INTRODUCTION TO
WORLD RELIGIONS
AND BELIEF SYSTEMS
AT THE END OF THE LESSON THE
LEARNERS WILL BE ABLE TO:
• Identify the two sacred scriptures of the Jewish
faith.
• Discuss the significance of God’s covenant with
the Jewish people and how it defines Jewish
tradition and doctrine.
• Respect the Jewish sacred scriptures that shaped
their history, culture, and traditions.
JUDAISM
BACKGROUND AND
FOUNDERS
Judaism is the oldest of the
monotheistic religion, whose
origins date back to the
mid-second millennium or around
1500 BCE.
BACKGROUND AND
FOUNDERS
Jewish tradition traces its
development to the ancient
patriarch Abraham, and his
descendants Isaac and Jacob.
BACKGROUND AND
FOUNDERS
It is believed that Judaism was
instituted with the covenant
between God and the Israelites in
Mt. Sinai.
BACKGROUND AND
FOUNDERS
The prophet Moses, who led the
Israelites out of slavery from Egypt,
guided, taught and interpreted God’s
will, and his divinely-inspired
teachings laid the foundation of
FOLLOWERS
OF
JUDAISM
FOLLOWERS OF JUDAISM
The adherents of Judaism are called
Jews. Though Judaism has always
had a relatively small following, it
still had a significant role in the
advancement of Near Eastern and
Western civilizations.
FOLLOWERS OF JUDAISM
Judaism had a great influence on
Christianity and Islam, two other
great monotheistic faith traditions.
The Jews are known for having a
rich, colorful history - particularly
for having faced enormous
FOLLOWERS OF JUDAISM
Their story has been one of
constant struggle for survival in
an often hostile world. Jews are
found in many countries around
the world.
FOLLOWERS OF JUDAISM
Large Jewish communities are
located in the United States,
Israel, and a number of European
nations - mainly Britain, France,
and Russia.
SACRED
TEXTS OR
HOLY
WRITINGS
THE TANAKH
Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible
in Judaism. It is comprise of:
• Torah (the Law)
• Nevi’im (the Prophets)
• ketuvim (Writings)
THE TORAH - THE JEWISH
WRITTEN LAW
For the Jews, the Torah is the
first revealed law given to Moses
and recorded in the Hebrew
sacred texts.
THE TORAH - THE JEWISH
WRITTEN LAW
In Greek, the Torah is called
Pentateuch, meaning five scrolls.
This includes Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy.
THE NEVI’IM - THE PROPHETS
The Nevi’im is sub-divided into
three parts:
• historical books
• major prophetic books
• minor prophetic books
THE NEVI’IM - THE PROPHETS
The Historical Books are those
of Joshua, Judges, Samuel,
and Kings.
THE NEVI’IM - THE PROPHETS
The Major Prophetic Books
are those of Isaiah,
Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
THE NEVI’IM - THE PROPHETS
The Minor Prophetic Books
comprise Hosea, Amos, Micah,
Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, and Malachi.
THE KETUVIM - WRITINGS
This consists of the Psalms, the
Proverbs, the Song of Songs,
Ecclesiastes, Job, Ruth, Esther,
Daniel, Lamentations of Jeremiah,
the histories in Chronicles, and
Ezra-Nehemiah.
THE TALMUD
The Talmud is another
form of scripture, and
is the written version
of the Jewish oral law
which includes rabbinical
commentaries on the
Hebrew scriptures.
THE TALMUD
The Talmud has
two main
sections:
1. Mishnah and
Gemara
2. Aggadah
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
It is the oral law in Judaism, as
opposed to the written Torah. The
Mishnah was collected and
committed to writing around 200
CE.
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
The Mishnah or “repetition”
essentially records the debates of the
post-temple sages from 70 to 200
CE (called the Tannaim) and is
considered the first major work of
“Rabbinical Judaism”.
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
The Mishnah is composed of six orders
(sedarim), arranged topically:
First Order: Zeraim
Meaning: “seed”
Focus: Discussions concerning
prayer, diet, and agricultural laws
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
Second Order: Moed
Meaning: “festivals”
Focus: Discussions about holidays
Example of Jewish holidays is The
Passover
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
Third Order: Nashim
Meaning: “women“
Focus: Discussions about women
and family life
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
Fourth Order: Nezikin
Meaning: “damages”
Focus: Discussions about
damages and compensation in
civil law
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
Fifth Order: Kodashim
Meaning: “holy things”
Focus: Discussions regarding
sacrifices, offerings, dedications,
and other temple-related matters
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
Sixth Order: Tohorot
Meaning: “purities”
Focus: Discussions regarding the
purity of vessels, foods, dwellings,
and people
THE MISHNAH AND GEMARA
The Gemara refers to additional
commentaries on the Mishnah
which were compiled from 200
to 500 CE.
THE AGGADAH
As opposed to Mishnah and
Gemara, Aggadah are not
considered law but literature
that consists of wisdom and
teachings, stories, and parables.
DOCTRINES
AND BELIEFS
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
AND 613 RULES
Judaism is a way of life - a life of
obedience to the Torah, through
which God intends to sanctify every
aspect of human existence.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
AND 613 RULES
Jews find guidance and direction for
their lives in the 613
commandments found in the Torah,
which are taught and interpreted by
the rabbis.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
The God delivered all these commandments:
I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides
me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of
anything in the sky above or on earth below or in the waters
beneath the earth; you shall not bow before them or worship them.
For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment
for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate
me, down to third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down
to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
You shall not take the name of
the Lord, your God, in vain. For
the Lord will not leave unpunished
him who takes His name in vain.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days
you must labor and do all your work, but the seventh
day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. No work
may be done then earlier by you, or your son or
daughter, or your male or female slave, or your
beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six
days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the
sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day
He rested. That is why the Lord has blessed the
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Honor your father and your
mother, that you may have a
long life in the land which the
Lord, your God, is giving you.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
You shall not kill.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
You shall not commit
adultery.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
You shall not steal.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
You shall not bear false
witness against your
neighbor. You shall not
covet your neighbor’s
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
You shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
You shall not covet your
neighbor’s ax or ass, or
anything else that belongs
to him.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
These ten commandments can
be found in the first book of
Tanakh which is the Torah
specifically in the book of
Exodus 20:1-17
ONE
UNIVERSAL
GOD:
YAHWEH
YAHWEH
The primary tenet of Judaism
is the belief in one universal
God. The God of the Jews,
Yahweh, is also considered the
God of all peoples and
YAHWEH
Yahweh is considered the
creator of the universe, and is
eternal, perfect, all knowing,
holy and without physical
form.
YAHWEH
Yahweh is believed to control
nature and history, and is
beyond the knowledge and
understanding of humans.
YAHWEH
The book of Exodus describes
Yahweh as a merciful and
compassionate God, but is also
capable of great anger when His
rules on moral and ethical
behavior are violated.
YAHWEH
The second important belief of
Judaism is that the Jews were
chosen by God to receive His law.
This is seen in the covenant
between God and humankind.
YAHWEH
The first covenant was God’s
selection of Abraham to be the
father of a great nation that
would live in the Promised Land
of Canaan.
YAHWEH
Additionally, the Hebrew Bible
describes numerous incidents in
which God saves His people to
prove His love for them and His
commitment to the first covenant
with Abraham.
YAHWEH
Jews believe that another more important
covenant was established by God through
Moses at Mount Sinai. This new covenant
gave way to God’s delivery of the law,
including the Ten Commandments, to the
Hebrews.
QUIZ NO.
1
TRUE OR
FALSE
1. Catholicism is the
oldest monotheistic
religion in the world
dated back around 1500
BCE.
2. The chosen people
of God are the Jews
according to Judaism.
3. The Tanakh is the
interpretation of the
Talmud with rabbinic
commentaries.
4. The founders of
Judaism are
Abraham, Isaac, and
Joshua.
5. For the Jews, the
Torah is the first
revealed law given to
Moses and recorded in
the Hebrew sacred texts.
ENUMERATION
6-10 : Enumerate the five
scrolls of the Pentateuch.
11-13 : Enumerate the 3 parts
of the Tanakh.
14-15 : Enumerate the 2 parts
of the Talmud.
