An Introduction to JudaismWho Are the Jews?

How Many Jews Are There?• In terms of numbers, Judaism is by far the smallest of all the

major faiths• It is estimated that there were approximately 13.75 million

Jews worldwide as of 2012• That breaks down to roughly 1 of every 500 people or .2% of

the world’s population

Why Look At The Numbers?• Knowing the exact

amount of Jews living in a given area doesn’t tell us what it means to be Jewish• However, as with any

religion, a look at the people who hold to that faith can help define the faith itself

Jewish Population by Nation• Israel – 5.7 million• U.S. – 5.2 million• France – 480,000• Canada – 375,000• U.K. – 290,000• Russia – 205,000• Argentina – 182,000• Germany – 119,000• Australia – 107,000

• Populations of 50-100,000 in Brazil, South Africa, and Ukraine• Jews tend to form

highly concentrated populations within very diverse societies

In America• Jewish populations tend to live in cities• Over half of all Jews live in New York and New England• Just under 20% live on the West Coast, especially in California• America has over 5 million Jews, but only 10 states have a

Jewish population of more than 100,000

In Canada• Patterns are similar –

the bulk of Canadian Jews live in Toronto and Montreal, though the community is also growing in Winnipeg

Why Study A Faith Of So Few?• Because, while

Judaism is the smallest faith in terms of the number of people who adhere to it, Judaism is probably the largest faith in terms of its influence on the world today

The Influence of Judaism• First of all, Judaism began a monotheistic revolution in the

Western World• “Monotheistic” – belief in one god

• Prior to Judaism, pretty much every known faith in Western Civilization was polytheistic• Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, Native America ALL were

polytheistic faiths

This Tradition of Monotheism• Will continue in both Christianity and Islam• So while Jews are .2% of the world’s population, their god is

worshipped by over 50% of the world’s population• About 30-33% of the world is Christian• About 22-25% of the world is Muslim

Its Stories Endure• Regardless of what religion one holds, almost everyone is

aware of Jewish stories• Adam and Eve• Noah and the Flood• Moses and the parting of the Red Sea• David vs. Goliath

Jews Also Prominent in Society• Particularly in the United States, Jews hold influence far

beyond their population• This is true, for instance, in the number of Jewish Supreme Court

Justices• This is also true for the number of CEO’s of Fortune 500

companies

Influence on Popular Culture• It is here, perhaps, that

Jews have made the deepest impression, at least in this country• Many of the things we

do or see in terms of art, science, and culture were made possible by Jews, even if most Americans have no idea that that is the case

For Instance• Almost every major

Hollywood film studio was founded by a Jew• So were television

networks NBC and CBS

On Broadway• Jews are responsible

for a large part of the songs of 20th century America, due to notable Jewish composers• George Gershwin• Irving Berlin• Stephen Sondheim

Celebrated in Literature• Some of the most

important authors in America and in the world are/were Jewish• Elie Wiesel• Philip Roth• Poet Allan Ginsberg• Playwright Arthur

Miller

And in Music• You could make a

strong case that American Folk Rock might never have happened had it not been for a Jew• Many people have no

idea that Bob Dylan is Jewish

Intellectual Influence as Well• Psychology was a

fairly new field when it came to international attention due to the work of Sigmund Freud

And Some Scientific Influence• Modern Physics

received a bit of a boost thanks to the Theory of Relativity, put together by that great Jewish thinker, Albert Einstein

In Comedy• It’s hard to even

think of American comedy without thinking of Jewish performers• Going old school, all

four of the Marx Brothers and all five of the Three Stooges were Jewish

Comedy Through the Ages• Milton Berle, Jack

Benny, George Burns, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart all continue the Jewish comedic tradition

This Immense Influence• Is not limited to Jews

in the United States• Of TIME magazine’s

100 Most Important People of the 20th century, 14 are/were Jews, including Einstein, Anne Frank, and Steven Spielberg

With the Nobel Prize• We see a similar

pattern• Since first being

award in 1901, Jews have received over a quarter of all Nobel Prizes in all categories

Not Bad for .2% of the Population!

• If you have ever:• Worn a pair of Levi’s jeans• Used a Dell computer• Had a cup of coffee at a Starbuck’s• Or performed a Google search

• You have used the product of a Jewish entrepreneurial effort

But That’s Not Why We’re Here• This class isn’t

“World Popular Culture,” it’s “World Religions”• Over the next several

days, we’re going to take a closer look at Jews and Judaism in that sense

So, Who Are the Jews?• The question is not so neatly answered as non-Jews tend to

think• Gentiles tends to see Jews as homogenous – that is, they all

share the same beliefs and practices; that’s just not the case• Even Jews disagree among themselves as to just what Judaism

is

Jews As a Religious Group• One way Jews often

describe themselves is as “God’s Chosen People”• This is defining

Judaism in a religious manner, and that certainly makes sense; Judaism is a religion

According to Jewish Tradition• The Torah was given

to Moses directly from God• In its basic law, then,

Judaism comes as directly as possible from the important deity within the religion

However. . .• A number of religions will be inspired by a deity (as with

Christianity) or delivered directly from the deity (as with Judaism and Islam)

• But the practice of the religion and the translation of its texts have to be done by people, and people can disagree, especially over time

So There Are Many Judaisms • In the United States

and Canada, and increasingly overseas as well, there are four organized forms of Judaism• This is often simply

referred to as having four Judaisms

The First Judaism -- Orthodox• This is the oldest of the four• They hold to the idea that the Torah was provided by God

Himself• Written Torah or Tanakh (Christians would call this the Old

Testament)• Oral Torah – Traditions written down after 70 C.E. and the

destruction of the Jewish Temple (when rabbis came to replace priests)

The Second Judaism -- Reform• Reform Judaism emphasizes change and the

need of Judaism to respond to new conditions• The Torah is not God-given• Instead, it is a statement of principles; those principles

can and should change based on new events

• Reform Jews often consider significant portions of the original Torah to be irrelevant

The Third Judaism -- Conservative

• Is somewhat of a blend between the first two• The Torah is God-

given• However, it is

important that Jews change to adapt to the world in which they live

The Fourth Judaism -- Reconstructionist• It sees the faith as the historical religious

civilization of the Jews• God fits into that civilization as a historical deity

which past Jews worshipped, but NOT as a supernatural divine being shaping the world today• As such, this group does not accept the Torah as

divinely inspired, but as something that past Jews THOUGHT was divinely inspired

Are Jews an Ethnic group?

• There is some sociological evidence that this might work• That is, in terms of

shared views on family, marriage, child-rearing, etc., Jews have different beliefs than others

Historically Accepted As Such• Certainly people like

Hitler and other hate-mongers have decided that the Jews are their own separate ethnic group, and perhaps even their own race

That Won’t Work Here• We’re not interested

in defining a Jew as an ethnic group, for a couple reasons• First, as the faith has

grown, there are Jews among most, if not all, of what are generally accepted as “races”

Secondly, You Can’t Quit Ethnicity

• A Jew who breaks with the faith is generally considered to have fallen out of the ethnic group identified as “Jewish”

• This doesn’t work in any other faith – a white man that decides not to be a Christian any more doesn’t stop being “Caucasian”

• Since the application is not universal, we will discard it as unacceptable

Are Jews a Nation?• Well, yes and no• Scripturally, Jews are

described as “the nation of Israel”• But that is not the

same thing as someone who lives in the modern-day nation of Israel

Modern Israel Is a Jewish Nation

• But this causes problems• For instance, modern

Israel does not have the same boundaries as scriptural Israel• We’re not entirely even

sure about scriptural Israel’s borders, but we know it was much larger than the current nation

The Waters Get Muddy• Because technically, all Jews are citizens of the modern nation

of Israel, even if they don’t live there• To help grow the nation, modern Israel has always had a

policy of accepting any and all Jews• All Jews have to do to become an official citizen is go to Israel

and ask to be one

We’ll Reject That, Too• In the religious sense,

such a view discounts three of the four Judaisms• Modern Israel only

allows Orthodox Judaism• However, there are

splits in Orthodox Judaism there

We Also Will Reject It• Because many Jews in

other nations don’t consider themselves a part of the modern nation, and have no wish to visit it• In a similar sense, many

of those we call “African-American” may have no desire to experience Africa

For Our Purposes . . .• We will define a

“Jew” as anyone who professes to be a Jew as a matter of religious faith• I will try to call those

living in Israel “Israelis”

How Does One Get To Be Jewish?

• Again, it varies• The easiest way that

a person becomes a Jew is by being born• If both your parents

are Jews, so are you

But What if Both Parents Aren’t?

• Then it depends upon which Judaism you practice• For Orthodox and Conservative Jews, the child of a Jewish

mother is Jewish, regardless of the faith of the father• For Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, a child is Jewish as long

as any one of its two parents is Jewish

This is how Judaism Spreads• Unlike Christians or

Muslim, Jews don’t actively seek converts to the faith• You can convert to

Judaism, but an Orthodox rabbi will refuse your request three times, just to make sure you mean it

As You Can Hopefully See. . .• Defining just what a Jew is, or what makes a Jew, or what a

Jew believes, is somewhat difficult• However, there is one area where we can begin, and that is in

the Jewish Scriptures• Some accept them as God-Given and some don’t, but all Jews

reference them in some way

The Tanakh and the Talmud• The two works form the

two major scriptures of Judaism• The Tanakh is sometimes

called the Jewish Bible• Christians and Muslims will

sometimes refer to this as the Old Testament, but Jews don’t

The Talmud• Is a sprawling work

of over two million words, designed to show teachings of Judaism through argument about given incidents or issues

We’ll Start Today• With the Torah, and the

oldest story of all within Judaism• It is the story of

Creation, of Adam and Eve, of a Garden, a tree, and a serpent• Even if you’ve read it

before, think on it again, and see if there is more you can learn