Ronald Kiener

This is a closed book, closed notes exam that is to be completed in two hours. The exam is composed of four parts.

PART I. [20 points]: ID’s — Identify the following 10 terms, names, or concepts in no more than one phrase or sentence. Save yourself the trouble — there is no need to write a paragraph.

1. etrog
2. seder
3. Yom Tov
4. shaharit
5. Shulhan ^cArukh
6. minyan
7. Shekhinah
8. Rabbi Judah the Prince
9. tefillin
10. mohel

PART II. [5 points]: Calendar — Provide the name (in Hebrew or in English) corresponding to the following date, and a brief description of the main theme of the holiday:

1. 25 Kislev
2. 1 & 2 Tishre
3. 15 Nisan
4. 14 Adar
5. 9 Av

PART III. [35 points]: ESSAY — Please write on one of the two following essay questions. Budget approximately 45 minutes in writing your answer.

Essay 1. Describe the history, development and function of the synagogue in Jewish life. Be sure to describe the main activities that go on inside a typical synagogue.

Essay 2. What is a mitzvah? Describe the theology of mitzvot, and be sure in your essay to discuss the various classifications of the mitzvot. Feel free to use examples.

PART IV. [40 points]: ORAL TRADITION — Describe in detail the theology and observance of one of the following three Biblical commandments as it was developed in Rabbinic Judaism. What are the religious and ethical values that are conveyed through the Rabbinic treatment of the commandment? How are these commandments observed amongst contemporary American Jewry?

COMMANDMENT 1. Genesis 17:10:
“This is My covenant that you shall observe between Myself and yourselves and your seed after you: circumcise every male.”

COMMANDMENT 2. Exodus 20:8/Deuteronomy 5:12:
“Remember/Keep the Sabbath day to make it holy.”

COMMANDMENT 3. Exodus 23:14-17:
“Three festivals celebrate before Me each year. Observe the feast of matzah; seven days eat matzah as I have commanded you, in the appointed time of the springtime month; for in it you came out from Egypt; and none shall appear before me empty. And the feast of the harvest, the first fruit of your labors, which you have sown in the field; and the feast of in gathering, which is in the end of the year, when you have gathered in your effort from the field. Three times a year all your males shall appear before God the Lord.