Jewish Experience And Reflection

1 Id-According to the Old Testament, what massacre took place shortly after Moses received the 10 Commandments and why did it take place? Briefly list the main events in Moses’ life according to the Old Testament. Do any Egyptian sources confirm the events narrated in the Old Testament?

When I visited my first Jewish synagogue, I expected it to be very different. My previous experience with religious ceremonies was limited to a few visits to Baptist churches. The most surprising thing for me at this one was, oddly enough, its similarity to Christian services and rituals. I went into the religious visit expecting an enormous difference in the customs and perhaps even in the attitudes of the people attending the service. What I found instead was a religious ceremony very reminiscent of the Christian ones I’ve been to before.

The dynamic nature of Judaism offers a successful living religion as a result of its strongly withheld characteristics. Through essential characteristics such as central beliefs, sacred texts, writings, ethical teachings and rituals and ceremonies, Judaism offers a dynamic nature and liveable religion that connects an individual and society with its roots. The way this living religion advances and grows is because of its dynamic characteristics as a whole. Importantly, these characteristics combined form the true nature of the religion rather than separately.

For my ethnographic fieldwork, I decided to do my research on the Jewish culture. I interviewed a friend of mine at her house, which is the field site I decided to work in. To protect her identity I changed her name to Rebecca. As soon as I got to her house I notice there was a small piece of metal on the side of her doorpost with hebrew text written on it. I enter the house and she greeted me and took me to her living room.In her living room I noticed she had a tray of bite size cookies for us and a Snapple drink. The cookies were sweet and they did not have strong odor. My friend wore black slacks a white blouse and a star necklace around her neck. After a while, her brother and father came in and I noticed they had a little cap on the top of their heads. I asked her questions about her religion and culture.

3. Characterize the initiation ritual. How do you think it compares to the “real” ritual – if such a ritual exists?

To become an effective counselor to Jewish Americans or any race or diverse population is to be aware of one’s thoughts and opinions concerning racism and racial advantage, as well increase knowledge of culture’s different from oneself (Hays & Erford, 2014). Jewish Americans are referred to those Caucasian individuals who have immigrated to the United States from another country, such as Eastern Europe (Hays and Erford, 2014). In this paper, I will identify and provide a description of the Jewish population and how they differ from myself in a variety of ways. Additionally, I will provide a reflection of my immersion into the Jewish culture via my observations and highlight what I have learned

Since being new to the service Mr. Snaider sat by my partner and I to help guide us and answer any questions we may have. The room was quickly getting filled up as the service was about to begin. As the service began Paula Morris led the service along with Eva Freund who gave the main message of the night. Many events happened throughout the night. Since it was Shabbat, in order to welcome it Paula asked the group to get up and sing L’cha Dodi which welcomes everyone and the angels into the Shabbat service. As we started to sing, I noticed other members of the congregation holding hands with other members of the group and waving their heads along singing joyfully. Something completely unexpected, but my partner and I participated in the events as a sign of

After a few games the went back and worshiped and Ryan spoke on Moses. Then the group split up into there small groups and discussed some of the things Ryan spoke about, the girls I sat with were very interested and this gave them time to process the story and understand it. I thoroughly enjoyed the service overall and I really enjoyed the fact that the kids welcomed me and and the leaders as well.

Throughout the history of the world, the Jewish people have been persecuted and oppressed because of their religious beliefs and faith. Many groups of people have made Jews their scapegoat. Jews have suffered from years of intolerance because people have not understood what the religion really means. They do not understand where and why the religion began, nor the customs of it's people. For one to understand the great hardships, triumphs, and history of the Jewish people one must open-mindedly peruse a greater knowledge of the Jewish people and faith.

I learned a lot of facts about Judaism that I had previously been ignorant to. I had no idea that we (Christians & Jews) maintained the same bible (The Old Testament) but that we interpreted certain events differently, such as Adam and Eve. “In Judaism, each and every human being is free to choose good or evil because each person stands before God in the same relationship that Adam and Eve did” (Esposito 77). I was unaware that Judaism did not believe in “original sin.” I had no knowledge of the fact that Jews did not believe that Christ was resurrected from the dead. I found it interesting how Jews have split into separate groups – Reform Jews, who believe that Judaism is a cultural inheritance and that neither the laws nor beliefs are

Traditions such as homemade decorations, Grandma’s banana pudding, and ugly sweaters often remain close to family’s hearts. Candles, decorations, food, and outfits, the list of customs never terminates! Two families, who practice traditions in the book, The Chosen by Chaim Potok, include the Malter’s and the Saunders’. David and Reuven Malter enjoy weekly services, prayer, and special articles of clothing in their lives as orthodox Jews*check for accuracy. Also, in the Saunders’ family, the boys wear intricate outfits and the father bestows the role of tzaddick to one of the male children because they practice the Jewish sect of Hadism. Although these two families’ rituals differ, they both participate in the studying of the holy scriptures, a Jewish commentary, each Shabbat, or Sabbath day. OPENER!!!The Malter’s practice their unique traditions, the Saunders’ continue their customs, and the families share the tradition of studying the holy Jewish books.

There are many different cultures that surround us everyday; each one with its own unique customs and lifestyles. The Jewish culture contains some of the oldest traditions and customs that date back thousands of years. This culture has survived everything from exile to almost being diminished during the Holocaust. The Jewish culture has a unique culture, that has much to share with the world around them.

As a group, they would read from the prayer books, which were small excerpts of the Torah, and prayed together. They bowed along and even turned their backs together, in unison, as a

At the Taizé prayer, the area with the altar and candles was inviting. First the silence for about 10 minutes, then the music played, followed by long pauses for praying and reading the scriptures together. The prayer around the Jesus cross in the center was about to begin when a person placed the cross on the ground and next to the cross a pillow for people to kneel and express their burdens. After about ten minutes, the prayer around the cross continued, but this time the cross was moved to a table. People freely approached the cross at the table and placed their heads on it or kissed the cross. After a few more prayers were said aloud, then the final prayer was said followed by a song as the closing. From this opportunity of praying in a group, I learned about the gifts and challenges of prayer while reflecting in silence and listening to the meditative music.

The place were the ceremony took place was called Kingdom Hall. Inside the building there was a sitting place for like regular participants or members. There is also an additional room that is like a cubicle that people that have children sit there and also elderly people sit there because they might need to use the restroom and the children cry. The room is mainly for individuals that could cause distractions in the ceremony. There is also another room for people that want to make a confession or talk about their sins. In the front of the people there is like a small stage that a person talks about the topics of the day. Next to him there are 2 wooden stands for people to go and read verses of the bible. There are also chairs with tables like is one table on one side and the other table on the other side. Usually women give presentations of preaching that specifies a topic like for example they train or present how to approach another person and explain to them the bible. On the outside the place was gated and there were plants and gravel to decorate