Judaism
Judaism items test the covenant idea, the structure of the Tanakh and Talmud, the meaning of halakhah, the modern denominations, and the festival and life-cycle calendar.
Texts and law
The Tanakh has three parts: Torah (the five books), Nevi'im (prophets) and Ketuvim (writings). The Talmud pairs the Mishnah, compiled around 200 CE by Judah ha-Nasi, with the Gemara; there are Babylonian and Jerusalem versions. Halakhah is binding law and aggadah is narrative and lore. Maimonides counted 613 mitzvot and framed thirteen principles of faith. The Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4, is the central confession of divine unity.
Core ideas
Covenant runs through Abraham and Sinai. Chosenness is understood as responsibility rather than privilege. Tikkun olam is repairing the world, tzedakah is obligatory righteousness or charity. Pikuach nefesh holds that saving a life overrides nearly every commandment. Shabbat is the weekly sanctification of time. Images of God are prohibited.
Branches
Orthodox Judaism holds halakhah as binding and unchanging in authority. Conservative Judaism accepts historical development of law. Reform Judaism, arising in nineteenth-century Germany, emphasizes the ethical core over ritual obligation. Reconstructionist Judaism, founded by Mordecai Kaplan, treats Judaism as an evolving religious civilization.
Calendar and life cycle
Rosh Hashanah is the new year and judgment; Yom Kippur is the fast of atonement; Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Passover (the seder retells the Exodus), Shavuot (the giving of Torah) and Purim follow. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple and is a minor festival. Life cycle: brit milah on the eighth day, bar or bat mitzvah, marriage under the chuppah with a ketubah, and shiva, seven days of mourning.
Worked example
An ill person wishes to eat on Yom Kippur. Reasoning: pikuach nefesh applies, so fasting is set aside; the law commands preserving life, and one who eats is not sinning. This illustrates that halakhah contains internal principles of override, not merely a list of rules.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling kosher food blessed by a rabbi, rather than prepared under dietary rules.
- Treating Hanukkah as a major festival.
- Assuming Judaism centers on the afterlife; Olam Ha-Ba is affirmed but doctrine is sparse.
- Confusing Conservative Judaism with political conservatism.