Judaism
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The Books
The Tanakh, or the Old Testament referred to by the Christian faith, are the Hebrew scriptures. 26 books, 5 in the Torah, 12 in the book of prophets, and 9 in the remaining writings. The Torah is the most important texts in Judaism and it means "to teach". It talks about the life of Moses and the Ten Commandments. The book of the prophets comes from the Hebrew word "Nevi'im". The life of Israel's prophets and kings, their physic readings on the fate of the Israelites. The last part of the Tanakh is the Ketuvim. It contains holy songs, poems, and prayers.
Stories
Genesis 1:1 to 2:4 explains God's creation of the world and everything in it. The story of the creation of the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve. They disobeyed God's orders and cause sin to enter into the world. Noah and the Flood is God's wrath on man kind for becoming so evil. He allowed Noah and his family to live if he would build an ark to cary a male and female of every animal on board. The story of Moses is about how Moses, with the help from God, freed the Israelites from the bonds of slavery and led them out of Egypt and to the promised land.
Rites of Passage
Bar Mitzvah
Bar Mitzvah is when a boy turns 13. It symbolizes that he is becoming a man and has completed his faith studies.
Weddings
The groom or the chatan breaks glass after the cerimony to represent the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Bat Mitzvah
A Bat Mitzvah is when a girl turns 12 and becomes a women. She is now responsible for her own actions.
Sunagoues
A synagogue is a Jewish house of worship meaning assembly. The main purpose of the synagogue is as a house of prayer. Although a lot prayer takes place outside of the synagogue, group prayer is important in Judaism.
Jewish calendar
The Jewish calendar consists of many festivals. One of the holiest days on the calendar is Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a holiday where the Jewish people refrain from eating, drinking, bathing, and wearing leather footwear. Another large festival is Rosh Hashanah which means head of the year and celebrates the creation of Adam and Eve and their first actions towards mankinds goal in Gods world.