Judaism: Daily Life (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies): Revision Note

The Tenakh and Talmud in daily life

What are the Tenakh and the Talmud?

• The Tenakh is the main sacred Jewish text and governs all aspects of Jewish life

• The Old Testament in the Christian Bible is made up of the books of the Tenakh, although they appear in a different order

• Often, the Tenakh is written TeNaKh; the capital letters are the initials of the different sets of books that it comprises

  • T for Torah, N for Nevi’im and K for Ketuvim

What is the Torah?

• The Torah is the name given to the laws and teachings within Judaism

• The Torah is the first five books of the Old Testament

  • Genesis

  • Exodus

  • Leviticus

  • Numbers

  • Deuteronomy

• The Torah was given to Moses by God, and it contains the mitzvot, including the Ten Commandments

• The Torah is always treated with great respect within Judaism

  • It is an honour to be asked to read from it at a service in the synagogue

  • No one is allowed to touch the Torah with their bare hands

  • Instead, a pointer called a yad is used to follow the words

• The Torah is read aloud over the course of a year in Orthodox synagogues or over three years in Reform synagogues

• When the Torah is carried through the synagogue, worshippers in the congregation bow as it passes them

What are the Nevi’im (prophets)?

• The Nevi'im consists of eight books that trace Jewish history and expand on the laws given in the Torah

• Each of the books is named after one of the eight prophets who are believed to have been chosen by God to encourage Jews to follow God’s laws

• There are two sections to the Nevi’im

  • These are the former and the latter prophets

  • The former prophets talk about the history of the Israelites

  • The latter prophets contain the words of 15 prophets, including Isaiah

What are the Ketuvim (writings)?

• The Ketuvim contains 11 books, including Psalms and Proverbs

• Many of these books contain writings on philosophy

What is the Talmud?

• Although the Torah is absolute and everlasting, some Jews look for new interpretations of its words to help them relate the teachings to today’s life

• The Talmud helps with this, as it interprets the laws of the Torah and relates them to modern issues

• The Talmud is a collection of teachings and discussions from early rabbis about the Torah and is split into two parts

  • The Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi Judah Ha’Nasi, who wrote down the oral law to avoid future misinterpretations. It explains how to apply and follow the mitzvot

  • The Mishnah includes lessons and quotations by scholars from first-century rabbis and their discussions about how the laws given in the written Torah could be adapted to suit new situations

  • The Gemara is a collection of discussions and comments relating to the Mishnah

• There are two versions of the Talmud: the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud

  • They differ in many ways apart from their places of origin and dates of compilation

How do Jews use the Tenakh and Talmud in their daily lives?

• The Tenakh and the Talmud are used in Jewish worship

  • The Tenakh commands prayer and Sabbath rest, and the Talmud explains how and when to pray

• They are also used in relation to dietary laws

  • The Tenakh lists clean and unclean animals (Leviticus 11), and the Talmud explains how to prepare and separate meat and dairy

• Both are used to advise and support issues relating to family life 

  • The Tenakh gives laws on marriage and respect for parents, and the Talmud discusses marriage contracts and raising children

• The Tenakh and Talmud help Jews to live a moral life

  • The Tenakh teaches to love your neighbour (Leviticus 19:18), whereas the Talmud gives examples of fairness, charity and honesty in work

• They both give helpful information about maintaining justice in Jewish life

  • The Tenakh provides moral rules, and the Talmud explains how to apply them in court and society

• Both texts are important in the daily lives of Jews

  • They show Jews how to live according to God’s will

  • They help maintain Jewish identity and unity across the world

  • They provide moral guidance and spiritual discipline

  • Rabbis use them to make modern decisions (about medicine or technology)

  • Studying them is a form of worship and obedience to God

Dietary laws

What are kashrut laws?

• Jewish laws regarding food are known as kashrut

• The kashrut laws cover all of the rules relating to food, including:

  • The type of animals a Jewish person can eat

  • How the animals are prepared

  • The foods that are forbidden include:

    • Blood, certain fats and sinews

    • Flies and insects

  • Food preparation

• These rules are contained within the mitzvot, mainly within the Books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus

• Following the rules around food shows obedience and self-control

• Food that is allowed is called kosher (meaning fitting or correct), and food that is not allowed is called treif

  • Examples of treif food include shellfish, pork products and food that has not been slaughtered correctly, known as shechitah

What are kashrut laws related to food?

• There are strict rules that govern kosher laws, and these are based on scripture

  • Land animals must have cloven (split) hooves and must chew the cud, meaning that they must eat grass

  • Seafood must have fins and scales, so eating shellfish is not allowed

  • It is forbidden to eat birds of prey as they are not considered “clean” birds ( meaning birds that do not eat other animals), but poultry (chicken, etc.) is allowed

  • Meat and dairy cannot be eaten together

Keeping kosher in Britain

How do Jews keep kosher in Britain?

• In big cities with large Jewish communities in the UK, there are kosher supermarkets, shops and restaurants catering to Jewish people

  • Often, these are located near synagogues

  • Even in smaller communities with fewer Jewish people, many major supermarkets have a kosher food section

  • Many food manufacturers produce ordinary foods to kosher standards

  • Also, some foods and drinks are labelled “parev” to show that they contain no meat or dairy

• Some Jews avoid eating out at dinner parties and non-kosher restaurants and cafes

• Some Reform and Liberal Jews are less strict about the rules when eating out or at friends’ homes

• Many Jews may stick to vegetarian or vegan options when eating out, as all of these foods are parev

How is food prepared in Britain today?

• Eating meat within Judaism is acceptable, and this is written in scripture

• For meat to be consumed, it must be kosher

• Meat is only considered kosher if it has been prepared according to Jewish dietary laws

• Meat is also viewed as trefah if it has not been slaughtered correctly (the proper way is known as shechitah)

  • The person who can act as the slaughterer (shohet) must be proficient in the practice and be a religious Jew

  • Customarily, the shohet must receive written authorisation from a recognised rabbinical authority regarding his qualifications for the role

• During the slaughtering process:

  • Animals must have their throats cut with a sharp knife by a shohet, a person trained to slaughter animals in a kosher way

  • Judaism forbids causing unnecessary pain to animals, so the throat is cut with a razor‐sharp knife, causing an immediate loss of consciousness and death

  • The blood must then be drained from the animal because the Book of Deuteronomy (12:23) forbids Jews to eat or drink blood

• No animals that have died naturally can be eaten

• It is forbidden to slaughter the parent with its young on the same day

• It is forbidden to eat animals that have been killed by other animals

  • This prohibition is taken to include other diseases or disorders that afflict the animal and cause it to die

• The batte din, or the Jewish tribunal, regulates kosher butchers to ensure that kosher rules are maintained

Separation of milk and meat

• The biblical text forbids cooking a mixture of milk and meat

• Based on scripture, distinct rules have been developed that Jews must adhere to, including:

  • Not cooking meat and milk together (regardless of whether the result is eaten)

  • Not eating milk and meat together (regardless of whether it was cooked together)

• Jews must therefore be careful about what they eat and how the food is prepared

  • Jews who follow these dietary rules cannot eat cheeseburgers, for example, because they mix meat with cheese (which is made from milk)

  • Often, this rule is extended further so that people wait up to six hours after eating meat before they eat dairy

  • It also means that all dairy products and the utensils used for serving them must be kept apart from meat products and utensils within the kitchen

  • Some Jewish kitchens have two separate counters for meat and milk to avoid mixing them