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(D6)  RABBI READING THE TORAH SCROLL
Artist – Chuck Marshall
Giclee of an Oil on Canvas


Picture
(D6)  RABBI READING THE TORAH SCROLL
Artist – Chuck Marshall
Giclee of an Oil on Canvas

A Rabbi (Jewish scholar and teacher) prayerfully reads from the Torah which, according to traditional orthodox Jewish thought, is the book of the law given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  The Torah includes the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).  The word of Torah can also refer to the entire body of wisdom and law contained in Jewish Scripture.  



The message of the Torah is one of compassion, and is intended for all humankind, revealing the nature of God and His relationship to us.  In this painting the Rabbi is wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) which is worn daily during morning prayers, services, and special holidays.  Note the yad (pointer) that he is holding as he reads.  Yad is a Hebrew word for hand.  This is to ensure that the fragile parchment is not touched, preserving it from damage.  

​Further information on the Jewish Faith:

Judaism is the ethnic religion of the Jewish people, comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenant that God established with the Children of Israel.  It encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. The Torah is part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or the Hebrew Bible, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth largest religion in the world.

Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism, which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah.  Historically, all or part of this assertion was challenged by various groups such as the Sadducees and Hellenistic Judaism during the Second Temple period (570 BCE - 70CE); the Karaites and Sabbateans during the early and later medieval period; and among segments of the modern non-Orthodox denominations. Modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic.  Today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism (Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism), Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between these groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition, and the significance of the State of Israel. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditionalist interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations which observance of is required of all Jews. 

​
Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary.  Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and in the rabbis and scholars who interpret them.

Judaism has its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. It evolved from ancient Israelite religions around 500 BCE, and is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions. The Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as "Jews" in later books of the Tanakh, such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title "Children of Israel".  Judaism's texts, traditions, and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam, and the Baha'i Faith.  Many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law.  Hebraism was just as important a factor in the ancient era development of Western civilization as Hellenism, and Judaism, as the background of Christianity, has considerably shaped Western ideals and morality since Early Christianity.

Jews are an ethnoreligious group, including those born Jewish, in addition to converts to Judaism.  In 2015, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14.3 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population.  About 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and another 43% reside in the United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe, and other minority groups spread throughout Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
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“The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person’s suffering and bring that person joy.” 
– Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist
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The Spirituality Circle 
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  • Home
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