JUDAISM

Introduction to World Religions and Belief System

 Judaism
• Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion that traces the
origin as an organized belief system during the Bronze Age in
West Asia.
• The religion of the Jewish people, Judaism is one of the
Abrahamic Religions that also include Christianity and Islam.
• It is the religion professed by the Jews known as the “people
of the book” in reference to their sacred text written
covering nearly a thousand years and formalized as a canon of
teaching by the end of the first century C.E.
 Judaism
• The ancestors of the Jews were called Hebrews.
• The origin of then Jewish people and the beginning of
Judaism are recorded in the first five book of the Hebrew
Bible, the Pentateuch.
• Pentateuch means simply “five books”. In Greek, the
Pentateuch (which Jews call the Torah) includes the books of
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
• The founding figures of Patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.
 Sacred Scriptures of Judaism
1. Tanakh or Mikra
• The Hebrew Bible
• It has been authority, guide, and inspiration of the many
forms of Judaism.
• It is divided into three principal sections:
a. Torah
b. Nevi’im
c. Ketuvim
 Sacred Scriptures of Judaism
A. Torah - Teachings
• It is believed to be authored by Moses through the divine
instruction of Sinai.
• It is compose of five books of the Pentateuch which includes:
a. Genesis
b. Exodus
c. Leviticus
d. Numbers
e. Deuteronomy
 Sacred Scriptures of Judaism
A. Torah
• It contains the basic laws for Jewish self understanding.
• It narrates the history, religious status and moral
regulations for individuals, society, ceremonial rites and
creation story of Yahweh (a form of the Hebrew name of
God used in the Bible).
 Sacred Scriptures of Judaism
B. Nevi’im
• Prophets
• Prophets served as spokespersons who criticize the
hypocritical practices of Jewish rituals.
• They are specifically chosen by God to preach his message
to the people.
 Sacred Scriptures of Judaism
C. Ketuvim
• Writings
• It is the 3rd section of Tanakh
• It contains work on poetry, temple, rituals, private prayer,
philosophical explorations
 Sacred Scriptures of Judaism
2. Talmud
• Oral Torah
• It means “study”
• The Talmud is a record of rabbinical discussions pertaining
to Jewish law, biblical interpretation, ethics, customs, and
history.
• The Talmud has two basic components:
a. Mishnah (c. 200 C.E.)
b. Gemara (c. 500 C.E.)
 Sacred Scriptures of Judaism
2. Talmud
• The Mishnah is a collection of originally oral law s
supplementing scriptural laws.
• The Gemara is a collection of commentaries on and
elaborations of the Mishnah and related writings that ofeten
ventures into other subjects and expounds broadly on the
Hebrew Bilble.
 Beliefs and Doctrines of Judaism
A. Articles of Faith
1. God exists
2. God is one and unique
3. God is incorporeal
4. God is eternal
5. Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other
6. The words of the prophets are true
 Beliefs and Doctrines of Judaism
A. Articles of Faith
7. Moses’ prophecies are true and Moses was the
greatest of all the prophets
8. The written Torah and Oral Torah were given to
Moses
9. There will be no other Torah
10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of men
 Beliefs and Doctrines of Judaism
A. Articles of Faith
11. God will reward the good and punish the wicked
12. The Messiah will come
13. The dead will be resurrected.
 Beliefs and Doctrines of Judaism
A. Ten Commandments
1. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall
have no other Gods before me.
2. You shall not make yourselt a carved image
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
5. Honor your father and mother
 Beliefs and Doctrines of Judaism
A. Ten Commandments
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall
not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant,
nor anything that is your neighbors.
 Judaism - Abraham
• According the Jewish tradition, Abraham was born
under the name “Abram” in the city of Ur in Babylonia
in the year 1948 from Creation (circa. 1800 BCE).
• He was the son of Terach, an idol merchant, but from
his early childhood, he questioned the faith of his
father and sought the truth.
 Judaism - Abraham
• He came to believe that the entire universe was the
work of a single Creator, and he began to teach this
belief to others.
• Eventually, the one tru Creator that Abram had
worshipped called to him, and made him an offer.
• Abram accepted this offer, and the b’rit (covenant)
between God and the Jewish people was established.
 Judaism - Abraham
• The idea of b’rit is fundamental to traditional Judaism:
we have a covenant, a contract, with God, which
involves rights and obligations on both sides.
• Abram was subjected to ten tests of faith to prove his
worthiness for this covenant.
 Judaism - Abraham
• 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’s to Sarah (from “my princess”
to “princess”)
• Sarah bore Abraham a son, Isaac (in Hebrew, Yitzchak), a
name derived from the word “laughter”, expressing
Abraham’s joy at having a son in his old age.
 Judaism - Isaac
• Isaac was the subject of the tenth and most difficult test
of Abraham’s faith.
• God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt
offering .
• This test is known in Jewish traditions as the Akeidah (the
Binding, a reference to the fact that Isaac was bound on
the altar).
 Judaism - Isaac
• This test is also an extraordinary demonstration of Isaac’s
own faith, because according to Jewish tradition, Isaac
knew that he was to be sacrificed, yet he did not resist,
and was united with his father in dedication.
• At the lat moment, God sent an angel to stop the sacrifice.
• “Do not harm the boy!” the angel said. “Do not do
anything to him, for now I know that you fear God,
because you did not hold your son, your only son, from
me,” (Genesis 22:12)
 Judaism - Isaac
• Judaism uses this story as evidence that God abhors human
sacrifices.
• Judaism has always strongly oppose the practice of human
sacrifice, commonplace in many other cultures at that
time and place.
• Isaac later married Rebecca, who bore him a fraternal twin
sons: Jacob and Esau.
 Judaism - Jacob
• Jacob and his brother Esau were at war with each other even
before they were born. They struggle within Rebecca’s
Womb.
• Esau was Isaac’s favorite, because he was a good hunter, but
the more spiritually-minded Jacob was Rebecca’s favorite.
• When Isaac was growing old, Rebecca tricked him into giving
Jacob a blessing meant for Esau . Esau was angry about this,
and about the birthright, so Jacob fled to live with his uncle,
where he met his beloved Rachel.
 Judaism - Jacob
• The night before he went to his brother, he sent his wives,
sons, and things across the river, and was alone with God.
• That night he wrestled with a man until the break of day. As
the dawn broke, Jacob demanded a blessing from the man,
and the “man” revealed himself as an angel.
• He blessed Jacob and give him the name “Israel” (Yisrael),
meaning “the one who wrestled with God” or “the Champion
of God”.
• The Jewish people are generally referred to as the Children of
Israel, signifying their descent from Jacob.