5.3.2

Public Acts of Worship

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Branches of Judaism

There are two main branches of Judaism: Orthodox Judaism and Reform Judaism.

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Orthodox Jews

  • Follow the laws set out in the Torah and Talmud.
  • There are clear rules for men, women and children. These rules are followed strictly.
  • The Torah is the word of God and so its rules cannot be changed.
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Reform Jews

  • Focus on the ethical rules of Judaism.
  • Kosher rules and Shabbat rules are a personal choice.
  • Believe that the Torah is inspired by God but not the direct word of God, so laws can change over time.
  • Do not believe that religious roles are gender-specific.
    • E.g. there can be female Rabbis and chazzan (prayer leaders) and girls at bat mitzvah read from the Torah.
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Reform Synagogues

  • Many reform synagogues don't hold daily services and only meet on Shabbat (the Sabbath).
  • Men and women sit together.
  • Prayers are led facing the congregation and can be led by either a man or a woman.
  • Services are in English and Hebrew and are much shorter than in Orthodox synagogues. Services have musical accompaniment.
  • Most men will cover their heads and some women will too.

Daily Service

Prayer in the daily service builds a person's relationship with the Hashem (‘the Name’ – used to refer to God). The prayers are taken from Psalms and describe the greatness of God. Praying as a community strengthens the bonds of the community.

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Morning and night service

  • During morning prayers men over the age of bar mitzvah (13 years) wear the tefillin.
  • Married men will wear a tallit (a prayer shawl) - but in some communities, all men over 13 will wear one.
    • Attached to each corner is the tzitzit (tassels on the prayer shawl) which remind Jews of the Mitzvot (commandments) and their duties to God.
  • The night service begins with blessings and describes God in History as a redeemer.
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The tefillin

  • Tefillin are black boxes which are wrapped around the arm and head containing Torah paragraphs that deal with the past, present and future purpose of the Jewish people.
  • The arm piece faces the heart and the headpiece is above the brain. This suggests that Jews must have an emotional and intellectual relationship with God.
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The main prayer

  • The main prayer of each service is a lengthy standing prayer made up of 19 Blessings that deal with different aspects of personal and communal life.
  • The blessings include requests for healing, wealth, repentance, intelligence, justice, the rebuilding of the Temple and peace.
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Prayer out of the synagogue

  • Jews can also pray outside of the fixed times whenever they need to.
  • These prayers can be in any language.

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1Buddhism

2Christianity

3Catholicism (Christianity)

4Islam

5Judaism

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