Download judaism - Anchor Bay: 7th Grade Social Studies

Introduction
There are approximately 14 million Jewish people in the world. 5.5 million live in Israel,
some 6 million in the US and about half a million each in the UK, France, South America
and the former Soviet Union.
The first Jews came to Australia as convicts with the First Fleet. Since then Jewish
people have arrived in Australia in each generation, many as refugees from
persecution. There are presently about 110,000 Jews in Australia. Over 90,000 live in
Melbourne or Sydney.
The Jews are not a 'race', as they comprise people of all skin colors and racial types.
Jews resolve the question of definition by describing themselves as a 'people', with an
identity which incorporates elements including religion, culture, language and historical
memory. It follows that Judaism is more than a faith or a belief system. It might best be
described as a religious culture, originating in the historical narrative of the Jewish
people.
In this sense Jews see themselves as a family, tracing their origins to the Biblical
Patriarchs,
generally dated as about 1900 BCE (Before the Common Era). Two thousand years
later, in the year 70 CE, the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the
Romans, and this is the traditional date for the beginning of the present Jewish
Dispersion. As they moved throughout the world, the Jewish people brought with them
particular spiritual and ethical values, a body of inspired literature and a sense of
continuing history - the religion known as Judaism.
Jews believe in a single God who is without shape or form, who is both the creator and
ruler of the universe, and who prescribes a moral law for humanity.
(The Jewish concept of 'ethical monotheism' has passed to Christianity and Islam with
some variations.
The key sacred text of Judaism is the Hebrew Bible (called the “Old Testament” by
Christians). In addition there is the 'Oral Law' collated in later writings.
Origins of Judaism: Abraham and The Covenant
Jews trace their ancestry, as well as the origins of their religion, to the Patriarchs
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For a summary of Abraham’s physical and spiritual
journeys, which also examines the Biblical idea of a nation committed to God.
Moses, the Exodus and the Giving of the Torah
The release from slavery in Egypt and the giving of the Torah (Law) in the desert at
Mount Sinai are central elements in Jewish historical memory.
Modern Judaism: Orthodox, Conservative and Progressive
The emancipation of the Jews in Europe in the nineteenth century led to the
development of Progressive Judaism, particularly in Germany, which sought to adapt
Jewish law and liturgy to European customs and attitudes. Today Progressive Judaism,
also known as Liberal or Reform Judaism, attracts the affiliation of the majority of Jews
in the United States, while a majority of Jews in Australia are affiliated to Orthodox
synagogues. The twentieth century also saw the development of Conservative Judaism,
which follows Orthodox practice in most but not all areas, with an emphasis on full
equality for men and women.
Principal Beliefs of Judaism
Unlike Christianity or Islam, Judaism has no dogma, and metaphysical beliefs are not
prescribed. The idea of a single deity as the creator of the universe with incorporeal,
omnipotent and eternal attributes is simply taken as given, and is proclaimed in Jewish
literature and prayer. Physical representations of the divine are forbidden.
In the 12th century CE Moses Maimonides, a Jewish philosopher and physician born in
Spain, wrote the “Thirteen Principles of the Faith”. Maimonides' Thirteen Principles are
not theologically binding in any sense, and there are differing Jewish attitudes towards
them.
Sacred Texts
The Hebrew Bible, referred to by Christians as the 'Old Testament', is not so much a
religious text as a library of inspired literature. Its books were written, edited and
collated over a period of nearly a thousand years, and comprise a great storehouse of
history, law and legend, poetry, philosophy and prophetic insight.
The Talmud represents the concept of an 'oral law', which is derived from the Biblical
law by a process of interpretation. The Talmud is an encyclopedic work of law and
literature completed in the sixth century and comprising 63 Tractates and over four
million words.
Core Ethical Teachings of Judaism
Jewish culture, sourced in the moral law of Torah, includes an emphasis on justice,
including social justice; “loving-kindness”, “righteousness”, and individual liberty.
Shabbat
The Sabbath is the only one of the mass of Jewish observances which is included in the
preliminary syllabus, representing as it does the one religious observance prescribed by
the Ten Commandments, to “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Shabbat is
considered to be the central element of Jewish practice, combining as it does the
importance of both rest and freedom.
Significant People and Ideas
The following significant figures appear on this website:
Isaiah
The moral vision of Isaiah, expressed with poetic grandeur in the eighth century BCE,
represents a profound contribution to human civilization. His condemnation of hypocrisy,
immorality and social oppression and his vision of a world of nations living in peace
under Divine justice remain central features of the Judaeo-Christian ideal.
Hillel
From about 20 BCE until about 10 CE, Hillel was president of the Jewish Sanhedrin,
which operated both as a political assembly and as the superior court in Judea under
Roman rule. As a leader of the Pharisees, the rabbinical architects of the Oral Law,
Hillel was a pioneer in the adaptation of Biblical law to current needs by a process of
interpretation. His moral pronouncements still remain profoundly influential.
Rashi and the Medieval Commentators
The eleventh and twelfth centuries saw a flowering of Jewish culture in the Rhineland
and in Islamic Spain. It was a period of both prosperity and oppression which
produced encyclopedic commentaries, poetic works which adorned the liturgy, and legal
reforms including the development of women’s rights.
Significant Practices in the Life of Adherents
Death and Mourning
Jewish burial is performed by the community without profit, and there are particular
mourning practices.
Marriage
Marriage is created by the bride and groom following the procedures prescribed by
Jewish law, usually accompanied by traditional ceremonies. There are also procedures
for divorce by mutual consent.
Synagogue Services
In Judaism the elements of the architecture of synagogues are prescribed, as is the
traditional liturgy, which in Orthodox synagogues is entirely in the Hebrew language.
Services may be held outside the synagogue in any place at all with a quorum of ten
men, and many ceremonies take place in the home.
Religion and Peace
The writing of Isaiah provides one example of the Jewish concept that peace between
nations is the ideal. As a defenseless minority for two thousand years, Jews have also
found it necessary to avoid conflict at almost any cost. However,
Judaism acknowledges the need for self-defense, at the same time as it opposes and
rejects aggressive war.