Today, there are about 14 million Jews worldwide. Most of them live in the United States and Israel. Traditionally, a person is considered Jewish if his or her mother is Jewish. The Torah—the first five books of the Tanakh—outlines laws for Jews to follow. The origins of Jewish faith are explained throughout the Torah.
According to the text, God first revealed himself to a Hebrew man named Abraham, who became known as the founder of Judaism. Jews believe that God made a special covenant with Abraham and that he and his descendants were chosen people who would create a great nation. Jacob took the name Israel, and his children and future generations became known as Israelites.
More than 1, years after Abraham, the prophet Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt after being enslaved for hundreds of years. Around B. His son Solomon built the first holy Temple in Jerusalem , which became the central place of worship for Jews. The kingdom fell apart around B. Sometime around B. A second Temple was built in about B. The destruction of the second Temple was significant because Jewish people no longer had a primary place to gather, so they shifted their focus to worshipping in local synagogues.
While the Tanakh which includes the Torah is considered the sacred text of Judaism, many other important manuscripts were composed in later years. These offered insights into how the Tanakh should be interpreted and documented oral laws that were previously not written down. Around A. Later, the Talmud, a collection of teachings and commentaries on Jewish law, was created.
The Talmud contains the Mishnah and another text known as the Gemara which examines the Mishnah. It includes the interpretations of thousands of rabbis and outlines the importance of commandments of Jewish law.
The first version of the Talmud was finalized around the 3rd century A. The second form was completed during the 5th century A. Judaism embraces several other written texts and commentaries. One example is the 13 Articles of Faith, which was written by a Jewish philosopher named Maimonides.
Shabbat is recognized as a day of rest and prayer for Jews. It typically begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday. Observing Shabbat can take many forms, depending on the type of Judaism that a Jewish family may follow.
Orthodox and Conservative Jews, for example, may refrain from performing any physical labor, using any electrical device or other prohibited activities. Most observant Jews celebrate Shabbat by reading or discussing the Torah, attending a synagogue or socializing with other Jews at Shabbat meals. Throughout history, Jewish people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. Some well-known events include:. The group also kidnapped and crucified Joseph ibn Naghrela, the Jewish vizier to the Berber king.
The First Crusade: In the first of the Crusades —a series of medieval holy wars involving Christians and Muslims—thousands of Jews were killed, and many were forced to convert to Christianity. Instead, what we say about God has much more to say about us than about it says about God.
There are, in fact, a whole range of different theologies within Judaism you can find some of them in the terrific books Finding God and Jewish Theology in Our Time, both of which describe a whole range of differing and sometimes even conflicting theologies. Science, too, is very much about process. Science at its best is about testing hypotheses, setting up experiments, and exploring ideas.
And if new data or new evidence arises, scientific knowledge changes. Science is about creating hypotheses and testing data against these theories. Judaism is about how we act to improve this world, here and now. And these processes can easily go hand in hand.
Rabbi Geoffrey A. This article was previously published at The Huffington Post. Writer: Geoffrey A. Anti-Jewish decrees. The Yellow Star. The Jewish people: religion and culture. Anne Frank. Jewish policemen in the ghetto. Rescue and the Holocaust. By using this site, you agree we can set and use cookies. For more details of these cookies and how to disable them, see our cookie policy.
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