Born in the Middle East:Judaism
Judaism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Orthodox_Judaism
Founded
• Abraham – 2000 – 1500 BCE in Israel– Established concept of
monotheism (belief in one powerful God)
– Established concept of covenant (special relationship between God and Abraham’s family
http://www.aishcenter.com/abraham-and-expansive-consciousness
Founder
• Moses -1280 BCE– Expanded the concept of covenant to include more
people
– Gave the people The Ten Commandments
Sacred Books
• Torah – The Five Books of Moses – (part of the Hebrew Scriptures)
• Tells the story of the covenant between God and his Chosen People
• Hebrew Scriptures includes the Torah, other parts of the Jewish Bible and the Talmud.
http://frted.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/reading-scripture-the-old-testament-the-torah-and-prophecy/
Practices
• Pray 3x a day facing Jerusalem
• Synagogue
• No pork or other non-kosher foods
• Bar/bat mitzvah at religious adulthood
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_Praying_in_the_Synagogue_on_Yom_Kippur
Holy Days
• Saturday – day of prayer and rest
• Fall holidays: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
• Spring holiday: Passover
/items/http://www.johnpratt.comdocs/lds/easter/elijah.html
Beliefs
• Required to live a moral and ethical life as taught in the Torah
• Afterlife – Not historically emphasized; focus is on this life, not the next
Holy Places
• Jerusalem– City of David
– Western Wall (remnants of Second Temple)
http://www.bibleplaces.com/westernwall.htm
Clergymen
• Rabbi – a teacher
http://www.frumsatire.net/2010/10/07/reform-rabbi-admits-hes-not-jewish/reform-rabbi/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rabbi_Scheinberg_at_a_Bris_Mila_edit.jpghttp://www.vosizneias.com/45900/2009/12/30/edison-nj-after-pattern-of-bias-crimes-rabbi-wants-parents-to-be-responsible/
Diaspora
• The forced exile of Jews from their homeland
• Lost a war against the Romans in 70 CE
• http://www.newvoices.org/opinion?id=0116
Divided into two ethnic groups:
Ashkenazi – European Jews
Sephardic – Spanish-speaking or Middle Eastern
Ethnic Groups
http://www.ziomania.com/ashkenazi/ashkenazi.htm
Religious Sects
• Religiously: Jews divided into three groups:– The Orthodox (Fundamentalists)
– The Conservative (U.S.)
– The Reform (More modern, secular, liberal)