Judaism was a parent of Christianity, and we probably know more about it than any other religion, excluding our own, right off the top of our heads. The ancestors of the Jews, called the Israelites, established a kingdom in Canaan-the land of Milk and Honey. The Israelites first began to see themselves in a special relationship with their God at about 1000 B.C.E. God had selected them to be a Chosen People. God had offered the Chosen People a covenant, or special agreement.
In this covenant, the Israelites promised to worship only God, and in return God promised them preservation throughout history and the land of Canaan. Canaan was later called Judah, Israel, and Palestine. Central to the understanding of the Jewish convenant is the prosperous herdsman who heard and followed Gods call, Abraham. Abraham answered Gods call and led his family from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan. Abraham mad a son, Isaac, and a grandson Jacob who also inherited the convenant.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were called the patriarchs, or the founders of Judiasm. Moses, being one of the great religious leaders in history, God revealed his name Yahweh to him. Yahweh means to be in Hebrew. The events recorded in Exodus indicate that through Moses a new and deeper understanding of God was revealed.
The worship of Yahweh was unknown before Moses. The Israelites as a whole began to realize that the God of Moses was a very jealous God, who would not tolerate worship of any other god. As the book of Exodus opens, we find that the Israelites are slaves in the land of Egypt. Exodus became the heart and soul of Judaism.
Moses is the key character in Exodus and one of great religious leaders in history. The Exodus story is one that is very touching. The persecution of the Jews in the 1930s was horrible and will be remembered forever. After being crushed in the economic disaster in the Great Depression and being totally defeated in WWI, the time was perfect for Hitler to take anti-Semitism, or hatred for Jews-to a whole different level.
Jews all over became victims of Hitlers awful laws such as those in Poland, Europe, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Germany. It was an awful time for the Jewish people and in camps all over Germany and Poland Jews were being murdered by starvation, disease, beating, mutilation, infection, gassing, and burning. Six million Jews, or about one-third of the entire Jewish population of the world was completely wiped out. Only fifty thousand Jews remained after the war. The faith of the Jewish people was tested greatly during the Holocaust. The vivid living faith of the Jewish people is shown through their mant festivals and celebrations throughout the year.
Besides the Sabbath observance, the Jewish year is filled with yearly festivals. They are all based on the Jewish lunal calendar. Rosh Hashanah, or the Jewish new year, which is celebrated in October, opens ten Days of Awe. There is a celebration at the beginning and end of the two days.
Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. It is considered the most holy day of the year and is the closest to repentance. Five days after Yom Kippur, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkoth, is celebrated. This is a week long feast in the fall celebrating Gods presence when the Israelites were in the desert. The Rejoicing of the Torah closes the Sukkoth. Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and is celebrated in December.
It commemorates the restoration of the Temple after it was destroyed by the Syrians. Purin celebrates Esthers success to find a plot to massacre all Jews in the Persian Empire. One of the most important spring holy days is Pesach, or the Passover. There are many special foods associated with this holiday, especially those served at the seder (ceremonial meal). Fifty days after the Seder, the feast of the Pentecost which remembers the giving of the Law of Moses fifty days after the Passover. The Jewish calendar year is filled with many feasts and special ceremonies.
There are three branches of Judaism. Orthodox Judaism is the oldest and largest of the three branches. It has the full tradition of Judaism. It calls itself the Torah-True Judaism because of its strict adherence to the law of Moses. This stance seems to influence and shape tis approach to theology.
The second branch of Judaism is Reform. The Reform branch is extremely liberal and call their houses of worship temples and have begun to ordain female rabbis. They believe that the Mosaic law should not be followed to closely. The reform Jews still only believe in one God.
The last branch of Judaism is the conservative branch which lies in the middle of the Orthodox and the reform branches. They retain the essentials of Judaism and hold that personal conscience must be the final rule of life, and the always try to apply the Jewish tradition to modern day life. Sometimes the conservative Jews are often times professionals in the arts. Sorry this paper is longer than 500 words Miss.
