Do Now

What do you know about the Jewish religion or Jewish people? If you don't know much about them, what have you ever heard about them? What do you know about the history of the Jewish people?

Religion Comparison Chart

• These will be collected periodically to check for progress, so make sure to fill them in as we move through the different religions

• Eventually you will turn these in for a grade near the end of the quarter

• Not every religion will have a clear answer for every category, but make sure to write that down, don't just leave a square blank

Term Definition

Polytheistic A religion that worships more than one god

Monotheistic A religion that worships only one god

Prophet An individual who believes they are receiving important messages from their god(s) that they must share with the people around them

Scripture A book or piece of writing that people believe contains important information or truths about their religion; also called a holy book

Rabbi Term used to describe a Jewish priest

Sabbath Term used in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to describe a special day of worship that happens once a week

Vocab

Snapshot of Contemporary Judaism

• Across the world, there are about 14 million people who practice the Jewish religion, only 0.2% of the world's population

• The country with the largest Jewish population is Israel, located in the Middle East, with 6.3 million people (75% of the population)

• The country with the second largest Jewish population is the United States, with 5.3 million people (2% of the population)

• The rest of the world's Jews are mostly scattered across Western Europe (England, France, and Germany) and Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico)

• Although they make up a tiny percentage of the world's population, Jews are much wealthier and more educated than average

• 10% of US senators, 4% of US representatives • 40% of American billionaires • 22% of Nobel Prize winners • 38% of Oscar winners

Jewish Creation Story In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

Sixth Day

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Second Creation Story

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. ... 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

History of Judaism

• The Jewish holy books describe a history that goes back to the beginning of the world

• The earliest historical evidence dates back to about 1500 BCE • From history we know that a group of people living in the Middle East called

Canaanites split into two groups around that time • One of those groups kept their traditional polytheistic religion, the other

created the monotheistic religion of Judaism • The Jewish Canaanites created two rival kingdoms called Israel and Judah

around 1500 BCE, but were both eventually conquered by another group of people (called the Babylonians)

• Until about the year 100 AD, almost all Jews in the world were still living in their traditional homeland, centered around the city of Jerusalem

• Around the year 100 AD, Jews in Canaan tried to revolt against the Romans, but lost

• To avoid being punished, most Jews left the area - some traveled east into Iran, some traveled west into North Africa, some traveled south into Arabia, but most traveled north into modern-day Russia

Ten Commandments

• In the Jewish holy books, it describes two important moments in their early history:

• 1) that a prophet named Abraham was the one who told the Canaanites that there was only one true god, thus creating the Jewish people. Abraham then made a covenant (promise) with God that he would let his people know and worship only him, and in return God would protect them and bless them.

• 2) that some years later, the Jews were captured into slavery in Egypt and only escaped with God's help

• After escaping from Egypt, it took the Jewish people several years to wander back to their homeland in Canaan, and along the way many people began worshipping the old polytheistic gods

• Angry that his people would break their covenant and stop worshipping only him, God then spoke to a new prophet named Moses and gave him a list of ten rules, called the Ten Commandments

Commandment

I Thou shalt have no other gods before me

II Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image

III Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

IV Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy

V Honor thy father and thy mother

VI Thou shalt not kill

VII Thou shalt not commit adultery

VIII Thou shalt not steal

IX Thou shalt not bear false witness

X Thou shalt not covet

Exit Ticket

1. The countries with the largest Jewish populations in the world are (in order): a. Israel & England b. United States & Israel c. Israel & France d. Israel & United States 2. Which of the following is the best definition of the word "prophet"? a. A term for a Jewish priest b. An individual who believes they are receiving important messages from their god(s) c. A term for a fortune-teller d. A term for a person who believes in more than one god 3. The Jews were originally part of which of the following groups before they split off to form their own religion: a. Babylonians b. Canaanites c. Romans d. Arabs

4. Which of the following is the best definition of the word "sabbath"? a. a special day of worship that happens once a week b. a term for a Jewish priest c. the Jewish term for the Ten Commandments d. the name of the Jews original homeland 5. Which of the following is the best description of the Ten Commandments: a. a set of laws that the Jews adopted from the Egyptians b. a list of the ways the Jews were disobeying God c. a set of laws that ancient Jews followed but modern Jews don't anymore d. a moral code that forms the basis of Judaism