Comunicación y Gerencia
Judaism
What do we know about Judaism? HISTORICAL OVERVIEW •  Origins: Ancient Israel is the birthplace of the three great monotheisEc religions of the world: Judaism, ChrisEanity and Islam •  Tmeline: Ancient Israel dates back approximately 4000 years to the books of the Old Testament •  Patriarchs: Great patriarchs of Judaism: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua •  Adherents: Smallest major world religions, making up 0.2 % human race. •  History of PersecuEon: Hebrews, Israelites, Jews, Semites: have all undergone persecuEon throughout history; from Babylonian CapEvity, Exodus, Diaspora, Spanish InquisiEon, Holocaust •  ANCIENT ISRAEL The birthplace of Judaism is also the birthplace of ChrisEanity and Islam. Roots and
Patriarchs
Prior to the beginning of monotheism, Mesopotamia
(and most other regions) were predominantly polytheistic,
with various traditions and forms of worship.
• With the patriarchs Abraham and Moses, Judaism is the first
of the monotheistic traditions to emerge. This early beginning
is characterized by the belief that only one God exists.
The Patriarch Abraham
- Story of Isaac and Ishmael
• The Lord said to Abraham, “Leave your
country, your relatives, your father’s
home, and go to a land that I am going to
show you. I will give you many
descendants, and they will become a
great nation.”
• God said to Abraham, “You must agree to keep
the covenant with me, both you and your
future generations.”
ABRAHAM’S JOURNEY • Abraham seZled in Canaan • “Take your son,” God said,
“your only son, Isaac, whom
you love so much, and go to
the land of Moriah. There on a
mountain that I will show
you, offer him as a sacrifice
to me.”
• Then he picked up the knife to kill him. But
the angel of the Lord called to him from
heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!... Don’t hurt the
boy or do anything to him,” he said. “Now I
know that you honor and obey God, because
you have not kept back your only son from
him.”
Monotheism begins… •  Abraham proves his devoEon and love to one God above all •  This began the monotheisEc tradiEon of the Hebrew faith with the establishment of the “Covenant”, “Chosen People” and “Promised Land” •  Hebrew means “From across”-­‐ name given to Abraham and his followers •  Israelites: Abraham’s grandson Jacob renamed Israel which means “he who has wrestled with God”. His descendants were called “Israelites” •  Jews: named a^er Jacob’s son Judah, ancient father of tribe of King David’s dynasty MOSES • Story of Moses (link)
MOSES AND EXODUS •  Moses received revelaEons from God: burning bush, rod / staff, 10 plagues, parEng of the Red Sea, water from rock •  End of 13th century BCE-­‐ Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt during Ramses II reign called the EXODUS •  Moses led the 12 Tribes of Israel to Mount Sinai where Yahweh gave him the 10 Commandments, uniEng the Hebrews under one God •  Moses and Hebrews searched for the “Promised Land” or the land of milk and honey, however they wandered in the desert for 40 years JOSHUA •  Joshua (Yehoshua) was the disciple of and successor to Moses. •  When Moses was alive, Joshua was his loyal servant and minister. A^er Moses died, Joshua led the Israelites into the Land of Canaan. Movie Time
Selected Clips from
10 Commandments
Key Concepts of Judaism Covenant •  solemn and binding agreement between God and Abraham (humanity) as God as the Creator and the Chosen people Chosen People • Jews considered themselves to be God’s Chosen People as God chose Abraham and led him to monotheism •  Jews were instruments of God’s will •  God chose Jews (humanity); humanity must choose God Promised Land • Gained significance during Moses’ life as Hebrews sought to keep covenant and develop a community in the Promised Land. Jews believe this is Israel. MAIN BELIEFS MonotheisEc •  Oneness of Creator God •  Human obligaEon to worship God •  God is immaterial and indivisible •  God is referred to as YHWH or YAHWEH “I am that I am” Lineage •  People are born a Jew (through mother) or can convert (gerut) Mitzvah •  act of performing a good deed or commandment (ie. 10 Commandments) •  Bible contains total of 613 mitvoth (some posiEve, some negaEve) Jesus •  View of Jesus = born a Jew a preacher and teacher •  Jesus was not the Son of God; the Messiah is sEll to come Suffering •  suffering is heightened because as the Chosen People, Jews expect to suffer for all of mankind Death and A^erlife •  on death, body returns to earth (dust to dust) but soul returns to God who gave it •  body will be Resurrected and reunited with soul at a later Eme (therefore no cremaEon) •  consists of Five Books of Moses wriZen on parchment scroll in ancient form by hand and kept in Ark •  Torah means “law” but more accurate is “revelaEon”, “teaching” or “instrucEon” •  Torah is divided into 54 secEons and one porEon is read each week (2 weeks of year have a double porEon) so that the enEre Torah is read from beginning to end in a year TORAH SACRED RELIGIOUS TEXTS Torah •  First 5 Books of Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, LeviEcus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) Tanukh •  Jewish Bible, consisEng of Torah (Law of Moses), the Prophets, and the WriEngs Talmud •  Second most important source of rabbinic Jewish law based on Mishnah, which complements and interprets the Torah and applies scripture to everyday life and observance Mishnah •  Early rabbinic teachings on how to live according to Torah DEVELOPMENT OF JUDAISM •  Judges: tribal leaders •  Kings: King Saul, King David, King Solomon (built temple) •  Division: Northern tribes = Israel; Southern tribes = Judah •  PropheEc TradiEon: word of God spoken through prophets “Love God and keep the covenant with Him” •  Exile in Babylon= Temple of Solomon destroyed; creaEon of synagogues and rabbis and concept of Messiah “anointed one” •  Diaspora: dispersal of Jews outside of Israel and HellenizaEon •  Maccabean Revolt: temple rededicated to God •  Expansion of Roman Empire and rule: destroying of the temple leaving only the Western Wall; rabbinic Judaism (interpretaEve commentaries) Symbols •  Star of David= Shield of David or Solomon = unknown origins = shape of King David’s shield; symbol adopted by Zionists 1)  magic pagan emblem used to ward off evil 2)  adopted and used by King David on shields of his soldiers to symbolize their goal= equality (equilateral triangles) 3)  sign of the coming Messiah who it is believed to come from the House of David 4)  Symbol of universality of God (six sides represent north, south, east west and land above and world below) Today the Star of David appears on the Llag of Israel. • The Israeli flag is rooted in Jewish tradiEon. The white background symbolizes purity. The symbols on the flag are two stripes—one on the top and one on the boZom—and the Star of David emblem adorning the center. The stripes and blue color are inspired by the techeileth dye of the tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) • Jews have regarded the Land of Israel as their homeland, both as a Holy Land and as a Promised Land. The Land of Israel holds a special place in Jewish religious obligaEons, encompassing Judaism's most important sites — including the remains of the First and Second Temples •  Menorah= ancient source of light 7 branched= Sabbath 9 branched= Hanukah 1) symbol of the state of Israel 2) described in Old Testament (Exodus): God instructs Moses to make a candlestick of gold with 6 branches plus the main stem and place it in the tabernacle and place oil and cotton within the stems 3)  used in Hanukkah lights The Western Wall •  The Western Wall in the midst of the Old City in Jerusalem is the secEon of the Western supporEng wall of the Temple Mount which has remained intact since the destrucEon of the Second Jerusalem Temple (70 CE) •  It became a center of mourning over the destrucEon of the Temple and Israel's exile •  Communion with the memory of Israel's former glory and the hope for its restoraEon •  Became known in European languages as the "Wailing Wall". IMPACT OF ANCIENT ISRAEL •  Covenant = formal agreement between Hebrews and God (Yahweh); Hebrews worshipped God and only God, and in return, they would be God’s Chosen People and given Canaan as the Promised Land •  Spiritual ideas profoundly influenced Western culture, morality, ethics and conduct •  Three of the world’s most dominant religions: Judaism, ChrisEanity and Islam all derive their roots from the spiritual beliefs of the Ancient Israelites