Tanakh's Role In Jewish Culture

Time is a complex concept that has been explained and imagined differently by the various cultures, societies, and religions of the world. Currently, American society views time as a limited opportunity to be productive. This American philosophy of time is exemplified by the heavy reliance on a daily schedule. The rigidity of a schedule enables the individual to budget his/her limited time each day. In contrast, the Jewish religion views time as a means for both individual and communal reflection of the Jewish people’s history and ever changing relationship with God. Although the Tanakh is composed of the Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim, the Torah is undoubtedly the primary focus of the Jewish people. This claim is strongly supported by the fact
According to Segal, “The Torah consists chiefly of two types of material: It is primarily a narrative, tracing the history of the world, humanity, and then focusing on a particular nation. The other type consists of laws, in the form of divine commandments” (Segal, p.13). Therefore, when these two “material types of the Torah” are merged, the Torah is now perceived as the Jewish people’s historical and ever-changing relationship with God. The argument supporting the theory of an ever changing relationship to God is found by analyzing the story of the first destruction of the Jewish temple. Here, the Jewish people do not abandon their God, but rather ask themselves how did we scrutinize our relationship with God? What did we do to upset God? In this case, the relationship between the Jewish people and God changes from praise in building the temple to guilt in trying to understand the rational for the destruction. Not only does the Torah itself focus on the relationships between God and his chosen people, but the Jewish people themselves support the claim
As such, moments of Jewish Triumph, perceived as “oneness” with God are celebrated as holidays such as Pesach, Purim, Sukkot, Purim, and Shavuot. It is in the reflection and celebration of these historical Jewish moments that mark the key events of the liturgical year, and helps one understand the significance of time with accordance to the Jewish religion. For example, Pesach is the Jewish holiday (holy day) in remembrance of the Passover, when God spared first born Jews while killing the Egyptians. This event resulted in Moses leading the Jewish people out of slavery, which demonstrated the faithfulness and supremacy of their all-powerful God. The Jewish people celebrate Pesach by observing “the tradition of having a Seder meal and eating the bread known as matzah” (PPT#4, Slide 9), which potentially symbolizes the poverty of the Hebrew slaves as well as the Passover meal. Pesach is just one of the many holidays in which the Jewish people demonstrate an appreciation and reflection for their ancestral heritage and omnipotent God. The holidays of Sukkot and Purim share a similar origin with Pesach because they too celebrate the actions of the early Jewish people. For example, Jews continue the tradition of building “booths and eating meals in which historical figures such as Abraham are invited to join (PPT#4, Slide 5). Finally, Shavuot demonstrates the importance of time in