Judaism

OBJECTIVES
• Briefly recount the history and core teaching of Judaism
(MELCs);

• Identify the different varieties of Judaism; and

• Observe and analyze the oppressions of the Jewish community

during the World War II.
•From the frontiers of West Asia
developed the Abrahamic religions of
Judaism, Christianity and Islam, known
as the first monotheistic religions in
the world. ABRAHAMIC
RELIGIONS
•They are called Abrahamic religion
because they all trace their origins to the
great patriarch Abraham and his
descendants – the Jews, Christians and
Muslims all believe that Abraham and
his family played a significant role in the
beginnings of their respective faiths.
 JUDAISM
• One of the world’s oldest religion (3,500 years ago)

• Throughout Judaism’s history, their followers have been called

many names:

HEBREWS – those who accepted Yahweh as their God

ISRAELITES – the descendants of the Hebrews, originated from

Abraham

JEW – comes from Yehuddah or Judah; now used to refer to someone

who practices Judaism.
EXPLORE JUDAISM
Origins and Its Sacred Text
ORIGINS
• The origin of the Jewish people
and the beginning of Judaism are
recorded in the first five books of
the Hebrew Bible, the Pentateuch.

• Judaism is anchored upon God’s

revelation to Abraham that He is
the creator and ruler of the
universe, and that He loves His
creatures and demands
righteousness from them (Losch, 2001).
ORIGINS
• God entered into a covenant with
Abraham promising him that he
would become the father of a great
nation and would possess the vast
tracts of lands. Abraham, in return,
must remain devoted to the
covenant.
• He would become the embodiment
of uprightness and holiness to the
world. Later on, he was succeeded
by his son Isaac, his grandson
Jacob and Jacob’s twelve sons.
(Hopfe, 1983)
 ABRAHAM
• A covenant has been
established between God and
Abram and Abram must prove
his worth to this agreement by
way of tests of faith throughout
his lifetime.
• While Abram and his wife
Sarai (later to be named
Sarah) were initially childless,
Abram bore a son to Sarai’s
Egyptian handmade Hagar
named Ishmael - considered
as the ancestor of the Arabs.
But he was not an heir to
God’s promise.
• His name was change to
“Abraham” or the “father of
many nations.
ISAAC
• Later in life, the old Abram and
Sarah had a son named Isaac,
the heir to God’s covenant and
the ancestor of the Jewish
people.
• The most difficult trial given to
Abraham came when God
commanded that he sacrifice his
own son Isaac at an altar in
Mount Moriah. With Abraham’s
obedience being put to the test,
and angel stopped him and he
was eventually reunited with his
son.
• Later on, Isaac married
Rebecca who bore him twin
sons, Jacob and Esau
JACOB
• Always in constant strife, the
younger Jacob bought Esau’s
birthright and tricked his father
Isaac into giving him Esau’s
blessing as the eldest son.
• Later on, Jacob reconciled
with Esau. A close encounter
with an angel merited him a
change of name from Jacob to
“Israel” which means the one
who wrestled with God.
• Jacob fathered twelve sons
and one daughter – the twelve
sons became the ancestors of
the tribes of Israel.
 MOSES
• He was a rescued and raised
child of the Egyptian
pharaoh’s daughter.
• At the age of forty, on Mount
Horeb, Abraham’s God
revealed himself to Moses
through a burning bush.
• God revealed his name as
Yahweh and commanded
Moses to return to Egypt and
demand the release of
Israelites from slavery.
This is a short clip from the movie Prince of Egypt, which
shows the 10 plagues brought by God to free the
Israelites.
ORIGINS
The Exodus – this was part
of the Jewish history that
manifested Yahweh’s
intervention to deliver his
chosen people. It is the event
upon the banishment of the
Israelites from Egypt, Moses
parted the Red Sea to allow
them to cross the water and
reach the dry lands of Sinai.
ORIGINS
• Another significant event in Jewish
history was the giving of the Ten
Commandments at Mount Sinai to
Moses.
• These supreme laws, were
communicated to the Israelites
through Moses during their time in
the wilderness.
• Forty years after the Exodus, Moses
died in the desert within reach of the
“Promised Land”.
ORIGINS
Origins of Judaism finds two
sequential happenings.

1. 586 BCE, the Temple of

Jerusalem was
destroyed
2. The Babylonian empire
fell to the Persian
empire, thereby allowing
the Jews to rebuild the
Temple.
ORIGINS
• The era after the destruction of the Second Temple marks the
beginning of the development of Rabbinical Judaism.

• Rabbis interpreted the scriptures, and took 250 years to

finalized it as the Talmud of the Land of Israel.

• Synagogues- assembled congregation, later was applied

to a building – a subtle reminder that it is the people
assembled who give meaning and purpose to the
building
SACRED
WRITINGS

TORAH
-Teaching or law
TANAKH
Hebrew Bible
- It contains 24
books, divided NEVI’IM
into 3 parts: - prophets

KETUVIM
- writings
 1. GENESIS (Bereshit)
- It means origin, is the
TORAH beginning book of the
Torah
- It tells the mythic origin of
Torah is comprised of the first five the entire world.
books of the Bible, also called the - How God created the
Pentateuch (means five scrolls in world
Greek) - Fall of Man
This contains the early history of - Great Flood
Judaism. 2. EXODUS (Shemot)
- It is the second book of the
1. GENESIS - Bereshit Torah.
2. EXODUS - Shemot - The story begins with the
3. LEVITICUS - Vaqira Moses
- His survival
4. NUMBERS - Bemidbar - YHWH (I am who I am)
5. DEUTERONOMY - Devarim - Ten Commandments
- Babylonian Exile
 PROPEHTS (NEVI’IM)
Joshua (Yehoshua)
Judges (Shofetim)
Samuel (Shemuel)
Kings (Melakhim)
Isaiah (Yeshayabu)
Jeremiah (Yirmeyahu)
Ezekiel (Yehezaqel)
• The Second main Book of the Twelve (Trei Assar): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,
section of the Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Tanakh belongs THE WRITINGS (KETUVIM)

to the Judges and Psalms (Tehilim)
the Kings (also Proverbs (Mishlei)
Job (Iyov)
called as the Songs of Songs (Shir Hashirim)
Prophets) Ruth (Rus)
Lamentations (Eicha)
Ecclesiastes (Koheles)
Esther (Ester)
Daniel (Doniel)
Ezra-Nehemiah (Ezra-Nehemyah)
Chronicles (Divrei Hayamin)
• Bible – biblia (books)

• Hebrew Bible is not a single

book, but a collection of
individual books.

• Hebrew Bible is also called as

the Tanakh, divided into three
sections: Torah, Nevi’im,
Ketuvim
BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
 MESSIAH
- One of the most
fundamental
Jewish belief,
that a savior will
come.
Dietary Practices
- Jews do not eat SABBATH
pork and shellfish. - The veneration of
- Kosher (ritually the Sabbath day
correct), refers to originated with the
food preparations Creation story.
and consumptions
 PASSOVER
- It commemorates the
liberation of the Hebrews
from Egypt.
- Seder, a Paschal meal
shared by the family on the
eve of the first day of the
Feast.
- Matzah (unleavened
bread), the primary food
digestion ; symbolizes
freedom and liberation
Other Festivals of Judaism:
• New Year (Rosh Hashanah)
• Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
• Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
• Rejoicing the Law (Simchat Torah)
• Lights (Hanukkah)
• Purim
• Pentecost (Shavout)
• The Ninth of Av
VARIETIES OF JUDAISM
ORTHODOX
JUDAISM
• Observe the traditional
practices and beliefs of
Biblical Judaism.
• They believe that God gave
the Torah both written and
Oral.
• Keep the law as God-given.
REFORM
JUDAISM
• Aims to modernize Judaism
• They emphasize change
• Consider the Torah as a
statement of eternal principles
with a particular historicity;
abandon much of the original
Torah as no longer relevant
CONSERVATIVE CONTEMPORARY
JUDAISM JUDAISM
• Recognizes that change has • Committed to the belief in a
always been part of religion single, personal, beneficent
• Try to reconcile the traditional God
orthodoxy and the liberal form
of Judaism
• They affirm the God-given
standing of the Torah, but
accommodate change.
RESOURCES:
• Cornelio, J. S., Calano, M. J., and Sapitula, M. V. (2017).
Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems.
Rex Book Store

• Ong, J. and Jose, M. (2016). Introduction to World Religions &

Belief Systems. 1253 Gregorio Araneta Avenue, Quezon City.
Vibal Group, Inc.