Founders: Abraham (2,000 B.C.

) and/or Moses
(1391-1271 B.C.)
Sacred Texts: Torah, Pentateuchm Poetry,
Talmud, Misnah
Doctrines: Ten Commandments, 618 Rules
God: Yahweh/Jehovah
Sacred Space: Temple and Synagogue
Sects: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Liberal
Issues: Anti-Semitism, Zionism, Holocaust
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish
people. It is an ancient, monotheistic,
Abrahamic religion with the Torah as
its foundational text. It encompasses
the religion, philosophy, and culture
of the Jewish people.
Torah has a range of meanings. It can
most specifically mean the first five
books of the 24 books of the Tanakh,
and is usually printed with the
rabbinic commentaries.
The law on which Judaism is founded
( torah is Hebrew for “law”). This law
is contained in the first five books of
the Bible (see also Bible) (Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy). Torah can also refer to
the entire body of Jewish law and
wisdom, including what is contained
in oral tradition.
The history of the Jewish people begins in Bronze
Age times in the Middle East when
God promised a nomad leader called Abram that
he would be the father of a great people if he did
as God told him. Jews regard Abraham (as he was
later called) as the first Patriarch of the Jewish
people.
Abraham, originally Abram, is the
common patriarch of the three
Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, he is
the founding father of the Covenant,
the special relationship between the
Jewish people and God;
Abraham founded Judaism,
and Moses later received the Torah
from God.
One of Judaism's great figures is the
man called Moshe Rabbenu('Moses our
teacher') in Hebrew. The first five
books of the Bible are traditionally
ascribed to him. Moses is the channel
between God and the Hebrews,
through whom the Hebrews received
a basic charter for living as God's
people.
The Torah is written in Hebrew, the
oldest of Jewish languages. It is also
known as Torat Moshe, the Law
of Moses. The Torah is the first section
or first five books of the Jewish bible.
However, Tanach is more commonly
used to describe the whole of Jewish
scriptures.
The Torah is part of the larger text
known as the Tanakh or the Hebrew
Bible, and supplemental oral tradition
represented by later texts such as
the Midrash and the Talmud.
Judaism's texts, traditions and
values strongly influenced
later Abrahamic religions,
including Christianity, Islam and
the Baha'i Faith.
Thou shalt have no
other Gods before
me
Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven
image
 Thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord
thy God in vain
Remember
the sabbath
day and
keep it holy
Honour thy
father and
thy mother
Thou shalt not kill
 Thou shalt not
commit adultery
Thou shalt not steal
 Thou shalt not bear
false witness against
thy neighbour
Thou shalt not covet
any thing that is thy
neighbour's
The Jewish diaspora or exile refers
to the dispersion of Israelites or
Jews out of their ancestral
homeland and their subsequent
settlement in other parts of the
globe.