Introduction What do you know about Judaism already? Or what have you heard abou

Introduction
What do you know about Judaism already? Or what have you heard about it?
“Pray as if everything depended on God, act as if everything depended on ourselves” – what does quote tell us about Judaism?
Historical Overview
Who was Abraham? What is his role in the beginning of Judaism?
What is the covenant? And what are the terms of it?
What are the three phases of Judaism? And what are some characteristics of each phase?
What is the Jewish diaspora?
What was the Holocaust and how did it change the Jewish religion and international community?
When was the modern nation-state of Israel created? Why is its creation important to Jews?
Myths of Origins
Where in the Torah is the Jewish creation story located?
Why do Jews and Biblical scholars claim that there are two creation stories?
Where is the first creation story located in Genesis? What are some features of the first creation story?
Where is the second creation story located in Genesis? What are some features of the second creation story?
How are the two stories different? How are they similar?
How do Jews interpret this story different from many Christians?
Why are Jews called “God’s Chosen People?” Why does it mean something different from what many people assume it to mean?
Historical Myths
What is the story of The Exodus in the Torah?
Why and how does it lead to an archetypal narrative of ‘exile and return’ in Jewish history?
When and what is the “Temple Period” in Judaism? How many temples have there been in Jewish history?
When was the second temple destroyed? How does that destruction lead to a change in Jewish religion and life?
When and what was the Babylonian Exile?
Have Jews been treated well or been persecuted for the majority of their history?
Why did Jews consider history to be sacred? What does ‘tell the story’ refer to?
Myths of Endings
What do Jews believe about the ‘afterlife’?
Is there universal agreement among Jews about what happens after death?
Is speculation on what happens after death a central aspect of Judaism? Why not?
What is “olam ha-ba?” Who was Maimonides?
What does “maschiach” mean? Who is a mashiach? Who are the mashiachs mentioned in the Torah?
What is Mashiach in Greek?
What are the beliefs about the “awaited Mashiach” in Judaism?