INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS

FIRST QUARTER: WEEK 4

Reference : Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems

by Ong and Jose (2016), pp. 47-50

LESSON 4: Brief History, Core Teachings, Fundamental Beliefs, Practices, and Related Issues of Judaism

Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion that traces its origin as an organized belief system during the Bronze Age in West
Asia. The religion of the Jewish people, Judaism is one of three 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. The Torah is the most
important text of the Jewish people. It contains the “Five Books of Moses” and many sacred laws. The Jews consider
themselves as the people chosen by God to serve as an exemplar of devotion and purity to humankind. It is quite difficult to
study key events in the historical foundation of Judaism without discussing the history of the Jewish people from the time of
the Hebrews’ mass departure from Egypt or the Exodus. During the 20th century, the growth in their population has remained
sluggish for quite a long time as it grew to only 25% after the catastrophic event called Holocaust. According to a 2014 report,
there were around 14 million Jewish people representing 0.2% of the entire world population. The largest concentration of
Jews can be found in Israel, North America (United States and Canada), and Central Europe. Other countries with sizable
Jewish population include France, United Kingdom, Russia, Argentina, Germany, and Australia.

BRIEF HISTORY

It is quite difficult to separate the history of Judaism from the history of the Jews themselves (Parrinder 1971). The ancestors
of the Jews were groups of Semites called Hebrews whose origin can be traced in the desert lands of Arabia (Brown 1975).
The origin of the Jewish people and the beginning of Judaism are recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the
Pentateuch. As a religion and culture, Judaism has three notable founding figures or patriarchs, namely, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. These biblical patriarchs are the physical and spiritual forebears of the Jewish people and their narratives can be found
in Genesis 12-50 of their scripture. Judaism is anchored upon God’s revelation to Abraham that He is the creator and ruler of
the universe, and that He loves His creatures and demands righteousness from them (Losch 2001). God chose Abraham and his
family from all the people living on earth as recorded in Genesis 12. After a series of tragic events involving humankind, God
entered into a covenant with Abraham promising him that he would become the father of a great nation and would possess vast
tracts of land. Abraham, in return, must remain Judaism 49 devoted to the covenant. He would become the embodiment of
uprightness and holiness to the world. Later on, he was succeeded by his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve
sons (Hopfe 1983).

CORE TEACHINGS

The Jewish people have been called the “people of the Book” in reference to the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Mikra) that has
been the authority, guide, and inspiration of the many forms of Judaism that have evolved throughout the different periods of
time and in various places (Parrinder 1971). Composed over a period of almost a thousand years, collections within the Bible
became established in its full canonical form by the end of the first century C.E. (Parrinder 1971). According to the Jewish
tradition, the Hebrew Bible is divided into three principal sections, namely the Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim. The foundational
text Torah (“Teaching”) is composed of the first “Five Books” or the Pentateuch traditionally believed to have been authored
by Moses through divine instruction in Sinai. These include Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Apart
from containing basic laws for Jewish self-understanding, the Pentateuch also narrates the history, religious statues, and moral
regulations for individuals and society, ceremonial rites and creation stories by Yahweh, and the origin and growth of mankind
(Braswell 1994). Meanwhile, the Nevi’im (“Prophets”) is subdivided into Earlier Prophets, Later Prophets, and twelve minor
prophets. Prophets served as spokespersons who criticize the hypocritical practices of Jewish rituals. They were specifically
chosen by God to preach his message to the people. Lastly, the Ketuvim (“Writings”) form the third section of the Tanakh that
contains works on poetry, temple ritual, private prayer, philosophical explorations, and other canonical works.

FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS

In Judaism, actions are more significant than beliefs. However, while Judaism has no dogma, there is definitely a place for
belief within the religion since it focuses on the worship of one god, the practice of good deeds, and the love of learning
(Brasswell 1994). For the Jews, there is one everlasting god who created the universe in its entirety and remains the master of
it (Parrinder 1971). Human beings were created by God who provided them the capacity to decide what is right and wrong, and
gave them the freedom and responsibility for their own actions (Losch 2001). Humans have the ability to restrain their evil
intentions because of their propensities for both good and evil (Parrinder 1971). For Jews, all human beings are created equal.
While God can communicate with humans through revelations, humans can also commune to him by means of prayers and
meditations. With regard one’s Jewishness, a Jew is someone whose mother is a Jew, although some sectors recognize the
children of Jewish fathers as Jews, too. While a Jew may not lose one’s technical status as a Jew by converting to another
religion, he or she loses the religiosity emanating from his or her Jewish identity. A person may also convert to Judaism, but he
or she has to undergo numerous rituals.

PRACTICES

Sabbath- The most important day in the Jewish calendar is the Sabbath (or Shabbat) which commemorates God’s completion
of the creation of the universe and his rest after the six-day toil (Parrinder 1971).

The Days of Awe -Tishri is the seventh month in the ecclesiastical year of the Jewish calendar. The first ten days of Tishri are
called the “Days of Awe” (Yamim Noraim) wherein the first two days comprise the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the tenth
day as the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the ten-day period of penitence leading to the
Yom Kippur and is distinguished from other days by blowing a ram’s horn trumpet (shofar) in the synagogue and eating apples
dipped in honey which is symbolic for a sweet new year.

Pilgrimage Festivals- During the olden days, the Torah commanded the ancient Israelites to go to Jerusalem on three
pilgrimage festivals and participate in the worship at the Temple. Also called the Shalosh Regalim, these are Pesach
(Passover), Shavuot (Weeks or Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles). These festivals spiritualize human life and merge nature
and history in a divine pattern (Jurji 1946).

There are many feasts and festivals celebrated by the Jewish people. The family assumes the principal responsibility for
worship, religious education, and moral behavior (Braswell 1994). Rituals and ceremonies are done both at home and in the
synagogue. Other important events in the Jewish calendar include the Hanukkah, Purim, and the Independence Day of the
State of Israel. Hanukkah is a celebration to commemorate the victory of Jewish fighters against the Seleucid Empire in 165
B.C.E. Purim (“Feast of Esther”) celebrates the deliverance of the Jews during the Persian Empire, specifically from the vizier
Haman who wanted to annihilate all Persian Jews as recorded in the Book of Esther.

RELATED ISSUES

Women in Judaism- Women’s role in the Jewish religion is determined by the Tanakh, the “Oral Torah,” and Jewish
customs. Mishnah instructs that women must follow nearly all the negative commandments except trimming the beard
and viewing a dead body. Women must also follow all positive commandments not structured by time but are exempted
from those that are restricted by time. The reason here is quite simple, that is, to release women from laws that they find
difficult or impossible to perform given their traditional domestic roles, such as giving birth, taking care of the family, and
accomplishing household chores. In addition, women have the right to be consulted on matters concerning marriage.
Judaism offers tremendous respect to roles given to women as wives and mothers. Even Jewishness or the question of
Jewish self-identification is passed down through the mother.
Jewish Diaspora and Zionist Movement- In the 16th and 17th centuries, there had been calls to persuade the Jews to
return to Palestine. During the late 18th century, the Haskalah (“Jewish Enlightenment”) movement promoted Jewish
assimilation to Western secular culture (Parrinder 1971). In the early 19th century, the idea of Jewish returning to
Palestine was kept alive by Christian millenarians or believers of divine intervention that will ultimately bring a new
world order. However, these movements failed in their objectives. In 1881, a state-supported mob attack or pogrom
against the Jews occurred in Ukraine. While a pogrom was aimed to persecute religious, racial or national minorities, this
violent riot became frequently directed at Jews. From 1881 to 1884, over 200 pogroms occurred in the Russian Empire.
As a result, Russian Jews emigrated to the US and Western Europe (Perry 1988). At the end of the nineteenth century, the
Hungarian journalist and political activist Theodor Herzl founded the Zionist movement that advocated the return of Jews
to Eretz Yisrael or “Land of Israel.” The term zion, also a Jewish synonym for Jerusalem, came from the name of a
mountain where Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem was located. Originally secular in nature, supporters of this movement
are called Zionists.

Holocaust- The term Holocaust is of Greek origin that means “sacrifice by fire.” In history, Holocaust pertains to the
methodical, bureaucratic, and statesponsored persecution and execution of around six million Jews undertaken by the
Nazi regime and its collaborators from 1933 to 1945. For the Hitler-led Nazis, the Germans were racially superior and
considered themselves as the master race as compared to the Jews who were seen as inferior people. Hitler’s police chief,
Heinrich Himmler, also believed in Aryan superiority leading to the enslavement and extermination of “non-Aryans” and
the inferior race (Perry 1988). He was one of the German officials directly responsible for the holocaust.

Anti-Semitism- The term anti-Semitism pertains to hostility towards and discrimination against the Jewish people that
was strongly felt in France, Germany, Poland, and Russia in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The term was
popularized in Germany around 1870s. The most common manifestations of anti-Semitism were the many violent riots or
pogroms undertaken against the Jews. The planned extermination of the entire Jewish race during the time of the
holocaust was the most extreme form of anti-Semitism. Other forms of anti-Semitic activities include the persecution and
massacre of Jews throughout history.