Terms with an asterisk (*) designate a possible short-response candidateZoroastrianismJudaismChristianityIslamREL1300- Study Guide Exam 4 Terms with an asterisk (*) designate a possible short-response candidate Zoroastrianism1. Zoroaster- also known as Zarathustra - Founder of the religion and was originally trained by a priest. Convinced the prince to convert to his religion because he healed his horse. The religion became official religion of the Persian Empire. - Slain by a soldier during a political movement going on at the time 2. *Avesta- text that was compiled in the 9th and 10th Centuries - Consists of 7 parts arranged by topic- Zoroaster mostly wrote it. - Yasna is the most important part (72 chapters) and contain the Gathas which arethe hymns- The Gathas are considered the very words of the prophet Zoroaster, and all otherscriptures are based on these. 3. Ahura Mazda- Supreme Deity “wise lord” - Emanates two spirits, the Beneficent Spirit and the Evil Spirit 4. Dakhma- death right of passage “tower of silence” - Dead person is buried in a sadre. The body then rots while the vultures eat the flesh. The bones are then crushed and put down a well - This is done as to not contaminate the elements, which is based on Zoroastrian ethics of the sacredness of the four elements. 5. Parsis- group of Zoroastrians that fled from Persia (modern Iran) to India during Islamic conquest in the Middle East.6. *sadre and kusti- Sadre is the sacred shirt that young Zoroastrian boys and girls receive when they are old enough to enter into the religion (7 in India; 10 in Iran). - Kusti is the sacred thread or belt, which they also receive upon entering the religion. It must be tied and untied at least 5 times a day as a form of prayer. It is made up of 72 threads, which represent the 72 chapters in the Zoroastrian Scripture Yasna. - They must wear these two things at all times (except for bathing) for the rest of their lives. It is wrapped around the person’s body when they die. 7. Jasans: also known as feasts that take place each month.- Each jason falls on the day that bears the name of that particular month - It is in honor of the Ameshna- Spenta or Yazad that the month belongs to.- The Farvardin jason is the most popular feast days. It is a ten-day long feasts and it is said that departed spirits visit their descendants during this time. Judaism1. Exodus- most important event in Judaism - Time when Moses delivers the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. They then wander in the Wilderness for 40 years trying to reach their homeland, which waspromised to them by God.2. *Babylonian captivity- In 586 BCE, the southern nation called Judah, which was made up of the remainder of David’s people (the Jews), were either captured or destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Jerusalem as a whole was destroyed as the temple was torn down. - However, during the captivity, the Jews faced certain theological changes: o YHWH became mobile making him just as accessible in Babylon as in Jerusalem. o God is the true God of all people, not just Jewso God no longer spoke through a prophet, but through a book (introduced by Ezra) 3. *Diaspora developments- diaspora refers the voluntary and involuntary scattering ofJews - Synagogues were built so the people would have a place to worship away from Jerusalem- Rabbis were introduced as the voice of God to teach the Torah to the people. - Among the gentiles, they refused to work on the Sabbath, Practiced Kosher laws, and male circumcision. Most gentiles looked down on them for these practices. - Text was complied so the scattered people would have a text to hold them together. 4. Talmud- commentary on the Torah, most of which was written by the rabbis. - Has two parts: Mishnah and Gemara. The Gemara has contains little details about every day life. - There are two Talmuds (Babylonian and Palestinian). The Babylonian one is moreinfluential and longer, and is the Talmud that most refer to today. - Most important non- biblical material in Judaism. 5. Kabbalah- Mystic tradition of Judaism (Kabbalistic Number) - The Jewish Messiah will be an earthly ruler from the line of David. 6. Zohar- most outstanding compilation of Kabbalistic material. - Concerned with themes such as the nature of God, theory of the emanations from gods, Cosmology, creation of humankind and angels, existence of evil and work of angels in the world. - Author is unknown7. Torah- Jewish text that is the same as the Pentateuch (first 5 books) of the Hebrew bible {Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy}- Considered the interpretation of the Law and is interpreted by the rabbis and sages - The people are guided by the Torah because they are all scattered from their home land 8. Ashkenazim and Sephardim- Sephardim are the Jewish refugees from Spain and Portugal. Developed their own language of Spanish mixed with random Hebrew words. Developed their own liturgy and pronunciation of Hebrew - Ashkenazim are the Jews of Eastern Europe. Spoke Yiddish (Middle High German and Hebrew) and wrote w/ the Hebrew alphabet. Accounted for the highest concentrated population of Jews residing in Poland (UT OH!)9. *Zionism- Began with the Dreyfus case: Alfred Dreyfus was a Jew convicted of treason and imprisoned on Devil’s Island. Herzl brought to light that Jews would never be treated equally until they had their own homeland - Movement involves Theodor Herzl pleading to Jewish state for Palestine to be their homeland. - This movement sewed the seeds for the rebuilding of Palestine, which would later be Israel. - Jewish city of Tel Aviv eventually founded in 1909 10.Passover- begins on the fifteenth of March/ April and lasts for 8 days honoring theExodus. - During the Exodus, the people smeared blood on their door so the angel of deathwould pass them.11.Bar and Bat Mitzvah- Bar Mitzvah is the male version of the celebration that occurs when a boy becomes a man at the age of 13. - Bat Mitzvah is the female version of this. 12. Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative Judaism - Orthodox: largest group of Jews that are the most traditional o Worship on Sunday, Hebrew service, kosher laws, cover heads, separate men and women during service. - Reform: attempts to be modern. Most common in US and Europe o Friday services, conduct service in vernacular (common language of congregation), women don’t cover head nor are they separated from men during service, women are also allowed to be rabbis - Conservative:
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