Download Religion: Judaism Founder: Abraham/Moses Place of Origination: In

Religion: Judaism
Founder: Abraham/Moses
Place of Origination: In Mesopotamia and Palestine around 2500 B.C.
Text: Tanakh which includes three sets of writing, the Torah (law), Nebi’im (prophets), and the
Ketuvim (writings). Together these would make up what Christians call the Old Testament, but
in Judaism it is called the Tanakh.
Location in the world: Mainly Israel, however there are large Jewish population in the U.S.A.
and Europe.
Beliefs:
1. God's name in Hebrew is YHWH (called the tetragrammaton-Greek for “consisting of four
letters-which simply - but significantly - means "I am."
2. The Messiah-A future heroic figure who will rescue those who live right lives, judge evildoers,
and restore peace to the world.
3. Man was created in the “image of God”. What does this mean? Most Rabbis see this as
man’s ability to reason, since animals, plants, etc. can not reason.
4. Man has free will. This means that man has the ability to choose from right or wrong.
This may be compared to the case of a king who had an
orchard containing excellent early figs, and he placed
there two watchmen, one lame and the other blind. He
said to them: "Be careful with these fine early figs."
After some days the lame man said to the blind one: "I see
fine early figs in the orchard." Said the blind man to him:
"Come let us eat them." "Am I then able to walk?" said the
lame man. "Can I then see?" retorted the blind man. The
lame man got astride the blind man, and thus they ate the
early figs and sat down again each in his place.
After some days the king came into that vineyard and said
to them: "Where are the fine early figs?" The blind man
replied: "My lord, the king, can I then see?" The lame man
replied: "My lord the king, can I then walk?" What did the
king, who was a man of insight, do with them? He placed
the lame man astride the blind man, and they began to
move about. Said the king to them: "Thus have you done,
and eaten the early figs."
Even so will the Holy One, blessed be God, in the time to
come, say to the soul: "Why have you sinned before Me?"
and the soul will answer: O Master of the universe, it is not
I that sinned, but the body it is that sinned. Why, since
leaving it, I am like a clean bird flying through the air. As
for me, how have I sinned?"
God will also say to the body: "Why have you sinned
before Me?" and the body will reply: "O Master of the
universe, not I have sinned, the soul it is that has sinned.
Why, since it left me, I am cast about like a stone thrown
upon the ground. Have I then sinned before You?"
What will the Holy One, blessed be God, do to them? God
will bring the soul and force it into the body, and judge
both as one.
(Leviticus Rabbah 4:5)
Holidays and Festivals (meaning behind them)
1. Hannukah (Festival of Lights)-It commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the
Syrian-Greek rulers of Jerusalem and the subsequent rededication of the Temple in 164 BCE. It
also celebrates a miracle that accompanied this event: When the temple was
rededicated, God miraculously made the one day's worth of oil burn brightly for eight days.
Hanukkah may be the Jewish holiday with which non-Jews are most familiar, due to its
closeness in the calendar to Christmas. It is not, however, the "Jewish Christmas" - it historically
predates Christmas and is a very different celebration.
2. Passover-Pesach or Passover is a spring holiday commemorating the Exodus. Passover
remembers the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt in the time of Moses (circa 13th
century BCE). Passover's name comes from the last of the Ten Plagues visited on the Egyptians
by Yahweh before the Exodus. All firstborn male children were killed, but those Hebrew
households that had slaughtered a lamb and marked their doorposts with its blood were
"passed over." It is also an agricultural holiday commemorating the beginning of the harvest
season, but this aspect of Passover is not emphasized.
3. Shabbat-Most people know the Sabbath as the day of the week on which Jews are forbidden
to work. However, in the Jewish religion the Sabbath is not about rules but about joyful
celebration and rest. As one Jewish author puts it, "it is a precious gift from G-d, a day of great
joy eagerly awaited throughout the week, a time when we can set aside all of our weekday
concerns and devote ourselves to higher pursuits." {1} In fact, the Hebrew word Shabbat comes
from the Hebrew word for "rest." (Shabbat is pronounced "sha-BAHT.") So according to Jewish
beliefs, the Sabbath is the day Jews can relax, be with family, study, and reflect.
4. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)-The name of Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement." It is
believed to be the last chance to change God's judgment of one's deeds in the previous year
and his decisions one's fate in the coming year.