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Judiasm

Early History of Judaism

Circa 2000 BCE, Yahweh esta blished a divine covenant with Abraham, making him the patriarch of many nations. From his name, the term Abramic Religions is derived; these are the three religions which trace their roots back to Abraham: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The book of Genesis describes the events surrounding the lives of the four patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Moses was the next leader. He led his people out of captivity in Egypt, and received the Law from God. After decades of wandering through wilderness, Joshua led the tribes into the promised land, driving out the Canaanites through a series of military battles.

The original tribal organization was converted into a Kingdom by Samuel; its first king was Saul. The second king, David, established Jerusalem as the religious and political centre. The third king, Solomon built the first temple there. Division into the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah occurred shortly after the death of Solomon in 922 BCE. Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BCE; Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE. The temple was destroyed. Some Jews returned from captivity under the Babylonians and started to restore the temple in 536 BCE. Alexander the Great invaded the area in 332 BCE. From circa 300 to 63 BCE, Greek became the language of commerce, and Greek culture had a major influence on Judaism. In 63 BCE, the Roman Empire took control of Palestine.

Three religious sects had formed by the 1st century AD: the Sadducees, Pharisees and Essenes. Many anticipated the arrival of a Messiah who would drive the Roman invaders out and restore independence. Christianity was established initially as a Jewish sect, centered in Jerusalem. Paul broke with this tradition and spread the religion to the Gentiles (non-Jews). Many mini-revolts led to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 CE. The Jewish Christians were wiped out or scattered at this time. The movement started by Paul flourished and quickly evolved into a separate religion. Jews were scattered throughout the known world. Their religion was no longer centered in Jerusalem; Jews were prohibited from setting foot there. Judaism became decentralized and stopped seeking converts. The local synagogue became the new centre of Jewish life, and authority shifted from the centralized priesthood to local scholars and teachers, giving rise to Rabbinic Judaism.

The period from the destruction of the temple onward give rise to heavy persecution by Christians throughout Europe and Russia. The latter held the Jews continuously responsible for the execution of Jesus. In the 1930s and 1940s, Adolf Hitler and the German Nazi party drew on centuries of anti-Semitism (and upon their own psychotic beliefs in racial purity) when they organized the Holocaust, the attempted extermination of all Jews in Europe. About 6 million were killed in one of the world's greatest examples of religious and racial intolerance.

A Zionist movement was a response to persecution. Their initial goal was create a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The state of Israel was formed on 18 May 1948.

There are currently about 18 million Jews throughout the world; about 7 million live in North America.

Jewish Texts

The Tanakh corresponds to the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) in the Christian bible. It is composed of three groups of books:
     - the Torah Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
     - the Nevi'im, the Prophetic books of Isaiah, Amos, etc
     - the Ketuvim, the "Writings" including Kings, Chronicles, etc.
The Talmud describes a code for daily Jewish life.

Jewish Beliefs and Practices

Jewish beliefs include:
     - Jehovah is the creator and absolute ruler of the universe
     - Jewish belief is unlike the Christian concept of original sin (the belief that all people have inherited Adam and Eve's sin when         they disobeyed God's instructions in the Garden of Eden). Judaism affirms the inherent goodness of the world and its people as      creations of Jehovah. Believers are able to sanctify their lives and draw closer to God by fulfilling mitzvot ( divine                               commandments). No saviour is needed as an intermediary.
     - The Jews are God's chosen people
     - The Ten commandments, as delineated in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuterotomy 5:6-21, form the core of Jewish life
     - The need to follow the many dietary and other laws of the Torah

Jewish practices include:

     - Observation of the Sabbath (day of rest), starting at sundown on Friday evening. D Strict religious discipline governs almost          all areas of life D Regular attendance at Synagogue
     - Celebration of the annual festivals including:
     - The Passover, which is held each Spring to recall their deliverance out of slavery in Egypt. A ritual Seder meal is eaten in              each observing Jewish home at this time. Some Passover dates are: 1995-APR-15, 1996-APR-4 and 1997-APR-22
     - The 10 days from Rosh Hashanah (New Year) to Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) which are days of fasting and penitence.            Some Rosh Hashanah dates are 1995-SEP-25, 1996-SEP-14 and 1997 -OCT -2.
     The local synagogue is governed by the congregation and led by a rabbi who has been chosen by the congregation. The Chief      Rabbis in France and Great Britain have authority only by the agreement of those who accept it. Two Chief Rabbis in Israel             have civil authority in areas of family law.

Jewish Sects

There are five main forms of Judaism in the world today:
     - Conservative* Judaism: This began in the mid-nineteenth century as a reaction against the Reform movement. It is a main-line         movement midway between Reform and Orthodox.
     - Humanistic Judaism: This is a small group, mainly composed of atheists and agnostics, who regard mankind as the measure of        all things.
     - Orthodox* Judaism: This the oldest and most conservative form of Judaism. They attempt to observe their religion as close to         its original forms as possible. They look upon every word in their sacred texts as being divinely inspired.
     - Reconstructist Judaism: This is a new liberal movement started by Mordecai Kaplan as an attempt to unify and revitalize the            religion. They reject the concept that Jews are a uniquely favoured and chosen people.
     - Reform* Judaism: They are a liberal group, who follow the ethical laws of Judaism, but leave up to the individual the decision          whether to follow or ignore the dietary and other traditional laws. They use modern forms of worship.

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