World Religions

Introduction to World Religions Study Guide In Orthodox Judaism, the Torah mandates that a woman in her normal menstrual periods must abstain from sexual intercourse for seven days. If her cycle is prolonged, she must continue to abstain for seven more days after her bleeding has stopped. In rabbinical law, the husband is forbidden from touching or sharing a bed with his wife during this time. Afterwards, she must undergo a purification bath called a mikveh. For Ethiopian Jews, menstruating women are kept in separate huts, and similar to Karaite practice, they are not allowed into a temple’s special sanctity. The emigration to Israel and the influence of other Jewish denominations have led to Ethiopian Jews adopting more normative Jewish practices. Life Cycle Events The life cycle events bind the Jews to the community and strengthen their identities as Jews. On the first Saturday after the child is born, the father is called forth at the synagogue to recite the Aliyah and to ask blessings for the health of the child and mother. Brit milah is the practice of welcoming male babies into the faith through the rite of circumcision on their 18 th day of life. The boy is given his Hebrew name in the ceremony. The female infant parallel ritual is called zeved habit or brit bat. Bar mitzvah and Bat mitzvah marks the passage from childhood into adulthood and takes place when a female Jew is 12 years old and when a Jewish male is 13 years old. In the Reform movement, the age of 13 is for both sexes. In Orthodox tradition, the new adults lead the congregation in prayer and publically read a portion of the Torah. In the Orthodox tradition, only the boys can do this; however, both boys and girls participate in in other denominations. Marriage is an extremely important life cycle event. Weddings take place under a wedding canopy, which is called a chupah or happy house. After the ceremony, the groom breaks a glass with his foot to symbolize the continuous mourning for the destruction of the Temple and the scattering of the Jewish people. Divorce is viewed as a tragedy, but sometimes a necessary one. There are some allowances for divorce under Jewish Law. Death and mourning is a multi-stage process. The first stage is called shiva, which literally means “seven” for the seven days. The tradition is to sit at home and be comforted by friends and family. The second stage is the shloshim, which is observed for one month and done for those who have lost one of their parents. There is a third stage, avelut yud bet chodesh, which is observed for seven months. 6.5 Community Leadership The priesthood is an inherited position. There is no official Jewish priesthood today since the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. There are several different people though who serve different roles to help perform ceremonial duties and are still honored in the Jewish community. Many Orthodox Jewish communities believe they will be needed again when there is a Third Temple. ©2017 Achieve Test Prep Page 55 of 96