Smith part 2

By Wednesday, December 9
Read pages 293 (starting with Meaning in Suffering) through page 303 (finishing the "Hallowing of Life")

You are to answer (in a brief paragraph) questions centered on each of the following concepts Smith introduces:

1) In Judaism, what is the meaning of suffering?

God used actions to punish rather than words because words do not always prevail in teachings of justice. God used Israel's own enemies to punish it. God uses punishment to teach a lesson. For example, when Israel was being taken over by Assyria and Babylon, the Israeli people were losing hope, and giving up on trying to find a meaning for all this. However, one prophet stated that if they give up searching for meaning, it means the Jewish people are admitting that the Babylonian god, Marduk, was stronger than their god Yaweh. This statement recaptured the determination of the Jewish people, and they knew they needed to learn something from their defeat. They needed to remain faithful to God throughout all their defeats and time of being captives. Since they were being held captive, they learned to appreciate freedom more, since they took it granted before this time. Those who remained faithful to God through these hard times were forgiven, and their suffering ended. The suffering that the Jewish people endured would serve as a lesson to all their future peoples, and would save their future peers from the same suffering. So as the rest of the world looks on to Israel with pity, they must realize that the Israelites spared them from the same level of suffering, and by doing so taught all mankind lessons they would carry on through all future generations.

2) In Judaism, what is the meaning in Messianism?

The meaning in the Judaism climaxed in the idea of Messianism.
Smith begins talking about the idea of improvement, which was invented in the West. Traditionally, views on the quality of life were determined by those who ruled you. For example, the literati in China and brahmins in India. This concept had an exception with the Jewish people in the West. They were an opressed group, but never lost hope. Usually, opressed groups want change because they are not satisfied with their current situation. This hope evolved into something more concrete which became known as the Messiah. The exact ideas of what the Messiah would entail differed between individuals, but the main purpose of it became clear: to give the Jewish people something to hope for. There are two parts of the Messiah, a politico-national side and a spiritual-universal side. The politico-national side represents the triump of the Jewish people over their enemies and the increase of Jewish importance of world affairs, and the spiritual-national side represents a moral advance throughout the world. There were several differing opinions on how exactly this Messiah would come about. One view was that God would bring about a holy being to instigate the Messiah, while another belief was that God would use a human to intervene directly with the happening of the Messiah. This view was called "the messianic expectation". In this scenario life would be perfect in every way for the human race. Another belief was Restorative Messianism, in which things would return to how they were in the old days and the Davidic rulings. However, conditions would improve and morals would be idealized. Yet another facet was whether the Messianic age would continue with the world, or restart the earth completely, bringing it back to its foundations. The main themes of the Messiah change depending on the current situation of the Jewish people. If the Jewish people have a lot of freedom, the themes of ethical perfection and earthly bliss are brought forth. The idea of a Messiah is shown in many forms throughout multitudes of religions and philosophies. In Chrisitianity it is portrayed as the Second Coming of Christ. It is human nature to always hope for something better. There is no better way to illustrate it in religion than through the idea of a Messiah, no matter what form it may take.

3) In Judaism, what is meant by the "hallowing of life"?

Smith begins the chapter by stating that in the Jewish religion, people are united more by what they do than by what they say. In this way, ritual is very important, and there is no official creed that one must agree to before becoming a part of the Jewish religion.
Ritual is highly important because of many reasons. The first being that it helps us avoid akward situations. Smith gives the example of meeting someone new. We wouldn't naturally know what to do when we meet someone new, so traditionally we shake their hand and it helps us avoid an akward situation. Rituals are also used in times of extreme emotion, when we wouldn't know what to do. For example, funerals. We plan a funeral and a service to channel our feelings into form. With death especially, religions help connect our loss with the loss of many others in the past. Another service rituals provide is in times of happiness. Rituals intensify happy feelings, like for example dinner time when the whole family can gather together and say a prayer, which makes the moment even more special.
When Smith starts talking about the actual hallowing of life, he states that in the Jewish religion all living creatures have a holiness like that in God. This is called piety. Piety prepares every living creature for when God comes an holiness reigns on earth. God is responsible for every pleasure we as humans experience on earth, whether it be a quiet stream, the warmth of the sun, or a delicious meal, we owe it to God for experiencing these things. Therefore, praising God is highly important. In the last few paragraphs of this section, Smith restates that of all religions, Judaism holds history the most important. This is because history reaffirms God's meaning in our lives, and this concept carries on throughout eternity.