Sabbath Customs
In order to avoid work and to ensure that the Sabbath is special, all chores like shopping, cleaning, and cooking for the Sabbath must be finished before sunset on Friday.
People dress up for Shabbat and go to considerable trouble to ensure that everything is really nice to obey the commandment to make the Sabbath a delight.
Sabbath candles are lit and there are Sabbath blessings, prayers, songs and readings.
It's traditional for parents to bless their children on Shabbat.
The blessing for daughters asks that they become like the four matriarchs, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, while sons are blessed to grow up like Ephraim and Menasheh, two brothers who lived in harmony.
Some of the family will have been to synagogue before the Sabbath meal, and it's likely that the whole family will go on Saturday.
Holy days
The Calendar
The Jewish calendar is a combined moon and sun calendar, unlike the conventional Western (or Gregorian) calendar.
The result is that Jewish festivals move about the Western calendar from year to year. The Jewish calendar also starts each day in the evening.
This is because when God was creating the world he started each day in the evening.
Sabbath -- the Holy Day
One day each week is set aside as the Sabbath, (in Jewish circles it's usually called Shabbat).
Once again this is something that God instructed the Jews to do.
The High Holy Days
The High Holy Days come in Autumn, at the start of the month of Tishri. This is the most spiritual period of the year for Jews, a time for looking back on the year just passed, and for taking action to get right with God and with other people. It runs from Rosh Hashanah for ten days until Yom Kippur.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival and commemorates the creation of the world.
Days of Awe or Repentance are the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during which everyone gets a chance to repent.
Yom Kippur is the most sacred and solemn day of the Jewish year and brings the Days of Repentance to a close.
The Pilgrimage Festivals
These commemorate the journey of the Jewish People from Egypt to the Holy Land.
Passover, or Pesach is a spring festival that marks the escape from captivity in Egypt.
Shavuot marks the time that the Jews received God's laws at Mount Sinai.
Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorates the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and celebrates the way in which God took special care of them under impossible conditions.
Other Festivals
Purim marks the defeat of an attempt to wipe out the Jews by Haman.
Yom Hashoah or Holocaust Memorial Day is a day that has been established to commemorate the lives of millions of Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE. Hanukkah is celebrated at roughly the same time as Christmas, but there is no connection at all between the festivals.
Tish B'av is the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av which usually falls in July or August in the western calendar. It is a solemn occasion because it commemorates a series of tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the years, many of which have coincidentally happened on this day.
10. Judaism today
Jews are not a community of proselytizers; they do not seek converts to Judaism. In fact, rabbis traditionally discourage conversions. Jews believe in one God and do not attempt to humanize Him as Christians do, but their tradition has been to leave others to their own beliefs. Jews almost never excommunicate one of their members, nor have they ever in their history been on a crusade to root out
According to the Koran, Jews (and Christians) are considered to be "People of the book," or to have a similar heritage. (Goldschmidt, 2006, p. 35) As a result of this belief, many Muslim kingdoms and empires maintained a certain amount of respect for the Jews. However, Jews were still forced to pay a special tax in order to practice their religion without any official persecution. (Goldschmidt, 2006, p. 67) Later,
history medical studies have concluded that prayer helps to heal the sick. Many political meetings begin with a prayer and American currency has the words "In God We Trust" imprinted on its face. Around the world God is a powerful deity and one that has historically led entire societies to make decisions based on God's word. While God has been the single deity that leads and guides societies in
Eastern Religion Elements Matrix Buddhism Confucianism Daoism Countries of origin In Historical figures and events Origin: India Founded: 1500 BC Origin": India Founded 2,500 years ago by Indian Prince Siddharta Gautama Origin: China; founded between the 6th and 5th centuries B.C.; Confucius developed cultural values and taught that learning above all should be the goal Daoism also spelled Taoism was founded in China in 550 B.C. Central beliefs In the afterlife, if Karma is not resolved, the soul is born into a
Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism Taoism, Confucianism, and Judaism There are several major religions in the world and in different parts of the world the religions are quite diverse. In China, two major religions are Taoism and Confucianism, while in the West one of the oldest religions is Judaism. These religions are quite different, with historical, theological, and philosophical differences. But they also have certain aspects in common, such as honesty, integrity, and compassion.
In this way, I would show that Christianity is the one true faith. Conclusion: Christianity's Old Testament is founded in the Jewish faith. Yet, the major beliefs of this religion, without the acknowledgment that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah, has made it a religion completely separate. There are critical theological differences in the two faiths, including Judaism's belief that man is inherently good. The conversion processes to Judaism, no matter what
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