Free Essays on Judaism

Judaism Judaism first appeared in or around 587 B.C.E., in the Egyptian/Mesopotamian region. Judaism made its start as â€Å"Yahwehism†, the religion of the Israelites. In contrast with modern day Judaism, you can find many similarities, yet there are some major differences. The Israelites were not monotheists, rather they were henotheists, believing in the existence of other gods, but only worshipping one. Most Jews today are strict monotheists, believing in the existence of only one god. The Israelites also only studied and followed the Book of Deuteronomy. Jews today generally follow many of the twenty-four books that make up the Tanak The Pharisees and the Sadducees, though both considered Biblical Judaism, differ in several ways. The Pharisees sometimes called the â€Å"Separate Ones†, follow the Torah and believe in the â€Å"Messiah†. The Pharisees also believe in the â€Å"Final Judgement† and â€Å"resurrection of the dead†. After this final judgement, those who were of good faith and had atonement will go on to â€Å"Paradise†, yet those who were evil will go on to â€Å"Gehenna† or hell. The Sadducees on the other hand, do not believe in any sort of afterlife. For the Sadducees there is no â€Å"Final Judgement†, no Messiah and no resurrections. Around 70 C.E., the Israelites who had been practicing Judaism under Roman rule came under heavy speculation. The Roman’s had placed taxes on Jews and taken money from Jewish temples and this created an outrage. Many Jews began a revolt and after much bloodshed and warfare, the Roman’s overtook the Jews and destroyed a Jerusalem temple. In about 130 C.E., the Roman’s exiled the Jews from Jerusalem. The Kabbalah is a more mystical and mysterious study of Judaism. In one of the writings of the Kabbalah, you find something similar to mathematical equations, which are used for deciphering scriptures. Also when studying the Kabbalah, the focus is placed on the powers of th... Free Essays on Judaism Free Essays on Judaism Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i faith all originated with a divine covenant between the God of the ancient Israelites and Abraham around 2000 BCE. The next leader of the Israelites, Moses, led his people out of captivity in Egypt and received the Law from God. Joshua later led them into the Promised Land where Samuel established the Israelite kingdom with Saul as its first king. King David established Jerusalem and King Solomon built the first temple there. In 70 CE the temple was destroyed and the Jews were scattered throughout the world until 1948 when the state of Israel was formed. Jews believe in one creator who alone is to be worshipped as absolute ruler of the universe. He monitors people's activities and rewards good deeds and punishes evil. The Torah was revealed to Moses by God and can not be changed though God does communicate with the Jewish people through prophets. Jews believe in the inherent goodness of the world and its inhabitants as creations of God and do not require a savior to save them from original sin. They believe they are God's chosen people and that the Messiah will arrive in the future, gather them into Israel, there will be a general resurrection of the dead, and the Jerusalem Temple destroyed in 70 CE will be rebuilt. Judaism is the complex expression of a religious and ethnic community, a way of life as well as a set of basic beliefs and values, which is discerned in patterns of action, social order, and culture as well as in religious statements and concepts. The ideal is to remember God in everything one does, through prayer and keeping the commandments. There are many spiritual practices that the Jewish follows as a remainder of their faith and as a way to engage all the senses in awareness of God. Some of these scared practices include: circumcision, Sabbath, eating kosher foods, and Bar Mitzvah. Of all of the commandments in Judaism, the brit milah (literally, Covenant of Circumcision) ... Free Essays on Judaism Judaism Judaism’s origin reflects the myth of history. Judaism is based on the Old Testament, which is common in all bibles used throughout many forms of Christianity as well as Judaism. The Old Testament is full of stories that deliver powerful messages of how the world was created. In Judaism, God is the divine storyteller in the history of the creation story. Adam and Eve were the first living things created. After they ate forbidden fruit, they were banned from the Garden of Eden. As punishment for disobeying God, he sent a terrible flood in which Noah gathered all of the animals in a magnificent arc to save them. Another story was when God sent Moses to free the Jews from slavery. The book of Exodus is another great story of Judaism history. In this book, Moses led his people out of Egypt and received the covenant at Mt Sinai. The Jews roamed the desert for forty years and didn’t find the Promised Land until Moses died. For two hundred years, they didn’t have a solid form of government. The Jews realized they needed a king with an army to defend their nation. God then appointed Saul as the first king of Israel. The formative era followed the biblical era. The destruction of the temple occurred in 70 CE. The Pharisees survived through this and provided new leadership. They wanted to change the priestly model into something that would allow them to practice Judaism in a new land. The Pharisees said that all of the men of the house were priests and the table was the altar. This was the transition from the written torah to the oral tradition. This new priestly tradition established rules that focused on acts of mercy and justice. Rabbinic Judaism emerged between the second and fifth century and the oral torah was written in to what became known as the Talmud. Hillel and Shammai both were teachers of the oral torah. The applied their teachings to everyday life but Shammai’s teachings were much stric... Free Essays on Judaism Judaism Judaism first appeared in or around 587 B.C.E., in the Egyptian/Mesopotamian region. Judaism made its start as â€Å"Yahwehism†, the religion of the Israelites. In contrast with modern day Judaism, you can find many similarities, yet there are some major differences. The Israelites were not monotheists, rather they were henotheists, believing in the existence of other gods, but only worshipping one. Most Jews today are strict monotheists, believing in the existence of only one god. The Israelites also only studied and followed the Book of Deuteronomy. Jews today generally follow many of the twenty-four books that make up the Tanak The Pharisees and the Sadducees, though both considered Biblical Judaism, differ in several ways. The Pharisees sometimes called the â€Å"Separate Ones†, follow the Torah and believe in the â€Å"Messiah†. The Pharisees also believe in the â€Å"Final Judgement† and â€Å"resurrection of the dead†. After this final judgement, those who were of good faith and had atonement will go on to â€Å"Paradise†, yet those who were evil will go on to â€Å"Gehenna† or hell. The Sadducees on the other hand, do not believe in any sort of afterlife. For the Sadducees there is no â€Å"Final Judgement†, no Messiah and no resurrections. Around 70 C.E., the Israelites who had been practicing Judaism under Roman rule came under heavy speculation. The Roman’s had placed taxes on Jews and taken money from Jewish temples and this created an outrage. Many Jews began a revolt and after much bloodshed and warfare, the Roman’s overtook the Jews and destroyed a Jerusalem temple. In about 130 C.E., the Roman’s exiled the Jews from Jerusalem. The Kabbalah is a more mystical and mysterious study of Judaism. In one of the writings of the Kabbalah, you find something similar to mathematical equations, which are used for deciphering scriptures. Also when studying the Kabbalah, the focus is placed on the powers of th...