This week, across the school each year we look at two other faiths – one of these always being Judaism.
In Year 2, we talked about why we study different faiths. These were some of our thoughts:
‘If we meet someone who believes something different, we can help each other understand about we believe.’
‘We need to respect each other.’
The reason why we always study Judaism is that it is the closest religion to Christianity. Jesus was brought up as a Jew. We first hear of Jesus speaking of God’s love in a synagogue (a Jewish place of worship), and as a child visiting the Temple in Jerusalem, which was the central place of belief.
At the centre of Judaism is God and his strong and lasting relationship with his people.
We hear about Abraham, whose deep trust in God led him to leave his home and take his aged wife (who had never had a child) to a new land. He was told by God that he would be the Great Father of all nations. His wife then had a child, Isaac, and the legacy began. Abraham is known as the founder of Judaism.
On Thursday, we were privileged to hear and learn more about Judaism from Rabbi Zvi, who deepened both children and staff’s understanding. The children began to recognise that there were deep links between the two religions and at the heart of both are the same thing – God, and His love and concern for His people.
Let us keep that in our hearts for all the times when we find things challenging and difficult.
As it says in the book of Jeremiah about God and His people, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’.
God bless
Mrs Mackie