Judaism
by Sierra Walton, Jessica
Lam, & Hannah Knight
A Glance into Judaism
▷ Monotheistic faith
▷ Created by Abraham
▷ Religious practices and beliefs
▷ Jewish Diaspora
▷ History of Judaism
▷ Judaism Today
Beliefs and Practices of
Judaism
Abraham
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Born by the name of Abram
Born in the city of Ur in Mesopotamia during 1800 BCE
His father was an idol merchant
Raised as a city dweller
His wife, Sarai couldn’t have children
He impregnated his wife’s slave, Hagar
She gave birth to a son named Ishmael who, according to both Muslim and Jewish tradition, is the
ancestor of the Arabs
▷ When Abram was 100 and Sarai 90, God promised Abram a son by Sarai. God
changed Abram's name to Abraham (father of many), and Sarai to Sarah (from "my
princess" to "princess"). Sarah gave birth to a son named Isaac
▷ Abraham lived to be 175 years old
Moses
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Known as the greatest prophet that Judaism has ever known
Born 1400 BCE
Called "Moshe Rabbeinu," which means, Moses, Our Teacher/Rabbi
Said to be the only person to ever speak to God face to face
God appeared to Moses and chose him to lead the people out of Egyptian slavery and
into the Promised Land
He lead people out of Egypt and across the sea to
freedom, and brought them to Mount Sinai, where God
gave the people the Torah
▷ God revealed the entire Torah to Moses. The Torah includes the first five books of the
Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy)
▷ Died at the age of 120 years old
The Torah
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The Torah Scroll is the holiest book of Judaism
made up of the five books of Moses
All Torahs are hand written
Kept in a cabinet called an ark in the synagogue (place of worship)
The Torah Scroll must be written by a specially trained pious scribe called a sofer.
Each page consists of 42 lines
13 Principles of faith
▷ God exists
▷ God is one and unique
Moses’ prophecies are true, and Moses was the
greatest of the prophets
The Written Torah and Oral Torah were given to
Moses
▷ God is incorporeal
There will be no other Torah
▷ God is eternal
God knows the thoughts and deeds of men
▷ Prayer is to be directed to God alone and no other
God will reward the good and punish the wicked
▷ The word of the prophets are true
The Messiah will come
The dead will be resurrected
10 Commandments (in the Torah)
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I am the Lord thy god, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
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Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
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Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
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Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
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Honor thy father and thy mother.
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Thou shalt not murder.
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Thou shalt not commit adultery.
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Thou shalt not steal.
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Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor.
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Thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to thy neighbor.
Place of Worship
▷ Jewish worship is centered in synagogues which
completely replaced the second temple after its
destruction in 70 C.E.
▷ Jewish religious leaders are called rabbis.
▷ Second Temple- The original structure of the Second
Temple, before it was refurbished by the Hasmoneans,
and later, more extensively by Herod, was built, as already
mentioned, at the decree of Cyrus.Vessels from the First
Temple, recovered by the Persians from the Babylonians
whom they had conquered, were returned to the Jews to
facilitate and encourage the rebuilding of the Temple.
Religious Practices
▷ Tefillin- Two small black boxes with black straps
attached to them. Jewish men are required to place one
box on their head and tie the other one on their arm
each weekday morning.
▷ Holiness- The children of Israel are called upon in
Leviticus 18:2 “to be holy: You shall be holy, for I, the
Lord your God, am holy.”
▷ The principles of ethical behavior elaborated by Jewish
thinkers usually begin with assumptions about God and
about God’s expectations of Jews or generally of
human beings
Jewish Calendar
▷ The Jewish calendar is based primarily on
the lunar cycle, but can be described as both
solar and lunar
▷ Lunar year=354 days; solar year=365 ¼
days
▷ Extra month added to Hebrew calendar
seven times out of every 19 years
▷ All holidays begin at sunset
Jewish Calendar
Jewish Holidays in 2015
▷Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New
Year): September 14-15
▷Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement):
September 23
▷Chanukah (Festival of Lights,
celebrating rededication of Holy
Temple): December 7-14
Other Beliefs
▷ Doesn’t focus on abstract concepts (even though they
believed in god, afterlife, and etc.)
▷ Followed the Torah – holy scripture
▷ Believed that everyone was created as an image of
god.
▷ Equal potential to spread good
▷ Judaism teaches that one day a Messiah will unite the
world and bring peace to humanity.
Jewish Diaspora
Diaspora: dispersion, scattering
Jewish Diaspora (Ancient)
▷ Beginning date of
Jewish diaspora from
Israel considered to
be 597 BC.
▷ Assyrians conquered
Israel, the Jews’
ancient homeland.
▷ Jews migrated to
Babylon, Judaea, and
Egypt.
Jewish Diaspora (Modern)
▷ The Holocaust during WWII
was the major cause for Jewish
migration.
▷ Jews tried to migrate to the US
and Israel (Palestine).
▷ British government made it
hard for Jews to migrate to
Israel with White Paper of 1939.
▷ State of Israel founded as a
safe haven for Jews in 1948,
three years after WWII ended.
Buchenwald Concentration Camp
History of Judaism
▷ Origin-Canaan (now known as israel).
▷ Formed- 2000 B.C.E.
▷ Sacred Texts
Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy), Tanakh (Hebrew scriptures),
Talmud (Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud,
Gemara the earlier Palestinian or
Jerusalem).
Tulmed is a large collection of writings,
containing a full account of the civil and
religious laws
▷ Primary Figures- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and
the prophet Moses.
Branching into Christianity
▷ Jesus and his disciples were Jewish.
▷ Jesus believed to be Messiah
prophesied in Hebrew scriptures.
▷ Christian worship uses some standard
Jewish practices and scriptures.
Why Jewish people don’t
believe in Jesus
▷ He didn't fulfill the messianic prophecies.
Build the third temple
Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel
Began in an era of world peace, and end all hatred,
oppression, suffering and disease.
▷ Mistranslated Verses in the Bible
Virgin Birth, the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma" as
giving birth. “Alma” has always meant a young woman,
but was soon translated to “virgin”
Christianity claims that refers to Jesus, as the
"suffering servant."
Why Jewish people don’t believe
in Jesus cont.
▷ Jewish Belief is Based Solely on National Revelation
Judaism doesn’t rely on "claims of miracles" as the basis for
its religion
the personal eyewitness experience of every
man, woman and child
most religions are started by individuals (personal revelation)
extremely weak because you don’t know if it’s true
Judaism in Present Day
▷ divided into different movements
Orthodox Judaism
traditional forms of worship and observances
Conservative Judaism
adopts traditional practices while embracing modern times
REFORM JUDAISM
emphasis on ethics
does not follow a single guidebook
RECONSTRUCTIONIST JUDAISM
followed Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan
Branched off of Conservative Judaism
Bibliography
▷ Ehrich, Tom. "Christianity FAQ." Explore Faith. N.p., 2007. Web. 5 Oct.
2015.<http://www.explorefaith.org/faq/church/judaism.html>.
▷ "Jewish Diaspora." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008.
Encyclopedia.com. 5 Oct. 2015 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
▷ "Judaism." BBC. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/>.
▷ "Judaism: Background, Beliefs, and Sacred Texts." United Religions Initiative Kids.
N.p., 2002. Web. 5 Oct. 2015. <https://www.uri.org/kids/world_juda_basi.htm>.
▷ Levine, Jason. "Ancient Jewish History: The Diaspora." Jewish Virtual Library. N.p.,
2015. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Diaspora.html>.
▷ "Religion Library: Judaism." Patheos Library. N.p., 2008. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.patheos.com/Library/Judaism>.
Bibliography cont.
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Simmons, Rabbi Shraga Simmons. "Why Jews Don't Believe In Jesus." 6 Mar. 2006.
Web. 2 Oct. 2015. <http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48892792.html>.
Pelaia, Ariela. "What Do Jews Believe? - Jewish Beliefs." Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
"URI Kids :: World Religions." URI Kids :: World Religions. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
<https://www.uri.org/kids/world_juda_basi.htm>.
"The Jewish Calendar." Reform Judaism. N.p., 2015. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays>.
"Jewish Holidays 2015-2016." Hebcal. N.p., 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
<https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/2015-2016>.
"Talmud." Bible Study Tools. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/talmud/>.
"Judaism 101: Jewish Holidays." Judaism 101: Jewish Holidays. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.
"VARIANTS WITHIN JUDAISM." Modern Judaism: Orthodox, Conservative and
Progressive. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.
"Judaism Today." Judaism Today. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.