Caveat: Rabbi Donin has excellent scholarly information on matters Jewish. When he writes about the non-Jewish world, and particularly non-Jewish religions, as he does in this chapter, he is frequently guilty of bias and inaccuracies. These passages damage, but do not destroy, the utility of the book as a sourcebook on Judaism. I will point out where his statements are inaccurate or questionable. . GFMurray

Describe the origin of the words Hebrew, Israelite, and Jew.

Israel was once divided into two kingdoms: the kingdom of _______ in the north and the Kingdom of _______ in the south. Tradition has it that 10 of the 12 tribes became “lost tribes” when _________ was conquered in the year ________.

European Jews developed a language called _______ based on ______. Jews from Spain developed a language called ________.

Abraham is traditionally believed to have lived about __________ ago.

There are three biblical references given justifying the notion of the “chosen people”. “You shall be a kingdom of ______ and a ________.” “Through you (Abraham) and your descendants will _____________.” “….you did God choose to be unto him a ___________.” On p. 11 Donin gives three ways that the Jew obeys the command to serve God. What are they? What according to tradition is the special role assigned by God to Jews vis-à-vis other nations in the world?

In what book of the Torah is it said that God gave the land of Israel to the Jews? The land of Israel was originally the land of ______. The Jerusalem temple was located on a mountain that God specifically chose, Mount _______. According to tradition, the Israelites conquered the land of Canaan about _______ B.C.E. According to Donin, in what subsequent period was the land temporarily devoid of any Jews? The First Temple was destroyed in the year ______ B.C.E. by _________, which was itself conquered by __________ in the year _______ B.C.E. The Jews rebuilt the Second Temple which was then destroyed in the year _______ C.E. by _______.

Between the destruction of the Second Temple and the founding of the State of Israel, six foreign powers are listed as having occupied Israel. Know them in the proper order. The _________ century movement by Jews to return to Israel is called _________.

The word “Messiah” is derived from the verb meaning _______. What three things is the Messiah supposed to accomplish? How is the founding of the State of Israel believed by some to relate to the Messianic era? The word Zion is used as a poetic synonym for _____.

The central prayer that Jews pray three times a day and that prays for a return to Israel is called _______. Tisha B’Av refers to ____________. Why is a glass broken by the groom at a Jewish wedding? The special meal on Passover is called a _____. It’s final prayer is _______. Israelis recaptured the Temple Mount in the _________ War in the year ________. It had been controlled by ______ ever since the year ________. About _______ (how many?) Jews fled Europe after the Holocaust to come to Israel. About _________ Jews fled Arab countries and came to Israel? How do American Jews who move to Israel differ in their motives from these earlier migrations?

(Comment by Prof. Murray) Donin says (p. 18) that “the Christian religious establishment” maintained silence in the Holocaust. This is a veiled allusion to the Catholic Church and Pope Pius XII. Donin’s statement reflects widespread inaccuracies that began spreading in the 1960’s. During and after the Holocaust Pius XII was lavishly praised by Jews and non-Jews as being the only figure in Europe that was combating Nazism and protecting Jews. His now well-documented interventions (most of them strategically silent and behind the scenes) may have saved half a million Jews – much more than Schindler and Wallenberg who are now recognized as heroes in Israel. The myth of the “silent Church” and “Hitler’s Pope” is still propagated in America by the descendants of people who, unlike Pius XII, did nothing themselves for Jews (or fellow Jews) during the Holocaust. The myth has been soundly refuted most recently by historian and Rabbi David Dalen and his book The Myth of Hitler’s Pope (published 2005). Donin’s error on this matter is simply a data-less regurgitation of anti-Vatican inaccuracies that have now become part of the conventional wisdom of many observers, both Christian and Jewish, hostile to the pre-Vatican-II Catholic Church. It is unfortunate that Donin sullied his excellent book on Judaism by a gratuitous and inaccurate swipe at another religion. He does this in several parts of the book. It’s still a good book! But: caveat lector (let the reader beware), particularly when the Rabbi makes statements about non-Jews and their religions. (GFMurray)

On p. 20 Donin makes a case for what would today be called “Intelligent Design”. What is his argument? He points out that God is the God of all humans but that the term “God of Israel” is justified because of the special ___________. Donin says that all humans must be slaves to something. The phrase that implies slavery to God’s commands is referred to as the _____________.

According to tradition the Torah was given at ________. This happened ______ weeks after the escape from Egypt. What is the Pentateuch? What is the Oral Torah? When was it written down? The written version of the Oral Torah is called _______. The debates and commentaries about it are referred to as ______. The multi-volume work that combines the Oral Torah plus later commentaries is called _______. Anthropologists would generally say that the Torah is an expression, not of God’s revelation to humans, but as humans reaching out to God. What is Donin’s reaction to that (p. 25)

What is a Torah scroll in common Jewish speech? Where is it kept.

The Hebrew Bible is composed of the Torah, the _________, and the _________. (Know both the English and Hebrew terms.) The acronym for this is _________

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Halakha: The Jewish Way

The overall term for Jewish law is _______. It is related to the verb “to _____” The law theoretical or philosophical but ______and _____. Judaism provides guidelines not only to religious practice but also to _____. The conceptual truths of Judaism have to be translated into ________. Another word for commandments is _______.

What would Donin answer to the Christian critique that the ‘letter of the law kills” but that the spirit enlivens? (p. 31) In Donin’s view, there is one opinion which removes somebody from “the legitimate boundaries of Judaism”? What is that opinion? What is the name given to the process by which many Jews throw away the observances and lead the life of the people around them? This would lead to total disappearance of Judaism were it not for one other factor that keeps Jewish identity alive even among people who do not observe laws. What is this other factor?

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The Reasons for the Commandments

Rabbinic authorities agree generally on the commandments. Do they agree on the reasons for the commandments? The commandments for which humans can find no reason are called _______. Observance of commandments __________ humans. All of Judaism can be seen as a concern with the sanctification of ______, _____, and ____

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Kindness: A Means and an End

The term for kindness in Judaism is ________. Hillel was a Rabbi who was alive at the time of Jesus of Nazareth. What rule did both of them agree on? Maimonedes is a major Jewish Rabbi in the middle ages. What did he say about a Jew who was cruel to others? When asked about the difference between Jews and non-Jews, what answer did ancient Rabbis tend to give? Two types of violation are contrasted. What are they and which is more serious? On what day of the year do Jews seek forgiveness from violations of ethical offenses against others? What is required to achieve such forgiveness?

Who is it that commits Desecration of the Divine Name? The command to “imitate God” concerns primarily the command to imitate God’s _________. What is the attitude of Scripture toward ritual observances by persons who mistreat others? Three Prophets are mentioned in the chapter. Who are they? What was the major criticism of the Prophets?

To save a life Jews may violate certain laws. But there are four offenses that may never be committed, even to save a life. What are they? “The love of God ________ the love of man.”

If you don’t know a person well, what is the rule governing visiting a sick person? What vice is represented by the “evil eye”? By the “evil inclination”? How are the highly religious most likely to engage in “hatred of mankind”? What is the common Jewish word for “charity” – i.e. gifts to the poor? Would the obligation to give charity apply to someone who so poor as to be receiving charity from others? What percentage of your income are you supposed to give as charity? Before or after taxes? What does Jewish law seem to say about giving to a homeless beggar? Suppose you accompany your giving with a stern lecture to the recipient? How many “levels of charity” are recognized? What is the lowest level? What is the highest level? A very high level of charity is a type that is anonymous. How would this apply to somebody who gives money to a charity fund and has his name posted as a large giver?

What are the principles governing gifts to people who prefer to spend all their time learning Torah rather than earning a gainful income? Is it permitted to engage in full time Torah study and depend on others for support? You lend money to someone and the person doesn’t pay it back on time. What is the rule?

What is the Jewish term for “evil tongue”? and what constitutes that sin? Does it matter whether the negative thing said about others is true or false? Who is considered lower: the malicious gossiper or the one who listens willingly to it. Which is worse: stealing from a person or publicly insulting him? Why? “He who shames another in public, it is as though he ________.” What is the relationship between “stealing another’s thoughts” and non-kosher meat. You decide in the silence of your heart to give X amount of charity. You don’t tell anybody. Are you obliged to follow through?

Scripture says “You must pay (a worker) wages on the same day, before the sun sets.” How does this apply to biweekly or monthly wages? You pay a homeless person to wash your car and he accidentally breaks your windshield in front of witnesses. The law says you can sue him. Does Jewish law permit you to sue him? What would the highest act be? You have an eight to five job driving a truck. Are you allowed to moonlight on another job where you drive a truck from 6pm to 2 am?

What does Judaism say about killing animals for medical research? Why? What does Judaism say about hunting? You’re hungry and your cat is hungry. What’s the rule? You’re thirsty and your cat is thirsty. What’s the rule? You have a horse that carries heavy loads as its job. Do you have to let it rest on shabbat? Or does the work prohibition apply only to humans?

Some parents threaten to whip their children with a belt but then pull back. What does Jewish law say about that? You see a roommate preparing sheets to cheat on an exam. Are you supposed to butt in and criticize or to mind your own business?

What is the guiding principle about restrictions such as vegetarianism or total abstention from alcohol? What does the Torah seem to imply about smoking and drug use?

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The Sabbath: An Island in Time

Know the following terms:

birkhat hamazon

hallah

havdalah

Kabbalat Shabbat

kiddush

melakhah

mitzvah and averah

seuda shlishit

Shabbat Shalom

shaharit, minha, maariv

shul

zmirot

The Sabbath is at the center of Jewish religious culture, so much so that it has been depicted as a person in Jewish song and poetry. What two personal images does Donin discuss. Donin says that those who observe the Sabbath from the outside fail to perceive what those who practice the Sabbath perceive, namely, its _____________. Donin points out that the Sabbath is also described in Jewish writings as a type of object. Which? Among American Jewry knowledge of Judaism and the Shabbat is so low that people with the equivalent of a grammar school education in Judaism are considered by fellow-Jews to be _________.

Because the Sabbath is at the core of the entire Jewish religious system, the widespread abandonment of Sabbath observance has triggered off several consequences. Notice the ones which Donin discusses.

Donin claims (without proof) that educated sectors of the ________ world used to criticize the Jews as lazy for taking one day a week off. (Take Donin with a grain of salt on this. As pointed out earlier in the book, his statements about the non-Jewish world are consistently uninformed and biased. His statement about the defective Sabbath-attitudes of the Puritans is equally questionable. It is anthropologically unfortunate that he contaminates his accurate description of Jewish practices with uninformed negative caricatures of the non-Jewish world.)

In the Torah there are two justifications given for the Sabbath. The first is as a memorial of the Seventh Day of creation on which God rested. The second is as a memorial of ________. What is the concept of the “extra soul”?

What clothing and food preparations are made for the Sabbath? Who lights Sabbath candles? May men do it? How does it relate to sundown? Suppose the sun has set? How many candles are lit? Where are they ideally placed? What is hallah and how many of them are required for Friday evening. When does shabbat begin for the woman? For men? What is the usual order of the prayers and the meal? Where do the prayers take place? Some American synagugoes have late services after people have eaten the meal at their home. What does Donin say about that?

What laying on of hands takes place before the Shabbat meal? After the blessing of the children the Sanctification takes place. What is it called in Hebrew. And what is used to do it? During the sanctification, the ____________ on the table have to remain covered.

What ritual act precedes the breaking of the bread and how is it done? How is the bread broken?

What are the zmirot during the meal? How does the meal end?

Torah study is the major recommended activity for Sabbath day. What part of the Torah is read?

The Sabbath morning prayer service in the U.S. takes about ______ hours. In Israel it takes about _______ hours. The reason for the difference is ____________. What are the rules about eating and drinking before the morning prayer service? How many meals are supposed to be eaten on Shabbat?

Sabbath ends at “nightfall”. What is the traditional manner of determinging nightfall? What does “between the suns” refer to? Where does it stand in relation to the end of Shabbat? Why? The further one is from the equator, the time “between the suns” _______.

________ is the special service which is done after the termination of the Sabbath. Three blessings are made in the ceremony, each over a different item. The items are _____, ______, and _______. What does one do to symbolize sadness at the departure of the Sabbath? How does the flame of the havdalah candle have to differ from the sabbath candles, and how is that achieved? What does one do to put the light of the candle to some practical use so a blessing is not made in vain? In the fnal prayer of the ceremony, to separate the Sabbath from the secular day that now begins, it is said that God himself has mandated various separations. After the separation between light and darkness, the next separation mentioned is the separation between _____________.

Despite common misconceptions, the Torah does not forbid “work” on the Sabbath; the Hebrew term for what is actually forbidden is __________. The world is filled with new technologies not present in ancient times. How are decisions made as to whether, for example, driving an automobile or using a computer is permitted on Sabbath?

Which of the following activities would be permitted on the Sabbath according to Donin’s lists on p. 91 and 92?

moving a chair from one part of the room to another

watering house plants

taking an hour walk through your neighborhood.

watching T.V.

tearing a paper towel off a roll

lighting a candle

using a magnifying glass

closing a door

locking a door with a key

putting a kettle to boil on a burner that was lit before shabbat

clearing dirty dishes off the dining room table

writing a check

turning on a light switch

moving a book closer to a light to read it better

jotting down notes as you study Torah

reading comics in yesterday’s newspaper

How does one prepare a “Sabbath stove”?

Why have orthodox rabbis forbidden the use of the automobile on shabbat?

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The dietary laws: A diet for the soul

Know the following terms

kashrut

kosher and trefa

tahor and tamai

shehitah

shohet

Shulchan Aruch

meat, dairy, and parve

What is the root meaning of the word kosher. It is generally used for food. But give examples of how it can be said of objects and even of people. Many people have tried to explain the Jewish pork prohibition as a subtle hygienic measure to protect against the disease of trichonosis. Give evidence that these hygienic considerations could not have given rise to the prohibition. Why is the translation of “clean” and “unclean” problematic in English Bibles?

To understand the food laws in their context, they have to be seen as part of a general orientation toward becoming holy. According to Donin the central element of holiness in Judaism is __________. How do food laws contribute to that general goal?

There are three Jewish customs: not sitting on tables, sprinkling salt on the first morsel of bread eaten at a meal, removing knives from the table before grace after meals. What is the possible origin of these customs? A statement is found in _________ that says that atonement for sins can today come from the table. What is a general rule of conversation for meals in which several persons are together.

Christians are constantly reminded that one is contaminated not by what goes into the mouth but by the words that come out of the mouth. What is the retort found in the book? The Reform movement is quoted (without documentation by Donin) as saying that kashrut laws hinder interaction between Jews and non-Jews. What is the book’s retort? What is the relationship between kashrut and endogamy? Why does the book refer to kashrut laws as “barriers against self-annihilation”? Comparing Judaism to a house, what part of the house are the food laws compared to? Some Jews have a modified version of kashrut in which they keep a kosher kitchen at home but eat like gentiles in restaurants and private homes outside their home. What impact does this have on children? The book criticizes this practice as silliness because people are more worried about ________ than about ______.

In what two books of the Torah are most of the food laws found. In terms of mammals, what two characteristics are required for an animal to be permitted. Which mammals are explicitly permitted in the Torah? What are the two characteristics required for a marine animal to be permittted? How do lobsters, oysters, and shrimp fare under this lens? One sees on the market today “kosher bacon”. What is kosher about it?

An animal like a cow or chicken that is potentially kosher becomes forbidden if it ______ or ______. What ritual requirements concern the killing of fish?

What arguments does the book give for claiming that Jewish slaughter methods are totally humane? Why does Judaism generally not accept modern methods of stunning an animal before slaughter? In addition to minimizing pain, Jewish slaughter regulations achieve another purpose. Which? What is the ritual slaughterer called, and what book of rules details the regulations concerning slaughter?

Even after a permitted animal has been ritually slaughtered, it still has to be “koshered” before it may be eaten. What does the koshering consist of and what are the two ways of doing it? A kosher animal can become trefa if it has some blemish. What part of the body does the shohet examine after slaughter to verify absence of blemishes?

Kashrut strictly forbids the mixing of meat products and milk products. What does parve refer to? Which category do eggs fall in? Fish? With what can parve items be eaten? After you have eaten meat off a plate, how many days do you have to wait before you can use the plate to eat cheese? After you have eaten meat with a fork, how many days do you have to wait before you can use the fork to eat cheese? After eating _____, you have to wait six hours before you can eat _______. The opposite is not true. Why?

If you have only one kitchen sink, how do you wash meat and dairy vessels? If you have used a cloth to dry a meat utensil, can you use the same cloth to dry a dairy utensil? Can a person eat meat at the same table at which another person is eating a cheese omelette? There are vegetable-oil “look-alikes” for bars of butter. If you are serving your Jewish guests meat, can you have one of these look-alikes on the table in a butter dish to spread on bread? The same glass dish, but not a crockery dish, can be used for meat now and dairy later. Why?

What is the major kashrut sign on commercial foods sold U.S. supermarkets?

What is the status of kosher food after it is cooked in a non-kosher pot or frying pan? Bread in ________ may not be eaten without a kashrut certification, but bread in _______ may be safely eaten. Why?

An observant Jew who is traveling can eat, for example, canned tuna even on non-kosher hotel plates with non-kosher utensils. Why? He should probably not do that, however, at a Jewish bar-mitzva whose organizers are serving non-kosher food. Why not?

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Family life: A key to happiness

Warning: As in so many other matters, Donin begins the chapter with a so-called comparison of the “Christian attitude of guilt” toward sex and the “Jewish attitude of holiness”. This is anthropological garbage. There are Christian sources which emphasize the holiness of sex and there are venerable Jewish sources which say that if one enjoys sex instead of thinking about Torah during the act, the offspring will be spiritually damaged. His presentation of Jewish law on these matters is accurate. But his pseudo-comparisons with the non-Jewish world once again document his ignorance of and scorn for that world.

Know the following terms

shalom bayit

niddah

family purity

mikvah

Kaddish

yahrzeit

hinuch

Hebrew Day School (Yeshiva)

a get

taharat hamishpahah

tumah

Jewish marriage is ideally done with the goal of fulfilling the commandment _________. Though they fight about the details, the Rabbis agree that one should minimally have ____ children.

What adjective does the book use to describe homosexuality and sodomy (anal intercourse, whether heterosexual or homosexual)?

A woman menstruating is said to be in a state of __________. The separation between husband and wife usually last about _______ days per month. The book lists four possible advantages of this tradition. What are they? What ritual must be woman perform after her menstrual period before wife and husband can come together again? What is the first thing that some new religious Jewish communities will build, even before a synagogue?

In traditional Jewish law, do parents have the right to forbid a child from leaving home to study? To marry someone of whom they disapprove?

Is there a religious rule to take care of one’s parents in old age? Under what conditions is a woman freed from obligations to her elderly parents? What prayer obligation does a son have to a deceased parent? For how long? What is the death anniversary called?

The Jewish word for education is related to the word _________. How does Jewish teaching about education differ from a secular approach? What kind of Jewish school combines religious and secular education? Besides religious training, what other types of training does the Talmud mandate that parents give their children. What are the principles governing corporal punishment of offspring?

What are the three Biblically imposed duties of a husband toward his wife? What is the principle governing a case where the man desires sex but the woman does not? If a man’s resources are limited, what is the order of priority of his own food, his clothing, and the rights of his wife and children to lodging and clothing. Note on p. 134 the summary of the Jewish ideal of the “woman of valor”. What are the characteristics valued in the woman? How would these be viewed in Gainesville? _______destroys a household like “a worm among sesame seeds”.

What effect does a civil divorce have on a Jewish marriange? What is a get? What is the status of children if a Jewish woman in a valid marriage gets a civil divorce and remarries?

Jewish couples sleep on twin beds rather than double beds. Why? A woman should bathe in the mikvah ___ days after cessation of menses? What clothing does she wear in the mikvah? Impurity is also attributed to the woman after childbirth. After the birth of a son she is impure ________ days, of a daughter _________ days.

In discussing adultery Donin talks about the “unfaithful _______” . What does he say about a married man having sex with an unmarried woman.?

What is a therapeutic abortion? What does Judaism say about it? From what month of pregnancy does Judaism prohibit abortions for convenience or economics. _________.

What does Jewish law say about contraception?

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Signs of the Covenant: Love and reverence

Tallit and Tefilin

Is love a spontaneous feeling, or can one be commanded to love? How many times a day is the Shma Israel (Hear O Israel), with all its preceding and following blessings, said as an obligation? Love of God contrasts with fear of God. What is the Hebrew expression for “fear of God”? How does it differ from the English translation “fear” and from the softer translation of “reverence” .

What are tefilin often called in English? What is a mezuzah? What do tefilin and mezuzot have in common? How do they differ in their placement? How many scriptural texts are in tefilin? How many tefilin are there and where are they placed? What are the three components of tefilin? Women are not obliged to don tefilin. Why not? At what age and at what ceremony do boys start wearing tefilin? What special rule applies to tefilin on shabbat and festivals? Right handed and left handed people have different rules. Explain. At one point when donning tefilin a prayer referring to betrothal between the soul and God is prayed. What part of the body is involved at that moment? At what point in the day do men ordinarily don tefilin?

What is the original meaning of the word mezuzah? What does the word mean today? How many sacred passages are written in a mezuzah? How many mezuzot does a house need? Mezuzot are forbidden to certain rooms. Which? If you are not an owner, but only a tenant of your dwelling, what is the mezuzah rule? You sell your house to a Protestant pastor or a Muslim. He likes the beauty of the mezuzah and insists on it as part of the sale since it’s attached to the house. What do you do?

What are tsitsit? What types of garments are supposed to have fringes attached? At what period in the 24 hour day is one supposed to don garments with fringes? What is the rabbinic explanation for this rule?

What is a tallit? Who wears it and when?

What does “service of the heart” refer to? How does Jewish prayer today differ from in ancient times? What is the major prayer that was instituted in ancient times to give structure and content to daily prayers? How many times a day do Jews pray formally? You should know what shacharit, minchah, and maariv are? What is prayer considered to be a substitute for? How do the different prayers services relate to the three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob?

What is the relationship between morning prayer and eating? What is the central and most essential prayer for all three prayer services? Know the two Hebrew names for the Eighteen Benedictions. What is one’s body position when praying the Amidah? It is forbidden to pray the Amidah standing in front of _________. After the silent praying, the Amidah is repeated in public by the prayer leader except at _____. To symbolize standing in front of the King of Kings, at the end of the Amidah you should _________. How do the rules of prayer differ for women? Why?

What is the Shma Israel? How many times a day is it said? The Shma Israel is not really a prayer, but a _________.

Every week the Torah scroll is taken out and read in synagogues. When? When people are called up to the Torah to give a blessing before and after the reading of a section, they are said to be receiving an __________.

What is a minyan and why is it necessary? In the Orthodox world women and children are not counted in a minyan. What justification is given by Donin? (In Conservative and Reform Judaism, women are counted in the minyan and called to the Torah.)

Besides the blessing before eating bread, there are _______ other blessings for use over different types of food.

What should one do when he hears another person making a berachah over food or over any other matter?

Which form of God’s name is used only when saying the formal prayers? What is the most common substitute when mentioning God in daily conversation.

If Hebrew is not understood, sometimes it is permitted to pray in one’s own language, but other times one must pray in Hebrew even if one does not understand it. When does each rule apply? How has this rule helped keep the unity of the Jewish people? Read Donin’s arguments against the notion of praying in local languages and against the notion that one should pray only when the spirit moves one.

What is the name for the Hebrew prayer book?

What connection does Donin draw between Roman slavery and the practice of Jewish males to keep their heads covered? Have Jewish men always covered their heads? What are the Yiddish and Hebrew names for the skullcap traditionally worn by men? What is the special religious significance of the skullcap as opposed to a baseball cap or other hat?

Why in ancient times did Jewish men tend to let their beards grow? What modern invention has permitted men to shave beards without violating Halachah? Why do the young people of some Hassidic communities have dangling side curls?

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The Synagogue: Where Jews assemble

The word synagogue comes from a ______ word meaning place of ______. The Hebrew term is beit ________. The term beit midrash, which is often connected to the synagogue, refers to a place of _______. The word for “school” in Hebrew is today beit sefer, or “House of the Book.” It was originally the name for a place where children studied _______. (Note in this passage a list of the essential library of Judaism, which every synagogue was supposed to have in its Beit Midrash: the bible with a commentary by the famous commentator ______, the Oral Torah referred to as Mishna or Mishnayot in the plural, the Mishna in Hebrew plus the Gemara, its commentaries in Aramaic, referred to collectively as ______, the writings of Maimonides, also referred to as the Rambam, and a famous organized codification of Jewish Law referred to as the Shulchan Aruch, or “the Set Table.”

The synagogue can also be the place where local rabbinic courts can function. Such a local court is referred to as a ____________. (Today they are generally separate from the synagogue.) In times past there was a centralized Supreme Religious Court that had authority over all Jews of all places. This was referred to as the ________.

The central activity of the synagogue today is prayer. But there are three other functions that it fills. Which? How many rabbis does a synagogue need to function? In Europe and North America, except for the country ______, each synagogue is autonomous. There is no central governing body of synagogues. Synagogue rabbis are usually chosen by and paid by _______. Any Jew may worship in any synagogue, but to be a member of a synagogue, one must __________. Christian churches generally collect money by passing the plate during the major weekly services. Why is this not done in Judaism on the Saturday morning services? Non-members may pray in any synagogue at any time except on three days of the year on which, in most American synagogues, money is charged. These days are ______.

The strength of the local Jewish synagogue is usually dependent on the strength of the local Jewish _______. Four reasons are given that even non-religious Jews may become members of a synagogue. What are they?

Repentance in Judaism is generally referred to as teshuvah. It is from the Hebrew verb which means to _______. The word Diaspora is used frequently in the chapter. Be sure you know what it means.

Paradoxically synagogues in Israel tend to be much more restricted in their activities than synagogues outside of Israel. Why?

English speaking Jews, instead of saying “I’m going to the synagogue”, may say “I’m going to ______.”

To have a complete prayer service, traditional synagogues require the presence of _____ adult Jewish males, at least _______ of whom are actively participating in the service.

Even within the traditional Jewish world, two different traditions of worship have arisen: one in Europe, and one in Spain and around the Mediterranean seacoast. They are referred to as _______ and _______. The differences arose in part because European Jews followed the traditions of the rabbis in _______, and the Mediterranean Jews followed the traditions of the rabbis in ________.

Be sure to know the function of the following items found in most traditional synagogues: aron kodesh, parochet, sefer torah, bimah, amud, ner tamid, menorah, ezrat nashim, mechitsah. What is the basic rule concerning the north-south-east-west orientation of synagogues? What is the basic restriction concerning decorative art inside modern synagogues?

The process of semikhah makes someone ______. Know (in three or four words) what the basic functions are of the following persons in a synagogue: a chazzan, a shaliach tsibur, a shamash, a baal koreh, and a gabbai.

The word kohen (plural kohanim) is generally translated in English as ______. What was the major role of the kohen in the Temple? What other role did he play? There are several prohibitions on kohanim that ordinary Jews do not have to follow. Mention two of them. What event led to the loss of authority on the part of the kohanim? Even today there are two things which only a kohen can do. What are they? It is believed in traditional circles that the kohen’s ancient roles will be restored when ________.

The ritual of Priestly Benediction is generally referred to by the term ________. Observe the wording of the prayer (p. 200). Donin says that the kohen is never said to bless the people, but only God. Is he totally correct? In Donin’s words, the priest who imparts a blessing is not an intermediary but rather a ________ of divine favor.

You are in a synagogue where the general level of observance by the members is low. Can a kohen give a blessing if he has cheated on his income tax? is a murderer? regularly violates Shabbat? had sex with his wife in the last 24 hours? had sex with his neighbor’s wife in the last week? had sex with his sister’s husband? intoxicated? divorced? married to a divorced woman? bald? wearing an earring? missing an arm or leg?

The rules for the Priestly Benediction are different in Israel from in the Diaspora. What is the difference?

The kohen about to impart the blessing has regulations concerning his hands and feet. What are they? What is the congregation supposed to do during the Priestly Blessing. What special privilege does a kohen receive with respect to being called to the Torah?