Deck 3: Jewish Traditions

Question 1

A bat mitzvah is a(n) ________.

A) tractate of the Mishnah
B) sage of the Talmud
C) part of the wedding ceremony
D) initiation ritual for girls

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Sabbath means ________.

A) seventh day
B) holy day
C) rest
D) council

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Synagogues as places of assembly, study, and prayer appeared ________.

A) in the desert, before the erection of the Temple
B) after the destruction of the second Temple
C) after the destruction of the first Temple
D) after the destruction of the third Temple

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to Jewish law, a boy attains adult status at the age of ________.

A) 13
B) 18
C) 21
D) 8

Question 5

Three major Jewish denominations in the United States and Canada are ________.
The chapter spends a lot of time talking about Reconstructionist Judaism. Maybe that should be reflected in this question.

A) Conservative, Ultra-Orthodox, and Modern Orthodox
B) Reform, Sephardic, and Ashkenazi
C) Conservative, Reform, and Hasidic
D) Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox

Question 6

The Documentary Hypothesis sees textual inconsistencies in the Hebrew Bible as ________.

A) indicators of different sources of the text
B) challenges to faith
C) indicators of the divine origin of the text
D) hints to allegorical or mystical interpretations

Question 7

Every day, practising Jews meet to pray ________.

A) at sundown and sunrise
B) at sundown
C) five times a day
D) three times a day

Question 8

The First Temple was built in Jerusalem by ________.

A) Solomon
B) Cyrus
C) David
D) Moses

Question 9

The First Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by ________.

A) the Persians
B) the Babylonians
C) the Romans
D) the Assyrians

Question 10

The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible is known as the Septuagint because, according to legend, ________.

A) 70 angels dictated the text to 70 prophets
B) it took 70 years to complete
C) the text was buried in the ground for 70 years
D) it was translated by 70 Jewish sages

Question 11

Rabbinic interpretation of the Hebrew Bible is called ________.

A) teshuvah
B) gemarah
C) midrash
D) mishnah

Question 12

The Oral Torah, in its written form, is called the ________.

A) Midrash
B) Kabbalah
C) Shulhan Arukh
D) Mishnah

Question 13

According to rabbinic tradition, the Oral Torah was a tradition ________.

A) produced by Pharisees and rabbis
B) shaped by early Christians
C) revealed to King Solomon by God
D) passed down from Moses

Question 14

The Mishnah is divided into ________.

A) 2 "kingdoms"
B) 10 "commandments"
C) 6 "orders"
D) 613 "laws"

Question 15

The text that became the more authoritative commentary for the Jewish community is the ________.

A) Jerusalem Talmud
B) Midrash
C) Babylonian Talmud
D) Palestinian Talmud

Question 16

The Torah contains ________ commandments.

A) 613
B) 10
C) 13
D) 7

Question 17

Sephardim is a designation for descendants of Jews from ________.

A) North America
B) Israel
C) Spain
D) Germany

Question 18

Ashkenazim is a designation for descendants of Jews from ________.

A) Israel
B) Spain
C) North America
D) Germany

Question 19

The most famous medieval Jewish philosopher, the author of the The Guide of the Perplexed, is ________.

A) Maimonides
B) Kaplan
C) Luria
D) Buber

Question 20

The central concept of the form of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah is ________.

A) sefirot
B) zaddik
C) mitzvoth
D) logos

Question 21

According to Isaac Luria, tikkun is ________.
Tikkun olam?

A) the restoration of the universe
B) a form of meditation
C) an act of piety
D) an initiation ritual

Question 22

The focal point of the Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover) is the ________.

A) ritual meal called a Seder, during which the Haggadah is read aloud
B) ritual singing of songs detailing the flight out of Egypt
C) passing of a loaf of bread
D) ritual lighting of candles associated with the passing over from this life to the next

Question 23

It was the Greek-speaking community of Alexandria that ________.

A) tried to have the laws governing food cleanliness changed
B) included Greek writing in the Hebrew Bible
C) had the marks of circumcision removed
D) had the Hebrew Bible translated into Greek and called it the Septuagint

Question 24

Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, celebrates ________.

A) liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt
B) the conquering of the forces of light and goodness over the forces of darkness and evil
C) the return of the Second Temple to the Jews by Judah the Maccabee and his brothers
D) the autumnal harvest moon

Question 25

The interpretations of the rabbinic movement, which incorporated the Pharisaic traditions, ________.

A) went through a radical reorientation at the hands of the Sadducees
B) died out in the first century of the common era
C) defined Jewish beliefs and practices for the past 2000 years
D) lasted until the period of the Haskalah

Question 26

From the middle of the eighth century CE, scholars in the two great Jewish academies at Sura and Pumbeditha were sent many letters with questions of how to apply Halakhah to new situations found in the diaspora. Their answers are referred to as ________.

A) the law of the Diaspora
B) the responses of the academies
C) the opinions of the gaonim
D) responsa letters

Question 27

A particular form of the Jewish mystical tradition is known as ________.

A) Hesed
B) Kabbalah
C) Yehudim
D) Hokmah

Question 28

One of the most influential Jewish Kabbalists was ________.

A) Isaac Luria
B) Moses Maimonides
C) Jacob Heschel
D) Martin Buber

Question 29

The Holocaust or Shoah refers to ________.

A) the attempts by the Nazis to disenfranchise the Jews
B) the period during World War II when the allies decided to bomb the death camps
C) the Nazi program of genocide
D) the attempts of certain German nationalist groups to murder orthodox Jews

Question 30

Jewish dietary laws stipulate

A) those foods that are acceptable and how they are to be cooked
B) which foods are to be consumed with which drinks
C) those foods that are not considered nutritious
D) which foods are to be eaten during the day

Question 31

According to the Jewish text, Alphabet of Ben Sira, Adam's first wife Lilith ________.

A) assumed a more powerful role than Adam
B) refused to share power with Adam
C) expected to share power equally with Adam since both were made of the same substance
D) dragged Adam into the underworld of Sheol

Question 32

In Judaism, the minyan is the quorum of ten individuals necessary to begin group prayer.

Question 33

In Rabbinic tradition, three conditions for conversion are male circumcision, ritual immersion, and acceptance of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.

Question 34

By the fifth century CE, Jews were prohibited from owning Christian slaves.

Question 35

Rabbi is the Hebrew name for priest.

Question 36

Tzaddik is a title of a Hasidic Jewish leader.

Question 37

Scholars refer to the spread of Greek culture outside the borders of Greece as "Hellenization."

Question 38

The father of Reform Judaism was Israel Halevi.

Question 39

The oldest and most highly revered prayer in Judaism is the Shema.

Question 40

After the burial of a deceased Jewish person, the children of the deceased (in Orthodox families, only the sons) recite the Kaddish.

Question 41

What is the role of history in Judaism?

Question 42

What is the Documentary Hypothesis of Jewish academic discourse?

Question 43

How does Jewish tradition understand the notion of a messiah?

Question 44

What are the High Holy Days in Judaism?

Question 45

How does the Reform movement address modernity and tradition?

Question 46

What are three cultural groups within Judaism today? Briefly describe each.

Question 47

What are the three modern-day movements within Judaism that arose as a result of the Haskalah? Briefly describe each.

Question 48

Compare and contrast the relationship between religion and ethics in Judaism with that same relationship in the ancient cults of the gods.

Question 49

How does religion express identity in Jewish tradition?

Question 50

In what ways is Judaism's strength is in its diversity of religious expression?