Judaism Depth Study

In SoR II you study three religious traditions in depth. Two are examined in Section II (15 marks each, a short-answer question in three parts, usually about 2–3, 4–5 and 8 marks) and one in Section III (a 20-mark extended response of about 800 words). You must use a different tradition for Section III. Each depth study has three parts, and any of them can be examined in either section:

• Significant people and ideas: the contribution of ONE significant person or school of thought, other than Abraham and Moses, to the development and expression of Judaism, and its impact.
• Ethics: the principal ethical teachings, applied to ONE of bioethics, environmental ethics or sexual ethics.
• Significant practices: ONE of death and mourning, marriage or synagogue services, and how it expresses Jewish beliefs.

Use the terms Jews use: the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (Torah, Nevi'im/Prophets, Ketuvim/Writings), not the 'Old Testament'; Torah, mitzvot (commandments) and halakhah (Jewish law). Many Jews avoid writing the name of God in full and write 'G-d'; in an exam either form is acceptable if used respectfully.

• The oneness of God: 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one' (the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4).
• Covenant (brit): God's relationship with Abraham (Genesis 17) and with the people of Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19–20). Israel's side of the covenant is to live by the mitzvot.
• Torah: in the narrow sense the five books of Moses; in the wider sense all Jewish teaching. The Written Torah and the Oral Torah (recorded in the Mishnah, c. 200 CE, and the Talmud).
• The Thirteen Principles of Faith (Maimonides): a widely used, though not the only, summary of Jewish belief.
• The Messiah and the world to come: hope for a messianic age of peace; _olam ha-ba_ (the world to come); for many, the resurrection of the dead.
• Holiness in everyday life: 'You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy' (Leviticus 19:2).

Diversity within Judaism

In Australia, most synagogues are Orthodox, Progressive (Reform) congregations are well established in the major cities, and there are Masorti communities; many Jews identify culturally without belonging to a synagogue. About 0.4% of Australians identified as Jewish in the 2021 Census, mostly in Melbourne and Sydney.

Questions ask about development (how Jewish law and thought changed), expression (how Jews live, study and pray) and often impact.

Writing about impact

Organise by areas of impact. For Maimonides, for example: belief (the Thirteen Principles), law (the _Mishneh Torah_), philosophy (the _Guide_) and daily expression (_Yigdal_, _Ani Ma'amin_, tzedakah). Then judge the extent, including debate: the Maimonidean controversies of the 13th century and later acceptance.

Principal ethical teachings

• The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5) and the 613 mitzvot, ethical and ritual, traditionally divided into 248 positive and 365 negative commandments.
• 'Love your neighbour as yourself' (Leviticus 19:18), and 'love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt' (Deuteronomy 10:19).
• Micah 6:8: 'to do justice, to love kindness (_chesed_) and to walk humbly with your God'.
• B'tselem Elohim: every person is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
• Pikuach nefesh: saving a life overrides almost every commandment (Yoma 85b; 'you shall live by them', Leviticus 18:5).
• Tzedakah (charity as justice) and gemilut chasadim (acts of loving-kindness).
• Tikkun olam: 'repairing the world', widely used today for social and environmental action.
• How halakhah develops: Written Torah → Oral Torah (Mishnah, Talmud) → codes (_Mishneh Torah_; the _Shulchan Aruch_ of Joseph Karo, 1565, with the glosses of Moses Isserles) → _responsa_ (rabbis' answers to new questions).

Applying the teachings

Death and mourning

At death: the Shema and a confession (_vidui_); on hearing of a death, _Baruch Dayan ha-Emet_ ('Blessed is the true Judge'). The chevra kadisha washes the body (_taharah_) and dresses it in plain white shrouds (_tachrichim_); a plain coffin; burial as soon as possible; traditional opposition to cremation (Reform permits it). Mourners tear a garment (_keriah_); shiva (seven days at home, low chairs, prayers with a minyan, visitors bring food); _shloshim_ (thirty days); a year of mourning for a parent; the Mourner's Kaddish (said for eleven months for a parent); the _yahrzeit_ (anniversary) candle; the headstone is often unveiled within the first year.

Beliefs expressed: the oneness and justice of God; respect for the body made in God's image (_kavod ha-met_); equality in death; the world to come and, for many, the resurrection of the dead; the community's duty to comfort mourners; choosing life (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Marriage

The ceremony under the chuppah: _kiddushin_ (betrothal) with a ring and the declaration 'Behold, you are consecrated to me…' before two witnesses; the ketubah (marriage contract) read aloud; the sheva brachot (seven blessings); breaking a glass in memory of the destroyed Temple. Before the ceremony, many grooms veil the bride (_bedeken_, recalling Rebecca); afterwards the couple spend a few minutes alone (_yichud_). Egalitarian ceremonies in Progressive and many Conservative communities include two rings and declarations by both partners.

Beliefs expressed: marriage as holiness (_kiddushin_); covenant; the duty to build a Jewish home and family (Genesis 1:28; 2:24); remembering Jerusalem even in joy.

Synagogue services

Three daily services (_Shacharit_, _Mincha_, _Ma'ariv_), which the rabbis linked to the Temple offerings; a minyan of ten adults for communal prayer (ten men in Orthodox synagogues). Core prayers: the Shema and its blessings; the Amidah (standing prayer facing Jerusalem); Aleinu; Kaddish. On Shabbat, Mondays and Thursdays the Torah is read from the scroll taken from the Ark (_Aron Kodesh_), with the weekly portion (_parashah_) completing the cycle each year on Simchat Torah, and on Shabbat a reading from the Prophets (_Haftarah_). Friday evening begins Shabbat with _Kabbalat Shabbat_ and the hymn _Lecha Dodi_. The rabbi teaches and the cantor (_chazzan_) leads the singing; differences between movements in language, seating and leadership.

Beliefs expressed: the oneness of God and the covenant; the Torah as the centre of Jewish life; prayer as the 'service of the heart' after the Temple; the community of Israel; Shabbat as a sign of the covenant (Exodus 31:16–17).

Worked example

_Outline how shiva expresses Jewish beliefs. (3 marks)_

Name the practice and link it to beliefs. Shiva is the seven-day period of mourning after a funeral, when mourners stay at home, sit on low chairs and are visited by the community. It expresses the belief that grief is real and should be honoured, not hidden. Because visiting and feeding mourners (_nichum avelim_) is a mitzvah, it expresses the belief that Jews are responsible for one another as a community. Daily prayers with a minyan, including the Mourner's Kaddish, express faith in God's goodness even in loss.

• Calling the Hebrew Bible the 'Old Testament', or treating Judaism as only 'the religion of the Old Testament' without the rabbinic tradition.
• Presenting Orthodox practice as the only Jewish practice, or Progressive practice as not 'real' Judaism. Describe each movement neutrally.
• Confusing the Torah (teaching) with halakhah (law derived from it).
• Treating 'an eye for an eye' as literal revenge; the rabbis interpreted it as monetary compensation.
• Writing a biography of a significant person with no explanation of their contribution or impact.

• Use references to the Hebrew Bible (book chapter:verse) and name rabbinic sources where you can (Mishnah, Talmud tractate, _Shulchan Aruch_).
• 8-mark answers must explain the link the question names (for example, how a practice _expresses_ belief). Use a belief word (covenant, mitzvah, Torah, holiness) in every paragraph.
• In Section III, plan a judgement about the extent of impact or how far teachings and practice express belief, and support it with dated evidence.

• Australia post-1945: Holocaust survivors and other post-war migrants shaped Australian Jewry, especially in Melbourne; Jewish involvement in interfaith dialogue.
• Religion and Peace: the prophetic vision of peace on earth (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3–4), and Jewish contributions to peace and interfaith dialogue.
• Religion and Non-Religion: global distribution of Jews (mainly Israel and the United States).