On the fourteenth day of the first month the Lord’s Passover is to be held. On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast. -- Numbers 28:16 -17
Passover is one of the major Jewish festivals which occurs on the 14th of Nissan in the Jewish calendar. It begins at sundown as the family traditionally gathers from far and wide to sit together in the home after weeks of preparation to clean and remove all leaven from the house.
The Kaddish is a prayer praising God and expressing a yearning for the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. It is recited at funerals and by mourners. Sons are required to say Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a parent.
The word Kaddish means sanctification, and the prayer is a sanctification of God’s name. Kaddish is only said with a minyan (prayer quorum of ten men), following a psalm or prayer that has been said in the presence of a minyan, since the essence of the Kaddish is public sanctification.
It is important to understand the foundation of what Jewish people believe today. There is no single answer. The term dogma, which is much better applied to Christianity, has little place within Judaism. In Judaism, the need for a profession of belief did not arise, and rabbis saw no necessity for drawing up concise formulas stressing Jewish beliefs and faith.
Theologically speaking, it is understood that Jewish people are born into God’s covenant with the people of Israel in Genesis 12:1-3:
The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'
When God established His covenant with Israel through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He created a Chosen People for a specific mission: To be a light to the gentiles. They were to declare to those lost in paganism, idolatry, heathenism and worse that there IS one and one only true God.
Some of the “God fearers” became proselytes (the initial definition of that word was for gentiles to follow the Jewish laws eschew all false gods.)
According to Jewish tradition and rabbinic interpretation, it is through the observance of the Seven Noachide Laws that the entire world becomes a decent, productive place, a fitting receptacle for the Divine. The Rambam (Moses Maimonides, 11th century Jewish philosopher and scholar) explicitly rules (Code, Kings 8:10): “Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) commanded from the mouth of God to convince all the inhabitants of the world to observe the commandments given to the Children of Noach.”
Jewish humor has a long tradition in Judaism dating back to the Torah and the Midrash from the ancient mid-east. Today it refers to the more recent stream of verbal, self-deprecating and often anecdotal humor originating in Eastern Europe and which took root in the United States over the last hundred years. Beginning with vaudeville, and continuing through radio, stand-up comedy, film, and television, a disproportionately high percentage of American and Russian comedians have been Jewish.
There is an old Jewish tale which states that God was seeking a people who would carry out his Laws. He went to the Canaanites, but when they found out there was no idolatry, they passed. When the Hittites heard that they could not covet they passed too. Eventually after going to the 70 nations He came to Moses who said he would agree to take two tablets and call back in the morning.
Well, all humor aside, the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai is one of the hallmark events in Israel’s history. But just what is the Law? Ask most Christians that question today and the answer is almost unanimous, “The ten commandments.”
Often I’ve asked Jewish people this question, “When the Jewish Messiah comes, how you will know? How will you be able to identify the true Jewish Messiah from many over the centuries who have claimed to be Messiah, but weren’t?”
Most Jewish people today don’t know how they will identify the Messiah of Israel. They typically respond, “Well, when He comes, we will just know it.” Others say, “Our Rabbi will be sure to tell us when the Jewish Messiah is here, but we know He hasn’t come yet.”
