Judaism By, Ayesha Garcia Bethany Lauer Logan Lentz Origins of Judaism Judaism began around 3800 years ago when a man named Abraham became a prophet of God. He made a promise that his descendants would forever worship God and in exchange, God would forever protect and watch over them. Abraham agreed to these demands and in return, his descendants for generations to come were promised eternal safety. Origins of Judaism cont. This religion originated about 3800 years ago. It was originally practiced in the middle-east, and more specifically, around Jerusalem in present-day Israel. They believed their God to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He was also believed to be merciful and fair to all. Ten Commandments I: You shall have no other gods before me. II: You shall not make for yourself a carved image. III: You shall not take the name of the lord your God in vain. IV: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. V: Honor your father and your mother. VI: You shall not murder. VII: You shall not commit adultery. VIII: You shall not steal. IX: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. X: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; You shall not covet your neighbors wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbors. Major Turning Points There were many turning points in the Judaism religion ◦ One of these major turning points was when Judaism converted to Christianity ◦ This religion was monotheistic and many of the Jews believed that Jesus was the way to a better life ◦ There was a group of Jewish people that formed around the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth that Abraham, Judaism’s founder, led them to ◦ Many books and scriptures from Christianity have been used by the Jews Major Turning Points cont. 1200 B.C.E. Jews were freed from slavery ◦ Under the leader of Moses, the Jews escaped from Egypt ◦ During this time, young Jewish girls were forced to get married at such a young age; 16 years old ◦ These girls were also being transported to England where they were being sold Major Turning Points cont. World War II Holocaust ◦ A man named Hitler led many armies against the Jews ◦ He then executed many Jews because they were believed to be a threat to the German Community ◦ 11 million Jews were killed ◦ As the situation was occurring, the Jews were forced to do things that they weren’t used to; move to a safer area, stay away. The Leaders of Judaism Abraham and Moses were both the main leaders of the Jews ◦ Through many of the crucial events that occurred, Abraham and descendants converted to Christianity ◦ Abraham said that the Jews would now and forever revere and worship God ◦ God promised Abraham land if the Jews came to know who he was as his followers ◦ Therefore, Judaism, the small, family-based religion is practiced at that land Consequences and Improvements How the use of the Christianity religion affected the Jews and their religion ◦ Consequences As Jesus preached, the Jewish prophets grew angry because he opposed most of their speeches Galilee was a place that recently converted to Judaism Romans became mad because Jesus was getting followers and they thought that he was slowly trying to take over and gain all power To prevent the rebellion of the Roman government, the Jews seized Jesus and then executed him through crucifixion Consequences and Improvements cont. ◦ Improvements Similar promises with the previous prophets, eternal life, and happiness if they kept faith in Jesus traveled from the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea spreading his word to others Death didn’t stop Jesus; followers believed that he rose from the grave and into Heaven with God Since Jesus performed miracles, people admired him and believed that he suffered his own life for them Also, because a lot of people believed that the Romans later were influenced to change to Christianity Current State Of Judaism Now the Jewish practice their religion in a synagogue They pray to the God of Christianity Reading from the scriptures of the Torah is another current practice These practices are similar to what previous practices besides the major change from their religion to Christianity Citations http://religioustolerance.org http://en.allexperts.org/q/Irsael-dll/Judaism.htm The World’s History Third Edition by Howard Spodek The End