1. In Judaism, what is the role of revelation?
The concept of revelation is extremely important to the Jews. When broken down, everything they believe is based on one revelation or another. The definition of a revelation is "the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world."(Macintosh Dashboard Dictionary) To Jews, these revelations come mainly in the form of actions, things God does that let them know something they previously did not. The most prominent example of God providing revelation through action is the Jewish Exodus, when the Jews were liberated from the grasp of Egypt. The Jews saw this as hard-core proof that God existed and had chosen them as his people, for they could not have pulled off the large scale escape and random unification of a scattered group without any sort of Godly intervention. More than the existence of God, it also brought forth his goodness, power, and concern for humans. Just as one thing leads to another, one revelation does the same and it soon became clear what God wanted from Humans. Revelation is the manner in which the Jews have discovered everything that makes up their religion.
2. What is the concept of the "chosen people" in Judaism
The concept of chosen people in Judaism is less pretentious than it initially appears. One could take it as the Jews thinking that they hold a special place in God's heart or that they are elevated above the rest of humanity, however to the Jews, "chosen" holds a different meaning. It means they have been chosen as a vector for God's lessons and a connecting line between God and the rest of humanity. The Jews serve God and suffer for him so that all of man kind may see the right path, they are, in a sense, the chosen sacrifices of the earth.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
TWR 2
1. In Judaism, what is the meaning of suffering?
Smith describes suffering as "God's way of underscoring the demand for righteousness." In Judaism, the main sources of group suffering have been the two exiles from Jerusalem. The Jews viewed this as a punishment from God. God created the suffering by having Jerusalem's enemies exile it's people because they had stepped off the path at some point and they needed to learn their lesson. This aspect of suffering has a historic/savior-esque telt to it, because in some instances, God imposes one big suffering in order to teach a longstanding lesson to be passed through generations. This prevents future generations from having to endure the pains of their ancestors. This view serves several different purposes: one, it glorifies God, strengthening his image as the Almighty,two, it protects the faith of the Jewish people, for had they accepted their exile as an act of their enemies God, it would have derailed their belief system and three, it weeds out the faithful, those who are devout enough to endure the suffering because it is God's will.
2. In Judaism, what is the meaning in Messianism?
The simplified version of the meaning behind the Messianic idea is that it gives the Jewish people a hopeful motivation. The views of the western world were largely formed based on the influences of the Jews, giving the west this idea that life can always improve. This train of thought was very important to Jews because, as they were so oppressed by the surrounding nations, if they were to believe that things could only get worse, their faith would either be shaken or become pointless. As Smith puts it, "Underdogs only have one direction to look, and it was the upward tilt of the Jewish imagination that eventually led the West to conclude that the conditions of life as a whole might improve." The literal meaning of the word Messiah is someone who is anointed or elevated, a title of honor originally for kings and priests, however the word evolved to describe a person who would restore the Jews to their former glory.
Messianism embodied three ideas after it became a fully developed concept, hope, national restoration and world upgrade. These ideas were presented in several forms. Some believed in an actual messiah while others believed God would come directly to earth and restore the world and some foresaw a time of apocalypse where the world would be destroyed before the restoration could occur. In any case, the basic idea of hope for a better time for the Jewish people, a return to their homeland, is the backbone of the messianic idea.
3. In Judaism, what is meant by the "hallowing of life"?
The Hallowing of Life is the conviction that all life and everything is part of God and therefore holy in one way or another. All life is part of God and therefore Hallowed. The hallowing, however, also includes a way to show reverence for this ever connected holiness. The rituals help to remind people of the glory of God and the magnificence of his creation. These rituals can also help people through tough times as well as bolster the pleasure of the good ones. While these rituals may seem strange and or pointless to the secular observer, the Jews find two important reasons to keep practicing them. First, in the eyes of Judaism, to fulfill a ritual holds more meaning than verbally professing their reverence for God. Smith compares this idea to love, "Is love better expressed through words or an embrace?" Second, within these rituals lies the meaning of life itself. To practice is to honor and acknowledge centuries of God's great works and shows.
Smith describes suffering as "God's way of underscoring the demand for righteousness." In Judaism, the main sources of group suffering have been the two exiles from Jerusalem. The Jews viewed this as a punishment from God. God created the suffering by having Jerusalem's enemies exile it's people because they had stepped off the path at some point and they needed to learn their lesson. This aspect of suffering has a historic/savior-esque telt to it, because in some instances, God imposes one big suffering in order to teach a longstanding lesson to be passed through generations. This prevents future generations from having to endure the pains of their ancestors. This view serves several different purposes: one, it glorifies God, strengthening his image as the Almighty,two, it protects the faith of the Jewish people, for had they accepted their exile as an act of their enemies God, it would have derailed their belief system and three, it weeds out the faithful, those who are devout enough to endure the suffering because it is God's will.
2. In Judaism, what is the meaning in Messianism?
The simplified version of the meaning behind the Messianic idea is that it gives the Jewish people a hopeful motivation. The views of the western world were largely formed based on the influences of the Jews, giving the west this idea that life can always improve. This train of thought was very important to Jews because, as they were so oppressed by the surrounding nations, if they were to believe that things could only get worse, their faith would either be shaken or become pointless. As Smith puts it, "Underdogs only have one direction to look, and it was the upward tilt of the Jewish imagination that eventually led the West to conclude that the conditions of life as a whole might improve." The literal meaning of the word Messiah is someone who is anointed or elevated, a title of honor originally for kings and priests, however the word evolved to describe a person who would restore the Jews to their former glory.
Messianism embodied three ideas after it became a fully developed concept, hope, national restoration and world upgrade. These ideas were presented in several forms. Some believed in an actual messiah while others believed God would come directly to earth and restore the world and some foresaw a time of apocalypse where the world would be destroyed before the restoration could occur. In any case, the basic idea of hope for a better time for the Jewish people, a return to their homeland, is the backbone of the messianic idea.
3. In Judaism, what is meant by the "hallowing of life"?
The Hallowing of Life is the conviction that all life and everything is part of God and therefore holy in one way or another. All life is part of God and therefore Hallowed. The hallowing, however, also includes a way to show reverence for this ever connected holiness. The rituals help to remind people of the glory of God and the magnificence of his creation. These rituals can also help people through tough times as well as bolster the pleasure of the good ones. While these rituals may seem strange and or pointless to the secular observer, the Jews find two important reasons to keep practicing them. First, in the eyes of Judaism, to fulfill a ritual holds more meaning than verbally professing their reverence for God. Smith compares this idea to love, "Is love better expressed through words or an embrace?" Second, within these rituals lies the meaning of life itself. To practice is to honor and acknowledge centuries of God's great works and shows.
Monday, December 7, 2009
TWR 1
1. In Judaism what is the meaning in history?
History holds a special importance in Judaism. First of all, in Judaism, God is active in the lives of the Hebrews, therefore it is important for the Jews to keep and acknowledge a record of God's interventions. God is timeless and therefore was and will be involved in everything, making it nonsensical to denounce history as unimportant because if God was involved, it must have some significance. History is also has an obvious contextual importance helping to define the Biblical Characters within their place in the chronology of Judaic history (and subsequently what their cause and effect was on the story).
2. In Judaism what is the meaning in morality?
In Judaism, there are 4 areas which are considered to be dangerous in terms of morality. These four zones are force, sex, wealth, and speech. All four are a form of some kind of social interaction and Judaic Law (613 Commandments) aims to monitor these social interactions. If all laws are met, then one would be considered to be 'moral.' Therefore, morality has a large importance in Judaism because God mandates it and it is another way to show devotion.
3. In Judaism what is the meaning of Justice?
Justice in Judaism is defined by God, ultimately. If the people are acting just, they are behaving in a manner which God approves of. Justice can be represented through many ways in Judaism. The prophets imparted justice direct from God to the people, an important deed because it impacted the flow of history depending on whether or not the justice was upheld. God imparted justice as well, straight to the Hebrew People. When nations expanded and imposed their rule upon Jerusalem, the Jews saw it as God administering justice because they had violated the laws.
Justice is given the utmost importance in Judaism as demonstrated through the prophets dealings with kings and unjust rulers of the land as well as the unjust groups of the land. In these conflicts, the just one always prevails, demonstrating that regardless of social class (king, rich, peasant), everyone must adhere to the just ways of the Lord, it is the highest point in the order of hierarchy.
Given this, justice is an extremely important and ever prevalent concept in Judaism.
History holds a special importance in Judaism. First of all, in Judaism, God is active in the lives of the Hebrews, therefore it is important for the Jews to keep and acknowledge a record of God's interventions. God is timeless and therefore was and will be involved in everything, making it nonsensical to denounce history as unimportant because if God was involved, it must have some significance. History is also has an obvious contextual importance helping to define the Biblical Characters within their place in the chronology of Judaic history (and subsequently what their cause and effect was on the story).
2. In Judaism what is the meaning in morality?
In Judaism, there are 4 areas which are considered to be dangerous in terms of morality. These four zones are force, sex, wealth, and speech. All four are a form of some kind of social interaction and Judaic Law (613 Commandments) aims to monitor these social interactions. If all laws are met, then one would be considered to be 'moral.' Therefore, morality has a large importance in Judaism because God mandates it and it is another way to show devotion.
3. In Judaism what is the meaning of Justice?
Justice in Judaism is defined by God, ultimately. If the people are acting just, they are behaving in a manner which God approves of. Justice can be represented through many ways in Judaism. The prophets imparted justice direct from God to the people, an important deed because it impacted the flow of history depending on whether or not the justice was upheld. God imparted justice as well, straight to the Hebrew People. When nations expanded and imposed their rule upon Jerusalem, the Jews saw it as God administering justice because they had violated the laws.
Justice is given the utmost importance in Judaism as demonstrated through the prophets dealings with kings and unjust rulers of the land as well as the unjust groups of the land. In these conflicts, the just one always prevails, demonstrating that regardless of social class (king, rich, peasant), everyone must adhere to the just ways of the Lord, it is the highest point in the order of hierarchy.
Given this, justice is an extremely important and ever prevalent concept in Judaism.
Friday, December 4, 2009
YOLB: Month 7
1. Yossi tells Jacobs that he is on thin ice because he is not fulfilling the full requirements of religion. He looks at the bible as a self help book when really, according to Yossi, it is a guide to serving God. Yossi tells the story of the two men who pray, one sits in his office (like he does all the time) and prays for 20 minutes and feels good about himself, the other is rushing around, really busy, and takes 5 minutes to pray in a closet. Yossi says that the hurried frantic one did the better thing because he sacrificed his valuable time to serve God, while the other had the time and did it to boost his own spirits. This latter one is analogous to Jacobs, trying to benefit himself through religion, not really serving God.
**Side note, I find this disturbing because nobody can tell what God really wants, therefore, how you would serve him is up to interpretation. This gives way to the justification of terrible things in order to "serve God" however one may think that should be done. In other words, i disagree with Yossi and think that Jacobs is on the right track with the self help approach.
2. Jacobs realization is that God, if he did all the things the bible says he does, is truly amazing. He compares himself and his creation of an article for Esquire and how proud he was of his work, with God's creation of EVERYTHING. He realizes that God is truly great and lets out a "Praise God." He cures himself of his awkwardness towards the God praising parts of the bible, the parts he thought were always too over the top with his realization and determines that God doesn't necessarily want you to praise him to boost his ego, but rather to take you out of yourself and look at the big picture, and thus, Jacobs becomes comfortable with praising God.
**Side note, I find this disturbing because nobody can tell what God really wants, therefore, how you would serve him is up to interpretation. This gives way to the justification of terrible things in order to "serve God" however one may think that should be done. In other words, i disagree with Yossi and think that Jacobs is on the right track with the self help approach.
2. Jacobs realization is that God, if he did all the things the bible says he does, is truly amazing. He compares himself and his creation of an article for Esquire and how proud he was of his work, with God's creation of EVERYTHING. He realizes that God is truly great and lets out a "Praise God." He cures himself of his awkwardness towards the God praising parts of the bible, the parts he thought were always too over the top with his realization and determines that God doesn't necessarily want you to praise him to boost his ego, but rather to take you out of yourself and look at the big picture, and thus, Jacobs becomes comfortable with praising God.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
YOLB: Month 6
1. Jacobs fond the red heifer to be potentially dangerous because he believes it would be the catalyst to a self fulfilling prophecy know as the end times. He fears that if the red heifer is found or genetically engineered or bred, then some of the ultra-religious Jews will see it as permission to "come home" to Jerusalem and build the Third Temple on top of the Dome of the Rock. This could cause massive wars between nations which do have nuclear weaponry and bring upon us the end times.
His hangup with the apocalyptic texts is that he does not believe the Bible actually predicts how the end will come. He thinks it is jumping the gun to predict what happens in the apocalypse. He notes that some take these texts ultra-literally and others believe none of it should be taken literally because it was written for a specific time period. He uses a quote saying that taking the Apocalyptic texts literally would be missing the point, like taking Aesop's fables to be literal truth.
2. He references this verse when comparing himself to the Israelite Hypocrites. He is still praying and praising God, but (at the time) his heart had sort of fallen out of the spirit of things. He was merely going through the motions of religious life without being truly religious. He had begun to question the times he had felt close to God in body and soul and was therefore not being devout, just putting up a front.
3. Jacobs compares the Bible to Wikipedia because it is a collaborative piece of work, edited by many rather than the single authors for each book some seem to believe in. I do agree with this take on the bible and would probably take it a step further. It was indeed edited and composed by men, not divine prophetic authors, and that gives the "word of God" an air of mortality, subject to mistakes. However, I would take it a step further and say that there is more room for error because not only is the bible like Wikipedia, a collaborative work of men, it is a Wiki page translated through numerous religions and dialects and taken out of the context of it's time.
His hangup with the apocalyptic texts is that he does not believe the Bible actually predicts how the end will come. He thinks it is jumping the gun to predict what happens in the apocalypse. He notes that some take these texts ultra-literally and others believe none of it should be taken literally because it was written for a specific time period. He uses a quote saying that taking the Apocalyptic texts literally would be missing the point, like taking Aesop's fables to be literal truth.
2. He references this verse when comparing himself to the Israelite Hypocrites. He is still praying and praising God, but (at the time) his heart had sort of fallen out of the spirit of things. He was merely going through the motions of religious life without being truly religious. He had begun to question the times he had felt close to God in body and soul and was therefore not being devout, just putting up a front.
3. Jacobs compares the Bible to Wikipedia because it is a collaborative piece of work, edited by many rather than the single authors for each book some seem to believe in. I do agree with this take on the bible and would probably take it a step further. It was indeed edited and composed by men, not divine prophetic authors, and that gives the "word of God" an air of mortality, subject to mistakes. However, I would take it a step further and say that there is more room for error because not only is the bible like Wikipedia, a collaborative work of men, it is a Wiki page translated through numerous religions and dialects and taken out of the context of it's time.
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