Judaism: Equality

What Judaism: Equality covers

Judaism: Equality is examined in Paper 3, Area of Study 3: Religion, Philosophy and Social Justice, if Judaism is the religion studied for that area. It covers Jewish teaching on human rights, Jewish attitudes to equality and ahavat ha-beriot, religious freedom and the story of Esther, Jewish attitudes to prejudice and antisemitism, Jewish work for racial harmony, Jewish attitudes to racial discrimination, Jewish attitudes to social justice and Jewish teaching on wealth and poverty.

The 8 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Jewish teaching on human rightsRené Cassin and the history of modern rights, Proverbs 14:31, the Holocaust, the UK charity that bears Cassin's name, situation ethics, duties alongside rights, and Humanist arguments.Open →
• Jewish attitudes to equality and ahavat ha-beriotLeviticus 19:13–18 on workers, disabled people, judgement and neighbours, the causes and harms of inequality, why all people are equal, lessons from Jewish history, and Jewish groups working to reduce inequality.Open →
• Religious freedom and the story of EstherHaman's plot and his words in Esther 3:8, Esther's risk and Mordecai's persuasion, how the story is celebrated, life in a multi-faith society, and debates over faith schools, shechitah and circumcision.Open →
• Jewish attitudes to prejudice and antisemitismProverbs 24:23, antisemitism before the Holocaust, how Nazi discrimination developed, tracking and opposing antisemitism in the UK, situation ethics, Holocaust Memorial Day, and work against prejudice today.Open →
• Jewish work for racial harmonyLeviticus 19:33–34 on the stranger, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the civil rights movement, JCORE, a multi-ethnic Jewish people, Israel and Ethiopian Jews, and the story of Ruth.Open →
• Jewish attitudes to racial discriminationGenesis 3:16–24 and the unity of humankind, the Mishnah on why Adam was created alone, UK law on racial discrimination, racism within Jewish communities, and why chosenness is not superiority.Open →
• Jewish attitudes to social justiceExodus 22:20–26 on strangers, widows, orphans and lending to the poor, tikkun olam, World Jewish Relief, work in the UK, situation ethics, and the history of Jewish involvement.Open →
• Jewish teaching on wealth and povertyAbsolute and relative poverty, Deuteronomy 14:22–29 and what it commands every third year, tzedakah and ma'aser kesafim, Maimonides' levels of giving, Perkei Avot 4:1 on riches, and pe'ah.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Judaism: Equality further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Tzedakah vs Tikkun olam

  Tzedakah: the duty to give money to the poor as justice owed. Tikkun olam: repairing the world through acts of justice and kindness.

• Ahavat ha-beriot vs Tzedek

  Ahavat ha-beriot: love of all creatures and all people. Tzedek: justice or righteousness.

• Ma'aser kesafim vs Pe'ah

  Ma'aser kesafim: giving a tenth of one's income to charity. Pe'ah: leaving the corners of a field unharvested for the poor.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What are human rights, and why do Jews support them?

   Model answer

   Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections every person is entitled to. Jews support them because every person is made in the image of God.

2. 2

   What is the history of modern human rights?

   Model answer

   The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in 1948, after the horrors of the Second World War. The UK passed its Human Rights Act in 1998.

3. 3

   What part did René Cassin play in human rights?

   Model answer

   René Cassin, a French Jewish lawyer, was a principal drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Cassin received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968.

4. 4

   What does Proverbs 14:31 teach?

   Model answer

   Proverbs 14:31 says whoever oppresses the poor insults their Maker. Whoever is kind to the needy honours God.

5. 5

   How might Jews use Proverbs 14:31 to support human rights?

   Model answer

   Proverbs 14:31 links how people treat the poor to how they treat God. The rights of the vulnerable must therefore be protected as a religious duty.

6. 6

   Why is the Holocaust important in Jewish support for human rights?

   Model answer

   The Holocaust showed what happens when a state denies a group's basic rights. Jews have since campaigned to protect the rights of all persecuted peoples.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Judaism: Equality revision questions

What does Judaism: Equality cover in Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B?

8 subtopics: jewish teaching on human rights, jewish attitudes to equality and ahavat ha-beriot, religious freedom and the story of esther, jewish attitudes to prejudice and antisemitism, jewish work for racial harmony, jewish attitudes to racial discrimination, jewish attitudes to social justice and jewish teaching on wealth and poverty. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Judaism: Equality organised?

By the Edexcel 1RB0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.