Judaism History
A little about their history:
The words Jews and Judaism are English words derived from the Hebrew words, respectively of "Yehudim" and "Yahadut." Yehudim (Jews) practice Yahadut (Judaism), which refers to the body of Jewish religious thought, customs, symbols, rituals, and laws.
The words Jews and Judaism are English words derived from the Hebrew words, respectively of "Yehudim" and "Yahadut." Yehudim (Jews) practice Yahadut (Judaism), which refers to the body of Jewish religious thought, customs, symbols, rituals, and laws.
In the early 1st millennium BCE, Judaism got its name from "Judah", the land of the Hebrews. We find the term “Judaism” used in the first century CE by Greek-speaking Jews. References include the Second Book of Maccabees 2:21 and 8:1. “Yahadut” or “dat Yahadut” is used infrequently in medieval commentaries, e.g. Ibn Ezra, but it is used extensively in modern Jewish history.
A little more about their history:
The Jewish Nation Began With a Single Couple.
The Jewish Nation Began With a Single Couple.
Judaism originates nearly 4,000 years ago in the Middle East with a couple named Abraham and Sarah, whom God selected to start a new people, the chosen nation. God commanded them to relocate to a new land (which would eventually become the Land of Israel) that He would show them. In exchange for their devotion, God promised Abraham that they would be blessed with many children and that they would be a source of blessing for others as well.
As recorded in the Book of Genesis, God Himself attests that “I have known [Abraham] because he commands his children and his household after him, that they should keep the way of the Lord to perform righteousness and justice, in order that the Lord bring upon Abraham that which He spoke concerning him.”
Jews Were Slaves
Years later, the great-great-grandchildren of Abraham and Sarah (by now having developed into the 12 Tribes of Israel) descended to Egypt, where they were enslaved by the cruel king, Pharaoh.
After the Jews (or Israelites or Hebrews, as the Jews are also known) endured generations of suffering, God sent two brothers named Moses and Aaron to take them out of Egypt.
Torah Is the Creed of Judaism:
Ten miraculous plagues and one split sea later, the Israelites found themselves at the foot of Mount Sinai. There, amidst thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud, God gave them the Torah, His instruction book for how they and their descendants are to live their lives.
As recorded in the Book of Genesis, God Himself attests that “I have known [Abraham] because he commands his children and his household after him, that they should keep the way of the Lord to perform righteousness and justice, in order that the Lord bring upon Abraham that which He spoke concerning him.”
Jews Were Slaves
Years later, the great-great-grandchildren of Abraham and Sarah (by now having developed into the 12 Tribes of Israel) descended to Egypt, where they were enslaved by the cruel king, Pharaoh.
After the Jews (or Israelites or Hebrews, as the Jews are also known) endured generations of suffering, God sent two brothers named Moses and Aaron to take them out of Egypt.
Torah Is the Creed of Judaism:
Ten miraculous plagues and one split sea later, the Israelites found themselves at the foot of Mount Sinai. There, amidst thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud, God gave them the Torah, His instruction book for how they and their descendants are to live their lives.
The Torah is the foundation upon which all of Jewish practice is based, both the physical and the spiritual aspects of life. It contains 613 mitzvahs (commandments), including the Shabbat (Sabbath), Jewish holidays, the kosher laws, the basis of Jewish marriage and divorce, the Holy Temple procedures, and more.
The Rabbis and the Talmud:
As the situation of the Jewish people changed, the rabbis of old (charged by God with the task of safeguarding the Torah) added several key components such as the liturgy, which took on an added layer of importance when the Jews were exiled from Israel and deprived of the services that once took place in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
The expanded (and ever-expanding) corpus of Jewish scholarship, tradition, and law was eventually recorded in the Talmud. The main text of the Talmud is the Mishnah, a collection of terse teachings written in Hebrew, redacted by Rabbi Judah the Prince in the years following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Over the next several hundred years, the rabbis continued to teach and expound upon the Mishnah. Many of those teachings were collected into two great bodies, the Jerusalem Talmud, containing the teachings of the rabbis in the Land of Israel, and the Babylonian Talmud, featuring the teachings of the rabbis of Babylon. These two works are written in the Aramaic dialects used in Israel and Babylonia respectively.
Jews and Judaism:
In time, Jewish people were scattered all over the world, and they learned the languages of host countries. Thus, Hebrew was retained as a sacred language, while everyday affairs were conducted in (variations of) the languages of their host countries, giving rise to Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) and Judeo-German (Yiddish).
Yet, despite the challenges endured, the Jews remain the same people, devoted to God like Abraham, steeped in His teachings like Moses, and dedicated to living in accordance with His will.
What Does It Mean to Be Jewish? Is Judaism a Race, a Religion, or a Nationality?
Though some might disagree, many Jews believe that Judaism is not a race or nationality but rather a cultural and religious identity.
The Rabbis and the Talmud:
As the situation of the Jewish people changed, the rabbis of old (charged by God with the task of safeguarding the Torah) added several key components such as the liturgy, which took on an added layer of importance when the Jews were exiled from Israel and deprived of the services that once took place in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
The expanded (and ever-expanding) corpus of Jewish scholarship, tradition, and law was eventually recorded in the Talmud. The main text of the Talmud is the Mishnah, a collection of terse teachings written in Hebrew, redacted by Rabbi Judah the Prince in the years following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Over the next several hundred years, the rabbis continued to teach and expound upon the Mishnah. Many of those teachings were collected into two great bodies, the Jerusalem Talmud, containing the teachings of the rabbis in the Land of Israel, and the Babylonian Talmud, featuring the teachings of the rabbis of Babylon. These two works are written in the Aramaic dialects used in Israel and Babylonia respectively.
Jews and Judaism:
In time, Jewish people were scattered all over the world, and they learned the languages of host countries. Thus, Hebrew was retained as a sacred language, while everyday affairs were conducted in (variations of) the languages of their host countries, giving rise to Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) and Judeo-German (Yiddish).
Yet, despite the challenges endured, the Jews remain the same people, devoted to God like Abraham, steeped in His teachings like Moses, and dedicated to living in accordance with His will.
What Does It Mean to Be Jewish? Is Judaism a Race, a Religion, or a Nationality?
Though some might disagree, many Jews believe that Judaism is not a race or nationality but rather a cultural and religious identity.
Judaism is not strictly a race because Jews do not share one common ancestry. For instance, Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardic Jews are both "Jewish." However, whereas Ashkenazi Jews often hail from Europe, Sephardic Jews often hail from the Middle East via Spain or Morocco. People of many different races have become Jewish over the centuries.
Although today Israel is often called the Jewish homeland, being Jewish is not strictly a nationality because Jews have been dispersed throughout the world for almost 2,000 years. Hence, Jews come from countries all over the world.
To be Jewish means that you are part of the Jewish people, a part of "The Chosen," whether because you were born into a Jewish home and culturally identify as Jewish or because you practice the Jewish religion (or both).
Cultural Judaism:
Although today Israel is often called the Jewish homeland, being Jewish is not strictly a nationality because Jews have been dispersed throughout the world for almost 2,000 years. Hence, Jews come from countries all over the world.
To be Jewish means that you are part of the Jewish people, a part of "The Chosen," whether because you were born into a Jewish home and culturally identify as Jewish or because you practice the Jewish religion (or both).
Cultural Judaism:
Cultural Judaism includes things such as Jewish foods, customs, holidays and rituals. For instance, many people are born into Jewish homes and are raised eating blintzes and lighting Shabbat candles, but never step foot inside a synagogue. According to Orthodox and Conservative Judaism in America, or by traditional standards worldwide, Jewish identity is automatically bestowed on babies of Jewish mothers. In Reform Judaism, Jewish mothers or fathers, not just the mother's lineage, results in a Jewish child. This Jewish identity stays with them throughout life even if they don't actively practice Judaism.
Religious Judaism:
Religious Judaism includes the beliefs of the Jewish religion. The way a person practices the Jewish religion can take many forms, and partially for this reason, there are different movements of Judaism. The main denominations are Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist Judaism. Many people who are born into Jewish homes affiliate with one of these branches, but there are also those who do not.
If a person is not born Jewish, s/he can convert to Judaism by studying with a rabbi and undergoing the process of conversion. Merely believing in the precepts of Judaism is not enough to make someone a Jew. They must complete the conversion process in order to be considered Jewish. The most stringent conversion process is accomplished in Orthodox Judaism and can be recognized by all sects of Judaism. Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative conversions may be recognized within their own branches of Judaism, but may not be acknowledged according to Orthodox standards or in the state of Israel. Though the different branches of Judaism have varying requirements for conversion, it is safe to say that the conversion process is very meaningful for whoever decides to undertake it.
Religious Judaism:
Religious Judaism includes the beliefs of the Jewish religion. The way a person practices the Jewish religion can take many forms, and partially for this reason, there are different movements of Judaism. The main denominations are Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist Judaism. Many people who are born into Jewish homes affiliate with one of these branches, but there are also those who do not.
If a person is not born Jewish, s/he can convert to Judaism by studying with a rabbi and undergoing the process of conversion. Merely believing in the precepts of Judaism is not enough to make someone a Jew. They must complete the conversion process in order to be considered Jewish. The most stringent conversion process is accomplished in Orthodox Judaism and can be recognized by all sects of Judaism. Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative conversions may be recognized within their own branches of Judaism, but may not be acknowledged according to Orthodox standards or in the state of Israel. Though the different branches of Judaism have varying requirements for conversion, it is safe to say that the conversion process is very meaningful for whoever decides to undertake it.
Ultimately, to be Jewish is to be a member of a culture, a religion, and a peoplehood. Jews are unique in that they are one of the few, if only, "people" in the world that encompass both a religious, cultural and national aspect. They are often referred to as Am Yisrael meaning the "People of Israel." To be Jewish is to be many things all at once.
