The sign was found on old Jewish b uild- ings in Israel and ot her countri es, as well as on TOmbstones. It is often found embroidered on synagog ue coverin gs and vesrments. The Jewish mys ti cs, th e KabbaUsts used the sy mbol, also Christian mystics, and presenr-day Free masons. It began ro appear on tombsro nes in the late 1700s. In the 18th cen tury. it was adopted by Jews in Europe as a sign o f idenrification. Later srill, the Nazis used a yellow star to iden- tify j ews.

The sbofar

The shofar is th e ram's horn trumpet. It is a reminder of the ram offered as a sacrifice by Abraham as a substitute for his son Isa3c in Genesis 22: 13. It is a famo us Jewish riru31 instrument, a nd by far the most frequently mentioned biblic31 musical instrument. It sou nd ed all signals in war a nd peace; it was sounded at the new moon, ar the begin·

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ning of the Sabbath, ar rhe death of some we ll -known person, a t the approach of danger, whe n someone was excommunicated, when someone was healed by magic, and at an exorcism. It is believed to carry the voices of the people to God. Since il has few notes. it makes more of 3 noise than music, and perhaps this was w hy it survived in Israelite religion when othcr musical instruments were banished after the destruction of the Temple in 70 O~ . Today, it is still associated with religious ritual. For example, at t he Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, the sbofar is blown eac h day during the month before, at rhe festival itself, and ten days later at Yom Kippur.

The Temple Some of t he ea rl iest man-made structures were temples BUILDINGS or shrines, which represented th e "house" in which a god o r gods li\'ed, like the Towe r of Babel in the Hebrelu Bible. When the Hebrews sc ni ed in [he land of C1naall, a Temple was cvemuall y built by King Solomon. The site of this Temple is on the eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem, and although it is diffi cu lt to be precise, it is believed rh3t th e Muslim Dome of rhc Rock covers the place where th e innermost sacred sanctua ry o r alrar of burnr offe ring would have been. Nothing has been found of the remai ns of Solomon's Temple which W3S even· rually desrroyed by the Babylonian King, Ne buchadrez.zar, in 587 BCE.

When Nebuchadrezzar was overthrown by rhe Persians, rhe Persia n King, Cyrus, allowed all those people14 who had been transported to Babylon to return fa Judea, an d even authorized th e rebui lding of the Temple in 537 BeE. This Temple stood for 500 years, until King H erod extended it into a mag ni ficent structure of cream stone and gold. This work was begun in 19 BeE, and com pleted in 64 CEo However, it had scarcely been finished before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE .

Throughout the Hebrew Bible we see a gradu al co nce ntration of worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. it became the only place at which sacrifice could rake place, and three times a year everyone was e."(pecred [0 arrend t he major festivals centred at the Temple. Thus the Temple became a focal poinr in Jew ish worship and, thou gh it was destroyed in 70 C E, the tiny part of it which still remains, the Western Wall, holds immense importance for most Jews, and is a focal poi m for Jews in Isra el.

The synagogue When rhe Israe lites were tak en into Baby lon as exiles from the years 587 to 538 BCE th ey had no means of worshipping si nce they no longe r had access to their Templ e which, in any case, had been destroyed. H owever, the people were enco uraged by the prophet Jeremiah, who was not deported from Judea, a nd who wrore fO th e exjles from a ruined Jerusa lem. He fOld them to settle down in Babylon. This is w hat they did, and w hen the Jews were evenruaJl y allowed to return to Israel, nOt a ll of them were prepared or wanted to do so. Without the Temple, Jews met in gathe rings, the Greek word

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for "to gather tOgethe r" being synagci1l. This may be how sy na gog ues began, a lthough they wou ld nOt have had this name until the later H ellenistic period. "Gathering" or "assembly" in Hebrew is k"csset, which would probably pre-date the terlll "synagogue". Today, the synagogue may also be ca ll ed a Bet Ha-K" essct " Ho use of Assembly" . a Bet Ha- Midrash " Ho use of Study" or a Bet Am " H o use o f thC!' People." Refo rm Jews refer to it as a temp le.

A long time elapsed between the end of what Christians ca ll the Old Testament period and the beginning of the New Testamellt, and by the latter period, synagogues were eve rywhere. But strictly speaking, a sy nagog ue can be formed as long as there are ten adult males in thC!' gathering. In the ea rl y pa rt of the New Testan/em period t he Temple was a lso stand in g. but the synagogues had become so important in Jewis h worship t hat the loss of the Temple was not as catastrophic for Jew is h worship as might ha ve been expected. Today, Jewis h religious life focuses on two points, the home a nd the syna gogue.

The modern synagogue Most synagogues follow the structural design of the Jerusa lem Temple with three main parts: the a ud ito riu m, t he Holy Ark and the bimah. The building is usually rectangular, with seats facing inwards o n three sides. The a udi rorium is the place whcn~ the people sit, w hi ch corres ponds to the cou rts w here t he people gath- ered in the Jeru sa lem Temple. On the fourth si de is a recess in which is a do ubl e door, and this is covered with a curtain . The doubl e doors are those of th e Ho ly Ark, the box o r cupboard in w hi ch th e scro ll s of th e T orah a re p laced. This corresponds to th e Ho ly of H o li es in the old Temple, the ho li es t part of t he Temple hidden by a great curtain; most present-day syna gogues have a curta in in front of the H oly Ark also. This fourth wa ll is normally the Eastern wa ll, thus fac in g the direction of Jerusa lem. On ei ther side of th e Ark, or above it, the Ten Commandments are written in Hebrew on twO plaques, represe nting the two tablets on which Moses originall y received th e Law (Exodlls 3 1). Often only rh e first tWO words of each com mandm ent are give n. At the side of the Ark is a menorah and in front of the Ark is th e lamp which burns continually, ind ica ting th e co ntinual presence of God, like th e lighr which burnt in the Temple. Each scro ll is on t\'10 roll ers with a velvet cover, which is ofte n very elabo rate and ex pensively encased. Wh en th e sc rolls are taken o ur during se rv ices, th e co ngre- gatio n stands respectfully. The curtai n in fro nt of th e Ark is also very beautifull y emb roidered. It is ca ll ed a parohet and is embroid ered by the women of th e sy na gog ue.

In the centre o f th e sy na gogue is a bimah or a raised platform o n which worship is co nducted a nd [he sc rolls are read, although so me synagogues have a pulpit on one side of th e Ark; this is a recent d eve l- opme nt . The bimah o f the sy nagogue correspo nds to the Sanctuary o f the o ld Temple. NormalJy, men si t o n the grou nd floor and women in

an upstairs gallery. Non-Orthodox Jews allow men and women to sit togerher and also bave less ort hodox bui ldi ngs. O rth odox Jews conduct their worship in Hebrew, and Refo rm Jews in a combination of He brew and English.

A specia l fea ture of t he synagogue se rvice is th e !-IaUD IJ or Cantor wbo sll1gs Jewis h pra ye rs according to th e old t rad itio na l Jewish music; it is a very sensiti ve reli gious art. The lirurgica l music which the cantor sings is very exact and the cantor has to know a ll the arran ge- ments by heart, so it is o ften a tradition whic h is ha nded down from generation to ge neration . There were man y instrum ents used for music in the time of the Temple, bur when ir was des troyed instrumental music was nor permitted in Orthodox worship, and women's voices have a lways been forbidd en here. Howeve r, today even so me Orthodox synagogues use win d or strin g instruments during weekday services, but not on Shabbar or festivals. A rabbi as a religi ous leader and reacher inte rprets J ewish scri pture and l aw, but does no r neces- sarily lead rh e serv ices in th e sy nagogue: this ca n be don e by any adult male.

A synagogue does nOt have [0 take place in a building; a synagog ue occu rs wheneve r ten ma les ga th er together for worship, providing a millyall. The fact th at a minyan is necessary Stresses th e com mun a l nature of Juda is m: Jews are a people of the cove nant so the whole comm uni ty, the who le people is important. Indi vid ualism is not stressed in Judaism, a nd even before personal prayer, a Jew prays for all the Jewish people. Commun a l worship in the synagogue is there- fore vety impo rtant, and the congregation sho uld mee t three times a day, in the morning (Shaharit), in [he afternoon (Minhah) and at night- fall (MaariIJ). Communa l pra ye r is regarded as more va luable than individual prayer, for it unites th e people in rh e cove nant before God. The synagogue is not only a place of worship, but is also a co mmu - ni ry centre, the place where Hebrew is taught and ha s a lways been connected wi th education. It is a lso a "'house of law" a bet dill, even a bakery for unleavened bread at times.

Visiting a sy nagog ue during a se rvice is a rema rkabl e experience since there almost seems to be a lack of decoru m. People come and go as they wis h, chat to each othe r when th ey wish, and children ma y play around the adults. In Orthodox Judaism dancing is an important part of worship in so me festivals suc h as Simhat Torah. Bu[ men ma y on ly dance with men. The o nl y time they are allowed ro dan ce with women is at weddi ngs th ough here, because men and women are nOt allowed [0 rouch each other, th ey each hold the corne r o f a handkerchief while they dance. Synagog ues a re usually very light because windows arc a n imporranr feature, as in the a ncie nt Temple. light does no r only pour in, but th e light o f th e T orah pours o ut inro th e world. The old Temple was high up so that it could be seen by everyo ne, and th e rabbis said that synagogues too sho ul d be hi gher than all o th er buildings. This,

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however, proved impossible to fulfil, panicularly In times of persecu· tion, so so me place a pole with the Star of David on tOp on [he roofs of their synagogues to symbolize s lich height.

Despi te the relaxed and seemingly noisy atmosphere at times in the synagogue, the worship and prayer is very structured and communal. Worship takes place three times a day, because in the Torah, Abraha m wo rshipped in the morning (Genesis 19:27), Isaac worshipped in the evening (Genesis 24:63)- this would be what non -Jews would call the afternoon because the J ewish day ends .'1[ sunset - and Jacob wo rshipped at night (Gellesis 28: 11 J. It was King David w ho set specific times for worship in the morning, at noon, and at night a nd these have been retained by Orthodox Jewry, though Conservative Jud aism has combined the noon and night services inm one. Reform no longer follows these uadicions.

The Jewish Sabbath The J ewis h Sabbath laSts from sunset on Friday until sunse t on Saturday. Days begin al s unser beca use in the Ge"esis account of Creation we have the exp ress ions, "'i t was eve nin g and it was morning, the first day, il waS eve ning and it was morning, the second day", and so on. Hebrew sabbal means "rest", a nd the Sabbath day is one on w hic h no unnecessary o r creative work is done. In the founh of the Ten Commandments t he Jews are com manded to observe the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, and to remember th .-II God brough t them out of slave ry in Egypt. The Sabbath, then, is a day of rest, a holy day, and a da y of joy because God released them from s la very. It is a da)' when all Jews rest, equally, no matter what their si tu ario n in li fe. In rh e paSt , even a servant was required to rest o n Shabbal, an d howeyer poo r an individual was, it was possible to look forward to o ne day in the week when cares cou ld be forgotten. Even mourning is suspended on Sbabbat:

The- Sabbath was appoimed that we mighl learn Ihe meanmg and the sanctity of timt:, experiencing time wllhom exp loiting It for work but SImply as a holy gift OUI of the hand of God. No work ma y be clone. Wuh Ihi s sanctification of nme, all relallonshlps, between man and mlln lind between man and nature, are rransfomle-d. Sabbath observance is, therefore, eqUlvalem to observance of Torah liS a whole. II

The J ew ish Sabbath is also a n expression of th e covenant between God an d hi s Chose n People. This is made clear in £yodus 3 1: 16.17

Therefore- the people of Israel sha ll keep the sabbath throughout theLf generat Lons, as a perpetual covenllnt. II Lsa SIgn for ever bclween me and Ihe people of Is rael that in six days the Lord made hea\'cn and canh. and on the seventh day he- rested, and was rtfteshed,

Orthodox judaism, therefore, refrains from any kind of work on Shabbat which would break this covenant relationship. Conservative jewry also tends to observe Sabbath regulations quite st ricr/y. It is on ly Reform judais m whic h no longer does so,

Although the commandment to do no work on the Sabbath seems very simple, the oral tradi t ion of the rabbis laid down Yery clearly what was and was not permitted. This led ro a weahh of regulations covering the minutest of actio ns. For exa mpl e, nothing ma y be ca rri ed on Shabbal outside the home, though ir is permitted to car ry a baby, But even the car rying of a tallil in a bag in o rd er to take it to the syna- gogue is not a ll owed, it can on ly be worn [here. Sometimes, t he rabbis got over t hi s problem by declaring a whole ci ry to be a home if it had a wall or wire fence around it. Jerusalem is a ci ty like this, the o ld ci ty having a wall right round it and rhu s anything may be car ri ed inside the city/home on Shabbat. A limit is set how far one can walk o n Sbabbat (1,200 metres or 1,300 yards); fire ca nn o t be lit and this includes turning o n electricity, a cooker, heat, lights, the television, radio o r the engine of a car. Conse rvative J ews, however, do use ca rs (0 get to a synagogue on Shabbat if the re is no ot her way of reaching it, and radios a nd telev isio ns may be used fo r religious programmes.

Shelter canno r be provided on Shabbat, so you cannOt put up an umbrella; you ca n read a lener if it is already opened, bur yo u can nOt open. o~e, and any ,busi?ess letters must not be read a t a ll ; cooking is proh ibited tb ough If a tlm er-switc b is used all a cooker th is is accept- able, or food can be kept simme ring during Shabbat if it can be arranged befo re Shabbat starts, Sometimes a Shabbes Go)' helps OUt a ?on.jew w ho is a~le to cook food, turn the light off o r, for farmers: nulk the cows. Ha vlIlg said all this, if life is in danger on Shabbat any of the rules may be broke n. The rabbis ruled [hat, since it says in Exodus, "You s hall keep the sabbath, because it is ho ly for you" (Exodus 31: 14 ) the Sabbath is given to man, not man to the Sabbath.

Thl' Sabbath is welcomed by a se t ritua l. JUSt before the su n sets on Friday, [he mother of the j ewish house ho ld lighrs two or more Sabbath candles, As th e li ght spreads through the rOOm, this is symbo li c of the spread of t he happiness and peace of th e Sabbath. The mother is always the person to welcome the Sabbath with thi s rit ual. After she has lit rhe candl~s, she s~ields her eyes with her hands to avoid looking al the abbath hght unti l after she ha s said t he blessing.

,T raditio~ally, the men attend t he synagogue on the Sabbath eve, the Friday even ing, though wome n may a rrend also. T hi s service welcomes the Sabbath like the ar ri va l of a br ide. Psalms 11 5- 11 9, which a re psalms of praise, arc sung, followed by a hymn which welcomes th e Sabba th as a bride, a nd biblical rea din gs re lated to t he Sa bbath, On leaving the synagogue a l the end of the service everyone shakes hands and kisses, a nd wishes each other Shabba t Shaiom (Hebrew) " Peacefu l Sabbath" or GUI Shabbes (Yiddish ) "Good Sabbath", On returning

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borne from the synagog ue, the father blesses his children wi th the words:

The Lord bless you and keep you The Lord make His face sh in e upon you and be gracious untO you. The Lord lift up His Face: upon you and gille: )'ou peace:.

Aher t he blessi ng the father reads from t he Book of Proverbs , sayi ng so me well-known ve rses in praise of his wife suc h as:

A woman of worth who can find her? For her price IS far abolle rubles.

Ma ny women halle done admirable Ihin gs but you surpass rhem all.

The ex tr acts c hose n describe the ideal wo man a nd pay tribute to Jewish wives and mothers. The Jewish woma n is very much the centre of her fam iJ y a nd is greatly respec ted in th is role.

The Sabbath meal u The fami ly then ga th ers a round t he table which is spread with a white doth and has on it the cand les, bread and w in e. A specia l p rayer is said, describing t he holiness of rhe Sabbath . It is called the Kiddllsh a nd a lso reminds th e Jews of God's care fo r the world and t he escape of t he slaves from Egypt. The bread on the rable is the hal/ah. Hallah, in facr, was the portion of bread given as food to the priests in th e time of the Temple and it had to be eaten ritu ally by them (Numbers 17-2 1). Since the Temple no longer exists and this canner be d one, a little piece o f do ugh is t aken by the ba ke r a nd burnt, to symbolize the hallah, the porrion for the priests.

The hallah loaves are specia ll y baked for th e Sabbath and a lso remi nd Jews of the malllla they are in t he Wilderness when they len Egypt (Exodus 16). The loaves are wrapped in a very special w hite doth uSlially beautifully e mbroidered w ith religious designs. It is a mitzvah to su rro und Shabbat with everythin g that is beaurifu l, so the very best in crockery, tablecloths, wi ne goble ts, candl estic ks and so o n, a re used. The father blesses [he bread a nd thanks God fo r it. Following t he blessing of th e bread, rh e father po ur s so me wine inro a s il ver goblet and everyone present dr inks a little. Because th e Sabbath is a joyful day, it is a religious obl igation to drink wine and to ca t tasty foods. The Sabbath meal which follows usuall y contains special dishes because it is a fes tive occasion. Many Jewis h fami lies sing songs called zemiro t at their meal. The meal e nds w ith grace, tha nkin g God fo r providing a ll that is necessary.

On the Sabbath morning, people go to th e synagog ue for rhe Sabbath service. Ie is at this time th at a Bar or Bat Mit zvah ma y be celeb rated, and w hen the family rerurn home they share a mea l togethe r again, accompanied by wine, hallah loaves and so ngs, as on the Friday evening. After th e meal, the afte rn oon is a relaxing tim e,

the traditional after-meal nap being specially observed. Some families may go out for a wa lk toge th er or meet friends for a chat. Then comes the afternoon service in the sy nagogue followed by the thi rd and final mea l of SIJabbat.

A special prayer marks the end of the Sabbath. It is ca ll ed the havdalah which means " distinction ", "separation". The fathe r li ghtS a special rwisted ca ndle and says a blessing over it. Then a spice bo~ is passed around so th ar each member of rh e family ca n sme iJ its fragrance. This, like the welcoming in of the Sabbath, re presenrs symbolica ll y the hope that the fragrance of t he Sab bath will linger on through rhe whole of the following week. A cup of win e is also fi ll ed so thar ir ove rflows onto a plate, a wish that blessings tOO may be brim- ming over during th e week. Havdalah thus separates the holy Sabba th from the res t of the week. The Sab bath ca nd les are ex tin gu ished in the wine th ar has spilt over a nd Shabbat is over. Everyo ne wishes each other Shavlla Tob or in Yiddish Gille Voch,"a good week". Tradition srates that this last meal of Shabbat goes back to t he time of Dav id who knew t hat he wO llld die on Shabbat, but no t o n which one. As Shabbat ended each week, therefore, he gave thanks for th e extr a week of life given to him by God.

The Sabbath is at the heart of Jewish rirual observance, for it main - tains rhe religion in the home, keeping fa mil y life very dose. It is t he best day o f the week so rh e house is cleaned thorollghly before su nse t , and the best crockery and linen are used. It is th e only Jewis h day which has a name, such is irs uniqueness - (he fo ll owing day being called the First da y of rh e week, th e next being the Second day of the week, and so on. It is a day of reSt a nd the idea of the weekend is a Jewish legacy to the Western world.

The New Year Festival: Rosh Hashmla/) The Jewish ca lenda r consists of twelve lun a r months wi th an extra month ad ded eve ry twO or three years to make rhe adjustmenr to the solar year of 365 days. The Torah makes clear that it is the spring monrh of Nisa" which is to be the " beginning o f mon ths". God makes this pl ain to Moses and Aaron when he gives his instructions for the celebration of th e first Passover in Egy pt (Exodus 12). T raditionally, however, the Jewis h New Year beg ins in the aurumn, seven months after Nisafl on th e fi rst of Tishri. It is ca ll ed Rosh Hashanah , o r the " Head of the Year". Originally a o ne-day festival, it is now celebrated over two days wit h the last day of th e previous momh, EI"I, also called Rosh HashOllOh .21

It is said that thi s was the day w hen Adam was created our of clay; it is the birthday of Abraham, Isaac :md Jacob; the day w hen Joseph was se t free from prison; and th e day when Moses came before Pharaoh. It is a lso said that on Rosh Hashanah the heavenly Book of Life is opened and the deeds, both good and ev il , of eac h Jew are recounted. This shows the fare of everyo ne for rh e co ming yea r. On

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all Jewish New Year cards is writren, in Hebrew, (he wish, "May yo u be inscribed for 3 good year".

The Jewish New Year is (he rime for the asking of forgiveness. Pra ye rs of repentance are said. This is the "Day of the sounding of rhe Ram's Horn ", and tb e shofar is blown in the synagogues during rhe morning service . The notes and long blasts of this instrument urge rhe people to recurn to God, mend rh eir ways and be forgive n. After the morning service of Rosh Hasha nab rhe family gathers for a meal at which bread a nd apples are dipped in honey in the hope that t he comi ng yea r will be sweer. Rosl, Hashanah ends ten days late r wi th Yom Kippur, the solemn Day of Atonement.

Yom Kippur The Da y of Atonement, Yom KiPI}//r, is co nsidered to be the holiesr day in the Jewish religious yea r. Atonement implies being "at one" with the heavenly Creator. This is a fast day for all exce pt th e sick and chi ldren und er (he age of thirteen. The fast begins at su nset on the eve of the Da y of Atonement and ends at nightfall the following day. The Day of Atonement is devoted to wo rship and prayer. From ea rl y morning until eve nin g there are services in the sy nagogue ar which prayers of confession are made . The Ark and th e read ing desk in the syna gog uc have white coverin gs and drapings: the rabbi an d man y members o( the sy na gogue wear white robes as a sign of purity. The additi o nal se rvice in the synagogue on this awe-inspiring day reca ll s vivid ly th at du.ring its celebration at (he time of th e Temple, the High Priest, wearing simp le white garments during the service, pronounced co nfession o f sin (or himself and the pries ts and the people o f Israel in the Hol y of Holies (Levitic.us 16: 17). According to an an cie nt tradition, as they hea rd the High Priest pronounce the divine name, the priests and the people in the forecoun of rh e Temple pros- trated themselves, a nd so in the sy nagog uc the rabbis, readers and members of the cong regation prostrate th emselv es when this historic passage about th e High Priest's atonement is chanted.

The ope ning pra yer on rhe eve of the fast asks God to forgive people who, through forgetfulness or in error, have failed to ke ep the promises they made to him. The constanl cherne of the se rvices during thi s time is that of repenta nce (or rerum to God) and charity (lovi ng kindness to other s) . In the afternoon the Book of Jonah is read for it reUs of God's forgiveness to those who since rel y repent: N ineva h, a grea t city of ancient Assyria, was warned by Jonah, God's messenger, that it was in danger beca use of its wickedness. The kin g and the people fasted and praycd to God . God then spared them because o f their sincere repentance.

The service which ends the Da y of Aconemenr begins at sun se r. The Ark remains open throughout th e service du.ring which many of the co ngregation stand. As th e service ends, the congregatio n repeats the words of rh e Sbema. The sou nd of the shofar rings in the ears of the

___ --------------------------------------------------------~J~U~D~A~IS~M~ - congregation at the end of the D3Y of Atonement in order to remind (he people that repentance and good deeds should continue throughout rhe coming year. Yom Kippur is the last day of the " ten dayS of penitence" which begin with Rosh Hashallab. J1

S"kkot This ha rvest festival, which is also known as "Tabernacles", begins five days after Yom Kippur. It lasts for seven days, beginning and endi ng wit h a day of rest. Like Passove r a nd Pentecost, 511kkot was once one of t hree "foot" or "pi lgrim age" festivals whereupon righteous Jews wo uld journcy annually to Jerusa lem at the seasonal harvests. In Levitic.us 23: 39-44 the Heb["ews are rold to bui ld toge th er a bouquet consisting of the product of the badar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy [rees and willows o f the broo k as an offering of [hanks. They shou ld also build booths in which they must live for seven days, so " that you r generations may know that I made rhe people of Israe l dwell in booths when I brought them o ur of th e land of Egypt" (Levitic.us 23: 43 ). These booths a re ca ll ed sllkkot.

For the fcstive bouquet, rhe mba minim of the offering of thanks, they use if possible th e four species mentioned in Levitic.us. The product of rh e hadar tree is the etrog, a citr us fruit (b ut no t a lemon). The branch of the date palm is d\e Ill/av; usually this shou ld be gree n and is kept in water to preserve the green ness and to make it pliable. Boughs of leafy trees or hadassim come from a specia l kind o f myrtle and the willows of the brook arearavot. The plants are a thanksgiving offering for the harvest.

Althoug h so me devout Jews actua ll y spe nd scven days in the sukkot , many Jews only inhabit t hem for meals, and o nly if th e weather is good. The sides of rhe sukkah (s ingular) can be of any material, but the roof is specia l, it must be made of inedible plants in their natural state and must not be attached to the gro und (so that a tree, or the like, could not be used for rhe roof). The roof must be JUSt (hick enoug h to make the sllkkah more shady than su nn y by da y, and by night just thin enough to see rhe stars. The inside of the sl/kkah is a lways deco- rated, and traditionally the names of special guests whom eac h Jew will meet one day are hun g inside. These guests are Abraham, Isa ac, Jacob, Josep h, Moses, Aaron and Dav id.

When th e Hebrews were brought out of Egypt by Moses, durin g their long period of wandering in the deserr rhey had no permanent homes a nd their eyes at night were directed to the heavens, as they lived in their tempo rary homes. Like the seven specia l guests, all Jews may perhaps be homeless for some period during their lives, so the festival is not only a memoria l of the past, bur an expression of a hope for God's prorection in the furore.

SlIkkot, like many Hebrew festivals, is a joyous festival. In fact, the Hebrew term for "festi va l" is Yom Tov UA Good Da y". The last day of the fes tival is ca ll ed 5imhat Torah "joy in Torah". On this day, the

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cycle of readings of the Torah ends and an immediate new cycle of readings begins for the following year. The day is a ve ry joyous one and on some occasions women are allowed ro mix with the men in the synagogues instead of being separated. Each person takes it in turn to carry one of the scro ll s of the Torah in the synagogue and ch ildren follow in a procession with flags. Somelimes there is dancing, and sweets and biscuits are given to rhe child ren.

HamlkalJ The eigh t.da y festival of Hallllkah begins some two momhs after the end of SlIkko t on the 25th day of the Heb rew mo mh of KisleIJ. It is a joyous holida y, a festival o f li ght celebrating a miracle wrought by God recounted in the Talmud, a time (c. 165 ReE) when th e Jews of Palestine were do minated by the rule of Amiochus IV, a Syrian -Greek emperor who demanded tha t eve ryo ne in his empire fo ll ow his ways of worship. Artempring to enforce his paga n ways, he seized the Jews' Temple in Jeru sa lem, erected therein a statue of the Greek God Ze us, and then ordered th e Jews to aban don their faith on pain of death . Also (he Jews were forbidden to obse rv e the Sabbath and th eir holy days. The sacred scro ll s were destroyed and the Jews we re o rdered to worship idols which were placed in the Temple.

However, th e Jews refu sed to giv e up their faith in the One God. Thi s o utsta nding srory of human co urage a nd sacrifice to preserve faith is viv idl y described in the Book of Maccabees in th e Apocrypba. The re vol t against the pagan tyran ny began in th e small rown of Modin inspired by an old priest name Marr:lthias. The Jews followed th eir leader imo the hi lls where Judah Maccabee, o ne of Marrathias' five so ns, o rganized them imo a n army. Jud ah received th e name "Maccabee", whi ch means "hammer" beca use of th e blows he struck fo r freedom. Aher three years of banle against vastly superior numbers, Juda h was finally successful aga inst the Sy ri an-G reeks.

When Judah Maccabce fina ll y let his victorious troops back to J er usa lem, the Jews clea nsed a nd pu rified the Temple o f every paga n object and made it once again a ho use fo r the worship of God. However, it is th e Talmudic acco um, not that in Maccabees, which tdls that when Judah 's men we re clea ning o ur the Temple, they fo und JUSt a single jar of th e Holy o il, o nl y eno ugh fa keep rhe Eterna l Lighf before th e Ark burning for one da y. Miracu lollsly, this one jar burned fo r eight days and eight nights, allowing th e priests of th e Temple eno ugh time to prepare a su ffici ent suppl y of oil so that th e me"orah could remain lit without interrupti o n. It is the Tal mudic acco unt which is accepted by trad ition al Jud a ism, and which accounts fo r the burning of li ghts for eight days.n

Judah Maccabee th en proclaimed an eight-day holiday to celebrate the re·ded ication of the Temple to God. Thus th e festival received its name, for HatUlk ah mean " dedi catio n". In th is celeb ration of Hallllkah, both in the synagogue and at home, o ne light is lit o n the

mefforah on the first evening, and an additiona l one is lit on of each of the foJlowing evenings so that eight lights are lit by the eighth evening. This special menorab has ninc candles a nd is called a Hallllkkiyah.

Today, ch il dren love this holiday, not only because it has become a time for the giving of small giftS, but a lso because Hamtkah is the tradi- tional time for playing the dreidle game. The dreidle is a small four·sided wooden or metal tOp which has fou r Hebrew letters inscribed on the sides. Playe rs depend on the spi n of the dreidJe fo r thei r spoils of rhe kirry, a pot conta in ing a number of nuts, ra isi ns, sweetS or coins. In the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, before the Maccabees revolt, J ews st udi ed th e Torah on pa in of death. Tradition has it that practising Jews always had a dreidJe at the ready, which could be produced instantly o n hearing approaching soldiers' foor- sreps.JO It is also traditio nal to serve Jatk es , a kind of po tato pancake, at Hamlkab panies. The entire fami ly si ngs together the man y songs of th e holiday. The Mao4 Tsur (Rock of Ages) is a favourite .JJ

Over the cent uri es, the HalJltkah ca ndl es ha ve taken on a deep meani ng for the J ews. They symboli ze the light of religious freedom that Juda h Maccabce and his fo ll owe rs kept a li ve. In the glow of the cand les, many Jews reded icate th emselves to the ideals of their faith. It strengthens th e belief that religious freedom is the right of every people and that God desires man to worship him in freedom. For secu- larist Jews in th e Stare of Israel, the great lesson of Hallukah is nOI belief in a divine miracle, but tha t a smal l group of people with tremen· dous courage were successful against apparemly insurmountable odds. This event has lo ng been a so urce of inspiratio n ro th e weak and sma ll in number who fight fo r freedom and justice agai nst stronger and tyrannica l foes.

Pltrim The festival of Purim falls on th e 14th day of Adar, the most joyous month of the Jewish yea r. IZ The o rigin of th e festival of Purim is [0 be foun d in th e biblical Book of Esther. The story ta kes place in [he time of the ex il e in Ba bylo n when Baby lon and Pa lestin e were under Persian rule. The Persia n King Ahasverus cast out his queen Vashti and held a comest at which all yo un g girls were required to attend. AJewis h gi rl , ward of a wise Jew ca ll ed Mordec hai, was chosen as Queen Esther; when she moved to th e palace, Mordechai spent his ti me at the pa lace ga tes. While there he ove rheard two of the King's servants plotting to kill their monarch; Mordechai reported the plot [ 0 Es ther who, in turn , warned the Kin g.

Ahasve rus eleCted as viceroy of rhe Empire the vicious Haman whose character was such th at he o rd ered a ll to prOStrate themselv es before him. Mordechai refused to do so and Haman. despising the Jews, secured permission from Ahasverus to extermin ate all of them. Haman cast lors, to determine on which date the Jews wo ul d be ki ll ed.

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It is from this act that t he festival tak es its name; the Heb rew name for "lots" is purim. On 13th Nisa" the edi ct for the destruction of th e Jews was an n o unced , and the date fo r the desr.rucrion was to be 13th Adar.

M o rd ec hai contacted Est her in the palace with this news and begged her to intercede. Howeve r, Esther CQu ld, o nl y o n pain of dea th, gain an audience with th e King withom being su mm o ned. She sc m word to M o rd ec hai thar all Jews should fa st for three days, while she also would fast, a nd o n th e third day she would co nfro nr the Kin g. " And if 1 peris h . I perish", she said (Esther 4: 16). Esther's grear beauty WOn the hean of th e Kin g, how eve r. Nor on ly d id he forgive th e intrUSio n, bur he granted his Queen a wish. Esther conseque ntl y invited bo th Ahasvcrus and Haman to her private party, where she repeated he r in vitation for the following evening.

The King, meanwhile, had learned how Mordechai had saved his life, a nd he turn ed to Haman for advice on how ro reward so meO ne whom his maj esty held in high es teem. H aman thought the o bject of attention was himself, and he proudly told th e King that such a pe rso n deserved to be paraded through the s treets with hi s pra ises lo udl y sung. T o hi s utter astO ni shm ent, Haman was then conunanded to do precise ly that for Mordec hai! For his pains, the advisor was hanged from t he very pole he had constructed in order to exec ute Mo rdec hai, just as soo n as th e Kin g learned of hi s evi l inrent aga inst the j ews, of whom his Queen was one. The end of the sror y is a happ y one, if not for Haman, and Mo rd t'C hai and Es ther o rdered th e jews ro celebrate the occasion forever with feasting a nd hap piness. So the 14th and 15th o f Adar 3re celebrated as the days of Purim eac h year.

Purim is a joyful feas t, but is preceded by a fa st. At the entrance to th e sy nagogue , twO plates arc found, o ne for a (half-s hekel) silver coi n and th e other fo r free-will offeri ngs for th e poor, fulfilling the words of the Book of Esther thar Pu rim sho uld be celebrated,

as th e days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies. and as the mo nth (hat had been turned for them fro m sorrow into gla dness and fro m mourning int o a holiday; thai Ihey should make Ihem days of feasting and gladness. da)'s fo r se nding choke portions 10 one another and gifts to the poor. (Esther 9:22)

Afrer the evening pra ye r is fead in th e synagogu e, a handwritten scroll (m egillah) of the Book of Es ther is read. C hildren tak e to the sy na- gogue all sorts of noisy rartles, ere. so th a t every time the nam e H aman is read out in the sto ry the y create as much noise as possible and stam p their feet in o rder to drown rhe nam e of Haman with no ise, sym bolic o f the casting ou t of th e ev il enemy.

At I'lirim. Hama"tasche" (Haman's ea rs) a re eate n; th ese arc three- corn ered biscuilS usua ll y filled with fru it o r popp y seeds. They represe nt the three -co rnered hat of Haman. Th e word for popp y seed

____-----------------------------------------------------~J~U~D~A~I~S~M in Yiddish is mO il and the word for "the" is ha so " poppy seed" is hamon, a pun on H ama n . This is typ ica l of the fun w hi ch character- izes Ptlmn , rhe most secu la r of jewish festiva ls. Gifrs of food are oftc n exchanged as are at least nyo giflS between friends, and any number given ro the poor. Tn Is rael, the children jo in in a parade in the after- noon, dressing up in cos tum es and masks, and rhrou gham th e world such dressing up. dances, a nd puppet-plays us ua ll y precede the festival. In the afte rn oon there is a family banquet, at which eac h person is cxpected to get so drunk th at he no longer ca n di stin guis h between th e words " Haman be cur sed" a nd " Mo rd ec hai be blessed" (Megilla" 7).

Passover Passover (Heb. fJ esah) is celebrated in the s pring. It is a mem orial of the time when God "passed over" th e houses of the Heb rews and spared [h eir firstbo rn when the y were ca ptives in Egypt (Exodus 12 ). This, rhe las r of the ten p lagues, pers uad ed Pharao h to release t he Hebrews fro m slavery. Passove r is th erefo re a festival o f freed om:

ThIS day shall be for yo u a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast 10 the Lord; throughout your ge nera[ lons you sha 11 observe it as an ordi- nance forever./Exodus 12:14}

Although o ri ginall y two distinct festivals, Passover toda y is also ca lled "The Feast of Unleavened Bread" as o nl y bread without yeast may be eaten during [he fe sti va l. The C hildren of Israell efr Egyp r in haste and did nm have time to mak e bread thar rose in the usual wa y.

The Passover Festival lasts fo r eight da ys. It is ve ry much a fam ily meal though it may be ce lebra ted outside the family circle. No leav- ened bread or a nythi ng con tainin g yeas t (Heb . hametz) is all o wed in th e home during Passove r, which la sts from rhe 15 th to the llstof th e Jewish month of Nisan. Thus o n rh e eve of Passove r [he mother puts little pieces of leavened bread arolln d the hou se. The father a nd th e children sea rch for it by cand leli ght and co llect iton a wooden spoon, so as nm to affront th e injullction s of £'l:odlls 11: 19:

For seven day s no leaven shall be found in your houses; for if anyone eats what is leavened, Ihal pe rson shall be CUI off from the congrealion of Israel.

By rhe rime Passove r begins a t su nset, no hametz musl rema in in rh e house. Some will have been burned earlier all a bonfire. Even s pecial crockery and cutler y will be used iust for Passover to mak e su re that everyt hing is hametz free.

On the first night of the Pa ssove r there is a s pecia l meal ca ll ed the Seder. The Seder ttlble is s prea d with a whi re cloth and li ghted candles.

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The word Seder means "order" and it is important that the rable is arranged in rhe correct manner. Also there are fou r goblets of wine which everyone mU SI drink in rheir proper order. A goblet is se r aside for t he biblical prophet Elijah, as it is believed that he wi ll return before the Messiah comes (Q bring peace to the world. The four goblelS of wine are drunk during the service. One reaso n for drinking the fou r goblets of wine is thai it serves as a reminder of the four ways in which God promised Moses he would redeem the ChiJdren of Israel:

1 will brmg you OUi from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I Will dd lve r you from their bondage, and I Will red~m you With an outstretched a rm and with great acts of ludgement, and I will take yOll for my people, and I will be your God ... (Exod1l5 6;6-7)

The p roceedings for the Passover ritual are se r down in a book ca lled the Haggadah. Everyone prese m has a copy. The Seder sta rrs with the father reciting the Kiddush over th e wine. The father th en washes his hands and passes everyo ne parsley or lettuce dipped in salt wate r. Lettuce. parsley or celery a re ea ten as symbols of rhe poor food t he Hebrews are in Egyptian bondage. These are dipped in salt wate r w hi ch stands for th e tears that were shed at the rime.

In from of rhe farher on a tray or three-tiered Seder Plate, are three loaves of unleavened bread made of wheat Ro ur and water. These loaves are called matzoth. Two of lhe pieces are rhe double portions for Sabbaths and the Ho lydays. and me th ird is known as the "the bread of afniction". The three pieces also represent th e priest, the Levite (pr iest'S helper), and the Children of Israel. The middle piece of unl eavened bread is broken in twO by rh e father. One piece is to be eaten during th e meal, a nd the other, th e a/Jhikomml (desse rr ) is to be eaten at the end of me meal. With the matzoth on th e Seder tabl e there are: a baked egg which is a symbol of the free-will offeri ng made whe n th e lamb was sacri ficed in the Temple; a roasted shankbo ne which ca nno t be eaten, it represenrs the I)assover lamb; bitter herbs which arc usuall y ho rseradish, standing as a symbol of the bitterness of slavery experi enced by the Hebrews in Egypt; harosetll which is a paste o f app les, almonds, cinnamon and wine, a symbol of th e morrar made by th e Heb rews while in bondage. The fa rh er poinrs ro th e unleavened bread, and everyone loo ks a r it. The father then reads the Haggada h which means " telling". The Haggadah is one of the o ldest books in Judaism. The o rd er o f rhe Seder is given in this book:

This IS the bread of afnictlon that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All who art' hungry-let them come and eat: till who a re needy-It'tlhem comt' and cc:lebrall~ the Passover.

Then th e yo unges t member of rh e family has to ask fou r questions:

(i) "Why is this ni gh t diffe rent from all other ni ghts?" AlISlver: It differs for on all other nights we may eat leavened or

unleavened bread, bUI on this night only unleavened. (ii ) .. And what is the second difference?" AlIswer: On all other nights we may ear other kinds of herbs but

on [his night on ly biner herbs. ' (iii) "And whar is the third difference between this night and all

olher nights?" Answer: On all othe r ni ghts we need nor dip our herb s even once

but on this night we do so twice. (A lread y the herbs will have been dipped in s.l lr water, bur later the bitter herbs will be dipped in Haroseth).

(iv) "And what is th e fourth diffe ren ce?" A"~we~: On a ll erher nights we ear either sitting or rechning, w hil e

on rhls mght we all recline. (As sla ves rh ey had ea ten th eir meals hurried ly wh il e sinin g on the floor).

The father and ot hers present reply to the questions.

References are made to Jewish history, to Abra ham, Isaac an d Jacob, the Hebrew patriarchs, telling how their descendanrs came to Egypt, and of their subseque ur life of misery a nd slavery. Th is, indeed, is the Imporranr reliving of the Exodus from Egypt, a n ac r of God which transformed a group of Hebrew slaves iuro a nation. The name of Moses is, however, nowh ere mentioned; aU the praise is given to God Instead.

Glasses of wine are raised and th e following passage is recited:

Ir is our duty th~rt'fore to thank. prniS(' ... and adort' him ... He led us OUI of slavery into fr~dom from anguish to joy our of darkness IIlTO light: out of bondage IntO redemptIOn . Lei us smg to Him a new song. Halldulah.

There fo ll ows the first twO psalms of Hallel, Psalms J 13- 114 , which re fer .to rhe H ebrews leaving Egypt. The father blesses rhe seco nd cup of. wme, and then everyo ne washes rheir ha nd s, and the upper and middle porrions of the unleavened bread arc blessed and handed round. After another blessing, the biner herb IS dipped in th e Haroserh. Then the father breaks the third picre o f unleavened bread, a~d rhe real meal begins with another blessing. Each perso n eatS a piece of unleave ned bread like a sa ndwi ch with the biner herb inside.

When. the meal is ove r, the father gives everyo ne a piece of the ha lf o~ the nuddle matwh, w hich is called the aplllkomalt (desserr). This is ~Idden for rh e children to find. Grace is said and th e third cup of wine IS drunk. The door is then opened for Elijah to enter. Elijah is consid- ered to be the guardian of rhe covenant who will a rrive with rhe Messiah. The second half of th e Seder serv ice includes the remainder

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of the Hallel from Psalms 11 5- 118 and 131 . Poetry, dirties and stories are also included. The fourth cup of wine is drunk.

ShaVlwl Seven weeks after Passover, th e Jews celebrate the Fea st of Weeks, "the season of rhe giving of our law". It commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandmenrs at Mount Sinai. In this way it completes the story of I'assover. The Feast of Weeks is one of rhe three pilgrim festivals. h is also called Pentecost. Its name "Fe3st of Weeks" is associated with the harvests of the Holy land. It was rhe beginning of the barley harvest in Israel and on the seco nd day a measure of barley was brought into the Temple. Fruit was a lso offered - olives, dates, figs and grapes. Today, the synagogues arc decorated with beau- tiful flowers and plants. The floral decorations of the sy nagogues help to express gratitude to God for his kindness to humankind.

Devour Jews devote the whole of the first night of the festival to reading from the sc riptures and the Ta/mlld, a custom derived from God's command that no one should touch the borders of MOUn! Sinai for three days before Moses received the Ten Commandments. The Book of Ruth is read during the festival because it describes the a ncient harvest practice in Israel of inviting t he poor and the stranger to glea n in the fields, and because Ruth accepted rhe teachings o f Judaism, which were foreign to her, with loving devotion. At home. the festival l11eal takes place after the morning se rvi ce in the synagogue. There arc two loaves of round bread decorated with a ladder, a reminder of Moses going up to Mount Sinai.

Judaism is a festival conscious reli gion. The rich sy mbolism, ritual practices and prayers, special foods and customs of the Jewis h holi- days remind the Jews of their historical roots. It is through the celebration of festivals that they re- live the past in the present, as Jews everywhere reaffirm their Jewishness, and confirm their idenriry with the Children of Israel.

CONCLUSION To the non-Jew,Judais m in general ma y appear very lega li sti c and, at times, somewhat antiquated in customs a nd practices. Howeve r, it is a miracle that Judaism and world Jewry have survi ved, and tha t survival owes itself mainly to the preservation of traditions :)I1d customs throughout generations of pe rsecurion and even genocide. A fa Sci nating ext.rac( from Leo Trepp's book, A History of the jewish Experience, is worth quoting here. Writing o f the fall of Jerusa lem in 70 CE, he states:

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On the mnth day of the JeWish month of Ab. In spite of herOIC defense. Jeru~alcm falls; the Temple gocs up in names. Titus. Iheconquenng hero, returns to Rome III triumph. An arch is erected in his honor. On It can be seen 10 this day the holy candelabrum carned III triumph 10 Rome, followed by Jewish prisoners in ChRIIIS. Rome strikes a COlli, !>carms the

IIlscnpuon "Judaea Cap[3~. It shows the "Widow" of Judah detcctedly wttpmg her fau: under a rree whose fruns she Will no more entoy. A conquermg Roman soldier WI1Iches proudly. But Judah cannol be caplUred. In 1958. rhe Israeli governmenr struck anothe r medal in cele. brauon of the' new slate's lemh anlllvcrsary. On one side II shows the replica of Ihe Roman COin. On the reverse, under the captIOn " Israd Llber:lIa ~. II presents a mOlher proudly holdlllS her child to the rays of the sun of frttdom. She 15 standing under the frulllrct', which h3S grown lall and sturdy. AI her Side IS her husband, knedlllg, plannng a new scedlmg 10 grow 10 health and strength With th e child an d the l:lI1d. JI

After all is said and done, perhaps the never to be forgotten words of~. K. Chesrerson a r~ th e most fitting to close our look at Jud aism, for n was he who reminded us that, despite ce nturies of persecution ohe~ wit~ a f~naticism beyond th e bounds of credibility, the realifY of th e Sltu3rlOn IS that a j ew will always sta"d at the graut! of his perse- cutor.

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