Download Judaism and the Jewish People

Chapter 5
Judaism and the
Jewish People
Textbook pages 166-189
TAKE NOTES IN YOUR COMPOSITION BOOKS!!! ONLY WRITE
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Section 1 = Slides 1-12
Section 2 = Slides 13-20
Section 3 = Slides 21-27
Section 1: The Origins of
Judaism
A Torah is generally seen written on a scroll. Image taken from: tlj-news.com.
The Early Israelites and
the Worship of One God
 The most important tenant of the Jewish
religion is its belief in monotheism or the
belief in one God.
 The Jewish people believe that their
religious origins are found in the Torah.
 The Torah consist of the first five books of
the Hebrew Bible
Abraham and Isaac
 Abraham is known as the father of Judaism.
 Abraham is known as the starting point of the
Jewish religion. God made an agreement with
him, in which he agreed to move his family to
Canaan. God promised him that if he did this, he,
his current family, and his future family members
would always own the land of Canaan. This is
why Canaan is called, The Promised Land.
 Isaac was Abraham’s son and also a patriarch of
the Jewish religion.
Jacob
 Jacob was the grandson of Abraham,
who was the first patriarch of the Jewish
religion.
 Jacob had twelve sons that started
tribes, which represented the Jewish
religion.
 Jacob’s name was eventually changed
to Israel, thus the Jewish people became
known as Israelites.
What led to the Exodus?
 The Israelites went to Egypt, because there
was lack of food in Canaan. The Israelites
knew that grain was plentiful in Egypt, so they
decided to move there.
 Upon their arrival into Egypt, the pharaoh
allowed the Israelites to stay, but the
pharaoh treated the Israelites very badly, as
he compelled them to do hard work.
 Years of prayers finally were answered, when
God went to Moses and told him to guide his
people out of Egypt.
Moses
 Moses was adopted by the pharaoh’s family.
 God came to Moses and told him to rescue his
people by leading them out of Egypt.
 Moses then went to the pharaoh and asked
that he lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The
pharaoh refused to let them leave. As a result
God sent many hardships to the people of
Egypt.
 After the last punishment, in which the first-born
son of every Egyptian was put to death, the
pharaoh finally agreed to free the Israelites.
 Moses then led the Israelites out of Egypt.
The Desert Experience
 According to the text, the Israelites had a
difficult time living in the desert while on their
way back to Canaan.
 God gave them specific instructions, but they
did not always listen to God. They soon realized
that when they didn’t listen to God, bad things
would happen. Eventually, they learned to
listen and thus God provided food and water,
which made their lives easier.
Ten Commandments
Image of the Ten Commandments. Image taken from: clydefossum.com.
Laws for Living and the Impact of
God’s Laws
 When Moses met God at the top of Mount Sinai,
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments,
along with other laws. The Ten Commandments is
the most important aspect of the Torah.
 The Ten Commandments teach the Jewish
people how to behave towards each other and
God.
 Jewish people feel that all people are created in
the image of God and thus it is duty to treat
them with respect and goodwill
Canaanite Art – who/what do you see in this
image?
Return to the Promise Land
 The Israelites were questioning their faith, but
after Moses received the Ten Commandments
from God they resumed their journey to
Canaan.
 After Moses died his deputy Joshua took over.
He led the Israelites into Canaan and defeated
city after city.
 After the Israelites took over Canaan, the
descendants from Jacob’s sons settled in
different areas of Canaan. The people living in
Canaan when the Israelites invaded called
themselves Canaanites. They believed in many
Gods and Goddesses. This belief in more than
one God was problematic to the Israelites, as
they sometimes strayed away from their religion,
but always came back to it.
Section 2: The Teachings
of Judaism
This picture is of Masada, the location of the last stand of the Ancient Jewish
Hebrew Bible
 The Jewish people are called “The People of the Book”,
because they believe that scriptures or scared writings are
a source of Jewish teachings.
 The Jewish people greatly value scholarship and writing,
thus they believe that Hebrew Bible is not just a history of
their ancestors, but God’s will as carried out in human
events.
 The first five books of the Hebrew Bible consist of the Torah,
which is the Jewish people’s holy book.
The Prophets
 “The Prophet” books are about the prophets of the
Jewish religion, or a person chosen by God as a
messenger to bring the truth to the people.
 The prophets reminded people to obey God’s laws.
 They told people how they should relate to God,
other people, and the land.

The Prophet books traced the Jewish people’s history
starting with Joshua.
The Writings
 The third section of the Hebrew Bible talk about “The
Writings”.
 The Writings include proverbs, Psalms, and the Song
of Songs.
 The Writings portion of the Hebrew Bible also
duscusses stories about Jewish heroes, such as
Esther, Ruth, and Job.
Importance of Law and
Learning
 The Jewish laws are very important to the Jewish
people, because it teaches them how to live their
lives, how to treat others, and how to help those in
need.
 There have been commentaries written about the
Jewish laws by prominent rabbis. These
commentaries describe how people should apply the
laws in different scenarios.
 These teachings and comments were eventually
written down in a book called the Talmud, which is
still studied by the Jewish people today.
Basic Teachings
Picture is of a man touching the Western Wall. This image was taken from:
Zimbo.com.
Ethical Monotheism and
Righteousness
Observance of Law, Love for Others,
and Key Teachings
 The Jewish religion argues that it is an individual’s
responsibility to follow the rules/laws of God. This
responsibility applies to those who are leaders and
those who are average people, thus having equality
among all regarding laws.
 The Hebrew Bible argues that you should love others
as you love yourself. With this said, the Jewish religion
requires that its members participate in charity work
and the fight for tolerance.
 The Sabbath is the day of rest for the Jewish people.
The Sabbath is on Saturday, the seventh day of the
week. The Jewish religion argues that this day should
be work free day to study the Hebrew Bible and be
with family.
Section 3: The Jewish
People
This map shows the Kingdom of Israel. Image taken from:
bibleresources.americanbible.org.
WARRIOR JUDGES
 In the time of distress, judges, or leaders who
were able to rally the Israelites together to
defend their land, were called upon to lead
the people.
 Judges were often prophets or warriors.
 The only woman judge was Deborah. Deborah
was known for her ability to rally the people to
fight. She is credited with inspiring an army to
win a great battle.
David and Solomon
 David was the second king of the Israelites.
 He was able to capture the city of Jerusalem
and make it the Israel’s capital.
 He is believed to have been a contributor to
the psalms found in the Bible.
 Solomon was David’s son.
 He became king after David died.
 He built the first Great Temple in Jerusalem.
 Solomon is known for his many wise saying
sayings in the Bible’s Book of Proverbs.
The Kingdom Divides and
Foreigners Take Over
 After the death of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel
divided in two.
 To the south the descendants of Solomon ruled the
kingdom of Judah. The Kingdom of Judah lasted about
100 years, until Nebuchadnezzar conquered them,
destroying the city of Jerusalem and the Great Temple.
 To the north, the rest of the Israelites created the
kingdom if Israel. The Assyrians eventually took them
over. The Assyrians were cruel leaders and thus sent the
Israelites as slaves throughout the world, only some
were able to escape to Judah.
The Diaspora
 Communities of Jews living outside the ancient
homeland were known as Diaspora, because they
were being scattered or dispersed throughout the
Fertile Crescent.
 The Jewish people were scattered throughout
Babylon, Southwest Asia, the Persian Empire, Egypt,
Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia.
 Esther was a Jewish woman, who married a Persian
emperor. The emperor’s advisors planned to kill all
Jewish people, but she managed to save her people
by convincing her husband not to listen to his advisor.
She saved thousands of Jewish people’s lives by this
act.
THE DIASPORA
CONTINUED
 While away from their homeland, the Jewish people
gathered at meeting places called synagogues. They
often prayed, discussed the Hebrew Bible, and
Scriptures. The leader of the synagogue is called a
rabbi, who is a teacher of the Hebrew Bible.
 The Maccabees were a family living in Greece. They
rebelled against their Greek rulers who tried to ban
important parts of Judaism. The Jewish holiday
Hanukkah is celebrated in remembrance of
Maccabees victory and their reclaiming of the Jewish
Temple.
Legacy of Judaism
 The Jewish people has left a lasting impression on the
people of this world.
 Their belief in one God has been the foundation for the
monotheistic religions.
 Their belief in seeking justice and treating others, as you
would want to be treated has become a universal way
of life.

Finally, their belief that every human is an individual
and thus equality should be have for all is a constant in
most democratic nations.