Judaism Basics: Memorize 78 Flashcards on Torah, Talmud, Holidays and Branches

Judaism Basics (deck RL2174, 78 cards) is a compact map of the Jewish world: texts, history, holidays, ritual objects, branches and communities. The cards are solid. Their weakness is the order. Holidays are scattered, a couple of dates are traditional rather than archaeological, and one key festival never appears. Here is how to learn it efficiently.

What the deck actually covers

You'll memorize: Torah, Tanakh (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim), Written vs Oral Torah, Mishnah (redacted c. 200 CE by Judah ha-Nasi), Gemara, Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud, Halakha, Midrash, Aggadah; Abraham, covenant, brit milah, Moses, Exodus, Mount Sinai, Ten Commandments, 613 mitzvot; Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, Hanukkah, Purim, Book of Esther; kippah, tefillin, tallit and tzitzit, mezuzah, minyan, Shema; First and Second Temple, Babylonian captivity, Maccabean Revolt, Hasmoneans, Bar Kokhba revolt, diaspora; Pharisees, Sadducees, Rabbinic, Karaite, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Hasidic Judaism; Maimonides' 13 Principles, Messiah, Olam Ha-Ba, Kabbalah, Tikkun Olam, Zionism, 1948; Yiddish, Ladino, Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews.

Sample cards

A study order that sticks

1. Texts first (cards 2-4, 11-17). Use the Written/Oral Torah split as a tree: Tanakh on one branch, Mishnah + Gemara = Talmud on the other, with Halakha (law) vs Aggadah (story) as the two kinds of content.
2. Then one timeline. Pull cards 31-37, 59 and 66 into a single sequence: First Temple, 586 BCE exile, Second Temple, Maccabees and Hasmoneans, 70 CE, Bar Kokhba, diaspora, 1948.
3. Then the calendar. Gather the holidays in calendar order (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, Purim, Passover) instead of deck order.
4. Finally, people and movements. Learn Pharisees vs Sadducees vs Karaites as one contrast, then the three modern branches plus Hasidism.

Fixes worth making to your copy

• Add Shavuot. The deck has Passover and Sukkot but not the third pilgrimage festival, Shavuot. It celebrates the giving of the Torah at Sinai, which card 9 teaches without naming the holiday. One new card completes the set of shalosh regalim.
• Two "holiest sites". Cards 33 and 34 both call their site "the holiest in Judaism". Keep the Temple Mount as the holiest site. Reword the Western Wall card as "the holiest place where Jews currently pray".
• Menorah vs hanukkiah. Card 30's seven-branched menorah is the Temple lamp. The Hanukkah lamp has nine branches (eight + the shamash). Write a card for it so the two aren't confused.
• Tag dates by type. 957 BCE for the First Temple is a traditional chronology. The "70 years" of exile (card 35) is a biblical figure; the return began in 538 BCE. Card 75's 14.8 million world population looks low next to recent demographic estimates of about 15.8 million. Check the latest figure before you trust it.
• Cards 5, 60, 61 and 68 are reversed (description → term). Keep them, because they train recall in the other direction.

Related guides

Judaism is the first of the three Abrahamic faiths. Pair this deck with Learn Christianity in 185 Flashcards and Study Islam with 192 Flashcards. Compare covenant, prophecy and scripture across the three.

Find Judaism Basics (RL2174) in the Religions library on Flip It.