| Just as the writings shape what people believe and
the holidays commemorate and celebrate certain events
in Jewish history, Halakhah or Jewish law strives to
provide continuity and guidance for everyday living.
As with any society or culture, there is a need for
structure and direction, for the way we act towards
one another. The way in which people coexist depends
largely on laws set out for the well being of everyone.
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Halakhah
Halakhah is often defined as Jewish Law but a more literal
translation defines it as “the path that one walks.”
The practices and rules of everyday life makes of the Halakhah
and includes the Mitzvot of the Torah as well as the laws
of the rabbis and long standing customs of Judaism. Of these,
the most significant are the 613 Mitzvot, including the 10
Commandments and the dietary laws.
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10 Commandments
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Tablets of the 10 Commandments.
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Familiar to most people are the 10 Commandments, as they
have shaped most law in Western societies. These 10 Commandments
were given to Moses by God and he then gave them to the Hebrews.
The 10 Commandments are:
1. Belief in one God
2. Forbidden worship of idols
3. Prohibition of using the name of God in vain
4. To remember the Sabbath and save it as a holy day
5. To honor the father and mother
6. Prohibition of murder
7. Prohibition of adultery
8. Prohibition of stealing
9. Forbidden to bear false witness
10. Forbidden to covet another’s property
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613 Mitzvot
Most people are familiar with the 10 Commandments of the
Torah/Old Testament. However, there are actually 613 commandments
(Mitzvot) set out in the Torah that guide life. There are
positive as well as negative commandments. In relation to
numerology, 613 is also the numeric value of the word Torah
plus two (for the two commandments set out before Torah).
In addition, there are 248 positive commandments (the same
number as there are bones/organs in a man’s body) and
365 negative ones (the same number of days in a solar year).
When you hear someone speak of ‘mitzvah,’ they
usually mean the doing of a good deed. The translation of
‘mitzvah’ is commandment but in the looser sense
it refers to any good deed.
List of the 613 Mitzvot: http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm
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Dietary Laws
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A summary of the laws
of the kosher diet.
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What seem to cause the most confusion in Halakhah are the
dietary laws. These laws ‘Kashrut’ or more popularly
‘kosher’ refers to the way in which foods can
be eaten as well as how they are prepared/procured.
For details, please visit: http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm
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13 Principles
of Faith
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Moses Maimonides, Talmudic
scholar and author of the 13 Principles of Faith.
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Although not necessarily a part of Halakhah, the 13 Principles
of Faith also play an important role in defining what it means
to be Jewish. These 13 principles set out by Moses Maimonides
are:
1. The existence of God;
2. His unity;
3. His spirituality;
4. His eternity;
5. God alone the object of worship;
6. Revelation through his prophets;
7. The preeminence of Moses among the Prophets;
8. God's law given on Mount Sinai;
9. The immutability of the Torah as God's Law;
10. God's foreknowledge of men's actions;
11. Retribution;
12. The coming of the Messiah;
13. Resurrection.
Source: http://www.us-israel.org
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Consider the following:
1. What are the functions of the Mitzvot and how are they
important to everyday life.
2. Think about how laws shape societies both positively and
negatively.
3. Consider how the 613 Mitzvot contributed to Jewish society
and what the function of this might be.
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