| A | B |
|---|
| 4000 years ago | when Judaism began |
| monotheism | belief in one god |
| polytheism | belief in more than one god |
| Abraham | founder of Judaism |
| Torah | first five books of the bible |
| the promised land | where God told Abraham to lead his people |
| slaves | while in Egypt, jews were |
| persecuted | throughout the centuries jewish people have been |
| killed | Pharaoh declared that all jewish newborns should be |
| Moses | pharaoh's daughter found a baby in a basket floating in the Nile and named him |
| the essential story | Moses killed an Egyptian, fled to the desert where God directed him to ask the pharaoh to free the jews |
| a burning bush | The way God got Moses' attention in the desert |
| ten plagues | God's punishment of the pharaoh and the Egyptian people |
| matzah | unleavened bread |
| historical events | Jewish celebrations often center around |
| Hannukah | holiday, NOT a jewish version of Christmas |
| the festival of lights | another name for hannukah |
| synagogue | jewish temple |
| menorah | nine pillar candlestick |
| bar mitzvah | celebration when a boy turns 13 and accepts adult religious responsibilities |
| bat mitzvah | celebration when a girl turns 13 and accepts adult religious responsibilities |
| first act of adulthood | reading from the Torah during worship services |
| shabbat | another name for the sabbath |
| sundown Friday to sundown Saturday | sabbath begins and ends |
| Israel | the modern jewish nation |
| orthodox and reformed | sects of the jewish religion |
| ark | cabinet where Torah scrolls are kept |
| kosher | proper or pure; refers to observing guidelines regarding food |
| anti-semitism | hostility or discrimination against jews as a racial or ethnic group or as a religion |
| shema | judaic confession of faith- Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord above |
| covenant | a sacred agreement or contract between two parties |
| yarmulke | skull caps worn by jewish men to show respect for God |
| ghetto | a section of a city where jews are required to live |
| the holocaust | the attempt by Hitler's Nazi Germany to exterminate the entire jewish race. 6 million jews were killed |
| tallit | jewish prayer shawl |
| shofar | made from a ram's horn, blown as a reminder of the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son |
| ten commandments | rules of conduct given to Moses by God |
| Rosh Hashanah | commonly known as jewish new year |
| Yom Kippur | day of atonement, fasting, prayer and repentance lasting 25 hours |
| Hebrew | language with a different alphabet, written right to left |
| jew | a person whose mother was a jew, or who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism |
| rabbi | teacher, person sufficiently educated in jewish law and tradition to instruct the community, answer questions and resolve disputes |
| cantor | leads congregation in prayer |
| the exodus | Moses leading the children out of Egypt through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai |
| mezuzah | small case on doorpost of traditional jewish homes, a reminder of God's presence |
| star of David | jewish star; a modern universal jewish symbol |
| tzitzit and tefillin | worn on the arms and head, containing miniature scripts of the commandments |
| Passover | holiday lasting 7 or 8 days in rememberance of the sparing of the jews when God was slaying the first born of Egypt |
