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Introduction to Judaism
Unit 4
HRT 3M1
Judaism is…
 “A 4000 year old tradition with ideas
about what it means to be human and how
to make the world a holy place”
(Rabbi Harold Kushner, To Life)
 A “covenant relationship” between God
and the Hebrew people
 A celebration and sanctification of life
 A faith, a people, a way of life…
A 4000 year old tradition…
 The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
(“Israel”) – origins of the Hebrew people
(more than 3800 years ago)
 Enslaved in ancient Egypt and freed by
Moses (more than 3300 years ago)
 Hebrew monarchy in the “Promised Land”
(The Land of Israel), ends 6th century
BCE
Jewish History: Covenant with Abraham
 The Patriarchal Period (Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob) was the time of the establishment of a
covenant where in God agreed to love humanity
and humanity agreed to love God rather than the
many Gods of Polytheistic Mesopotamia.
1. Idea that Jews represented God's Chosen
People
2. Idea of a Promised Land
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6djiZiN5oUw
Jewish History: Slaves in Egypt
 Moses emerged as a liberator -
born a Hebrew Slave and later
adopted by the Pharaoh's
family, Moses grew up in the
imperial court.
 The story of Moses the Ten
Plagues on the Egyptians in
order to convince the Pharaoh
to let the Hebrew people go
Jewish History: Passover
 The tenth Plague called on the angel of death
to descend on Egypt and take the first-born
of al who lived in the region. God instructed
Moses to tell the Hebrews that they could
escape this plague by smearing lamb's blood
over their doors.
 In this way, death would "pass over" their
homes because the blood would be a sign that
the house belonged to a descendant of
Abraham. This event is celebrated in the
Jewish festival of Passover.
 Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2p5OJYuAOU&feature=related
Jewish History: Covenant with Moses
 God provided his people with the
commandments that would allow
them to keep the covenant - the
Ten Commandments emphasized
the nature of God's existence as
well as the laws that the people
would need to follow in order to
keep their covenant with God. The
Passover, the Exodus, and the Ten
Commandments serve as specific
renewals of the covenant between
God and the people.
 1. Nature of God's existence
 2. Law
Judges & Kings
 The Jews lived a nomadic existence in the Sinai
for forty years until they reached the land of
Canaan. This marks the beginning of the
biblical period of Judges and Kings.
 First the Jews were lead by people referred to
as Judges - Judges were like tribal leaders or
Chieftains who led the people through periods
of crisis. Judges were charismatic (charming) and
inspiring people, were either men or women, and
helped the Jews establish a sense of identity.
 The Israelite Kings were Saul, David (a great
political and spiritual leader!) and Solomon.
Jewish History: The Temple
 In the 10th Century BCE King Solomon built a temple in
Jerusalem that would serve as the centre of worship for the
Jewish faith for the next millennium. However, after the death of
Solomon, the kingdom broke up.
 In 586 BCE, Babylonian invaders captured Judah and destroyed
Solomon's Temple. 10,000 Jewish community leaders were
captured and sent into exile in Babylon. This event is known as the
Exile or the Babylonian Captivity. They were held there until
Cyrus the Great of Persia released them in 538 BCE, when he
defeated the Babylonians.
 With the temple destroyed and the Jews dispersed, Jews had to
find a new way to honour God - placed of worship, now know as
synagogues, were created.
Jewish History: The Temple
 With the temple destroyed and the Jews
dispersed, Jews had to find a new way to
honour God - placed of worship, now
know as synagogues, were created.
 After the conquest of Babylon, the Jews
were encouraged to return home. In 515
BCE, a second temple was
completed.
The Diaspora
 By the third century BCE, the majority of
Jews lived in the Diaspora, so they created new
standards for their faith traditions.
 In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered
much of the known world including Persia,
Egypt and India.
 Thus Jews in those regions fell under the
influence of Greek Culture, a process called
Hellenization.
 Jews embraced Greek culture to the point that
the Bible was translated into Greek.
Jewish History: Maccabean Revolt
 In 168 BCE, the Greeks converted the
Temple into a shrine to the Greek god
Zeus - growing dissatisfaction with the
Greek ruling culture amongst the Jewish
population lead to a group of rebels, called
the Maccabees, to lead a revolt against the
Greeks.
 By 164 BCE, the Maccabees were in
control of Jerusalem and the temple was
restored. The Maccabees would rule until
the Roman conquest.
Jewish History: Roman Conquest
 In 64 BCE, Jerusalem was conquered by the
Romans. By this time, several Jewish sects
emerged. The growing sophistication of Jewish
belief, combined with the harshness of Roman
rule, lead to a renewed emphasis on the coming
of the Messiah.
 Heavy taxation, unfair administration of justice,
and Roman control of both the temple and the
high priest soon proved too much for the Jews.
 In 66 CE, the Jews revolted and eventually
gained control of the temple and a Roman
fortress. Rome responded with force. In 70
CE, the temple was destroyed and the Jews
were to once again reform their ways.
Judaism 70 CE: Designing a New Way
 Temple ---- Synagogue
 Priesthood ---- Rabbis
 Tithes and offerings ---- Prayer
 Sabbath ---- Sabbath
 Community Festivals ---- Holy Days
As a faith, Jews Believe…
 In one God, creator of the universe, personal
but non-corporeal
 In prophets of old – especially Moses, through
whom Torah was revealed to the Hebrew
people
 In Torah (first five books of the Bible),
containing religious, moral and social law which
guides the life of a Jew

The Hebrew Bible does not include the New
Testament
Judaism: Belief and Observance
 Observance = to follow or not to follow (the
Torah and ritual boundaries)
 Belief = to believe or not to believe (the central
tenants of Judaism)
 Rabbi Maimonides: Thirteen Articles of Faith
As a people, Jews are…
 A nation in Diaspora (dispersed)
 15 – 16 million in worldwide population
 United by a common heritage (an “ethnic” religion),
divided in contemporary practice:
 Orthodox (believe and observe everything)
 Modern
 Chasidic (Ultra Orthodox)
 Reformed (belief and observe a few things)
 Conservative (belief and observe most things)
 Reconstructionalism (20th century America)
 Non-Religious (believe nothing; observe few
things)
As a way of life, Judaism is
based on…
 613 commandments found in Torah (“Written Law”)
 Talmud (“Oral Law”) – commentary of ancient rabbis
that elaborates on how to apply God’s Law in
everyday life through:
 Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher)
 Dress and other symbols
 Prayer and devotion to the one God
 The Temple and Temple rites
 Observance of Holy days
 Proper social relations between male and female, in
business, judicial rulings, etc.
 Thus sanctifying life, blessing it in every way
The Jewish Shema
 The Shema (Sh’mah) is a very important
prayer which Jewish people say 3 times a day.
 “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God; the
LORD Is one.” (Deut 6:7)
 Jews think that the name of God is too special
to write down –sometimes it is written like this –
G*d or Adonai
How does Judaism sanctify
life?
Life cycle celebrations:
 Bris – ritual circumcision, sign of the covenant
 Bar/Bat Mitzvah – full adult status and
responsibility within the religion
 Marriage - "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen.
1:22)
 Death – funerals, mourning (sitting “Shiva”),
and memorials (“Yartzeits”)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27FSbztRPo8
How does Judaism sanctify
time?
The Jewish Holidays:
 High Holidays:
 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
 Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
 Sukkot, the “Festival of Booths” (fall
harvest festival)
 Simchat Torah – celebrating Torah
 Chanukah, the “Festival of Lights”
More Holy Days…
 Purim (“Lots”) – a carnival (commemorates
events told in book of Esther)
 Pesach (“Passover”) – commemorates the
exodus from Egypt (events told in Exodus)
 Shavuot (“weeks,” Pentecost) –
commemorates receipt of Torah at Sinai
 Other, minor festivals
 Shabbat (Sabbath, 7th day, on Saturday) –
the “Day of Rest”
Jewish Artefacts
 The Tallit is the prayer shawl
 The Kippah is the skull cap
worn by men in the synagogue.
 The Torah is the Jewish Holy
writing – it is a scroll and is the
same as the first five books in the
Christian Bible.
 The yad is used to point to the
words as it cannot be touched by
hands.
Jewish Artefacts
 The Seder plate is used for Pesach- a
celebration
 Matzah are crackers eaten at Pesach
(Passover)
Jewish Artefacts
 Channukiah is the candlestick used at the
festival of light- Channukkah.
 Mezuzah are fastened to door posts. They have
the Shema written inside.
How is Judaism related to
Christianity?
 Judaism predates Christianity – it is the foundation
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of Christianity but is not a part of it
Jesus was Jewish, as were his followers and the
Apostles
Jews do not believe that Jesus was anything more
than a good and wise man who lived and died 2000
years ago – Jews still await their messiah
The Jewish messiah would not be divine. He would
be a political figure who restores the Hebrew
monarchy and causes peace to reign on Earth
Jews are not concerned about salvation and the
“world to come”
What are Jews really
concerned about?
 Tikkun Olam - “repairing this world” through
justice and righteousness; through “deed, not
creed”
 The heart of Judaism is in the home and family,
social responsibility and doing Mitzvot (“good
deeds” based on God’s commandments)
 Through education and hard work they make
their lives, the lives of others, and the world, what
God intended it to be – Holy!
To Life!
To Life!
LeChaim!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdfX7ut8gw&feature=related