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Answer questions in detail with two or more paragraphs 1

Religion

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Answer questions in detail with two or more paragraphs

1. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all “world religions”, meaning that their adherents can be found in most countries in the world. Christians are about 33% of the world population; Muslims are about 24% of the world population; Jews are about 0.2% of the world population

 

a. How did such a comparatively small population come to be so widespread?

 

b. What challenges are faced by a small population scattered over such a large geographic area?

 

c. How have these challenges impacted on Jewish identity?

 

 

 

2. Judaism, as practiced today and for many centuries, differs in significant ways from the Israelite religion described in the Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible:

 

a. What significant events drove the change from Biblical religion to the Judaism we know?

 

b. How can these changes be considered authentic?

 

c. What are some benefits and risks in such adaptations?

 

 

 

3. In the Torah, God promises the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants – specifically through Isaac, his son by Sarah, and Jacob, Isaac’s second-born. Although the boundaries of the Promised Land are not precisely described, throughout the Hebrew Bible, the promise of the land is reiterated to the descendants of Jacob (later named Israel) exclusively. Historical and archeological evidence clearly places an Israelite/Jewish population of one size or another in this region continuously since at least 1,200 BCE. The Jewish narrative regarding this land predates the Christian narrative by over 1,000 years and the Muslim narrative by over1,600 years:

 

a. Does an ancient historical claim to land have relevance in a modern claim?

 

b. How does the concept of “peoplehood” inform Judaism’s connection to this land?

 

c. In what ways does Judaism’s connection to this land differ from Jews’ connections to other places they left in previous generations?

 

 

 

4. As a product of an ancient society, Judaism’s foundation is strongly patriarchal. Genealogies in the Torah, for example, are listed almost exclusively as the male line. While Rabbinic innovations like Ketubah were quantum leaps forward for their time, the Talmud and later medieval Jewish law codes retain the primacy of patriarchy. However, the American Jewish mainstream today is predominantly egalitarian:

 

a. To what degree should contemporary societal values and norms shape the practice of a faith tradition?

 

b. What contrasts do you see between the Tzenerene and The Memoirs of Glückel of Hameln?

 

c. How has modern Judaism responded to the “truth” and “fact” of gender?