Download People practicing Judaism

AN INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM
 Founded in the 13th Century BCE
 Founder: Moses, who emancipated the Jews from slavery in Egypt and later
established a ‘covenant’ between his people and Yahweh on Mount Sinai
 Traditionally, it is held that Abraham and his descendants established Judaism
before Moses, however the 10 Commandments are now considered by many to
be the foundation upon which Judaism rests.
 Roots: dating back approximately 4000 years= origins of Judaism, Islam and
Christianity
 Place: Palestine (sometimes called Canaan; now Israel
 Sacred Books: Old Testament (which consists of the Five Books of Law, the
historical books, the Prophets and other writings). The most sacred are the
Five Books of the Law= called the TORAH
 Symbols: Menorah and Star of David
 People practicing Judaism: Smallest major world religions, making up 0.2 %
human race
Historical Overview
• Ancient Israel is the birthplace
of the 3 great monotheistic
religions of the world: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam
• Ancient Israel dates back
approximately 4000 years to the
books of the Old Testament
• Great patriarchs of Judaism:
Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua
• Hebrews, Israelites, Jews,
Semites: have all undergone
persecution throughout history;
from Babylonian Captivity,
Exodus, Diaspora, Spanish
Inquisition, Holocaust
Ancient Israel
Birthplace of Judaism is also
birthplace to Islam and Christianity
What is in a name?
• Hebrew means “From across”- name given
to Abraham and his followers
• Israelites: Abraham’s grandson Jacob
renamed Israel which means “he who has
wrestled with God”. His descendants were
called “Israelites”
• Jews: named after Jacob’s son Judah,
ancient father of tribe of King David’s
dynasty. Jesus was Jewish.
Tracing Roots of Israel’s History
• Nomadic tribes wandered into Palestine from east in
approximately 1900 BCE
• Mesopotamian society dominated by polytheism
• God (Yahweh) appeared before Patriarch Abraham and
told Abraham “to go and raise a great nation”
• This began the monotheistic tradition of the Hebrew faith
with the establishment of the “Covenant”, “Chosen
People” and “Promised Land”
• Abraham settled in Canaan
• Story: Sacrifice of Abraham
Patriarchs to Judaism
Abraham
• God told Abraham to go to Haran and then Canaan to
make a great nation
• Began monotheistic tradition
• Covenant with God
• The story of the Sacrifice of Abraham
Patriarchs to Judaism
Isaac
Son of Abraham (Ishmael)
Jacob and Esau
Twin sons of Isaac (and Rebecca)
Jacob’s name is changed to Israel
12 sons of Jacob (become the twelve
tribes of Israel)
Jacob’s 12 sons (12 Tribes of Israel)
Reuben (Genesis 29:32)
Simeon (Genesis 29:33)
Levi (Genesis 29:34)
Judah (Genesis 29:35)
Dan (Genesis 30:5)
Naphtali (Genesis 30:7)
Gad (Genesis 30:10)
Asher (Genesis 30:12)
Issachar (Genesis 30:17)
Zebulun (Genesis 30:19),
Joseph (Genesis 30:23)
Benjamin (Genesis 35:18)
Adopted Grandsons
Manasseh
Ephraim (Genesis 48:5)
Daughter - Dinah
Moses & Exodus:
“Let My People Go!”
• Joseph is sold into slavery and later becomes a governor of Egypt
and brings his entire tribal family to live there where they begin to
grow in numbers. They are made to be slaves to keep their
population down.
• Moses received revelations from God: burning bush, rod / staff, 10
plagues, parting of the Red Sea
• End of 13th century BCE- Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in
Egypt during Rames II reign called the EXODUS
• Moses led the 12 Tribes of Israel to Mount Sinai where Yahweh gave
him the 10 Commandments, uniting the Hebrews under one God
• Moses and Hebrews searched for the “Promised Land” or the land
of milk and honey, however they wandered in the desert for 40
years
Tribes become a great nation
• They settle in Canaan and begin to develop as a nation
• These tribes ruled 200 years in Canaan (Israel) under David
and Solomon
• Eventually ten tribes split from two tribes
(Northern/Southern Kingdoms)
• The ten tribes were attacked by the Assyrians in 722 BC and
they went into exile under Assyrian rule (Called the Lost
Tribes of Israel, but some Jewish scholars believe they
aren’t lost)
• Babylonians overthrow the Assyrians
• In 586 BC, Jerusalem is captured by the Babylonians
Key Concepts
Covenant
• solemn and binding agreement between God and Abraham
(humanity) as God as the Creator and the Chosen people
Chosen People
• Jews considered themselves to be God’s Chosen People as
God chose Abraham and led him to monotheism
• Jews were instruments of God’s will
• God chose Jews (humanity); humanity must choose God
Promised Land
• Gained significance during Moses’ life as Hebrews sought to
keep covenant and develop a community in the Promised
Land. Jews believe this is Israel.
Development of Judaism
• Judges: tribal leaders
• Kings: King Saul, King David, King Solomon (built temple)
• Division: Northern tribes = Israel; Southern tribes = Judah
• Prophetic Tradition: word of God spoken through prophets “Love God
and keep the covenant with Him”
• Exile in Babylon= Temple of Solomon destroyed; creation of synagogues
and rabbis and concept of Messiah “anointed one”
• Diaspora: dispersal of Jews outside of Israel and Hellenization
• Maccabean Revolt: temple rededicated to God
• Expansion of Roman Empire and rule: destroying of the temple leaving
only the Western Wall; rabbinic Judaism (interpretative commentaries)
Monotheistic
• Oneness of Creator God
• Human obligation to worship God
• God is immaterial and indivisible
• God is refered to as YHWH or YAHWEH “I am that I am”
Lineage
• People are born a Jew (through mother) or can convert (gerut)
Mitzvah
• act of performing a good deed or commandment (ie. 10 Commandments)
• Bible contains total of 613 mitvoth (some positive, some negative)
Jesus
• View of Jesus = born a Jew a preacher and teacher
• Jesus was not the Son of God; the Messiah is still to come
Suffering
• suffering is heightened because as the Chosen People, Jews expect to
suffer for all of mankind
Death and Afterlife
• on death, body returns to earth (dust to dust) but the soul (Atman, Ori)
returns to God who gave it body will be Resurrected and reunited with soul
at a later time (therefore no cremation)
TORAH
• consists of Five Books of
Moses written on
parchment scroll in ancient
form by hand and kept in
Ark
• Torah means “law” but
more accurate is
“revelation”, “teaching”
or “instruction”
• Torah is divided into 54
sections and one portion is
read each week (2 weeks
of year have a double
portion) so that the entire
Torah is read from
beginning to end in a year
Sacred Texts
Tanakh
• Jewish Bible, consisting of Torah (Law of Moses), the
Prophets, and the Writings
Talmud
• second most important source of rabbinic Jewish law based
on Mishnah, which complements and interprets the Torah
and applies scripture to everyday life and observance
Mishnah
• Early rabbinic teachings on how to live according to Torah
Practices
• Holy Ark & Torah
• Blessings and prayer
• Minyan - 10 males (or females) over age of 13 in communal prayer of
worship
• Kashrut
• Shabbat - important ritual that is based on creation stories of Genesis and time is
set aside for prayer, family and friends (Friday sunset – synagogue- lighting of candle
“let there be light”, Sabbath dinner (Kiddush) songs and prayer)
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Circumcision (symbol of covenant with God)
Shofar (ram’s horn blown to bring people together)
Bar / Bat Mitzvah
Marriage
Death & Shiva (seven days of mourning)
Holidays
• Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
• Hanukkah
• Passover
Symbols
• Star of David= shape of King
David’s shield; symbol
adopted by Zionists
• Menorah= ancient source of
light
7 branched= Sabbath
9 branched= Hanukah
Denominations
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Orthodox
Reform
Conservative
Reconstructionist
Messianic
Western Wall
•The Western Wall in the midst of the Old City in
Jerusalem is the section of the Western supporting
wall of the Temple Mount which has remained intact
since the destruction of the Second Jerusalem
Temple (70 CE)
•It became a center of mourning over the
destruction of the Temple and Israel's exile
• communion with the memory of Israel's former
glory and the hope for its restoration
•it became known in European languages as the
"Wailing Wall".
Interesting Facts
• The Israeli flag is rooted in Jewish tradition. The white
background symbolizes purity. The symbols on the flag are
two stripes—one on the top and one on the bottom—and
the Star of David emblem adorning the center. The stripes
and blue color are inspired by the techeileth dye of the
tallit (Jewish prayer shawl)
• Jews have regarded the Land of Israel as their homeland,
both as a Holy Land and as a Promised Land. The Land of
Israel holds a special place in Jewish religious obligations,
encompassing Judaism's most important sites — including
the remains of the First and Second Temples
Judaism In Modern World
Anti Semitism
• in York Region and World
Zionism
• movement originally for reestablishment of Jewish nation in Israel
Holocaust
• (Heb., sho'ah) which originally meant a
sacrifice totally burned by fire
• the annihilation of the Jews (6 million)
and other groups of people of Europe (5
million) under the Nazi regime during
World War II
Middle East Conflict
• Issue of who has the rightful claim to
Jerusalem
Impact of Ancient Israel on the World
• Covenant = formal agreement between Hebrews and
God (Yahweh); Hebrews worshipped God and only
God, and in return, they would be God’s Chosen
People and given Canaan as the Promised Land
• Spiritual ideas profoundly influenced Western culture,
morality, ethics and conduct
• Three of the world’s most dominant religions:
Judaism, Christianity and Islam all derive their roots
from the spiritual beliefs of the Ancient Israelites