Judaism

What is Judaism?
• “A 4000 year old tradition with ideas about what it
means to be human and how to make the world a holy
place”
(Rabbi Harold Kushner, To Life)

• A “covenant relationship” between God and the

Hebrew people
• A celebration and sanctification of life
• A faith, a people, a way of life
 A 4000 year old tradition
• The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (“Israel”) –
origins of the Hebrew people (more than 3800
years ago)
• Enslaved in ancient Egypt and freed by Moses
(more than 3300 years ago)
• Hebrew monarchy in the “Promised Land” (The
Land of Israel), ends 6th century BCE
 History of Judaism
• It started with Abraham, in the land of Canaan (an area between the

Jordan River and the Mediterranean) dated ca. 2000 - 18000 BCE. Tracing

from Abraham and the birth of his two sons, Ishmael from his servant

Hagar, and Isaac fro his wife, Sarah.

• His son Isaac and grandson Jacob are the central figures in the history of

Judaism. The people we know are Israelites derived their name from Jacob

when he took the name "Israel". Jacob's 12 sons led his family and

descendants and became known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Roman Rule
• Judea was conquered by the Roman General Pompey (63 BCE). During the
abusive treatment of the empire, Jesus of Nazareth was crucified under the
roman prefect Pontius Pilate.

• In 66 CE, the Jewish began to revolt but was defeated by the future Roman
emperors Vespian and Titus. Succeeding revolts resulted in their banishment,
renaming of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina and Judea to Syria Palestina, after
their ancient enemies, the Philistines. In the end, the Jews made alliance with
the Persians against the Byzantine and experienced a brief victory as they took
back Jerusalem, however it fell apart and they surrendered to the Byzantines,
which also lost to the Muslim Arabs
Islamic Period

In 638 CE Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, and Syria was conquered by the Arab Muslims under

Caliph Omar, radically changing the conditions for economic, social and intellectual

development of the Jews. He permitted them back to Jerusalem after 500 years, and they

referred to him as a "friend of Israel“

Jewish Golden Age in Muslim Spain

Considered as a period of tolerance or the Jewish, they devoted themselves to the service

of Caliphate of Cordoba, "the Jews prospered, devoting themselves to the service of the

Caliphate of Cordoba, to the study of the sciences, and to commerce and industry,

especially to trading in silk and slaves, in this way promoting the prosperity of the country.

Jewish economic expansion was unparalleled." The invasion of al-Andalus by the

Almohades , a conservative tribe from North Africa, ended the Golden Age.
Crusaders Period
The death of Jesus encouraged the crusader attacks of the Christians on the Jews, who
forcibly converted them to Christianity, which caused many of the Jewish people to
commit suicide or self defense which resulted to deaths.

19th Century
Napoleon offered refuge for the Jews to leave the Jewish Ghettos of Europe, with
tolerant political regimes and emancipation, leaving only Russia out of all the
countries in Europe. During this period a new form of Anti-Semitism emerged with the
idea that Jews were a separate and inferior race from the Aryan People of Europe,
which led to political parties from France, Germany and Austria-Hungary on a
campaign to roll back emancipation. This resulted on Jewish migration to the United
States which formed a large community free from the restrictions of Europe.
20th Century

The Jewish population began actively discussing the immigration back to Israel and

reestablishing the Jewish nation in their homeland, according to the biblical prophecy

relating to Shivat Tzion. The Zionist movement and the World Zionist Congress were

established, with Theodor Herzl as the visionary of the Jewish State.

The Holocaust

Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party slowly rise to power in the 1930s Germany, which led many

Jews to flee from Europe to Palestine and United States in fear of an upcoming war. When

WWII began and Hitler occupied most of Europe including Poland and France until 1941,

following the start of the invasion of the Soviet Union, they started the annihilation of the

Jewish people called the Final Solution. This resulted in the death of the genocide of six

million Jews, methodically murdered in gas chambers and concentration camps in

Auschwitz. This event will be known as The Holocaust or Shoah (Heb.)

Theodor Herzl
1860-1904
Father of Modern Zionism
 Jewish Beliefs
• One God, creator of the universe, personal but non-corporeal

• Prophets – especially Moses, through whom the Torah was

revealed to the Hebrew people

• Torah (first five books of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible),

containing religious, moral and social law which guides the life
of a Jew (does not include the New Testament)

• Halakha – collective body of Jewish laws

• Talmud – source of the Halakha, foundation of Jewish thought

and guide for Jews
 Select Divisions and Books of the
Tanakh
 Torah
 Bereshit ( ,‫אשית‬
ִׁ ‫ ) ְּב ֵר‬- Genesis
 Shemot ( ,‫ ) ְּשמֹות‬- Exodus
 Nevi'im
 Yĕhôshúa‘ (ַ‫ְּהֹושע‬
ֻ ‫ )י‬- Joshua
 Shophtim (‫ )שֹ ְּפ ִׁטים‬- Judges
 Shmû’ēl (‫)שמּואֵ ל‬
ְּ - Samuel
 M'lakhim (‫)מלָ כִׁ י‬
ְּ - Kings
Tanakh
Talmud
 Jewish People
• An ethno-religious group

• A nation in Diaspora (dispersed)

• 15 – 16 million in worldwide population

• United by a common heritage (an “ethnic” religion), divided in contemporary

practice:

– Orthodox:

• Modern

• Hasidic (Ultra Orthodox)

– Reformed (18th century Germany)

– Conservative – moderates, response to reform

• Reconstructionalism (20th century America)

 Jewish Denominations
 Orthodox
 Haredi
 Hasidic
 Modern

 Conservative
 Reform
 Reconstructionist
 Jewish Ethnic Divisions
• Ashkenazi Kaifeng Jews

• Shepardic • Romaniote Jews

• Mizrahi Jews • Amazonian Jews

- Mountain Jews • Beta Israel

- Bukharan Jews

- Maghrebi Jews

- Arabic Jews
 As a way of life, Judaism is based
on…
• 613 commandments found in Torah (“Written Law”)
• Talmud (“Oral Law”) – commentary of ancient rabbis that elaborates on
how to apply God’s Law in everyday life through:
– Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher)
– Dress and other symbols
– Prayer and devotion to the one God
– The Temple and Temple rites
– Observance of Holy days
– Proper social relations between male and female, in business,
judicial rulings, etc.
• Thus sanctifying life, blessing it in every way
How does Judaism sanctify life?
Life cycle celebrations:

• Bris – ritual circumcision, sign of the covenant

• Bar/Bat Mitzvah – full adult status and

responsibility within the religion

• Marriage - "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:22)

• Death – funerals, mourning (sitting “Shiva”), and

memorials (“Yartzeits”)
 How does Judaism sanctify time?
The Jewish Holidays:
High Holidays:
Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)

Sukkot, the “Festival of Booths” (fall harvest festival)

Simchat Torah – celebrating Torah

Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights”

YO M K I P P U R HANUKKAH
 Other Holidays
• Purim (“Lots”) – a carnival (commemorates events
told in book of Esther)
• Pesach (“Passover”) – commemorates the exodus
from Egypt (events told in Exodus)
• Shavuot (“weeks,” Pentecost) – commemorates
receipt of Torah at Sinai
• Other, minor festivals
• Shabbat (Sabbath, 7th day, on Saturday) – the
“Day of Rest”
 Jewish Prayers (tefillah)
 Siddur (prayer book)

 3 prayers daily

Morning prayer: Shacharit or Shaharit

Afternoon prayer: Mincha or Minha

Additional prayer: Ma’ariv or Arvit

 Additional prayers: Musaf: recited by Orthodox and Conservative

Jews on Shabbat, major Jewish holidays

 Ne'ila: recited only on Yom Kippur

 How is Judaism related to
Christianity?
• Judaism predates Christianity – it is the foundation of Christianity but
is not a part of it

• Jesus was Jewish, as were his followers and the Apostles

• Jews do not believe that Jesus was anything more than a good and
wise man who lived and died 2000 years ago – Jews still await their
messiah

• The Jewish messiah would not be divine. He would be a political

figure who restores the Hebrew monarchy and causes peace to
reign on Earth

• Jews are not concerned about salvation and the “world to come”
 What are Jews really concerned
about?
• Tikkun Olam - “repairing this world” through justice
and righteousness; through “deed, not creed”
• The heart of Judaism is in the home and family,
social responsibility and doing Mitzvot (“good
deeds” based on God’s commandments)
• Through education and hard work we make our
lives, the lives of others, and the world, what God
intended it to be – Holy!
 Judaism in the Philippines
• Estimated 500 Jews (2005) and mostly concentrated in Metro Manila

• Beth Yaacov Synagogue in Makati

• Rabbi Eliyahu Azaria

• Jorge and Domingo Rodríguez, 1590s

• Permanent settlement began in the 1870s with the arrival of the Levy
brothers

• First synagogue built in 1924

• Peaked at 800 during the American era

• President Quezon opened the Philippines to Jewish refugees

 Core Tenets of Judaism
• I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of

everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.

• I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no

unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.

• I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, has no body, and that He is

free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him

whatsoever.

• I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.

• I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, Blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right

to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.

• I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
• I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, was true,
and that he was the chief of the prophets, both those who preceded him and those who followed
him.

• I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was
given to Moses our teacher, peace be upon him.

• I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged, and that there will never be any
other Torah from the Creator, Blessed be His Name.

• I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, knows all the deeds of human
beings and all their thoughts, as it is written, "Who fashioned the hearts of them all, Who
comprehends all their actions" (Psalms 33:15).

• I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, rewards those who keep His
commandments and punishes those that transgress them.

• I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry,
nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming.

• I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please
the Creator, Blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.
Resources:
1. Judaism 101: http://jewfaq.org/
”an online encyclopedia of Judaism, covering Jewish beliefs, people,
places, things, language, scripture, holidays, practices and customs”

2. ReligiousTolerance.org on Judaism:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm

3. This PowerPoint presentation available at:

http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel232/resource/judaism.ppt

4. https://www.history.com/topics/religion/judaism#section_3

5. https://www.patheos.com/library/judaism