Judaism is a monotheistic religion that is usually believed to have begun In 2000 B.CtE in the Middle East with the patriarch of the faith Abraham (Krell, Nadler “Judaism”). Abraham is referred to as the father of the faith because Judaism began when God made a covenant with Abraham, who then became Abram. However, structured Judaism began with Moses in 1500 BCE (“Judaism at a Glance”). Followers of Judaism are known as Jews who are also known as Hebrews or Israelites. To better understand this religion I will be examining the myths, beliefs and rituals of Judaism In order for one to fully understand Judaism one needs to look at the history which is told through the myths of Judaism One of the most important myths in Judaism is the creation mythi In this myth God created the world out of chaos in six days resting on the 7″‘ day, the Sabbath.
He made the first humans, Adam and Eve, on the sixth day, Because of this Jews do not believe in evolution because they believe God created everything. The history of the Jews and Judaism are told in the first 5 books of the Bible which is known to Jews as the Torah First we need to look at Genesis where the story of Abram, the father of the faith, is told. God promised Abram that he would make a great nation through Abram and his lineaget Abrams lineage, known as Jews, Hebrews, or Israelites, would be God’s chosen people because of the covenant made with Abram Abram had a son named Isaac who had two sons, Esau and Jacob Jacob, who was renamed Israel, had 12 sons who would become the 12 tribes of Israel. One of his sons, Joseph, was sold into slavery in Egypt where after many years he rose to power and was second only to Pharaoh, Joseph then brought his family to Egypt and that is how they ended up in Egypt.
Many years later the Hebrews became numerous and were enslaved in Egypt by Pharaohi This is where the story or myth of Moses takes place, Moses was a Hebrew who was sent down the Nile in a basket, in order to save him, and raised by Pharaoh‘s daughter. When he was older he killed an Egyptian that was mistreating a Jew, he then fled from Egypt to escape Pharaoh. While he was in exile God called Moses to be used to deliver the Israelites, Jews, out of slavery and oppression, He was given a staff to perform miracles with and to show Pharaoh the power of God and to convince him to let the Israelites go. Many plagues are place on Egypt but each time he refuses to let the Israelites got Then God told Moses to tell the Israelites to put the blood of a lamp over the door of the home, this is where Passover began Then God went throughout Egypt and killed every firstborn male both of the Egyptians and their livestock but passed over the homes of all the Israelites.
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After this Pharaoh tells Moses to leave Egypt with all the people However, Pharaoh soon changes his mind and goes after the Israelites with his armiesi The Israelites are then backed up against the Red Sea by Pharaoh’s armies. Moses then performs a miracle, God parts the Red Sea and the Israelites cross on dry land and escape the Egyptians. As soon as the Israelites were finished crossing the sea resided and drowned all the Egyptians who were chasing the Israelites. There in the dessert God spoke to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments which Moses presented to the people. These laws lie at the foundation of Judaism and although there are many other laws that are given in the Torah the Ten Commandments are considered to be the most important of these laws.
Since Moses is regarded as the most important prophet this story of Moses is very crucial in understanding Judaismi In the following paragraph I will be discussing the beliefs of Judaism Many of the main principles of Judaism are rooted in the Ten Commandments, There are 613 laws derived from the Torah that followers of Judaism must follow, the Ten Commandments being the most important among them. “Judaism has no official creed or universal doctrinal requirements for membership“ (Jewish Beliefs). Although this is true we will look at “The 13 Articles of Faith” by the 12th—century Rabbi Maimonides which he believes “every Jew should adhere to” (Jewish Beliefs). The 13 articles are “God exists, God is one and unique, God is incorporeal, God is eternal, Prayer is to God only, The prophets spoke truth, Moses was the greatest of the prophets, The Written and Oral Torah were given to Moses
There will be no other Torah, God knows the thoughts and deeds of men, God will reward the good and punish the wicked, The Messiah will come, The dead will be resurrected” (Jewish Beliefs). Jews believe that we are made in the image of God (not in the physical sense but in the ability to reason) and have free will (Jewish Beliefs about Human Nature). Jews believe that the Messiah will come and deliver them (similar to how Moses delivered the Israelites from oppression) causing peace among all nations. They do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah as Christians believe. Jews believe in an afterlife but have never focused on it or described it in great detail as Christians and Muslims do (Jewish Beliefs on the Afterlife), Unlike many other religions Judaism is not a missional religion. Meaning that unlike Christianity and many other religions they do not try to convert people to Judaism but do allow converts when they seek out Judaism. Another important part of understanding Judaism is to know and understand their rituals and traditions.
Perhaps the most well-known ritual of Judaism is observing the Sabbath. The Jews observe the Sabbath on Saturday which begins at sunset on Friday and goes until sunset on Saturday, The Sabbath is considered a day of rest in which work is prohibited, This includes cooking, washing clothes or any other work. However, Jews are encouraged to take part in leisure activities and not just sit or lie down all day. The Sabbath is welcomed in by the lighting of candles and a blessing (Rich). Another important tradition is to celebrate Pesach or Passover. Pesach is when the Jews celebrate the fact that God passed over them when he slayed the first born of the Egyptians when they were still in Egypt. Pesach lasts 8 days or 7 days in Israel.
Working is prohibited on the first and last day of Pesach but is allowed on the days in between, It is common practice to eat unleavened bread during this time and avoid using yeast (Rich). The Jewish New Year is known as Rosh Hashanah but is very different from the American New Year since Rosh Hashanah is one of the holiest days of the year. “The Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year” (Rich). Another Jewish tradition is observing Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a “Day of Atonement” in which Jews set aside the day in order to atone for sins made against God in the past year.
This is regarded to as the most important day of the year to Jews. “On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these books is sealed This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends” (Rich) During all of these holidays important rituals are followed These rituals include the lighting of candles, the reciting of prayers, fasting, the blowing of a ram’s horn and many other things along with them. Many of these rituals are practiced because they are specifically told to do so by God in the Torah. Others are not mentioned in the Torah but have been practiced for generations so they continue the tradition.
An example of this is during Rosh Hashanah they go to a flowing body of water, such as a river, and empty their pockets into the river or stream to symbolize them casting away their sin (Rich). Another practice I found extremely interesting is that most observant Jews do not write God they write G-dr This is because they do not want anyone to deface the name of God. “Judaism does not prohibit writing the Name of God per se; it prohibits only erasing or defacing a Name of God. However, observant Jews avoid writing any Name of God casually because of the risk that the written Name might later be defaced, obliterated or destroyed accidentally or by one who does not know better” (Rich). Understanding the basics of these rituals and traditions is critical to the understanding of Judaism as a whole, Through this research we can conclude that the Torah is the most important document or resource for Jews.
This is because not only does the Torah state the laws they must follow and tell the stories of the patriarchs and heroes of their faith, but also tells their history as a people and as a religion. Also I have discovered that one of the most common Jewish holidays known, Hanukkah, is not even one of the most important holidays and has very little spiritual meaning because it is just the celebration of a Jewish rebellion. Also some of the most common practices such as, writing God as G-d, is not very well know I myself had no idea that this was a practice of followers among Judaismi Judaism is also a very important religion in the history of religions because it gave rise to two of the biggest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam.
