From the grim ashes of the Holocaust to the modern political struggles within the state of Israel, Judaism as a culture and way of life has faced a number of challenges. To better understand the differences between, for example, Christianity and Judasim, we wanted to spell out some of the key features of the Jewish religion.

Relationship with God/Torah

The Jewish people have a relationship with God that is based on a covenant. A covenant is a relationship based on certain principles and ideas that provide the terms of a relationship. In the case of Judaism, God has set forth a plan that his followers become part of that started with God’s covenant with Abraham, whom he told to multiply and with Moses, whom he issued the commandments to on Mount Sinai.
In the Jewish faith all believers share in the covenant with God and receive guidance from their rabbis, who are interpreters of sacred texts. In the Jewish tradition there are numerous sacred texts that define many aspects of life, including special traditions, holidays, and daily customs.

History of Key Sacred Texts

The Torah and the Talmud are two of the most important sacred texts in the Jewish tradition, although the Torah is one of the most used texts for everyday practice. The Torah is the founding text of the Jewish religion and is considered to be the most sacred. The Torah is comprised on five books, which when translated, are called: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Do these ring a bell? That’s right; these sound like the non-Jewish bible because they are first texts in the Christian bible. Many other works, such as the Talmud, for instance, deal with more specific matters of Jewish law, for instance and are used by rabbis.

Ten Commandments

In the Jewish and Christian traditions (this is often called the Judeo-Christian tradition) the Ten Commandments were given to a man named Moses as he sat atop Mount Sinai. The commandments were given to Moses directly by God and while there are actually more than ten when one looks throughout more books in the Torah, there are ten main commandments that are recognized in the Judeo-Christian tradition. How many do you think you can name? Let’s see before we move on to the next slide…
TEN COMMANDMENTS PICTURE on the next slide for review.

Jerusalem
Jerusalem is not only the modern capital of Israel within one of the oldest cities in the entire world, it is the holy city of the Jewish faith. It is in Jerusalem that one can find many of the important sites depicted in the Torah and in Jewish tradition. Even in the United States, many synagogues (which are the sacred places of worship in the Jewish faith) face toward Jerusalem.

The Nation of Israel
As mentioned, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel—a nation that has an ancient and complex history with great achievements and struggles that continue today just as they have for centuries. The ancient people of Israel were called the Israelites and these people would eventually become the first people to adhere to the religion we know as Judaism. The Israelites in the Torah were told by God that Jerusalem would be their home city and that they should erect a temple there. The twelve tribes of Israel joined together, as depicted in Exodus, and made their way from Egypt to Jerusalem.
Now you can see why Jerusalem was so important to begin with. This was a homeland that God told them was their own. This might help you understand part of a much more complex issue that is occurring today as Jerusalem tries to keep its capital intact instead of breaking it up due to Palestinian demands.

Different Sects of Judaism
There are many sects of Judaism but the two main types are Sepharic and Ashkenazic. While most of them are Ashkenazic, there are other more distinct groups, including Orthodox, Reform, and Liberal. While the lines between these sects are complex, you should understand that the differences between these sects is often based on relatively minor differences in interpretation of religious texts. To help you put this in perspective, think about Christianity. On the one hand there are many Christians who just go to church on Sundays and do not live their lives any particularly different way than most of society. Another “sect” of Christianity—the Amish—believe many of the same core things but their interpretation of the right way to live based on the same texts is different. Again, these are same religions but with vastly different outcomes based on interpretations of sacred texts.

Sacred Practices
There are many sacred practices in Judaism for ordinary practicing Jewish people. Many Jewish children between the ages of 12 and 13, for instance, take part in a coming of age ceremony called a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah. Another important practice is that of selecting kosher food. These are foods that are prepared specially according to Jewish customs and traditions. Some orthodox and traditional sects have numerous dress regulations and codes.

Holidays
Like many other religious traditions, Judaism has many of its own special holidays. Most of you will recognize the word Hanukkah because it comes close to Christmas. This is called “the festival of lights” and each night for 8 nights families light their homes. The roots of this tradition are in a sacred oil which was a miracle as it burned for eight nights. Even though many people think of this holiday first, it is not one of the most important for Jewish people. Purim, Rosh Hashanah (which is the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (The day of fasting and prayer) are the most important.

The Holocaust
Many current estimates predict that 6 million Jewish people died in the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. As a result of intensely racially and ethnically motivated propaganda, political and social action, and massive brutality, Jewish people throughout Europe were rounded up and forced to live in “ghettos” which were communities of all Jewish people. The people who lived in these ghettos were eventually led to concentration camps where many died.

Judaism Today
The Jewish faith is expanding and the Jewish community is still healing from the wounds of the Holocaust. In Jerusalem, against the backdrop of the Israel and Palestinian struggle there is a great deal of tension but this ancient religion is continuing to thrive, just as it has done for centuries

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