He was born about 4, years ago, during an era when many gods were worshiped, but he believed there was only one God. Judaism grew out of a covenant between God, Abraham, Abraham's children and their descendants.
Moses, likely born during the late 14th century BC, led the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt, received the Torah from God and taught the people God's laws. Read More. The main denominations of Judaism are Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. Jewish people worship at synagogues, and any educated member of the congregation can lead a service.
However, a rabbi or cantor usually leads services. Rabbis are Jewish spiritual authorities, educated at yeshivas, religious seminaries.
There is no formal creed that all Jews are obliged to accept, but certain basic teachings can be found in all periods of Jewish history, though they may not always have been understood in the same way.
It is spoken again before retiring and is the last utterance of one's life. It expresses the Jew's faith in a Creator of all that is. It is a way of saying that life is worth living no matter what difficulties have to be faced. It says that God is One and thereby rejects a belief in no god at all or a belief in two gods or three or many.
This belief in one God is called monotheism. According to the Bible an event took place at Mount Sinai that shaped the whole course of Jewish history. It was there that Moses — the leader of the Jewish people — spoke to the Children of Israel, in God's name, and presented to them all the laws by which they were to live. Among those laws are the Ten Commandments and many other laws and regulations covering every aspect of life for both the individual and society.
According to the Bible, the Jewish people, or Children of Israel as they were then called, entered into a covenant, or agreement, with God, through which they were pledged to keep God's law. God, in turn, would look after them, making their land fertile and securing them from their enemies. Because of the covenant, the Jewish people looked on themselves as a chosen people, not chosen for special advantage, but chosen for special responsibility: to obey God's law and to serve God always.
So strong was this idea that even when the sacred city Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in B. They looked on their exile from their land as punishment for their failures, not the failure of their God to care for them.
In modern times this idea was modified by Reform Judaism, which looked on the scattering of the Jewish people as a call to teach the world about God, and it became the "mission" of the Jewish people to do so.
More recently, the Reconstructionist movement removed from its prayer book any reference to the chosen people though they continued to believe that the Jew has a special obligation to study God's law and to live by it.
It is the responsibility of the Jew to bear witness to God in everything he or she does, not only to observe the religious customs and practices of Judaism but to be examples of proper moral behavior. Almost a hundred years before the beginning of the Christian era, a great rabbi named Hillel was approached by a pagan who wanted to be taught all of Judaism in a brief statement.
This is the law, all the rest is commentary. Now go and study," was Hillel's prompt reply. Failure to obey the law is a sin. To recover from sin, a person may repent, which in Hebrew means "to return" and try again. Repentance, therefore, is a way of recovering from doing something wrong and must be followed by an act of atonement, a way of making up for one's errors.
So important is it for the Jew to be "at one" with God that the most important day of the religious calendar is called the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur. In its thinking about the future, Judaism presents a wide variety of beliefs. In biblical times there was no belief in any real life after death. The dead went to a place called Sheol for an eternity of silence and sleep.
There was a belief that someday all the world would accept God and would be united in keeping God's law. This joyous future was to be in this life on earth: Shortly before the beginning of Christianity, the idea of a life after death gained popularity and has remained a part of traditional Jewish belief to this day, although the nature of that life after death is not presented in any detail.
The idea of a coming great day is still held by most Jews but is interpreted in several ways. Traditionalists, or Orthodox Jews, believe that God will send his "anointed one" Messiah who will lead the world to a universal acceptance of God. When that time comes, say the Traditionalists, the righteous dead of all generations will be brought back to life. Liberal Jews still retain a faith in the triumph of goodness and truth and the coming of a better day, but they believe that it will be accomplished through human effort and cooperation.
It is not surprising that a people as spiritually creative as the Jews would find that not all agreed on how the tradition was to be understood or the direction Jewish life was to take. Some of these differences were not of great consequence, but others, of great significance, left their imprint on the development of Judaism.
Some differences today are broad and of great consequence, causing considerable tension among various groups in the Jewish world. The differences in Jewish life today grow out of different approaches to the Jewish religious tradition.
This tradition, including the Written law the Bible and the Oral law the Talmud and the writings of the rabbis, or teachers , is accepted without question by those called Orthodox.
Orthodox Jews accept the Revelation to Moses at Sinai as described in the Bible and accept as binding the decisions of the Talmud and later codes of Jewish law. Non-Orthodox Jews consider the traditional texts to be of great importance but are prepared to make changes that will help adjust Jewish life to the modern world. In spite of general agreement on basic religious ideas, some differences can still be found among the Orthodox, among whom are the Sephardim , descended from Jews who lived in Spain and Portugal until the end of the 's; Ashkenazim , Jews from Central and Eastern Europe; and Hasidim , a community that originated in Eastern Europe.
The Hasidim the word hasid means "pious" are descended from Jews of the 's in Poland and the Ukraine who led a mystic revival and spiritual revolution in Judaism. While Orthodox in their beliefs, they stressed the importance of joy and enthusiasm in performing their religious obligations.
Political and social conditions led to the rapid spread of the Hasidic movement. Numerous sects grew up around religious leaders, called Zaddikim "holy men" , who dominated the life of their communities and frequently created dynasties of religious rule. The Hasidic movement at first was rejected by the intellectuals who dominated Jewish life, but it attracted the masses who suffered from poverty and discouragement.
While the followers of this movement held to the requirements of Jewish law Halakhah , they appeared to their opponents as giving too much attention to the mystical and the emotional elements in Judaism. These opponents, called Mitnaggedim , were often violent in their denunciation of the Hasidim. Both groups felt threatened, however, by the Jewish Enlightenment at the end of the 's and the Reform movement that began to emerge.
They are frequently recognized by their traditional clothing and their close community life. As Jews moved into the modern world, some felt the need to find a way of life closer to that of their neighbors. In a group of Jews in Hamburg, Germany, built a synagogue, which they called a temple. They introduced German in their prayer, shortened the service, and allowed instrumental music in their worship. A sermon was preached in German. They gave up a belief in a personal Messiah and the hope that all Jews would someday return to the land of Israel.
They eliminated head covering and special dietary regulations and put great emphasis on ethical behavior. Experts estimate about , people were ousted and tens of thousands died while trying to reach safety.
The Holocaust: In the Holocaust , the most infamous of modern-day atrocities, the Nazis murdered more than 6 million Jews. During and after the Holocaust, many Jews returned to their homeland in the Middle East region known as Palestine and embraced Zionism , a movement for the creation of a Jewish state that emerged in 19th-century Europe. In , Israel officially became an independent nation. David Ben-Gurion , one of the leading promoters of a Jewish nation state, was given the title of prime minister.
This event was considered a success for the Jewish people who had tirelessly petitioned for an independent state in their homeland. However, tensions between Jews and Arabs living in Palestine escalated in the years since Israel became a state and are still ongoing today.
Orthodox Judaism : Orthodox Jews are typically known for their strict observance of traditional Jewish law and rituals. Orthodox Judaism is a diverse sect that includes several subgroups, including Hasidic Jews.
This form started in the 18th century in Eastern Europe and holds different values than traditional or ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Hasidic Jews emphasize a mystical experience with God that involves direct communion through prayer and worship.
Chabad is a well-known Orthodox Jewish, Hasidic movement. Reform Judaism : Reform Judaism is considered a liberal category of the religion that values ethical traditions over strict observance of Jewish laws.
Followers promote progressive ideas and adaptation. Typically, conservative Jews honor the traditions of Judaism while allowing for some modernization. Reconstructionist Judaism : Reconstructionism dates back to when Mordecai Kaplan founded the Society for the Advancement of Judaism.
Humanistic Jews celebrate Jewish history and culture without an emphasis on God. Passover : This holiday lasts seven or eight days and celebrates Jewish freedom from slavery in Egypt. Rosh Hashanah : Jews celebrate the birth of the universe and humanity during this holiday, which is also known as the Jewish New Year. The High Holy Days are considered a time of repentance for Jewish people.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees defeated the Syrian-Greeks over 2, years ago. Purim : This is a joyous holiday that celebrates a time when the Jewish people in Persia were saved from extermination. Religion: Judaism. Ancient Jewish Texts. My Jewish Learning. They were written over almost a thousand years from to BCE. The word Tenakh comes from the three first letters of the three books included in this text: the Torah, plus the Nev'im prophets and the Ki'tuvim writings, which include histories, prophecies, poems, hymns and sayings.
The Torah is written on scrolls and kept in a special cabinet called the aron hakodish, the holy ark, in synagogues. The Torah is read with a pointer called a yad hand to keep it from being spoiled. Each week, one section is read until the entire Torah is completed and the reading begins again.
The Talmud is also an important collection of Jewish writings. Written about years ago, it is a recording of the rabbis' discussion of the way to follow the Torah at that time. Later texts, the Mishnah Torah and the Shulhan Aruch, are recordings of rabbinic discussions from later periods. Judaism: Basic Beliefs How did Judaism begin?
What do Jewish people believe? Do not make images to worship. Do not misuse the name of God. Observe the Sabbath Day Saturday. Keep it Holy. Honor and respect your father and mother.
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