Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

Talmud

Jewish religious leaders are called

rabbis. They are responsible for

teaching and explaining the

laws of Judaism. They study

two holy books: the Talmud

(right) and the Torah,

which is kept as a scroll. The

Talmud contains instructions

for following a Jewish way of

life and understanding

Jewish laws.

299

Synagogue

Jews worship in the synagogue. Prayer, study, and special

family occasions, such as weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs

(the celebrations of children becoming adult Jews), take place

here. a minyan (quorum of 10 males) is required to formally

recite Kaddish (memorial prayers) and read from the Torah.

During prayers, Jewish

men wear a tallith, or

prayer shawl, over

their shoulders.

The Talmud

contains

instructions for

following the

Jewish way of life.

Yom Kippur (day of

atonement) Tenth day

of new year; holiest of

festivals, with 24 hours

of fasting.

Purim (Feast of lots)

early spring festival.

Passover (Pesach) eight-

day spring festival.

Shavuot (Feast of

Weeks) Harvest festival

in the early summer.

Rosh Hashanah (new

year) early fall.

Sukkoth (Feast of

Tabernacles) nine-day

fall festival.

Hanukkah (Festival of

lights) eight-day

winter festival.

THe HiSTory oF THe JeWiSH PeoPle and of their religion,

Judaism, are closely linked. all Jews believe in one god who, more than

4,000 years ago, made a special agreement with their ancestor, abraham.

They were to become god’s chosen people. in return, they promised to

obey his laws and worship no other gods. Jews believe that a messiah, god’s

messenger, will one day come to transform the world into a better place

and to restore the ancient Jewish kingdom that was destroyed in the

6th century bce. Judaism aims for a just and peaceful life for all people on

earth. Jewish scriptures explain that to achieve this aim, correct behavior is

very important. orthodox Jews—those who interpret the scriptures very

strictly—obey many rules about their day-to-day activities, including how to

dress and what to eat. For example, they do not eat pork or shellfish. many

Jews, however, are not orthodox and apply the rules less strictly. For all Jews,

Hebrew is the language of worship. it is also the national language of israel,

the Jewish homeland. However, Jews live and

work all over the world, speaking many

different languages. Their strong

family life and the laws that

guide them unite them

wherever they live.

JewiSH feStivalS

ToraH

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible—

the Torah (left)—contain the laws of

Judaism and the early history of the

Jewish people. other sections of the

Hebrew Bible contain the psalms, the

words of the prophets, and other holy

writings. For Jews, the Torah is the

most important of books.

Find out more

israel

middle east

religions

Judaism

Jews light candles in a

menorah, or branched

candlestick, during

Hanukkah.

Jewish men

wear a skull

cap called a

yarmulke or

kipa.

US_299_Judaism.indd 299 21/01/16 5:02 pm