Moses - The Simpsons

Moses wanted to escape from the Pharaoh and free his people from hard labour. The Lord said to Moses that the King was very stubborn and he deserved to be punished until he let the people go, so he started a set of 10 powerful plagues. Moses managed to find a way to get his people out of Egypt, the Lord parted the Red Sea and they crossed it. When the King and his army chased after them, the Red Sea closed in on them and Moses and his people got away. They wandered the desert for 40 years to their Promised Land Israel.

 “God then starts to speak directly to Moses. He tells Moses that He has heard the cries of His people in Egypt and that He is calling Moses out to be the one who will go in there and deliver them from their plight with the Egyptians.” God calls out to Moses

“When Moses and Aaron first approach the Pharaoh, they tell him that he is to let their people go so they can go into the wilderness to hold a feast with their God. The Pharaoh obviously refuses to even consider this first request, so God does His first miracle in front of the Pharaoh and his court.” Moses goes to Egypt

“They end up getting stuck before the Red Sea. They have nowhere else to go. They are literally at the end of their rope. If they try and move forward, they will drown in the Red Sea. If they try to move backwards, they will be caught by the Egyptian army that is moving in on them. The only thing that can save them now is a powerful miracle from God Himself.” Parting of the Red Sea

How is a Torah scroll made? How is the Torah revered?

Torah means “teaching” and refers to the five books of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Genesis: The story of how the world was made; the story of Adam and Eve.

Exodus: story of Moses leaving his chosen people out of Egypt; giving the Ten Commandments through Moses to the people. Mount Sinai is the place where Moses receives the Ten Commandments.

Leviticus: Written as a guideline for the priests; known as the handbooks for priests.

Numbers (In the Wilderness): The stories of the 40 years spent wandering the desert and preparing them entrance to the holy land ‘Israel’.

Deuteronomy: The farewell of Moses and he addresses to a new generation in which he tells them to faithfully obey God’s blessings in the Promised Land.

U  A Torah scroll is made from sheets of parchment, which is made from the skin of a kosher animal.

U  It is written by hand in Hebrew by a professional scribe, called a sofer. The sofer’s job to ensure that the text is transmitted correctly. Hebrew is read from right to left.

U  The sofer takes at least one year to write out the Torah.

U  He is not allowed to from memory. He must copy from a book of the Torah, and jeep checking for mistakes. Letters must not be smudged or touch another letter.

U  If the sofer makes a mistake, he scrapes off the letters using a glass tool.

U  The most sacred word that he writes is the Hebrew name for God. He cannot correct this- he must start the whole sheet of parchment again. The sheet with the error on is buried in a Jewish cemetery.

U  When all the sheets of parchment are finished, they are sewn together and wound around wooden rollers.

U  The Torah is regarded as holy, and is decorated as beautifully as possible.

U  It has a velvet cover called a mantle.

U  A silver breastplate is hung on the front of it, like the one worn by High Priests in Biblical times. This is decorated with Jewish symbols.

U  Bells are attached so people can hear it being carried around the synagogue.

U  There is also a silver pointer called a yad.

U  A yad (meaning hand) is used by Jews to keep their place when reading from the Torah scroll.

U  This is to show respect for the scroll and to prevent the parchment being spoiled by oil from their fingers.

U  When the Torah is not being used, it is kept in a special cupboard at the front of the synagogue, called and Ark.

U  This reminds Jews of the Ark of the Covenant in which Moses and his people carried the Ten Commandments.

Judaism Core Beliefs

Being Jewish

The term “Jewish” can be used to describe a race and a culture rather than a religion, so some who identify themselves as Jewish may have little interest in the beliefs and practices associated with the religion of Judaism.

The Torah

The Jews believe in the teaching of the Jewish Bible, known as the Torah. This is the First Testament of the Christian Bible. There is no Second Testament or New Bible for Jews.

Why? (Answer in your notes)

There is only one testament because the Jews only believe in one god and they do not believe that Jesus is the son of God or the Messiah or the Chosen One.

Written Law and Oral Law

U  613 commandments found in Torah (“Written Law”).

U  Talmud (“Oral Law”) – commentary of ancient rabbis that elaborates on how to apply God’s Law in everyday life through:

-Dietary rules (Kashrut/ Kosher)

-Dress and other symbols

-Prayer and devotion to the one God

-The Temple and Temple rites

-Observance of Holy Days

-Proper social relations between male and female, in business, judicial rulings, etc.

Core Beliefs

Jews firmly believe that there is only one God, there are 13 main beliefs that Jews believe in, they include;

U  God exists

U  God is one and unique

U  God is eternal

U  Prayer to God only.

U  The prophets spoke truth.

U  Moses was the greatest of the prophets.

U  The Written and Oral Torah were given to Moses.

U  There will be no other Torah.

U  God will reward the good and punish the wicked.

U  The Messiah will come.

U  The dead will be resurrected.

The Family

U  The heart of Judaism is in the home and family, social responsibility and doing Mitzvot (“good deeds” based on God’s commandments)

U  Through education and hard work we make our lives, the lives of others, and the world, what God intended it to be – Holy.

Behind the News- Judaism Questions

1.       What Language do the Jewish people speak? Hebrew.

2.       How do the Jewish people read Hebrew? From right to left.

3.       Why is Israel important to the Jewish people? It is the only Jewish Promised Land.

4.       When was the present state of Israel formed? 1948.

5.       What makes it unique in the world? Israel is the only Jewish state.

6.       Who is the chosen prophet in Judaism? Abraham.

7.       What do the Jews believe God thinks of their people? That they are the chosen ones.

8.       How do the three main religions differ in the view of Jesus? Jews and Muslims believe that Jesus is not the son of God, whereas Christians believe in the father, the son and the Holy Spirit.

9.       Why do the Jewish people not celebrate Christmas? They don’t believe Jesus is the son of God.

10.   What festival do they celebrate instead? Hanukkah.

11.   What event is celebrated at this festival and what is the significance of the number 8? It is the festival of lights and the oil burned for eight days instead of one.

12.   What is the name of the sacred text of the Jewish people? Torah.

13.   How is their text similar to the Christian Bible? It is the books of the Old Testament.

14.   How many commandments do the Jewish people have to follow? 613 commandments.

15.   What is the name of the leader of a Jewish religion? Rabbi.

16.   What is a Tallis? A tallis is prayer shawl.

17.   What is a Tefillin? A tefillin is the leather box tied to their arms with the verses in it.

18.   What is a Kippah? A kippah is the hat worn by Jewish men.

19.   What is the word used to describe the food Jewish people can eat? Kosher.

20.   Where is the only Kosher Mc Donalds? Israel.

21.   Why is a cheeseburger not kosher? It is not kosher because dairy and meat are mixed together.

Introduction to Judaism

Origins

·         Judaism is one of the three prophetic Monotheistic Religions in the world; the other two are Christianity and Islam.

·         It is Prophetic as there as there were numerous Prophets who predicted the coming of a Messiah, Monotheistic as they believe in one God – mono (one) Theology (belief/study of God).

History

·         Jews are an ancient people of around 3000 years old; their history is told in the bible and is traced back to Abraham of around 1900 BC (before common time era).

·         The Jews have been known as Jews, Israelites and Hebrews. (Jesus was a Jew, however the Jews accept Jesus as a wise man, but not the chosen Messiah as Christians believe, hence Judaism predates and heavily influences Christianity, but is not part of Christianity).

Abraham

·         Abraham is one of the first recorded leaders of the Hebrews in the Bible. He was a wealthy man who was called by God to leave his land and move from Ur to Canaan, or Israel as it is called today.

·         Abraham heard the call of the Lord to stop believing in pagan Gods (like God of wind, God of Mountain etc) and he followed God’s request and led his people from Mesopotamia to Canaan. This journey is recorded in the book of Genesis.

·         Who is Abraham? He the founder of the Jewish faith.

·         What did Abraham believe? How was it different to the people at the time? He believed that we should worship one God and not many Gods. It is different because at the time because many people believed in many gods but he was different.

·         What do you think a Covenant is, what Covenant did God Make with Abraham? A binding agreement between two people. God entered into a covenant with Abraham. He promised to take the Jews from slavery and deliver them to the promised land of Israel. He expected his people to obey and understand his commandments.

·         What sacrifice was Abraham requested to make? Why did God ask this of Abraham? Abraham was asked to sacrifice his only son Issac. He was asked to sacrifice his son as a test to God to prove that he has faith and loves God. He did not need to sacrifice his son and their hearts were filled with love and faith.

·         Search the site for the word Patriarchs? What does this mean? A Patriarch is the male head of a family or tribal line.