The history of Judaism
The origin and history of Judaism dates back to the time of Abraham. With his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, they are referred to as Patriarchs who are spiritual and physical ancestors who founded Judaism. Abraham is believed to be the founding father of Judaism who believed in a supreme being who created the whole universe. He was called by God and he made a covenant with God where he was promised to be the father of a great nation. During his life, Abraham was put into test to sacrifice his only son but just before making the sacrifice, God gave him a sheep. Isaac later gave birth to Jacob and Esau and Jacob was later referred to as Israel a name which means a person who wrestled with God (Sherbok, 2010). It is from this name that the Jewish people came to be known as the Children of Israel. Jacob bore 12 sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. Many years later, the children of Israel became slaves in Egypt under Pharaoh before being rescued to the Promised Land by God through Moses.
Hebrew Scriptures and their importance to the religion
The Hebrew Scriptures mainly comprise of the bible, the prophets, and writings that marked the covenant between the Jewish people and God. The first part of the Jewish bible is called Torah. This part of the bible is very essential in Judaism and it comprise of the five books from Genesis to Deuteronomy (Leaman, 2011). It is believed that Moses was given these books by God in Mt, Sinai and they describe how they are required by God to live. It is in these books that the Jewish 10 commandments are found. In some instances, Torah is used as a general composition of all the Jewish scriptures including the oral and written law. The Torah is kept in the synagogue and read thrice a week. The Torah scrolls are primarily handwritten and writing it requires special attention to avoid mistakes.
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Torah is a sacred book to the Jews and dropping it requires a 40 day fasting by the whole congregation. Even after the persecution of the Jews, Torah scrolls were preserved hence signifying its symbolic and physical importance to them. The Jews also consider the oral law given to Moses by God to be important and should be passed to all generations through the word of mouth. This law consists of the information that the Jews require to effectively follow the written law.
Major beliefs and concepts of Judaism
One of the major beliefs of Judaism is the belief of one God commonly known as monotheism (Leaman, 2011). This belief was begun and promoted by Abraham who is the father of Judaism. They believe that God is the creator of the universe and everyone can create an individual relationship with him. Their relationship with God is believed to be a covenant relationship where man reciprocates for the good things that God continues to do for them. They believe that the God’s law should be kept and all aspects of their daily activities should portray a sense of holiness.
Judaism is believed to be a community’s faith as God chose them to be his people so as to show ethical behavior and holiness to the rest of the people in the world. This is explained by the various activities that are done as a community such as praying where most prayers adopt the plural form of ownership. Most of the activities are also done as a family such as participating in circumcision and Sabbath meals. Other Judaism beliefs include God is transcendent, God is neither male nor female, God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and beyond time among other beliefs.
Rituals and symbols
Rituals and practices in Judaism are based on the Jewish law. The law defines various aspects of life such as dress codes, helping poor people, and eating lifestyle among others. The religion commemorates significant occasions in life and everyone participate. Circumcision has been practiced since the time of Abraham and all boys are circumcised at the age of eight days. The synagogue is a house of worship that came after the destruction of the Second Temple. It also replaces the sacrifices that were done through the reading of Torah, teaching and reciting of prayers. The Jewish prayers are done thrice a week in the synagogue with a major reading done on the Sabbath. Other Jewish rituals include the eating of the Kosher foods as a sign of obedience to God as well as a unifying and identity factor to the Jews (Sherbok, 2010).
The major symbols in Judaism include the Mezuzah, tefillin, and Tzitzit which are the main reminders of the commandments that were given to the Jews by God. The menorah and the Jewish star represent the ancient and modern universal symbols of Judaism. A skullcap that is worn by Jews on their heads during prayers is a pious custom. The Chai symbol found in many of the Jewish ornaments has been argued to be a sign of the attached value of life by the Jews.
The Holy Days
Judaism observes holy days with the high holy days called Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur celebrated in the fall. During these holy days, a horn is blown in the synagogue to announce a new year and the blowing of the horn is a call for Jews to fight against the devil and was inherited from the ancient time where it was used to call people to fight the enemy Cohn-(Sherbok, 2010). They believe that it is during this period that everyone’s deeds are judged by God to determine the people who will die in the following year. Yom Kippur is dominated by fasting and praying for forgiveness. Other holy days observed by the Jews include the Sukkot, Hanukkah, Pesach Passover, and the Shabbat. The Shabbat is considered a day of rest and all Jews are to refrain from any form of work. The Shabbat begins on Friday evening and culminates with a service on Saturday morning. The Torah that covers the entire week is read and the day closed with a ceremony called Havdalah.
Christians have similar celebrations where they spend their day in the church either on Saturday or Sunday. Christians observe this day in a week to dedicate themselves to God by having joint prayers in church with singing, prayers, and preaching being conducted just as in the Jewish Shabbat.
References
Cohn-Sherbok, D. (2010). Judaism Today: An Introduction. London: Continuum.
Leaman, O. (2011). Judaism: An Introduction. London: I.B.Tauris publishers.
