Judaism

Judaism
The religion developed
among the ancient Hebrews
that stresses belief in God and
faithfulness to the laws of the
Torah : the religion of the
Jewish people
 Who was the founder of Judaism?

Judaism does not have a specific

founder, but rather it has major
prophets that are considered the
fathers of Judaism. Some of these
prophets are Moses, Abraham
and Noah.
 Judaism is the first in the line of
Abrahamic faiths, which include
Christianity and Islam. Some of
the core beliefs involve keeping
the Sabbath holy, obeying and
worshipping only one deity,
 Jewish sacred texts
Jews are known as the "People of the
Book," an appropriate title. After the
destruction of the Second Temple in 70
CE and the subsequent exile, sacrifices
became impossible and Jewish religious
life turned to study of the scriptures and
prayer in the synagogue. Study of Torah
and other Jewish texts has been central
to religious life ever since.
 Tanakh
The Jewish sacred text is the
Tanakh, whose name is an acronym
of Torah, Nebi'im and Ketuvim (Law,
Prophets and Writings). It consists
of the same books as the Christian
Old Testament, although in a
slightly different order and with
other minor differences.
 Torah
Although the word "Torah" is
sometimes used to refer to the
entire Tanakh or even the whole
body of Jewish writings, it
technically means the first five
books of the Tanakh. These books
are also known as the Five Books of
Moses or the Pentateuch.
 Talmud: The Oral Torah
Another important Jewish text is the Talmud,
a collection of rabbinical writings that
interpret, explain and apply the Torah
scriptures. The Talmud was written between
the second and fifth century CE, but
Orthodox Jews believe it was revealed to
Moses along with the Torah and preserved
orally until it was written down. The Talmud
is thus known as the "Oral Torah," with the
first five books of the Tanakh designated the
"Written Torah."
 Midrash
A third group of Jewish literature is
the Midrash, which is a large body of
rabbinical material derived primary
from sermons (the Hebrew word for
"sermon" is d'rash). The primary
collections of Midrash were compiled
between the fourth and sixth
centuries, but the midrashic form
continues to the present day.
 Responsa
A further set of Jewish writings
is the responsa, a vast collection
(thousands of volumes) of
answers to specific questions on
Jewish law. If the Talmud is a law
book, the responsa are case law.
 The Septuagint
An ancient Greek translation of
the Hebrew Bible dating to
before the time of Jesus Christ,
and used extensively by New
Testament writers and the early
church.
 Zohar
The Sefer ha-Zohar (Book of
Splendor) is the central text of
Kabbalah, the mystical branch of
Judaism.
 Apocrypha
The Apocrypha (Greek, "hidden books") is a
group of 13 Jewish texts written from about
the 5th to 1st centuries BCE, between the
times of the Old Testament and New
Testament
 Dead Sea Scrolls
Ancient manuscript of the Psalms from
the Dead Sea Scrolls (courtesy: Library
of Congress). ## Overview of Fact and
Fiction in The Da Vinci Code In Chapter
55, Sir Leigh Teabing tells a shocked
Sophie Neveu about the "real" history of
the Bible, which was created by
Constantine at the Council of Nicea
Judaism - Doctrine and Principles of
Faith
As noted, Judaism begins with the Covenant
between God and Abraham. Most Judaic
doctrine and principals spring from that
agreement and from the early books of the
bible.
Historically, Judaism has considered belief in
the divine revelation and acceptance of the
Written and Oral Torah as its fundamental
core belief, but Judaism does not have a
centralized
authority dictating religious dogma.
This gave rise to many different
formulations as to the specific
theological understandings inherent in
the Torah (the first five books of the
Jewish Bible, the Jewish Scriptures), and
Talmud (a collection of writings
constituting Jewish teachings and
commentaries related to the Jewish
Scriptures).
 As a result and over the
centuries, a number of
formulations of Jewish principles
of faith have appeared, and
though they differ with respect
to certain details, they
demonstrate a commonality of
core ideology.
 Of these formulations, the one most
widely considered authoritative is
Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith,
formulated in the 12th century.
These principles were controversial
when first proposed, evoking
criticism.
 Maimonides thirteen principles
were ignored by much of the Jewish
community for the next few
centuries. Over time, two poetic
restatements of these principles,
which are titled "Ani Ma'amin" and
"Yigdal," became canonized in the
Jewish prayer book, and eventually
became widely held.
Very early Jewish scholars (1400
A.D.) have criticized Maimonides'
list as containing too many items
that, while true, were not
fundamentals of the faith, and thus
placed too many Jews in the
category of "heretic," rather than
those who were simply in error
 Many others criticized any such
formulation as minimizing
acceptance of the entire Torah. As
noted however, neither Maimonides
nor his contemporaries viewed
these principles as encompassing all
of Jewish belief, but rather as the
core theological underpinnings of
the acceptance of Judaism.
 Observe Jewish law
Maintain that the requirements
for conversion to Judaism
included (i) circumcision and (ii)
adherence to traditional
customs.
 Names of God in Judaism
Tetragrammaton
The most important name of God in
Judaism is the Tetragrammaton, the
four-letter name of God. This name
is first mentioned in the book of
Genesis and is usually translated as
the Lord. Because Jews have for a
long
period of time considered it
blasphemy to pronounce, the correct
pronunciation of this name has been
forgottenthe original Hebrew texts
only included consonants. Modern
scholars conjecture that it was
pronounced "Yahweh".
 An early depiction of the
Tetragrammaton - circa 600 B.C.E.
Portion of writing on silver scroll with
the "Priestly Benediction" (Numbers
6:24-26)
The Hebrew letters are named
Yod-Heh-Waw-Heh: ;note that
Hebrew is written from right to
left, rather than left to right as in
English. In English it is written as
YHWH, YHVH, or JHVH
depending on the transliteration
convention that is used.
 Portion of column 19 of
the Psalms Scroll (Tehilim)
from Qumran Cave 11.
The Tetragrammaton in
Phoenician (1100 BC to AD
300), Aramaic (10th Century
BC to 0) and modern Hebrew
scripts.
 English translations of the Bible
generally render YHWH as
"Jehovah" in several locations, while
replacing the name altogether as
"the LORD" (in small capitals), and
Adonai as "Lord" (in normal case). In
a few cases, where "Lord YHWH"
appears, the combination is written
as "Lord God".
 Hashem/Hadavar
Jewish law requires that secondary rules
be placed around the primary law, to
reduce the chance that the main law will
be broken. As such, it is common Jewish
practice to restrict the use of the word
Adonai to prayer only. In conversation,
many Jewish people will call God
"HaShem", which is Hebrew for "the
Name"
 Hashem (Hebrew: )means The
Name. Another similar term is
Hadvar (Hebrew: ), meaning
"the thing that cannot be described"
or simply "the Word." While other
names of God in Judaism are
generally restricted to use in a
liturgical context, Hashem is used in
more casual circumstances. It does
not occur in the Bible,
 Other names of God
Adonai
Jews also call God Adonai, Hebrew for "Lord"
(Hebrew: ) . Formally, this is plural ("my
Lords"), but the plural is usually construed as a
respectful, and not a syntactic plural. (The
singular form is Adoni ("my lord"). This was
used by the Phoenicians for the pagan God
Tammuz and is the origin of the Greek name
Adonis. Jews only use the singular to refer to a
distinguished person.)
 Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh
The name Ehyeh (Hebrew: )
denotes Gods potency in the immediate
future, and is part of YHWH. The phrase
"ehyeh-asher-ehyeh" (Exodus 3:14) is
interpreted by some authorities as "I
will be because I will be," using the
second part as a gloss and referring to
Gods promise, "Certainly I will be
[ehyeh] with thee" (Exodus 3:12).
 El
The word El appears in other
northwest Semitic languages such as
Phoenician and Aramaic. In
Akkadian, ilu is the ordinary word
for God. It is also found also in Old
South Arabian and in Ethiopic, and,
as in Hebrew,
it is often used as an element in
proper names. In northwest Semitic
texts it often appears to be used of
one single God, perhaps the head of
the pantheon, sometimes specifically
said to be the creator.
 Other examples of its use with some
attribute or epithet are:
El `Elyon ("Most High God")
El Shaddai ("God Almighty")
El `Olam ("Everlasting God")
El Hai ("Living God")
El Roi ("God of Seeing")
El Elohe Israel ("God, the God of Israel")
El Gibbor ("God of Strength")
 In addition, names such as Gabriel
("Strength of God"), Michael ("He
Who is Like God"), Raphael ("Gods
medicine") and Daniel ("God is My
Judge") use Gods name in a similar
fashion.
 `Elyon (Hebrew: )
The name `Elyon occurs in
combination with El, YHWH or
Elohim, and also alone. It appears
chiefly in poetic and later Biblical
passages. The modern Hebrew
adjective "`Elyon" means "supreme"
(as in "Supreme Court") or "Most
High".
 Shaddai, El Shaddai - (Hebrew: )

The name Shaddai, which occurs both
independently and in combination with
El, is used as a name of God chiefly in the
Book of Job. According to Exodus 6:2, 3,
this is the name by which God was known
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the
Septuagint and other early translation it
was translated with words meaning
Almighty.
 Yah
The name Yah is composed of the
first letters of YHWH. The
Rastafarian Jah is derived from this.

Jah (IPA: d) is the name commonly

used for God in the religious
Rastafari movement.
 YHWH Tzevaot/Sabaoth
The names YHWH and Elohim frequently
occur with the word tzevaot or sabaoth
("hosts" or "armies", Hebrew: )as,
YHWH Elohe Tzevaot ("YHWH God of
Hosts")
Elohe Tzevaot ("God of Hosts")
Adonai YHWH Tzevaot ("Lord YHWH of
Hosts")
or, most frequently, YHWH Tzevaot
("YHVH of Hosts")
 Lesser used names of God
Abir "Strong One"
Avinu Malkeinu "Our Father, our
King"
Avinu Malkenu
Boreh "the Creator"
Ehiyeh shEhiyeh "I Am That I Am": a
modern Hebrew version of "Ehyeh asher
Ehyeh"
 Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak ve
Elohei Ya`aqov "God of Abraham,
God of Isaac, God of Jacob"
El ha-Gibbor "God the hero" or
"God the strong one"
Emet "Truth"
Ein Sof "endless, infinite",
Kabbalistic name of God
Roeh Yisrael "Shepherd of Israel"
 Ha-Kaddosh, Baruch Hu "The Holy
One, Blessed be He"
Kaddosh Israel "Holy One of Israel"
Melech ha-Melachim "The King of
Kings"
Makom literally "the place",
meaning "The Omnipresent"; see
Tzimtzum
Magen Avraham "Shield of
Abraham"
 YHWH-Yireh (Yahweh-Yireh) "The
Lord will provide" (Genesis 22:13, 14)
YHWH-Rapha" "The Lord that
healeth" (Exodus 15:26)
YHWH-Niss"i (Yahweh-Nissi) "The
Lord our Banner" (Exodus 17:8-15)
YHWH-Shalom "The Lord our
Peace" (Judges 6:24)
YHWH-Ra-ah "The Lord my
Shepherd" (Psalms 23:1)
 YHWH-Tsidkenu "The Lord
our Righteousness" (Jeremiah
23:6)
YHWH-Shammah "The Lord is
present" (Ezekiel 48:35)
Tzur Israel "Rock of Israel"
What are the different sects of Judaism?
: Like most major religions , Judaism
worldwide is comprised of several
different sects. However, the branches of
Judaism active today are not the same as
those seen in the Bible, so the ancient and
modern eras have to be understood
separately. When looking at different
sects of Judaism, one should also note
that the term Jewish can refer to a
religious identity,
 an ethnic identity, or a racial
identity. Historically, these have
been intertwined to the point of
being nearly identical. However,
from a religious standpoint,
different sects are separated purely
on the basis of their theological
views.
 Sects of Judaism in the Ancient Era
In the Bible, sects of Judaism were
divided mostly by their view of a
literal afterlife and bodily
resurrection, or by whether or not
they felt called to take an active or
passive role in end-times events.
Josephus, an early Jewish historian of
Judea, defined four major sects of
Judaism:
:Pharisees, Sadducees , Essenes, and
Zealots. From a literal standpoint,
Christianity began as a sect of
Judaism, as well. This perspective
Judaic, but accepting of Jesus as
Messiahis known today as Messianic
Judaism. There were other, smaller
groups with unique beliefs. The four
mentioned by Josephus, however, were
the major divisions.
 Though the term Pharisee is often used
in a derogatory sense today, the
Pharisees in New Testament times were
deeply committed to moral behavior
and a scholarly approach to the
Scriptures. Their stance on morality
included a rigid adherence to behavioral
aspects of Mosaic Law. However, since
some of those biblical laws were vague,
the Pharisees developed an Oral Torah:
The Sadducees differed significantly
from Pharisees in their theology.
Sadducees did not believe in a literal
afterlife or a bodily resurrection. In
fact, the Sadducees primary interest
was politics, which made them useful
conduits for Roman authority. They
saw the Old Testament law in a less
rigid light than the Pharisees, though
they were committed,
 The Essenes were a monastic group.
Unlike the Pharisees, Sadducees, and
Zealots, the Essenes felt called to
separate from society in preparation
for the end of the world. In broad
strokes, the Essenes could be
considered a doomsday sect.
On the other side of the apocalyptic
coin were the Zealots , by far the
smallest of the four groups. Like the
Essenes, the Zealots were something
of a doomsday sect of Judaism.
However, the Zealots believed their
actions would directly influence when
and how this apocalypse occurred.
 Sects of Judaism in the Modern Era
In the early part of the 18th century,
Judaism began to fracture as modern
approaches to Scripture and society
emerged. The resulting sects of
Judaism essentially divide modern
Jews into three groups: Orthodox,
Conservative, and Reform. As always,
there are numerous smaller, less
influential sects of Judaism,
 such as Torah Judaism and
Reconstructionist Judaism. The
overwhelming majority of Jews in
the world are Orthodox, though
Conservative and Reform are more
common in the United States and
certain parts of Europe.
Reform Judaism, which
emerged in Germany the
early 1800s
Reform Judaism is primarily
an ethical monotheism
 Judaism issues
Combating anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism is still a deeply-rooted
phenomenon in many democracies,
despite efforts by governments and
NGOs to tackle it. In addition to
'traditional' anti-Semitism, new forms
and expressions of anti-Semitism are
being manifested around the world
 Community Affairs
Jews, and Jewish sites, are often the
main targets of terrorists. The WJC
works to fight terrorism by
advocating a halt in arms
proliferation to terrorist groups,
better international cooperation,
and the protection of Jewish
institutions.
 Inter-Faith Dialogue
The WJC has always spearheaded
dialogue between the three
Abrahamic religions - Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam. Inter-faith
cooperation can make an important
contribution to peace around the
world and to better understanding
between communities in our
societies.
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