Judaism Fact File by Carys Clutterbuck Founder of

Judaism Fact File by Carys Clutterbuck Founder of Judaism Teachings of Judaism Prayer in Judaism Place of worship How to Live Day of Rest Abraham was chosen by G-d as the founder of Judaism. His faith was tested by G-d over his son Isaac to see if he was worthy. Abraham made a covenant with G-d, and he and his family would become a great nation. Male circumcision symbolises this covenant. The most important prayer for Jews is called the Shema. It is said twice a day. The prayer declares that there is only one G-d and that Jews should love him with their whole being and follow his laws. The Jews have 613 laws called the mitzvot which were given to Moses by G-d. The laws (or commandments) teach Jews about how best to live and are used by Jews to try and solve modern days problems as well as basic laws. The mitzvot are seen by Jews as a gift from G-d to help Jews live good lives. The Star of David is a Jewish symbol and symbolises protection from G -d The Torah scroll is The front of a Synagogue faces kept in the Ark. On top of the Ark is a Jerusalem light which is always lit called the Eternal Lamp The Menorah is Hebrew for “lamp, ” refers to the sevenbranched golden candelabra that was lit every day in the Tabernacle, and then in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem The word Tanakh is a term for the Jewish scriptures which include the Torah, Nevi’im and the Ketuvim. The Torah is the most important and contains five books; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These are the same first 5 books of the Old Testament from the Bible The Jewish place of worship is called a Synagogue. Here they learn about G-d’s laws, how he wants people to live and Jews also learn about their ancestors. The Torah is kept in the Ark within the synagogue. It is the most important part of the synagogue and faces towards Jerusalem The Jewish day of rest is called Shabbat. It starts at sunset on a Friday evening and finishes one hour after sunset on a Saturday. The origin of the rest day is from the book of Genesis and remembers when G-d rested on the 7 th day of creation. Jews must rest and think about G -d and in order to do this properly there are 39 actions which that are forbidden during Shabbat. The Dreidel is a four sided spinning top played during Hanukkah. The sides spell out the phrase ‘a great miracle happened there’ The Hamsa is a talisman worn on the hand means 5 in Hebrew. Some believe it represents the five books of the Torah. Sometimes it is called the Hand of Miriam, who was Moses’ sister The shofar is an instrument made from the horn of a ram. It was used in ancient Israel to announce the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh) and call people together. It is also blown on Rosh Hashanah, marking the beginning of the Jewish New Year.