Jewish Life Cycle
   HOME





Jewish Life Cycle
The Jewish life cycle is marked by a series of religious and cultural rituals that celebrate significant milestones from birth to death. Each event has deep religious meaning, community involvement, and traditional practices that have been passed down through generations. Birth and childhood The life cycle begins with the birth of a child, celebrated by various ceremonies. For boys, the Brit Milah (circumcision) is performed on the eighth day after birth, followed by a celebratory meal. The birth of a child is a joyous occasion, and the community often comes together to support the new parents. Education Education is a fundamental aspect of Jewish life, starting from a young age. Children begin their religious education early, often attending cheder or Talmud Torah to learn Jewish traditions, the Hebrew language, and the Torah. The Bar Mitzvah for boys at age 13, and the Bat Mitzvah for girls at age 12 or 13, marks the transition into religious adulthood. This involves recitin ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Brit Milah
The ''brit milah'' (, , ; "Covenant (religion), covenant of circumcision") or ''bris'' (, ) is Religion and circumcision, the ceremony of circumcision in Judaism and Samaritanism, during which the foreskin is surgically removed. According to the Book of Genesis, God commanded the Patriarchs (Bible), biblical patriarch Abraham to be circumcised, an act to be followed by his descendants on the eighth day of life, symbolizing Covenant of the pieces, the covenant between God in Judaism, God and the Jewish people. Today, it is generally performed by a mohel on the eighth day after the infant's birth and is followed by a celebratory meal known as ''seudat mitzvah''. ''Brit Milah'' is considered among the 613 commandments, most important and central commandments in Judaism, and the rite has played a central role in Jewish history, the formation and history of Jewish culture, Jewish civilization. The Talmud, when discussing the importance of ''brit milah'', considers it equal to all ot ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

A BIBLE CLASS IN A HEDER IN TEL AVIV
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version is often written in one of two forms: the double-storey and single-storey . The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English, '' a'' is the indefinite article, with the alternative form ''an''. Name In English, the name of the letter is the ''long A'' sound, pronounced . Its name in most other languages matches the letter's pronunciation in open syllables. History The earliest known ancestor of A is ''aleph''—the first letter of the Phoenician ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah (, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew language, Hebrew, the scriptures (especially the Torah), and the Talmud (and ''halakha''). This was meant to prepare them for ''yeshiva'' or, particularly in the movement's modern form, for Jewish education at a high school level. The Talmud Torah was modeled after the ''cheder'', a traditional form of schooling whose essential elements it incorporated, with changes appropriate to its public form rather than the ''cheder's'' private financing through less formal or institutionalized mechanisms, including tuition fees and donations. In the United States, the term ''Talmud Torah'' refers to the afternoon program for boys and girls after attending public school. This form of Jewish education was prevalent from the mid–19th century through "the 1940s a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Hebrew Language
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. The language was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and is the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival. It is the only Canaanite language, as well as one of only two Northwest Semitic languages, with the other being Aramaic, still spoken today. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew, with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as '' ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Torah
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () or the Five Books of Moses. In Rabbinical Jewish tradition it is also known as the Written Torah (, ). If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll ( '' Sefer Torah''). If in bound book form, it is called '' Chumash'', and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries (). In rabbinic literature, the word ''Torah'' denotes both the five books ( "Torah that is written") and the Oral Torah (, "Torah that is spoken"). It has also been used, however, to designate the entire Hebrew Bible. The Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash. Rabbinic tradition's underst ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bar Mitzvah
A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" ''b'nai mitzvah'', at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. Traditionally, the father of a ''bar'' or ''bat mitzvah'' offers thanks to God that he is no longer punished for his child's Jewish views on sin, sins. In Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox communities, boys become ''bar mitzvah'' at 13 and girls become ''bat mitzvah'' at 12. In most Reform Judaism, Reform, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reconstructionist, and Conservative Judaism, Conservative communities, the milestone is 13 regardless of gender. After this point, children are also held responsible for knowing Jewish law, Jewish ritual law, Jewish tradition, tradition, and Jewish ethics, ethics, and are able to participate in all ar ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bat Mitzvah
A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" ''b'nai mitzvah'', at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. Traditionally, the father of a ''bar'' or ''bat mitzvah'' offers thanks to God that he is no longer punished for his child's sins. In Orthodox communities, boys become ''bar mitzvah'' at 13 and girls become ''bat mitzvah'' at 12. In most Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative communities, the milestone is 13 regardless of gender. After this point, children are also held responsible for knowing Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics, and are able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life to the same extent as adults. In some Jewish communities, men's and women's roles differ in certain respects. For example, in ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Chuppah
A ''chuppah'' (, ) is a canopy under which a Judaism, Jewish couple stand during their Jewish wedding, wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will build together. In a more general sense, ''chuppah'' refers to the method by which ''nessuin'', the second stage of a Jewish wedding, is accomplished. According to some opinions, it is accomplished by the couple standing under the canopy along with the rabbi who weds them; however, there are other views., Chapter 18 Customs A traditional chuppah, especially in Orthodox Judaism, recommends that there be open sky exactly above the chuppah, although this is not mandatory among Sephardic communities. If the wedding ceremony is held indoors in a hall, sometimes a special opening is built to be opened during the ceremony. Many Hasidic Judaism, Hasidim prefer t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Ketubah
A ketubah (; ) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a Jewish views on marriage, traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, the ''ketubah'' has no agreed monetary value, and is seldom enforced by civil courts, except in Israel. History According to the Talmud, Babylonian Talmud, the ''ketubah'' was enacted by Simeon ben Shetach so that it might not be a light thing for a man to divorce his wife. The enactment provides for a man's wife to receive a fixed sum of money, usually accruing from his property, in the event of his divorcing her or of his predeceasing her. ''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' suggests a different reason: "...the Torah has commanded us to perform an act before taking a wife, a matter that is intended to show that they are a couple united in wedlock before he lies down with her carnally, and that he not come upon her as one would do to a prostitution, ha ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Temple In Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Solomon's Temple, First Temple was built in the 10th century BCE, during the reign of Solomon over the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), United Kingdom of Israel. It stood until , when it was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. Almost a century later, the First Temple was replaced by the Second Temple, which was built after the Neo-Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid Persian Empire. While the Second Temple stood for a longer period of time than the First Temple, it was likewise destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Projects to build the hypothetical "Third Temple" have not come to fruit ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, [mɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh]) and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer'' within the Trimurti, the Hinduism, Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shaktism, Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess (Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta Tradition, Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an Omniscience, omniscient yogi who lives an Asceticism#Hinduism, ascetic life on Kailasa as well as a house ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Kaddish
The Kaddish (, 'holy' or 'sanctification'), also transliterated as Qaddish, is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different versions of the Kaddish are functionally chanted or sung as separators of the different sections of the service. The term ''Kaddish'' is often used to refer specifically to the Mourner's Kaddish, which is chanted as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services, as well as at funerals (other than at the gravesite) and memorials; for 11 Hebrew months after the death of a parent; and in some communities for 30 days after the death of a spouse, sibling, or child. A person is described as "saying Kaddish" if they are carrying out these rituals of mourning. Mourners recite Kaddish to show that despite the loss they still praise God. Along with the Shema Yisrael and the Amidah, the Kaddish is one of the most im ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]