Running head: JUDAISM 1

Judaism

Name

Institution
 JUDAISM 2

The Jewish religion and its principles are very much rooted on its historical past rituals

and practices. Much as in most cases the festivities focus on the individual as a person, the

family and the whole community are bound to participate in the different commemoration.

Therefore, below are some of the most important spiritual commemoration and practices that

reflect the importance that the Jewish religion attaches to its past (Kaplan, 2012).

The Synagogue, it is the house of worship, which tresses its origin from the demolition of

the second temple though it first became religious centered after the temple was lost. Therefore,

since the recognition of the synagogue as the place of worship, ritual sacrifices have since been

replaced with Torah readings, teachings and prayers.

Jewish Worship and Prayer is another practice that has been preserved and still practiced

to date. One of the characteristics of the Jewish people are the frequent prayers during the

weekdays and service merged with prayers on the Sabbath day of the week. The other element

that must be observed together with the Sabbath and prayer is welcoming visitors with maximum

etiquette.

The other ritual is Keeping Kosher, that is to say, Jewish Dietary Laws. One of the

notorious practices with the Jewish religion is eating of kosher foods. Such teachings may appear

senseless to the outsiders but they are imperative to the Jewish people since their history

(Kaplan, 2012). Sticking with the teachings is a great opportunity to demonstrate obedience to

God and create a sense of unity among themselves.

 JUDAISM 3

The other element of ritual rooted in its historical past is the observance of the Bar

Mitzvah. It is a known practice that in Judaism, children are not obliged to observe the 613

commandments, however, they are encouraged to observe such commandments.

The other spiritual practice observed by the Jews is death and funeral rituals. Among the

Jews, preservation of life is ranked a top priority among the rest, however, that does not devalue

death. On the contrary, death is looked at as part of life and a plan made by God. Therefore,

mourning a dead person does not mean protest to death but rather value of life of every single

individual.

On the other hand, morning as a ritual signifies the respect attributed to the dead, the

comfort to the ones left behind, helps society to return to normal life and it is meant to

discourage too much morning. Therefore, morning ritual is expected to last for 30 days from the

time the deceased is buried, and it is done vigorously in the first seven days. Thereafter,

remembrance rituals are performed in the subsequent years.

In the end it should be noted that Judaism is a religion more rooted on the law than any

other element as highlighted in the rituals demonstrated above and other aspects explained

below. The religion is based on Mitzvot, which in simple terms refers to commandments. Much

as the same word is applied to refer to rabbinic law, or generally positive deeds, the strict

meaning of the word is God’s commandments given in the Torah (Unterman, 2008). One of the

Jewish philosophers made a list of up to 613 commandments found in the Jewish bible of which

some of them include the rabbinic law. It is therefore prudent to conclude that Judaism is a

religion of laws.
 JUDAISM 4

References

Kaplan, M. A. (2012). Redefining Judaism in Imperial Germany: Practices, Mentalities, and

Community. Jewish Social Studies, 9(1), 1-33.

Unterman, A. (2008). Jews, their religious beliefs and practices. Routledge/Thoemms Press.