Traditions of Israel

Today's post is about four traditions that mainly Jewish families have followed.. Next time, I will write about some of the modern conflicts of Israel and that might end up being one or two articles long.

Circumcision

Circumcision is cutting off the foreskin when a baby boy is born. This started with Abraham in Genesis 17. This was a sign that the Hebrew nation would be set apart by God according to his covenant. Because of the New Covenant under Christ, circumcision is no longer necessary, but some families still choose to do so. It does have some health benefits including resistance to certain diseases, but most families do circumcision because of religious beliefs.

Shabbat

The Jewish Sabbath is mainly on a Saturday, not a Sunday. Christians celebrate Christ's resurrection by gathering together at church on Sunday. Shabbat begins on Friday night which explains why Jesus was taken down from the cross before sundown on Friday night.

Bar Mitzvah

This is celebration of the coming of age for boys in Jewish households. Bar Mitzvah was first mentioned in the Talmud which is the collection of Jewish law. This ceremony and celebration is held the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) after the boy's 13th birthday. The ceremony marks the day when the boy is held responsible for his own actions. Prior to that, Jews believe that the parents are held accountable by God for their son's actions.

At this point, boys become a full-fledged member of the Jewish community, are eligible to be called to read the Torah in the synagogue, have the right to possess private property, have the right to be legally married (because back then people married very early in life), have the right to testify in rabbinical court cases, and have the duty to follow Jewish law.

Before this ceremony, children may be required to attend the synagogue regularly, study the Torah and Hebrew, keep a good standing with the community, and do charitable work. For a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, boys may be called to read the Torah in Hebrew, so learning the language and practicing the readings are important.

In Rebecca Saves the Day, a part of the American Girl Historical Dolls Book Collection, Rebecca's older brother, Victor, prepared for his Bar Mitzvah ceremony by reading the Torah with his grandfather. And after that is completed, her family has a celebration at Coney Island. Secular Jews don't usually read from the Torah. Instead, they will write a paper about Jewish history.

Not all Jewish families celebrate at an amusement park, but there is usually a celebration after the ceremony. The first traces of a Bar Mitzvah celebration were found in the 13th century. This celebration might be a party with family and friends or a special trip (like one to Coney Island). The party may range from a simple meal to a large meal with music, games, and other entertainment.

Family members usually give gifts of educational value such as books or writing supplies, but another common gift is money to be saved for further education in the future. Boys who complete this ceremony and celebration are required to fast during the Days of Atonement.

Bat Mitzvah

Bat Mitzvah is a recognition of a girl's coming of age, but it was not established until modern history. Historians know that this was not as large of a tradition in the 19th or early 20th century. Girls have been called up in front of the congregation since the days of ancient Rome, but a ceremony and celebration for them is much less common. A girl comes of age when she is 12. This will follow the same process as the Bar Mitzvah except for a few major details.

Bar means son and bat means "daughter" in Hebrew. For example, Bartimaeus was probably not the blind guy's real name. He was known as the "son of Timaeus" though.

Girls will not read the Torah in front of the congregation, but they might lecture on a Jewish topic, recite verses from Esther or Psalms, or say prayers in front of all the women in the congregation. They would also have a celebration after nowadays.

Some families decide to have an additional Bark Mitzvah for their dogs, but it is only considered a semi-religious celebration.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah (also known as the Festival of Lights or the Feast of Dedication) is usually known as the Jewish alternative to celebrating Christmas in the holiday season. If you remember, once Alexander the Great died, his kingdom was split up into four parts. The old Persian Empire was given to the Seleucid Kingdom. Antiochus Epiphanes, king of the Syrians, sent his troops to desecrate the temple in 168 BC. He outlawed all Jewish religious practices including festivals, Sabbath, and circumcision. He also set up altars and idols to the Greek gods and forced the Israelites to worship them, the penalty being death.

The Maccabees led by Mattathias (the father) and his son, Judah, began to fight back against the Syrians. When they came to reclaim the Temple for God (the Syrians dedicated it for Zeus), they relit the lampstand (I would think it was much like the golden lampstand from the tabernacle), but they only found enough oil for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days which constitutes the days of Hanukah, meaning "dedication."

This story is found in the books of 1 and 2 Maccabees which the early church rejected as a part of the biblical canon. Catholicism usually accepts books such as these in their Bible, but Christians call the rejected books the "Apocrypha" collectively. There are a lot of contradictions, errors, and unbiblical thoughts in many of these books. Also, when Jesus referred to the Old Testament, he mentioned "Abel" to "Zechariah." "Abel" refers to Genesis, and although Zechariah isn't the last book in the Old Testament, it is the last written book in the Old Testament. Those are some of the reasons these books were rejected as part of the Bible.

The question to ask is: "Are they accurate historical depictions of the time?" In my opinion, they were written as historical books, but it is important to remember that a lot of the historical writings of the ancients were riddled with bias, exaggerations, legends, etc. Although the story of Hanukkah does appear in the apocryphal books, it also appears in other historical sources which would build the credibility of the story. The "Feast of Dedication" is also mentioned in the New Testament once.

Hanukkah is an eight-day festival that usually begins around the holiday season. People light a menorah of eight branches (signifying the days) every day so it will burn for an hour after dark and recite prayers. They also eat foods such as latkes (which are very good) and exchange gifts. Children receive coins called gelt and families may play spin the dreidel which has four Hebrew letters on it. There are even songs for Hanukah including "Oh Chanakuh" and "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel."

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I hope you enjoyed learning about those Jewish traditions. I know that I learned a lot while I was researching for this article. The verse for today is Isaiah 41:10. "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

 

There's a lot of things we tend to fear in life, the future mostly. But we don't have to be afraid because God is with us to strengthen us when we are weak and to uphold us when we can barely stand the trials of life. Trust in Him; He never fails.