World religions. Рахимбергенова М.Х. - 47 стр.

     Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement, celebrated on the eighth day after          male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of
Rosh Hashanah. This is the most solemn day of the Jewish year, the prayers and     your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you”
readings emphasizing the necessity of repentance for sin, and the seeking of       (Genesis 17, 10–11). Nowadays circumcision is commonly practiced in many
forgiveness from those one has injured. After a preliminary ceremony in the        societies by non-Jews also, for reasons of cleanliness and health.
evening, during which the haunting melody of the Kol Nidrei is sung, the main            For a Jew circumcision is the physical testimony that he is a member of the
synagogue service, which includes a commemoration of the cleansing of the          Jewish people. It is performed on the eighth day after birth by a specially
Temple, is held the following afternoon, closing with a final blowing of the       trained practitioner, the “Mohel”, who is now usually also a physician, and it
Shofar.                                                                            may be performed in his office, in the hospital, or the home. It is at this time
     Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur together are referred to as the High Holy        that the child receives a name.
Days, or Days of Awe.                                                                    Circumcision does not make the person a Jew. That happens automatically,
     Sukkot. The feast of Tabernacles or Huts, celebrated for eight days after     according to rabbinic law, by the simple fact of being born of a Jewish mother.
Yom Kippur. Originally commanded in the Book of Leviticus as an autumn                   Baby girls traditionally receive their names also in the synagogue on the
harvest festival, it commemorates the shelter and protection God gave the Jew-     first Sabbath after their birth; today the ceremony is widely held in the home.
ish people during their years of wandering in the desert. Temporary huts are             Bar Mitzvah. Traditionally the obligations of the Jewish Law apply chiefly
erected, where meals are taken. On the first and last days work is prohibited,     to males, from their thirteenth year. The Bar Mitzvah ceremony marks the boy’s
and various synagogue services are conducted during the week.                      passage from childhood to this full adult responsibility in the Jewish commu-
     Simhat Torah, the “Joy of Torah”, the last day of Sukkot, marks the end       nity. He becomes, for example, capable of being one of the ten men required for
and the beginning of the annual cycle of readings from the Torah.                  the traditional minyan. “Mitzvah” is “a commandment”, and Bar Mitzvah
     Hanukah. This festival commemorates the victory of a Jewish army over         means “son of the commandment”. The focal point of the ceremony, usually
an oppressive ruler in the second century B.C. Although traditionally a minor      held in the synagogue on Sabbath morning, is the reading by the youth of pas-
holiday, the only one not derived from Scripture, in the United States Hanukah     sages from the Torah in Hebrew.
has become in effect a major one by popular demand, since it falls during the            In the American Jewish community, in non-Orthodox synagogues, a simi-
season of Christmas.                                                               lar ceremony has been created for girls, the Bat Mitzvah.
     Pesach, Passover. Originally a spring festival, this was adapted to com-            Mourning for the dead, Shiva. This is a ceremony of prayer and readings
memorate the Exodus, the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in          from scripture performed in the home of the deceased for seven days after the
Egypt. The Biblical Pesach had lasted for only one day, followed immediately       funeral. For close relatives it is followed by a linger period of mourning, the
by the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Talmud, however, extends the term            Sheloshim.
Passover to include both, and it now lasts for seven days, during which no
leaven or yeast (hametz) may be eaten, but only unleavened bread (matzah).                                     Other features of Judaism
The feast is celebrated primarily not in the synagogue but in the home, with a          Kashrut, the dietary laws Many peoples have developed the concept of rit-
ritual meal, the Seder, during which the story of the Exodus is recounted.         ual purity: in order to take part in a sacrifice or other solemn ceremony, one
     Shavuot, Pentecost. Originally a spring harvest festival, Shavuot is cele-    must be clean. This typically includes a prohibition on certain foods viewed as
brated forty days after Passover. As a religious feast, it commemorates the giv-   unclean. Hinduism and Islam, among the religions studied in this book, have
ing of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai.                                              regulations concerned with food and eating. The Law of Moses similarly desig-
                                                                                   nates some foods as clean, or kosher, and other foods as unclean, and Rabbinic
                               Rites of Passage                                    Judaism has preserved these dietary restrictions, while interpreting them in its
     Circumcision, B’rit Milah. The book of Genesis narrates that when God         own way. Clean or permitted foods are:
entered into the covenant with Abraham, He commanded that all made descen-                   all vegetables and plants,
dants of Abraham were henceforth to be circumcised, that is, to have the fore-               all four-footed animals that chew the cub and have parted hooves,
skin of the male sexual organ surgically removed. “This is my covenant, which                all fish having both fins and scales,
you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every                     all birds or fowl accepted by tradition.

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