Details

1. The Hebrew people have been said to be a “People of the Book.” Describe in specific details this “Book,” its physical make up, its historical development, and its significance to the Jewish people. Be sure that you examine this from a Jewish perspective and not a Christian one.

2. Examine Orthodox Judaism in terms of the ten characteristics which all religions have in common.,0

3. Examine in detail the differences between the four main branches of Judaism as practiced in the United States (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist).

4. Examine the issue of anti-semitism. What is it? What is its historical development? Why has it persisted until the present day? What has been the role of Christianity in the continuation of anti-semitism?

5. Examine in detail the major Jewish holy days in terms of their historical development and the significance they hold for modern practitioners of Judaism. How are they celebrated today?

6. Research the many interpretations of the story of Adam and Eve.

7. The Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides argued that faith and reason were complementary. Roughly a half century later, St. Thomas Aquinas held the same position in the Christian world. Compare and contrast the reasoning of these two thinkers.