Varients in Judaism

What is a variant?
Two or more people of things that have slight differences in opinions. The three major variants or streams in Judaism are Conservative, Orthodox and Reform (Liberal or Progressive)

Orthodox: Very strict, men and women sit seperately in the synagogue, maintain traditional forms and Hebrew language, Kosher, no changes
Conservative: Modern, men and women can sit together, believe that laws can be changed
Progressive: Relatively new, allowed to marry other religions, Torah can be apapted (new meanings)

Relaxed practice and fits in society - Progressive
Individual praying and occasional conversation in service - Progressive
Traditional beliefs but addressing contemporary needs - Conservative
Men and women sit seperately in the synagogue - Orthodox
Men and women sit together and participate fully in service, prayers and rituals - Conservative/progressive
Women do not practice in all rituals - Orthodox
English used for part of service - Progressive
Strict dress and dietary law - Orthodox
They always worship in Hebrew - Orthodox
Women can lead services and can become Rabbis - Progessive

Kosher Menu

                                                                       Breakfast
A nice yoghurt, granola, and berry medley which can include pinapple, blueberries, bananas and strawberries.

Ingredients: 1 cup of vanilla yoghurt; 3 tablespoons of your choice (pinapple, blueberries, bananas, strawberries); 3 tablespoons of granola or another crunchy cereal

Preparations: Place yoghurt in a suitable sized dish; top yoghurt with granola then berries

Lunch

A cherry tomato and cheese pie.

Ingredients: 400g puff pastry dough; 200g shredded mozzarella cheese; 3 eggs; 1 cup plain yoghurt; 100g grated yellow cheese; 500g cherry tomatoes; fresh basil leaves; 1 egg yolk

Preparations: Preheat oven to 180°C; line baking dish with non-stick spray; lay half of the puff pastry dough down in the pan; sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly above the the dough; mix the eggs and yoghurt together; spread ontop of mozzarella cheese; cut cherry tomatoes in half and crowd closely together over the previous layer; sprinkle yellow cheese and fresh basil leaves ontop of the tomatoes; cut the rest of the dough into 1cm thick strips and lay them down in a criss-cross pattern; paint dough with egg yolk; bake pie uncovered at 180°C for 30 mins

Dinner

Chicken broccoli cashew stir-fry

Ingredients: 1kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs (pargiot in Hebrew); 4 tablespoons canola oil; 4 tablespoons peanut butter; 3 tablespoons honey; 1kg broccoli; 80g roasted cashews

 Preparations: cut chicken thigh into small cubes; mix oil, honey, and peanut butter until smooth in a small bowl; coat chicken with marinade; refrigerate for 2 hours at the least; trim and add broccoli to boiling water and cover for 2-3 mins; remove and immediately place in a bowl of ice water and then drain; heat a skillet; add the chicken and marinade and stir for 5 mins; add broccoli and stir-fry for another 2-3 mins; just before serving, stir in cashews

Jewish Kosher Food

Kosher = Food which is allowed, Jewish dietary requirements
Treyfah = Food which is NOT allowed

In Leviticus, it says all plants are kosher, but not all animals, birds, or fish are.
Animals must also be killed in a special manner and have all the blood removed before the meat can be eaten by Jews.

How are animals killed?
Jews may only eat animals and birds that have been killed by Shechitah.
Shechitah is killing the animals by slitting the throat with a very sharp knife.
This has been shown to be painless to the animals, as causing pain to living things is against Jewish law.
The theory is that the sharp knife cuts the carotid so that the animal loses consciousness before they are able to feel pain.

Which animals are Kosher?
Kosher:

• chicken
• sheep
• cow
• fish with fins
• goat

Non- Kosher:

• pig
• rabbit
• camel
• eel
• most birds

Jews who keep Kosher kitchens do not eat meat and dairy foods together
Seperate sets of crockery, cutlery, and cooking utensils are used. After eating meat, strict Jews will wait several hours before eating dairy products.
Foods which contain neither meat or nor milk, fruit or vegetables, may be eaten with either meat or vegetables.

Jewish Synagogue

http://www.jewfaq.org/shul.htm

Origins of the name:
Jews usually use the word synagogue which is which is actually a Greek translation of Beit K'nesset and means "place of assembly".

Functions of the Synagogue
A synagogue is a house of prayer where community prayer services are held.

Structure
They are normally run by a board of directors that hire a Rabii to conduct services.They are for the most part, indepented community structures

Items Found
Synagogues are designed so that the front santuary faces Jerusalem, the they are supposed to pray.
Torah Scrolls are kept in an Ark
Eternal lamp to symbolise the commandment

http://www.surreyplacesofworship.org.uk/virtualvisits/synagogue/#

List of the major items:

• Star of David on the front of the building
• Prayer books in a shelf
• Kitchen
• Bimah
• Symbolic carvings
• Ark
• Eternal light
• Shabbat candles
• Kiddush cup

The Torah

Torah means "teaching" and refers to the five books of Moses - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

A Torah scroll is made from sheets of parchment, which is made from the skin of a kosher animal.

It is written by hand in Hebrew by a professional scribe, called a sofer. 

Hebrew is read right to left.

The sofer takes at least one year to write out the Torah.
He is not allowed to write from memory. He must copy from a book of the Torah, and keep checking for mistakes. Letters must not be smudged or touch another letter.

If the sofer makes a mistake, he scraps off the letters using a glass tool.

The most sacred word that he writes is the Hebrew name for God. He cannot correct this - he must start the whole sheet of parchment again. The sheet with the error is buried in a Jewish cemetry.

When all the sheets of parchment are finished, they are sewn together and wound around wooden rollers.

The Torah is regarded as holy, and is decorated as beautifully as possible.

Jewish Questions

1. What language do the Jewish people speak?

Hebrew

2. How do the Jewish people read Hebrew?

From right to left

3. Why is Israel important to the Jewish People?

As Israel is the Promised Land, which was promised to Abraham by God

4. When was the present state of Israel formed?

1948

5. What makes it unique in the world?

 It is the only Jewish state in the world

6. Who is the chosen prophet if Judaism?

Moses

7. What do the Jews believe God thinks of their people?

That they are the chosen people

8. How do the three main religions differ in their view of Jesus?

Christianity – saviour, Judaism and Islam – just a prophet

9. Why do the Jewish people not celebrate Christmas?

As they do not see Jesus as a saviour, but as a prophet

10. What festival do they celebrate instead?

Hanukkah (the light festival)

11. What event is celebrated at this festival and what is the significance of the number 8?

The festival of lights is celebrated and they light candles every night for 8 days

12. What is the name of the sacred text of the Jewish people?

The Torah

13. How is their text similar to the Christian Bible?

It is the Old Testament of our Bible

14. How many commandments do the Jewish people have to follow?

There was originally 613, but they have been narrowed down to 13 main rules

15. What is the name of the leader of a Jewish religion?

Rabbi

16. What is a Talis?

A garment one can wear to create a sense of personal space during prayer

17. What is a Tefilin?

Small black boxes containing scrolls with leather straps attached to them, worn by males, required to wear it each weekday morning

18. What is a Kippah?

Skull cap worn by Jewish males

19. What is the word used to describe the food Jewish people can eat?

Kosher

20. Where is the only Kosher Mc Donalds?

Israel and Argentina

21. Why is a Cheese burger not Kosher?

As the burger contains both dairy and meat, and the Jewish can not eat dairy and meat in the same meal