Religion is a defining factor of every community. Members In a particular community believe their lives and activities are guided by a supreme being. They belief that the Supreme Being is capable of controlling their undertakings, lives as well as their moral behavior. Religion has been a major factor in ensuring the society is in harmony. However, the differences occur when a particular group has a different belief from another. For instance, religious beliefs of Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Atenism are not the same. In order to have a harmonious society, it is essential to compare and contrast the religious beliefs of Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Atenism in order to enhance one’s knowledge about a Supreme Being and moral obligation.
Atenism in ancient Egypt was the worship of god Aten. Aten god was represented in form of a sun. In the 14th century, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV wanted to consolidate the Egyptian gods to one. Atenism and Judaism share some similarities because before the Hebrews left Egypt, they copied many aspects of Atenism into their own religion. For instance, Moses’ idea of having monotheism was from Atenism.
Zoroastrianism just like Atenism and Judaism was monotheistic. Zoroastrianism and Judaism had a prophetic figure that was believed to mediate between God and people. Forinstance, in Judaism there was Prophet Moses and in Zoroastrianism there was Prophet Zarathustra. Different from Atenism, Judaism and Zoroastrianism belief their God has an ethical preference. They believe that their God is flawless and a perfect God. Judaism and Zoroastrianism have specific religious attires and head-covering that defines their dedication to the worship of God. For example, the Zoroastrians wear shirt (sedreh) and a kushti (girdle).The Jews on their part clad in a fringed garment (tallit).
Even though Atenism and Judaism share the same idea of one god, Aten is not grounded on moral preferences. Moreover, it was not established similarly as Judaism. For instance, In Judaism, God says that he will make many people to be priests so that they can represent him on earth. In Atenism, king Akhenaten claimed to be a mediator between human beings and (Aten Interfaif 1).
Judaism is different from Zoroastrianism because the Jews believe that the purpose of life is to enjoy life, love their God and make the world a better place to live. On the other hand, the Zoroastrians believe that they were created to serve their deity by showing good deeds to others and to listen to God’s guidance. Another difference is that every Jew is supposed to do good and leave what is bad while in Zoroastrianism, human beings have equality ability to be bad or good. In considering the prayers, the Zoroastrians pray five times in a day while the Jews pray three times a day (Diffen1).
In conclusion, Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Atenism share the same belief of one God. Even though there are many debates in which one religion influenced the other, they were able to define the behaviors of the people. Zoroastrianism on its part was not able to effectively define the ethical obligations of the people as it lasted for twenty years. Judaism claims that every person is responsible for his or her actions. Zoroastrianism on its part says that human beings have an equal ability to do bad or good.
Work Cited
Diffen, ‘Judaism vs Zoroastrianism’ n.d. Web 28 September 2019. https://www.diffen.com/difference/Judaism_vs_Zoroastrianism
Interfaif, ‘Was Atenism monotheism? 25 July ,2012. Web 28 September 2019. https://www.interfaith.org/community/threads/15582/
Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion of Abrahamic faiths. The devotees of Judaism are called Jews.
The terms of Judaism and Jew where inferred from the word ‘Judah’ which was the name of the fourth of the twelve sons of Jacob. Jews are also called Hebrews and Israelite. They are called Hebrews because they are descendants of Abraham who was called a Hebrew. They are moreover called Israelites because they are descendants of Jacob who was called Israel. Abraham and Moses are considered the founder of Judaism. It was Abraham that God made a covenant that would define the relationship of Jews with God and it was through Moses that God made his commandments known to the people. The specific rules that God wanted his people to obey for their part of the covenant.
There are other bible and other sacred writings in Judaism which is divided into the primary and the supplementary ones. The primary one are those found in the Hebrew bible, known in Hebrew Bible as the Tanakh which name is actually an acronym of Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim. The supplementary ones are called the Talmud which is a compilation of ancient teachings regarded as sacred and normative by Jews from the time it was compiled until modern times and still so regarded by traditional religious Jews and Midrash which is a mode of biblical interpretation prominent in the Talmudic literature. Another sacred writing in Judaism is the Torah which is the set of laws that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. Next sacred writing is the Nevi’im and Ketuvim. The Nevi’im has a total of 22 book which was named after its respective prophet. The Kethuvim are generally based on human knowledge and experiences. Next is The Talmud, consisting of the Mishnah and Gemara. And last is The Midrash.
The Judaism has its basic doctrines. First is The 613 Mitzvot, it is the rules or commandments that the Jews believes. The Monotheism the Jewish belief in an afterlife is called Olam Ha-Ba, translated as “The World to Come”. The Messianic Age, the Jews believe in the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection of the righteous dead. The Messiah, from the Hebrew word mashiach which kiterally means “theannointed one”, is conceived by some Jews as a human being, not a god or demigod, who will be a great political and military leader.
In the early years, the Jews faced some major challenges: Anti-Semitism, Holocaust, and the Zionism. The Anti-Semitism is a negative attitude towards the Jews. A person who holds such an attitude is called an anti-Semite. Some prejudice led to the persecutions of the Jews. Some of the major persecutions were the following. First is when the Jews were forced to embraced the Greek gods when the Kingdom of Judah or Judea fell under the Seleucid Empire of Babylonia. Second is that thousands of Jews were killed during the series of Crusades: the First Crusade, Second Crusade, and Shepherds’ Crusade. Crusades were military expeditions organized by western Christians to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims and to prevent the spread of Islam but the crusaders killed many in Jews in Jerusalem. Third is that the Jews were blamed for the Black Death Epidemic. It is were suspected of poisoning the wells which caused the disease. Hundreds of Jews were killed because of this. Fourth is were thousands of Jews were massacred during political conflicts and Jews were expelled from their place in Yemen to the arid coastal plain of Tihamah. And lastly the Holocaust were six millions of Jews were killed by a German Nazis during World War II. The Zionism.
Judaism has its rituals and major festivals that they still did upto this day. These are the Daily prayers were Jewish males observe three daily prayers services during the day – in morning, afternoon, and evening. When making their prayers either in their home or synagogue, they must face the direction of the site of the temple in Jerusalem. The Sabbath Day that occurs every sunset on Friday and sunset on Saturday. This is the most sacred week for the Jews, dedicated solely to prayer and rest from the usual everyday activities. The Circumcision and Rite of Passage, it is were the male infants are circumcised on the eight day after their birth. When the boys reach the age of 13, they undergo a rite-of-passage ceremony that marks their entry to adulthood. They called them “bar mitzvah”. In girls, they undergo the same rituals when they reach the age of 12. They called it “bat mitzvah”.
It is safe to safe that a majority of people would not complain if it were possible for the world’s population to coexist in complete harmony and tranquility. However, at this point in time that is just not possible, and it has not been possible for quite some time. Throughout history there has been a trend where one group of people single out and persecute another group of people simply because of their differences. African slaves, Native American, and Muslims during the Crusades are just a few examples of this phenomenon, but perhaps the most famous and oldest example of hated people are the Jewish people. The Jews have had to deal with anti semitism for thousands of years and continue to in the present time due to ignorance. No country is innocent in letting anti semitism persist, and both the United Kingdom and Germany can be used to illustrate the ebbs and flows of its existence.
Antisemitism has its roots in the religion that arose directly from Judaism – Christianity. Christianity grew from the Jewish religion, Jesus himself being Jewish, but as the religion developed, it’s followers felt that Christianity replaced Judaism, and therefore viewed the Jews as a dangerous to their religion, and evil. A Roman theologian, Augustine of Hippo, alive in the fourth and fifth centuries AD helped to further consolidate the Christian’s perspective on Jews by introducing the “Witness Theory.” The Witness Theory essentially stated that Christians should not hurt Jews, but only because God created them as an example of non Christian life. This theory boiled down portrays the Jews as a damned people. As stated previously, hatred of the Jewish people has persisted for thousands of years, but the term “antisemitism,” used to describe that hatred is only around 140 years old. A German journalist, Wilhelm Marr, first used the term in a pamphlet in 1879. When breaking down the word, “anti” stands for hatred, “semit” is a term that comes from semitic, which is a group of languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, and Amharic, and finally, “ism” indicates that it is a school of thought or movement. Professor Dan Michman asserts that the term antisemitism stems from an attempt to make anti-Judaism “a more intellectual face and not as something that results from emotions.” Use of this emotional reasoning to persecute Jewish people can be seen throughout the history of England?
In 1066 AD, William the Conqueror arrived to the shores of England and along with his fleet he brought the first recorded Jewish people to England. The Jews were used as moneylenders to King so that William could establish his rule through a building program of fortresses and churches. The Jews were the only people who could be moneylenders, as usury was considered a Christian sin. The Jews were tolerated, until it came time for them to collect their money which led to people thinking of them as greedy and in a negative way. Throughout the middle ages, the Jews became a scapegoat and target for the Christians as a result of their place in society and the meaning they have to their faith. Prime examples are the way Jews were viewed as demonic figures, and the use of blood libel. Blood libel is an anti semitic concept where they claimed Jews took and killed Christian children to use their blood for religious rituals. In 1290 Edward I revoked the Charter of Protection of the Jews and expelled the English population. Oliver Cromwell reversed the expulsion in 1657, but Jews still continued to be discriminated against – living apart from the general population and forced to pay specific taxes designed to humiliate the population. Anti semitism is not a thing of the past, however. It continued to persist, and not just in England alone. The most famous show of it occurred in Germany.
Antisemitism in Germany has some of its roots in romanticism and nationalism. German romanticism placed an emphasis on things such as the German language, race, culture, customs and religions.
Judaism was the first of the Abrahamic religions to be practiced, with Jewish history dating back thousands of years ago. Throughout history, there have been events that have affected the long-term effects of the tradition. In 70 CE, the Romans attacked and destroyed the second temple. This attack lead to numerous Jews dying, and many were sold into slavery. In addition, the Romans restricted the Jews from performing religious practices such as circumcision, studying of the Torah, and Holy Days. Although this event was a tragic part of Jewish history, there were many positive adaptations that helped the tradition to become what it is today. Because of this, I believe that the changes instituted during the Rabbinical period contributed to the long-term success of the tradition.
Temple practices were very important for Judaism. This was where they performed things such as circumcision, which was done eight days after the baby was born. Why they did this is unknown, but as Molloy says, “It possibly began as a health measure, in order to prevent infection commonly brought about by hot climates. It is also possible that circumcision began as a way of recognizing divine control over sex and generation.” (Molloy, 306). Another temple practice was animal sacrifice, which was one of the most important parts of Judaism. Sacrifices were only performed by kohanim (Jewish Virtual Library) and were done to cleanse the community of sin and to bring people closer to God (My Jewish Learning).
In Jewish society, there were four major groups, the first being the Sadducees. The Sadducees were an aristocratic group, who were accused of collaborating with the Romans. They believed in a strict lifestyle and a very literal interpretation of the Torah. So much so that they rejected the oral Torah from the Pharisees and refused to study anything other than the written Torah. In addition, they didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, and were mostly priests and oversaw the sacrifices during Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of the Tabernacles. There is little known about the Sadducees as none of their writings survived the Roman attack, so all the information we know about them today came from the Pharisees. (“Pharisees, Sadducees & Essenes).
The second major Jewish group were the Pharisees, who were the rivals of the Sadducees. The Pharisees, unlike the Sadducees, studied oral versions of the Torah as well as the written Torah because they felt as though the written Torah was incomplete. Furthermore, the Pharisees were popular with the masses, as they were viewed as the highest religious authority. They also believed in washing their hands often, especially before eating bread, as they believed that unwashed hands were defiled. After surviving the Roman attack in 70 CE, they were the leaders of Rabbinical Judaism.
The third major Jewish group were the Zealots, who were the key players in the Jewish revolt in 60-70 CE. The Zealots encouraged other Jews to fight Rome because they refused to cooperate with them. This is what caused the Romans to fight back, destroy the second temple, and most of Jerusalem.
The fourth major Jewish group were the Essenes, who were a monastic community. This group consisted of several thousand members, who avoided meat and wine, rejected animal sacrifice and lived a celibate life. In addition, the Essenes were skilled in medicine, and followed a different calendar than the temple.
In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed the second temple and the majority of Jerusalem. The temple was very important to the Jews, as this was not only a place of worship, but also the only place that they could perform religious practices, in particular, animal sacrifice. Furthermore, the Romans temporarily prohibited circumcision, animal sacrifice, and Holy days. But even after this attack, one wall was left standing of the temple called “The Western Wall”, which the Romans only allowed the Jews to visit one day a year.
After the temple and most of Jerusalem was destroyed, the Sadducees and Essenes seemed to disappear, while the Zealots committed suicide as they didn’t want to be taken over by the Romans. The dispersion of Jews, called “The Jewish Diaspora” was something that had been happening before the Roman attack (“The Diaspora”). Some were forced out of Israel, while others made the choice to move. But 70 CE is when the largest Jewish Diaspora occurred, with Jews fleeing as refugees to get away from the Romans.
With the temple now destroyed, some changes had to be made to Judaism. Firstly, instead of another temple, there were synagogues. There were synagogues when the Jews still had the temple, but they became more important once it was destroyed. Synagogues were houses of prayer, study, instruction and interpretation, and were the replacement for temples. In order to create a synagogue, there needed to be a minyan, which is a group of 10 men over the age of 13 required for worship. Each synagogue also had a leader, who was a male trained in study who later becomes a rabbi. These rabbis developed out of the Pharisees, as they were one of the few groups to survive the Roman attack. Another requirement of a synagogue was a copy of the Torah, which is hand written on parchment from a kosher animal.
Another change that was made was their diet. Eating kosher was something that put biblical restrictions into practice (Kashrut: History and Development). This involved not eating meat and dairy together, and the way meat was prepared is important. Before the meat was cooked, the blood must be drained because, as Molloy puts it, “blood, which gives life, is sacred to God.” (Molloy, 305). However, this does not apply to all meat as pork and selfish are not allowed at all. In addition, the dishes, appliances, and utensils used for cooking must be “koshered”. This involves cleaning and boiling dishes, so that they can be used to prepare kosher foods. Dishes for preparing dairy and meat must also be separate.
Conservative Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world that has survived some structural and religious changes over thousands of years. Judaism is an ancient Jewish religion that is predominantly practised in Northern America popularly known as Marti Judaism. Conservative Judaism is based on the basic principles of the Mosaic Law strict observance of the scriptural teachings based on the old testament of the bible. This paper seeks to outline the religious practices of this denomination, the form of worship and the symbols used in this denomination following a visit to the denomination in one of their normal worship sessions.
Observance of the Sabbath in Conservative Judaism
The Shabbat is the official worship day in Judaism and starts on a Friday evening at sunset ending on Saturday evening (Weber, 2010, p1). The believers gather and worship in a practice that they term as opening the Sabbath. The Conservative Judaism believers observe Saturday as their Sabbath day. On the day of rest, believers are expected not to do any work or involve in any activity that may require physical or mental energy (Levine, 2012, p2). The observance of the day is made to commemorate the good work of the Lord in delivering them from the land of slavery as well as observing the law of God on rest and worship. The Sabbaths are further classified to different categories depending on the activities that those Shabbats carry in the Jewish religion.
Worship Practices and Rituals
For instance, there are special Sabbaths where special prayers and activities are done at the synagogue while there are also regular Sabbaths when there are special activities in the synagogue rather than the routine worship practices. On the Sabbath day, the worship starts early in the day at around 6:00 am with a prayer from a denominational leader. The prayer is followed by songs of praise and worship to thank God for the care he has taken upon the worshippers for the whole week. The worship songs are later followed by a reading of the Torah which is a religious doctrine that provides the basic beliefs and principles of the religion (McKay, 1994, p2). The Rabbi prays for blessing as people recite the readings of the prayer from the prayer book. The recitation is done with a lot of commitment and devotion by both the church members and the Rabbi. After the recitation of the prayers is over the congregation goes into singing.
Special Sabbaths and Prayer Sessions
The mid-morning service starts with Amidah recitations which are done in silence and with a critical understanding. The mid-morning recitations are further followed by the public recitations that end with Ked shah. Readings from the book of numbers follow with an acclamation of praise to God. The mid-morning session will end with readings from the Talmud. The Talmud emphasizes the sacrifices and offerings that should be offered in the temple. Tithes and offerings are prayed for and offered at the synagogue before the Minyan prayer that includes all members of the community and the world at large is given (Levine, 2012, p3). The Rabbi leads people in reciting the prayer which they recite with a lot of dedication submission to God. The worship goes on with People singing and reading from the Torah. When the evening prayer starts, the people come together and hold together their hands as they recite the evening prayer. They recite the prayer with so much concentration that they even sway their bodies as they pray. The prayer goes on as people remain standing at the end of the prayer session people bow down to show respect to God. The Sabbath evening services begin with a recitation of Psalms 145.
The Midah recitations follow and then the next week Torah reading is read to the congregation. When it was a special Sabbath like the Sabbath when I visited the synagogue, prayers for the special occasion commence during the morning session and closing prayers recited during the evening program (McKay, 1994, pg2). For instance, on this special day, it was a blessing Shabbat which is normally the first Sabbath of the month the rabbi had to offer special prayers requesting for blessings for the whole month that had started. These prayers were essential in as it is a practice in the denomination to offer special prayers at the start of every month to request for Gods intervention and grace in all their activities those members of the synagogue will undertake in the month. A special Sabbath for prayers of blessings is fixed at the start of every month in the year. While in the synagogue, I realize that people are dressed decently in a dress code that does not leave any of their body parts exposed in a manner that may suggest disrespect or lack of seriousness in the worship.
Dress Code and Decency in Worship
For instance, women are neatly dressed in long-sleeved dresses with their heads covered in headscarves and their long dresses covering their legs. Men are dressed neatly in clean garments and their heads covered using Yarmulke. The dress code inspires religious sobriety and commitment to serve God in truth and spirit. Symbols and Signs Used in Conservative Judaism There are some symbols that I observed in the temple during my visit. These symbols pray a critical role in the worship and the faith of the worshippers in the Synagogue. For instance, the Star of David in the synagogue represents protection and divine power that helps the believers to overcome the challenges that the devil sends to the believers (Gilman, 1993, p7). The Conservative Judaism faithful believe that Kind David, their ancestor and one of the greatest rulers in the history of Israel used the star to shield him from enemy attacks. The shin is used to symbolize God. The believers believe that there exists a define connection of the symbol and the blessings that come from God. The believers compare the symbol with the priestly hand of blessings (Weber, 2012, p9). Conservatives claim that the symbol is a visual symbolization of El-Shaddai which translates to God almighty.
Symbols and Signs in Conservative Judaism
This symbol placed in the sanctuary of the temple proves that a strong belief in the power of God to provide and bless his people is one of the core believes of believers in this religion. Tablets of two stones are placed in front of the synagogue. The two stone tablets symbolize the two stone tablets that God Almighty gave to Moses during the making of the covenant at Mount Sinai (Levine, 2012, p9). These two tablets signify the commandments of God to human beings. When the stone tablets are placed in front of the synagogue, it depicts the commitment of the believers in observing the laws of God and living by the will of God. The stone tablets act as a constant reminder to the Conservative Judaism believers on their covenant with God and the need to observe the laws of God as he gave them to His prophet Moses. A symbol of a lion is drawn on the walls of the temple. The lion is compared to the lion of Judah in the bible. This lion has a close association with the families of Dan and Judah. The association of the tribes to the religion affirms the commitment of the will of the people to live in accordance to the will of God and act according to his will (Gillman, 1993, p10). Among many other symbols that depict the pillars of the faith of believers in the denomination include the Chai symbol, the hamsa symbol, and the Shofar. All these symbols depict the pillars of the faith and commitment of the people to serving God and living by his will.
Synagogue Structure and Facilities
The Judaism synagogue was constructed strategically giving a larger area termed as the main sanctuary used for prayer. In the temple, there are small rooms used by the Rabbi and other synagogue workers for administrative purposes. The synagogue may as well have the consecrated areas that may be used by the Rabbi for ministering to the congregation and leading prayers. There are libraries located in the synagogue that is used for users in the church or visitors who may want to read more on the denomination. Within the synagogue, there may be day care centers for young children and education centers to offer education to the young ones. The inner walls of the synagogue are usually painted and coated with attractive paints in the some of the walls engravings of symbols of the denomination and the images of important believes of the denomination may be seen. Ornaments of symbols of the denomination could be seen placed very carefully in front of the synagogue with a pulpit from where the person who leads others in singing standards. A proper righting system and ventilation are provided to the house with bigger windows and exit doors. When entering, the pulpit believers and visitors dress very neatly and remove their shoes or sandals at the entrance of the synagogue. Inside the synagogue, people seat freely without considerations of the gender of the believers while the young children are at the front area of the synagogue. Visitors to the synagogue are also allowed to sit in any place that they feel comfortable to sit on.
Personal Observations and Experiences
Visitors will only be required to remove their shoes as they enter the synagogue and dress properly by the requirements of the denomination. While attending the service, I met a woman named Tara who was dressed in unfamiliar clothing, the color of the clothing also differed with some wearing white garments and others being dressed in sky blue garments. Men also wore some small hats called yalmulke that could barely cover their heads. The dressing code and the mode of worship in the synagogue were totally unfamiliar to me. Despite the surprise that had gotten from the dress code of the synagogue attendants, I was impressed with the mode of worship in the church. When it was time to sing, the people will sing at the top of their voices ensuring that they sang so perfectly and with a very good voice. I was particularly impressed with how the worshippers could recite the prayers in unison without making even a single mistake. The dedication of the worshippers towards serving God in truth and spirit caught my attention. The men, women, and children sang with a lot of energy, dedication, and commitment. True worship should be guided by the desire of a person to serve God without having worries on the perception of other people on how the person has dedicated himself in the service of God. The members of the synagogue together with their leaders had a lot of love and accorded me much hospitality than I had expected. The kind of reception that I received at the synagogue made me happy and comfortable as I also participated in their worship. Tara was happy to allow me to learn from their worship and join her in worshipping the lord. I was impressed by the treatment I got from the members of the temple and promised to visit them anytime when I have fewer commitments so that I can continue to learn from their worship.
Consequently, the practices of Conservative Judaism denomination are drawn majorly from the old testament of the bible. Learning the mode of worship and the religious practices of the denomination does not end at observing the religious practices of the believers on the day of worship, but a detailed survey into the history and fundamental believes of the denomination.
Kosher food is blessed by Jews before consuming and certain types of food can be Kosher without a rabbi or priest giving permission. Kosher food is within the laws of Shabbat and an observant Jew is one who abides these laws. There are 3 simple elements of Keeping Kosher, according to Jewish Law. These include; “Not eating any non-kosher animals, avoid eating meat and dairy together and only eating meat that was slaughtered in a certain way, and drained of blood.” Kosher food laws are in place all year round, including Pesach. Certain food is classified as Kosher if prepared according to the Torah. Kosher meat species must be slaughtered by a ritual slaughterer the ‘Schochet’. Jewish law prohibits pain caused to animals by Jews so the slaughtering technique must be in a way in which unconsciousness occurs instantaneously followed by death.
Torah does not state any reason why Jews are required to eat only Kosher food but some modern Jews believe that the laws of Kosher are for primitive health regulations in food preparation. Although Kosher food is good for the body, Jews believe that they keep kosher because it is “good for the soul”. This ritual enables adherents to make Judaism a living and a dynamic religion because it is “making conscious holy choices every day and these shared Kosher standards help to bring communities closer through meals”. Jewish adherents believe that by following this law out of the Torah, they are connecting to the ancient traditions of their faith and following the exact words of God given to Moses on Mt Sinai. Kosher makes Judaism living and dynamic due to it still being followed and obeyed in today’s society and restaurants catering to separate milk and meat which is an example of a dynamic world which caters for those who follows their beliefs. Kosher impacts Judaism being a dynamic and living reaction as it connects to mosaic law assigned to Moses from God and by sticking to this belief, Jews believe they are establishing a closer relationship with God. Jewish adherents believe what makes it spiritual, is physical and by following the thousands of years tradition of Kosher, they are acting upon this.
PESACH
Pesach is an eight day festival of Passover, which celebrates the Israelites liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt by God with the leadership of Moses. The name Passover comes from the Miracle in which God “passed over” Jewish homes during the tenth plague of Israelites. Jews have followed Jewish law from God since before 1300BC and each year, Jews celebrate Pesach with a feast. Before the celebrations begin, the Torah states that the house must be completely cleaned from any traces of chametz (leaven) in commemoration of the Jews leaving Egypt before their bread was left to rise. Because of this, Jewish law strictly forbids leavened grains being eaten during this celebration. Food celebrations intend to “help Jews relive God’s great redemptive act, albeit in a vicarious manner”. The first born male within a family must fast on the day before Passover begins to celebrate their escape from the Plague of the firstborn.
During Pesach, on the first 2 nights, a ritual Seder meal is provided with friends and family traditionally in the home and the last two days are considered as days of rest. It is also known as the festival of freedom and one of the most celebrated and popular holidays within Jewish communities and expresses their own desire for freedom. Pesach contributes to Judaism being dynamic and living because it fulfils Jews lives. Jews believe that its importance to Individuals today and throughout history contribute to the dynamic traditions which recognise the Israelites freedom given by God. Many associate their theology and God as the “liberator of humanity” by connecting Jewish adherents with the ancient traditions of their faith. This celebration makes Judaism living as it is commemorates their past and the redemption of Israelites becoming the connection of the Jewish understanding of God and the ethics and divine morality. Pesach impacts Judaism being a dynamic and living religion as it connects to mosaic law assigned to Moses from God and they believe they are committing themselves to their past and heritage.
Gemilut Hasidim
Gemilut Hasidim is the acts of ‘loving kindness’. Gemilut Hasadim is a form of social justice work which contributes to the community. Not only is it a “ fundamental social value in the everyday lives of Jews” but shows kindness and faithfulness in performing acts of Gemilut Hasadim in mosaic law from God. Gemilut Hasadim is a significant ethical concept within the Jewish tradition because it comes from a ‘compassionate heart’. An old Jewish saying says “Charity awaits the cry of distress. Gemilut Hasadim anticipates the cry of distress”. This is because any person Jew or not can give money to a charitable cause, but Gemilut Hasadim is [image: ]donating the time with loving kindness. As in the Talmud, Gemilut Hasadim acts are done for benefit or compensation but with no return. They are relationships which highlight selflessness of service to interface Gods love and kindness towards others and humanity. There are many types of Gemilut Hasadim within the world and by doing ‘acts of loving kindness’ they are following in Gods footsteps.
The Talmud teaches that those who are engaged with communities and surround themselves with others while giving their time, recognise the conventual aspect of chesed (Compassion, benevolence). The Talmud teaches that the reward for loving kindness is within the world and one who receives love and help, are more likely to pass on that love to another. This tradition is highly significant within Jews lives because they are seen in the image of God and restored into the community. Some popular Gemilut hasadim’s include Bikkur Holim (visiting the sick), Nichum Avelim (Comforting mourners), Hospitality, Social welfare and Tikkum Olam (repairing the world). The highest level of achieving gemilut hasadim is through attending a funeral service. God was the first to demonstrate the significance upon burying the dead, as written in the Torah and this is because the dead cannot repay kindness. The Mitzvah of Gemilut Chassadim refers to both the poor and rich, but also the dead and living. It is personal service, attitude and involvement rather than voluntary and has no restrictions, unlike Tzedakah. Through Gemilut Hasadim, Jews believe they are making the world a better place, by performing these acts, they become partners with God. Some believe that Gemilut Hasadim is the most fundamental and comprehensive belief of Judaism and as said in the Talmud, “the world rests upon three things, Torah, avodah, and Gemilut hasadim”. Jews believe that without Gemilut Hasadim, humanity cannot exist due to there being no society because of there being no morality or social justice in the world. Gemilut Hasadim is recognised in the Torah within the commandment, where it states ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ meaning, Jews must love fellow Jews to follow Gods path. Gemilut Hasadim is not only very significant within the Jewish community but is an ethical value in their everyday lives.
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Paley’s argument for God’s existence is a substantial work. The argument is based on multiple points because the philosopher tried to answer to all possible criticisms to his ideas. Paley’s work contains multiple objections and counter-arguments defending the philosopher’s way of thinking.
In his work, Paley uses a teleological argument based on the watchmaker analogy. The philosopher compares the creator to a watchmaker and states that the presence of design proves the existence of a designer, although some of his ideas and statements fail to pass a logical approach.
The teleological argument stands for the statement that is based on the observations of the outer world and nature. In the very beginning of his, work, Paley compares two situations. In the first case, a person in the forest finds a stone, and in the second one, a person finds a watch on the ground. In both cases, the finder wonders where the object came from.
In the case with a stone, the man believes that it could have been lying there forever, whereas in the case with a watch Paley notes that a person would never assume that the watch came from nowhere or was a part of the surroundings.
The philosopher describes the mechanism and constituents of a watch in detail to prove that witnessing such complexity and balanced work of many pieces of various shapes and materials would make the finder think that the watch was created by intelligent thought.
Paley states that the finder does not need to know how to make a watch, or how it works, he does not need to know the watchmaker to believe that the complex design of the watch has a purpose and was built by someone. This belief would not change even if the watch did not work properly, or if the finder detected a detail that was unnecessary, or if the finder did not know the purpose of the mechanism.
Paley emphasizes that the complexity is what makes the watch different from a stone, it makes the person who found it wonder where it came from and assume that the mechanism has a purpose and was made by an intelligent force.
The philosopher also notes that there is no power that could have made such mechanism apart from an intelligent creator and that the finder holding a watch in their hand would never assume that this complicated object could have been assembled by itself or by some intrinsic principle of order. Paley states that one cannot say that laws of nature are causes of anything, because laws assume power and power assumes an agent that uses it.
In the next part of his argument, Paley asks the readers to imagine that the watch found in the forest has a miraculous ability to reproduce itself. The philosopher assumes that if the watch was impressive for the finder before this new quality was discovered, it means that its discovery would add another reason for the finder to believe that the watch was made by an intelligent creator.
Paley believes that a random combination of physical forms could not be considered a cause of a purposeful watch. The philosopher bases this statement on the fact that no one ever witnessed anything like that assembling by itself under the influence of the principle of order.
Paley adds that even if the principle of order was the cause of the existence of a mechanism that can reproduce itself, this would not make his argument weaker, on the contrary, this would mean that the intelligent creator standing behind it all is incredibly skilled. The fact that the watch can reproduce itself adds complexity to this object and strengthens the finder’s expectation that the watch has a maker.
Besides, the fact that the watch can re-create itself does not change the belief that the design implies a designer. Even if there is a chain of self-reproducing watches, this chain cannot be infinite. This leaves the finder with the initial question about the maker of the very first watch. Paley concludes that the design comes from some intelligent source, the creator.
To my mind, the strength of Paley’s argument is the fact that it appeals to the typical for humans way of thinking that is based on the unstoppable search for laws and connections between the things around us. People’s attempt to systematize and organize the world around according to certain rules, laws, and similarities is our way of cognition.
Paley’s argument is an attempt to rationalize an unexplainable idea of the initial creation using analogy with something more familiar to a human mind. This argument seems quite logical until the reader starts wondering if the author’s assumptions are correct. For example, on what basis does Paley suppose that a person that found a complex device such as a watch in the forest would assume that this object had a creator?
To know that for sure the scientists have to conduct and experiment by taking a person and presenting them to an unexpected finding. After that, they will see what kind of assumptions this person would make about the object. Besides, I think that these assumptions would also differ depending on the kind of finder that is selected.
For example, a modern person familiar with high technologies is most likely to assume that a complex mechanism was made by an intelligent creator, given that the mechanism looks like a mechanism, but not like a stone.
At the same time, if the finder is, for example, a tribal dweller of a hill somewhere in Africa or Asia that has never seen a watch or any other mechanism before it will be very hard to predict what kind of assumptions this person would make.
One of the most popular objections to Paley’s work could be the imperfection of the creation as proof of the absence of excellent design and a designer. Paley thought this through and noticed that the presence of unnecessary detail in a watch does not deny the presence of the watchmaker. To my mind, the observation of nature is useful for the cognition of the outer world only when a person can experiment with the object of the study and examine it.
The theoretical guesses based on observation of nature can be considered the truth only when there are scientific proofs of these theories and assumptions. Paley’s argument is built on a chain of groundless assumptions and general statements and any facts do not support it. The philosopher describes only one of the possible scenarios, which could happen if a man found a watch on the ground, and assumes that this is the only possible scenario.
I think that observation without a scientific experiment is ineffective and confusing; to state something, we need more information than just our observations. Information is gained empirically. Observations alone can give us hypotheses, but not facts. To my mind, one cannot tell if God exists through observations of nature only.
The creation of earth and man has remained a mystery that has enabled religious commentators and scientists to put forward spirited theories to explain their existence. However, critics too have come up with facts challenging the reports by denouncing their authenticity.
The existence of man and earth though can be traced to a deity with supernatural powers who out of his love, decided to create them. It is only this idea that has had supportive documents in the form of holy books such as the Koran, the Bible, and the Jews’ scrolls, etc that dates back to several years. Consequently, this paper offers proposed knowledge on life and the relationship between God and man.
Existence of man is thus a well calculated art of invention that was carried out by God himself; hence man is a child of God. This would lead to the next perplexity which examines God’s possible identity. God is the father of man and created the earth so that man could find a home to live in thus God is supreme and holy. Man has power over the earthly gifts since mankind is an image of God.
It is this special privilege that prompted God to provide and enforce his commandments in form of laws to govern every generation of man. Moses of the Old Testament was entrusted with the laws on Mount Sinai where rules and regulations guiding the human race were spelt out.
Any opposition to these laws was therefore seen to be sinful. The origin of sin can trace back to the beginning of life when God’s first creation sinned against him after an encounter with Satan who duped them. Satan is the mastermind of sin and also the author of all evil on earth.
It is believed that Satan was once an angel in heaven which is the throne of God, but was ejected for challenging God’s authority. Since Satan had nowhere to go to, he decided to come to earth and swore to make as many people as possible become rebellious to God as a way of seeking revenge.
Due to this demonic intention, Satan has been seen to be behind every tribulation that has dogged man in the entire generation. God too has countered this wretched mission of Satan, by promising those who live righteously, for a better life through reincarnation and eternal life according to the Islam and Christian beliefs respectively. Those who shall have not changed by advocating for evil will perish according to the Muslim faithful or death by fire popular to the Christian beliefs.
God’s purpose is hence very noble and gives room for mankind to make a choice. It leads us to the next detail on discretion; wisdom is as old as the earth itself. King Solomon of the Old Testament exhibited his wisdom by arbitrating on a dispute between two women who were contesting on parentage issues. Having resolved the issue through his immense wealth of wisdom, Solomon was named the wise king and always used his knowledge to bring warring parties together.
The kind of wisdom seen here is so ancient and relevant even by today’s standards. Wisdom is deep knowledge and basically grows overtime through age and experience encountered before, this makes the older generation wiser than the younger generation. Ancient wisdom is truly superior and should be the foundation of knowledge on earth today.
It is clear then, that knowledge and evidence goes hand in hand thereby defining empiricism. It is from this conviction of facts that I consider myself an empiricist since I feel convinced that wisdom is not innate but knowledge acquired from experience. Knowledge can also be adopted through any form of learning and it is because of this factor that I conceive in God’s creation having got an opportunity of attending madras classes and an in depth information from the holy book of Koran.
Having seen the importance of God in human life, the subsequent submission of man to the wishes of God leads to mental and spiritual strength. Both items arise from the human conscience which dictates on character and other traits. God’s plan is to save mankind from evil, its quiet obvious that moral sanity comes from good teachings.
These teachings propagate on good values such as joy, honesty, love and so on. All these values are God’s gifts that can only attach to good people. It is pretty fine to say that God dwells in a peaceful place guided by good morals. Morality here refers to accepted behaviors in man usually guided by Godly teachings. For example, abortion is sinful according to the Muslim faith since life is sanctified by God.
So, the act of abortion is immoral .on the other hand, ethics simply dictate on morality. For instance, rules guiding a work environment such as adhering to the dressing code show good ethics. It is apparent therefore that, morality is synonymous with good behaviors while ethics are the universally accepted codes guiding such behaviours.It is from these reasons that I offer my full devotion to God in my opinion as a true Muslim.
In the early Islam, women were considered inferior, but due to the evolution of mysticism as a cult that emerged from within the Islamic faith, it has made many women attain the level of sainthood that was earlier a preserve for men only. The Islamic religion has a caste system for the priesthood that was strictly for men.
According to Smith (1977), “It is the development of mysticism or Sufism within Islam, which gave women their great opportunity to attain the rank of sainthood.” The objective of the mysticism is to renounce the worldly things and become clean so that one can have total devotion to God.
Al-wahatiyya in Al-Sulami (1021) defined Sufism as “…rejecting all worldly means of support and ending all worldly attachment.” Thus, the religion of mysticism is about focusing on the heavenly interests and purposes rather than getting involved with the people or material things.
Mysticism regards gender equality in serving God because “in the spiritual life, there could be neither male nor female. All whom God had called to be the saints could attain, by following the Path, to union with Himself, and all who attained, have their royal rank, as spiritual beings, in the world to come” (Smith, 1977). The Sufi women aimed at perfect union with God by making sure that they had no extra burden from the world to carry as they had better relinquish their burden through repentance than continually carry the burden in the sinful world.
Mysticism
Mysticism is a form of religion among Sufi women where the women are the leaders in its establishment and development. Rabi’a of Basra was chosen to be the first woman saint to lead mysticism because she the Islamic region no longer restricts women from reaching sainthood.
The Sufi women heaped lot of praises to the Rabi’a that she was devoted to God like men; hence, she is more than just a woman. Smith (1997), describes Rabi’a as “the head of the women disciples and the chief of the women ascetics, of those who observed the sacred law, who were God fearing and zealous… and she was one of those who were pre-eminent and experienced in grace and goodness.”
The religious qualities of Rabi’a made her to be given chance to lead in the growth of mysticism by the Sufi woman. The biography of the saint Rabi’a is so fascinating and mystical she grew without parents, become a slave and her devotion to God made her master release her. When she was free, she experienced direct communication with God as the sakina glory of God shone over her head when she prayed.
Rabi’a took her pilgrimage to Mecca and on her way, the ass she was using to carry her luggage died and Instead of seeking help from strangers, she refused saying that she was dependent on God only but not His creatures. She earnestly prayed until a miracle happened when her ass stirred up and the she continues on her pilgrim journey. God in the desert directly answered the prayers of Rabi’a and this encourages her to devote her life to God more.
When Rabi’a successfully completed her pilgrimage, she went back to Basra where she become devoted to God and walk according to mystic Way of renouncing the world and asceticism. Rabi’a resolved to remain celibate because she considered marriage as a hindrance to the attainment and fulfillment of the highest will of God.
According to Smith (1977), “…purgation was the first stage towards stage towards the attainment of the mystic’s goal, and asceticism was enjoined on all who entered the novitiate.” The Way of mysticism begins when one renounce the worldly distractions like marriage as in the case of Rabi’a and then a process of daily devotion in order to be made clean and free from sins.
Fatima is another Sufi woman of Nishapur who demonstrated sainthood. She was the oldest Gnostic and many people come to seek her so that she can interpret and reveal the secrets within the Quran. She was very famous due to her great devotion to God in that many commended as the second Mary. Fatima (Al-Sulami, 1021) said, “One who acts for the sake of God while desiring to witness Him is a Gnostic, whereas one who acts in the hope that God will notice him is the sincere believer.”
Fatima dedicated her life in the service of God and many people realized her devotion. Abu Yazd (Al-Sulami 1021) admits that, “In all of my life, I have only seen one true man and one true woman. The woman was Fatima of Nishapur. When informed her about one of the stages of spirituality, she would take the news as if she had experienced it herself.”
Other Sufi women have been shown to have strong mystic beliefs; taking their time in solitude while praying and fasting, renouncing the world pleasure like marriage, even though against cultural and religious persuasions of Muslims depicts how the women of Sufi are zealous in their services to God
Islam and Mysticism
Mysticism is a cult within the Islamic religion because some of its teachings are not solely based on the Quran but other sources. The Rabi’a experience during her pilgrim in the desert is like to the Biblical experience of Moses, the sakina glory corresponded to halo in Christianity.
The concepts of purgation and repentance have Biblical origin. Quran teaching recognizes the teachings of the prophet Muhammad as the central to the beliefs of Muslims. Smith (1977) proves that, “the title saint was bestowed to women upon equality with men, and since Islam has no order of priesthood and no priestly caste, there was nothing to prevent a woman from reaching the highest religious rank in the hierarchy of Muslim saints.”
The mysticism grew because when the women were given equal chance of serving God, they exercised Islamic belief out of the context of Quran and introduced their fundamental beliefs of asceticism, celibacy and purgation as the necessary requirement to attain highest level of mysticism. The Muslim theologians were against mysticism as the movement of the Sufi women because of their sainthood, their influence and the form of worship they were practicing.
Gender
The religion of mysticism is depicted as the religion of women and that the women are the most devoted in their service to God. The devotion of Rabi’a, Fatima and other saints is that of asceticism and their experiences impact greatly on the religious and social aspects of their societies.
Many men praised their good works and service to God. For example, a man had to say this about Fatima, “In all of my life, I have only seen one true man and one true woman. The woman was Fatima of Nishapur. When informed her about one of the stages of spirituality, she would take the news as if she had experienced it herself” (Al-Sulami, 1021).
Fatima is equated to a man in her capacity of serving God meaning women have been treated as inferior in their abilities to serve God with the great zeal as men. The establishment of mysticism gave women a chance to be equal with their male counter parts and attain sainthood. Smith (1977) quotes Attar that, “saintship may be found in a woman as naturally as in a man.” The prophets teach that, what matters to God is the purpose of the heart and not the outward appearance.
Conclusion
The Sufi women are the women who serve God with great zeal. The emergence of mysticism provided gender equality in the Islamic religion thus women explored their capacities to reach sainthood and incorporated other believes other than the Islamic beliefs that lead to their rejection by the Muslim theologians. Mysticism is a form of religion among Sufi women that involve asceticism and purgation so that one can appear worth to worship God and attain eternal bliss.
Mysticism has demonstrated the women’s ability to serve God equally as men, dismissing the cultural and societal perceptions that had limited and degrades their pursuits of eternal life. Their male counter parts and theologians were appalled by the influence of the Sufi women, threatening the own influence on the religion and the society. Thus, mysticism becomes the appealing religion to women because of the freedom from the restricting Islamic laws and culture.
References
Al-Sulami, A. (1021). A Memorial of Female Sufi Devotees, Fons Vitae.
Smith, M. (1977). Rabi’a the Mystic. The University of Texas Press.USA
Brethren, the time hath come to think of Jesus as of God, and His words. We ought to seek for the holy word of His to reconcile and to cease the sinful turmoil within the parish. We who were to fall into a sin of discord must follow the finger of God to retain the peace within the parish and prevent the evil spirit of the disagreement intrude into our souls.
Brethren! Ye that travailest to keep the good spirits at the hard times; though that hath stood the times of lament and cry; ye that hath no fear for anything but the Wrath of God, are maimed with the evil spirit of the discord. Is that not the Satan himself who decoys thee into the abyss of discord!
So I tell thee: listen to God! He had mercy on us, and He is the One who taketh us out of the darkness and brings into the light. In the name of Lord, I tell thee, look at what you have done! Ye hath forgotten what Jesus told us, and strayed from God; Ye ought to remember the holy words of His and commence the recovery.
Ye hath strayed from God, but such great His love for His children is that He shall lead thee by his guiding hand and show thee the path of love and virtue.
Because of repeated conflicts in the church, which hath befallen us, brethren, I consider that the legalism of the church ought not to commence. Look at thee! Ye ought to reconcile. Ye ought to follow the ordinances of God and to perform your duties in front of Him. Nevertheless, ye hath forsaken the fear of God! For ye not fall into sin and despair, I shall show ye the path of righteousness and faith.
Tell me, brethren, art ye all the children of God? Didst ye, not sin? Ye brethren are all His children, but ye hath become purblind hence ye can not see that the members of the church are to be judged by the Lord, not by thee!
I beg of thee, let us be good one towards another and reconcile. We ought to cease the discord for the sake of our faith and the sake of the church. Art thou virtuous enough to say who is worth being the son of the parish, and who is not? God have mercy on the lost sheep and help them return to the fold of the church!
I know ye are faulty of the discord in the church; I shall not blame thee, but I ask of thee – think before ye hold a candle to the devil! The salvation cometh as people return into the arms of the church. Do not let the men of Belial lead ye the sinful path!
I wish ye brethren forsake the vain and empty talking and see that he is the member of the church who seeks the ways to serve Almighty God. The steadfast root of the faith is the true belief, not the church membership.
I dare hope, brethren, that the discord ceases soon, and that ye all shall be gladdened. Ivan Save myself, my brother, let us listen to what Rev. Seymour Cheapgrace says and welcome all those coming to our church with open arms. Let the errors not fling us away from the righteous path.