Jewish Culture

Robert Johnston, McKenzie Drapola, Mackenzie Santillo, Colton Graham, Ashley Walton, Juliana Rotz
Culture Overview: Israel

● Jewish people are spread out worldwide, but majority (43%) live in the the birthplace of Jewish
people, which is Israel.
● Israel contains around 6.5 million Jews.
● The United States is home to about 5.3 million Jews.
● Israel is a Middle Eastern country on the Mediterranean Sea, located in Asia and is considered the
“biblical Holy Land.”
● The most sacred sites in Israel is in Jerusalem which is the capital. They include the Dome of Rock
shrine, the historic Western Hall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
● The official languages of Israel are Hebrew, Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic.
● The three most practiced faiths of Israel are Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
● The colors blue and white on the Israel flag were chosen according to the colors of Tallit - which is
the Jewish prayer shawl.
Culture Overview: Subdivisions of Jews
● Jews from the middle east are divided into four main subdivisions. There are the Sephardic Jews,
the Ashkenazic Jews, the Mizrahi Jews, and the Ethiopian Jews.
● Sephardic Jews come from Spain, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Spanish Diaspora.
● Ashkenazic Jews come from Germany and Eastern Europe.
● Mizrahi Jews come from primarily Iraq, Persia (Iran) and Yemen, but can be found anywhere from
Morocco to Calcutta.
● Ethiopian Jews lived in Ethiopia then migrated to Israel in the 1980s/90s.
● The major divisions of Jews in the United States are Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and
Reconstructionist.
● Many Jews today live a multi-layered Jewish existence and will often borrow each other’s cultural
traditions.
Healthcare Practices (Traditional Practices)
The expertise of the healthcare professional is extremely important in caring for a Jewish person who is ill.
They are seen as instruments of God, who is the ultimate giver and taker of life.

● Jewish people do not consent to euthanasia, suicide, or abortion, and such actions which are
forbidden by Jewish law.
● Avoidance is seen as the highest form of healing. Drugs and surgery are considered as failure in the
prevention of diseases from creeping into one’s physical health.
● As God is all-merciful in the Judaic tradition, it is alleged that people who are sick are so because of
God’s pre-planned devise.
● Jews have resorted to prayer whenever they suffered from any time of deluge. The prayers acts as
a source of healing for the individuals to come out of the agony they are suffering from at the
present moment. It allows individuals to have an access to regions of the person’s inner selves and
can help individuals to get in contact with their confidence of their faith. People find calmness in
knowing that the words of the psalms and blessings have been made vocal by millions of Jews both
in the past and in the present, who like them, hanker for healing.
Healthcare Practices (Traditional Practices) cont.
One of the prime characteristics of spiritual healing among the Jews is the concept of Bikur cholim,
which refers to the visiting of the sick.

● During the time of illness, Bikur Cholim provides the people with comfort of human association and
interdependence, a sense of community. This association gives a patient the strength to heal faster.
● The mitzvah of Bikur cholim helps accomplish the commitment to "love our neighbor as our-self,"
and it is obligatory on the part of every Jew.
● A visitor's attentive presence breaks the isolation and sense of abandonment, the existential
aloneness often felt by one who is sick, reaffirming the person's essential humanness and
wholeness. In addition, the visitor reaffirms a sense of connection and purpose.
● Therefore, Bikur cholim demonstrates the healing power of relationship.
Healthcare Practices (Traditional Practices) cont.
Also, the concept of healing in the Torah. Torah is the holy book of the Jews in Judaism. It contains
numerous scriptures which provide a person with the measures to heal from all the pathos of life. It is
considered as an expert book of medicine. There are six levels of the Torah:

● Out of the six levels, the first involves the advice of the experts as the experienced practitioner
knows the appropriate medicine to recommend in order to treat the definite ailments of the body.
● The second level involves the power of charms.
● The third level involves the chanting of the holy names.
● The fourth level includes the types of healing measures that is referred to by the Sages.
● the fifth level includes to take one’s soul to “take over” and “replace” the body by endorsing all of its
physical functions.
● The sixth level involves with the miracles that takes place in the process of healing of a human
being. It makes one belief in the “spark of God.”
 Healthcare Practices (Beliefs)
Jewish people have a highly moral lifestyle and regard the Jewish Bible (the Torah) and its commandments
and teachings as a way of life rather than a religion.

● With a Jewish person, physical contact between men and women is reserved for immediate family only.
Jewish patients are also more comfortable with nurses and doctors of the same gender as them.
● In many cases the harvesting of organs for donation is not permitted.There are many legal
considerations in Jewish law and a rabbi must be consulted before going ahead with any procedure.
● Organ donation may be permitted when the organ is needed for a specific and immediate transplant, but
Jewish law forbids the donation of organs for general medical research or to an organ bank, where there
is no specific and immediate recipient.
● Jewish law both encourages blood donation and allows patients to receive blood and blood products.
● Judaism does not allow post-mortem examinations (autopsies) out of respect for the human body.
● When a Jew dies, it is essential that the body is laid flat, with hands open, arms parallel and close to the
body, and the legs stretched out straight. There is no need to remove identification bracelets or wash the
body as the Jewish Burial Society will prepare it for burial. The body should then be wrapped in the
mortuary sheet and removed to the appropriate place, according to hospital procedure.
Biological Ecology: Health Diseases Common to All Jews
● Cystic Fibrosis: An inherited life-threatening disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system.
● Familial Mediterranean Fever: An inherited disease characterized by recurrent attacks of fever, etc.
● Fragile X Syndrome: Genetic condition causing intellectual disability.
● Glycogen Storage Disease Type II: An autosomal recessive metabolic disorder which damages
muscle and nerve cells throughout the body.
● Phenylalanine Hydroxylase Deficiency: An autosomal recessive disorder that results in tolerance to
the dietary intake of the essential amino acid phenylalanine.
● Retinitis Pigmentosa 28: A group of inherited eye diseases that affect the light-sensitive part of the
eye (retina).
● Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome: An inborn error of cholesterol synthesis and is autosomal recessive.
● Spinal Muscular Atrophy: A genetic disease affecting the part of the nervous system that controls
voluntary muscle movement.
● Tay-Sachs Disease: An inherited metabolic disorder in which certain lipids accumulate in the brain,
causing spasticity and death in childhood.
● Wilson Disease: A genetic disorder in which copper builds up in the body.
Nutrition (Traditions)
● The special foods associated with Jewish holidays vary according to people’s cultural heritage and family
customs, with differences between Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions and flavors.
● The main Jewish holidays celebrated with food are Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, Passover, Shabbat, Sukkot,
Yom Kippur, Simchat Torah, Tu b’Shevat, Purim, Shavuot, Tisha b’Av.
● Rosh Hashanah includes sweet honey cake.
● Hanukkah has crispy potato latkes.
● Passover has tender matzah balls
● Shabbat includes vegetarian or vegan main dishes
● Sukkot serves pumpkin and squash along with cabbage, grape leaves, peppers, and other stuffed
vegetables to symbolize a “full harvest.”
● Yom Kippur is the fasting of food.
● Simchat Torah includes giving children honey to represent the sweetness of Torah and serving adults dough
stuffed with meat filling then boiled and served in chicken soup or as a side of dish dough.
● Tu b’Shevat includes eating nuts and fruits with four glasses of wine.
● Purim is known for tri-cornered cookies filled with poppy seeds or preserved fruit.
● Shavuot is the custom of eating fresh fruits, grains, and dairy foods.
● Tisha b’Av some maintain an all-dairy diet preceding the fasting an lamentation of Tisha b’Av.
Nutrition (Limitations and Health Promotion)
Kashrut is the body of Jewish law dealing with what foods they can and cannot eat and how those foods must be
prepared and eaten. Although the details of kashrut are extensive, the laws all derive from a few fairly simple,
straightforward rules:

1. Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the
forbidden animals.
2. Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.
3. All blood must be drained from meat and poultry or broiled out of it before it is eaten.
4. Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
5. Fruits and vegetables are permitted, but must be inspected for bugs (which cannot be eaten).
6. Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains
can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).
7. Utensils (including pots and pans and other cooking surfaces) that have come into contact with meat may
not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not
be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot.
8. Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten.
Jewish Death Rituals
● Just as there is a way to live as a Jew, there is also a way to die and be buried as a Jew.
● The first thing to do after a death in the family, if they belong to a synagogue and the family lives
near, is to contact their rabbi or another synagogue leader.
● Jewish burials take place as quickly as possible, following a principle of honoring the dead (k’vod
hamet). Only if immediate relatives cannot arrive in time from abroad, or there is not enough time for
burial before Shabbat or a holiday are burials postponed for a day. Anything less is considered a
“humiliation of the dead.”
● Cremation and embalming is forbidden by Jewish Law.
● Jewish Law also requires being buried in a simple pine box.
● The body is dressed in white burial shrouds (tachrichim).
● Men are buried with their prayer shawls (tallitot).
● If a person suffered an injury and blood soaked into his or her clothing, then ritual washing is not
done.
● The body is guarded or watched from the moment of death until after the burial.
● It is customary for the family to sit in Shiva (mourning) after the burial.
Top 10 Facts to Remember
1. The majority of Jewish people live in Israel, which is their birthplace.
2. The most sacred sites in Israel is in Jerusalem, which is the capital.
3. Jewish people have a highly moral lifestyle and regard the Jewish Bible (the Torah) and its
commandments and teachings as a way of life rather than a religion.
4. The three most practiced faiths of Israel are Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
5. The official languages of Israel are Hebrew, Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic.
6. Health care professionals are seen as instruments of God, who is the ultimate giver and taker of life.
7. Kashrut is the body of Jewish law dealing with what foods they can and cannot eat and how those
foods must be prepared and eaten.
8. The body is guarded or watched over from the moment of death until burial.
9. There are special foods associated with different Jewish holidays.
10. Prime characteristics of spiritual healing among the Jews are the concept of Bikur cholim (visiting of
the sick) and the healing of the Torah (the holy book of the Jews.)
References
Advocacy & Education, I. (2017). Key Facts About Israel. Retrieved from
https://www.adl.org/resources/fact-sheets/key-facts-about-israel

British Jews, Board of Deputies of. “Jewish Family Life and Customs: A Practical Guide.”
Www.scojec.org, 2017, www.scojec.org/resources/files/jewish_family_life.pdf

Collins, A. (2002, February 28). Nursing with Dignity Part 1: Judaism. Retrieved from
https://www.nursingtimes.net/roles/nurse-managers/nursing-with-dignity-part-1-judaism/205662.article

Eron, L., Rabbi. (n.d.). The Goal of Life. Retrieved from https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/goal-life

Heller, R. T. (2000, January 30). Men & Women: Jewish View of Gender Differences. Retrieved from
http://www.aish.com/ci/w/48955181.html

Jewish Food Experience. (2018). Jewish Holidays and Food. Retrieved from
https://jewishfoodexperience.com/celebrating-the-jewish-holidays/
References
Judaism, Health, and Healing. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000825CR/P001532/M018444/ET/1483520482Text.pdf

Klug, L. A. (n.d.). The Jewish Federations of North America. Retrieved from

https://jewishfederations.org/jewish-funeral-customs-saying-goodbye-to-a-loved-one

MJL. (2002). Types of Jews. Retrieved from https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/types-of-jews/

Rich, T. R. (2011). Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws. Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm

Rich, T. R. (2011). The Role of Women. Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/women.htm

Truth, F. (2016). 10 Israel Facts. Retrieved from http://www.fuelfortruth.org/ten_facts

Solomin, R. M. (2002). Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jews. Retrieved from
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/sephardic-ashkenazic-mizrahi-jews-jewish-ethnic-diversity/