Download Judaism and the Jewish People

Judaism and the
Jewish People
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 patriach 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 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
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
 The most important tenant in the Jewish religion
is the concept of ethical monotheism.
 Ethical monotheism is the belief in one God, who
sets down the rules about what is right and
wrong.
 The Jewish people believe that people were
created in the image of God, thus they should
treat everyone with respect and dignity.
 Jewish people also believe that they should fight
for those who are having injustices done upon
them and help those in need.
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 homelan, 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.