Origins of Judaism

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Origins of Judaism
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Judaism

• Religion developed 3,000 years ago in the Fertile
  Crescent
• Monotheistic (belief in one God)
• Shaped other religions like Christianity and
  Islam
• Shaped modern ideas about law and human rights

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Early Israelites and Judaism

• Judaism Religion involving teachings and
  practices of Israelites.
• Beliefs
• Monotheistic
• God created each person in Gods image
• Act based on ethics, ideas about right and wrong
• Source Torah
• First five books of Hebrew Bible

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Important People in Judaism Abraham

• 1700 B.C.E
• Lived in Ur, Mesopotamia
• God told Abraham to leave Ur and travel to
  Canaan, on the Mediterranean Sea
• Covenant binding agreement between God and
  Abraham
• Canaan would become the land of Abrahams
  descendants.
• Canaan known as Promised Land

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Israelites Twelve Tribes

• Patriarchs - Forefathers of Jewish people
• Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaacs son Jacob
• Jacob had twelve sons
• Each son was the ancestor of a tribe
• Jacob was renamed Israel
• Twelve Tribes became known as Israelites
• Their stories are written down in Genesis, the
  first book of the Torah

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Famine in Canaan

• Famine shortage of food
• Jacobs family moves to Egypt (great supplies of
  grain) after famine in Canaan
• Pharaoh enslaved and mistreated Israelites
• Book of Exodus
• 2nd Book in Torah
• Describes the hardships of Israelites in Egypt
  and their escape.

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Moses

• Israelite adopted by pharaohs family
• God appeared to him and asked him to rescue
  people from slavery
• Pharaoh refused to let people out of Egypt
• God punished Egyptians
• Sickness
• Insects
• Death of Firstborn son

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Moses and Israelites Leave Egypt

• Moses led Israelites to the Sinai Peninsula
• Exodus escape of Israelites from Egypt
• Passover
• Celebration to commemorate Gods freeing them
  from slavery.

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The Desert Experience

• Israelites lived in the desert for 40 years
• God provided instructions and ways of worship
• Faced harsh conditions and battled other peoples
• Questioned leadership of Moses and God
• Finally believed that obeying Gods commands
  would provide everything they needed

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The Ten Commandments

• Commandment order to do something
• God gave Moses 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai
• Most important laws in the Torah
• Jewish people believe they have a covenant with
  God

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Return to the Promised Land

• Joshua took leadership role after Moses died
• Israelites entered Canaan once more
• They conquered Jericho
• Then conquered other kingdoms in Canaan
• Tribes settled in different areas of Canaan

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Jewish Scriptures Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)

• Divided into three sections
• The Torah
• The Prophets
• The Writings

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The Torah (Law of Moses)

• Gods creation of the world
• Noahs ark and the great flood
• Life of Abraham
• Covenant
• Stories of the Israelites
• Journey from Egypt to Promised Land

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The Prophets

• Books by or about Jewish prophets
• Prophets person believed to be chosen by God as
  a messenger to bring truth to people
• Preachers, poets, etc.
• Told people how to relate and follow God

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The Writings

• Great Hebrew literature
• Psalms poems or songs as prayers to God
• Proverbs wise sayings
• Books about heroes
• Chronicles history of early Jewish people

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Rabbis - Religious Teachers

• Recorded oral laws
• Discussed how laws should be interpreted
• Wrote commentaries on the laws
• Talmud text from A.D. 600
• Collection of teachings and commentaries about
  Hebrew Bible and Jewish Law

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Key Teachings of Judaism

• Ethical Monotheism
• Observance of Law
• Love for Others
• Weekly day of rest (Sabbath)
• Commitment to study and prayer
• Connection to the Land of Israel
• Righteousness
• Individual Responsibility to God
• Justice

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Judaism Now

• Today, the United States, with approximately six
  million Jews, has the largest Jewish population
  in the world.

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Jewish Diaspora

• Communities living outside of Israel
• Live far away from Jerusalem, Judaisms holy
  city.
• Gather to pray and discuss scriptures in
  synagogues (Jewish meeting place)
• 14 million Jewish people worldwide
• Large majority in Israel and the United States