Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah";[1] in Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת, Yahedut, the distinctive characteristics of the Judean eáqnov[2]) is the religion of the Jews, based on principles and ethics embodied in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), as further explored and explained in the Talmud. Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath Ritual washing or ablution takes two main forms in Judaism tevilah, full body immersion in a Mikvah, and netilat yadayim, washing Chumash (xuˈmɑʃ ( Hebrew: חומש also Humash) is one of the Hebrew names for the Five Books of Moses also known as the Pentateuch or See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is A Sefer Torah ( Hebrew: ספר תורה; plural ספרי תורה Sifrei Torah; “Book(s of Torah ” or “Torah Scroll (s” A yad ( יד) literally "hand" is a Jewish ritual pointer used to point to the text during the Torah reading from the Parchment A shofar (שופר is a horn used for Jewish religious purposes PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized Conservative Judaism (also known as Masorti Judaism in Israel and Europe) is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Modern Orthodox Judaism (or Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize traditional observance Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan (1881 – 1983 Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, Musical and Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism ( Hebrew: " Yehadut Rabanit " - יהדות רבנית is the mainstream religious system of post- diaspora Humanistic Judaism is a movement within Judaism that emphasizes Jewish culture and history—rather than belief in God—as the sources of Jewish identity Karaite Judaism or Karaism (ˈkærəˌaɪt ˈkærəˌɪzəm) is a Jewish movement NOTE The word sect should not be used without defining it first and Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology Although Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a Creed or Catechism A minyan (מנין lit to count number; pl minyanim) in Judaism refers to the Quorum required for certain religious Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. The Seven Laws of Noah ( Hebrew: שבע מצוות בני נח Sheva mitzvot B'nei Noach) often referred to as the Noahide Laws, are a set of seven moral In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title Jewish eschatology is concerned with the Jewish Messiah, Afterlife, and the revival of the dead. Messiah ( משיח; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, ("anointed " is a term used in the Hebrew Bible In Judaism chosenness is the belief that the Jews are the Chosen people: chosen to be in a Covenant with God. Holocaust theology refers to a body of theological and philosophical debate soul-searching and analysis with the subsequent related Literature, that Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, he כַּשְׁרוּת refers to Jewish dietary laws. Tzniut or Tznius (also Tzeniut) ( Hebrew: צניעות " Modesty " is a term used within Judaism and has its greatest influence Tzedakah ( צדקה) is a Hebrew word commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning Justice Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of Ethics. Mussar movement refers to a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement (a "Jewish Moralist Movement" that developed in 19th century Orthodox term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic The Tosefta ( Aramaic: תוספתא is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah. Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense can mean the entire spectrum of Rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history The Kuzari is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi. The Mishneh Torah ( Hebrew: משנה תורה subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Chazaka (יד החזקה is a code of Jewish Religious law Arba'ah Turim (ארבעה טורים often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code, composed by Yaakov ben Asher The Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך literally " Set Table " (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulchan Arukh) is a Codification Mishnah Berurah ( Hebrew: "Clarified Teaching" is a work of Halakha (Jewish law by Rabbi Yisrael Chumash (xuˈmɑʃ ( Hebrew: חומש also Humash) is one of the Hebrew names for the Five Books of Moses also known as the Pentateuch or A siddur ( Hebrew: סידור plural siddurim) is a Jewish Prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. See also Religious Jewish music A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט pijút and) is a Jewish liturgical poem usually designated For the village in southern Israel see Tzohar The Zohar (זהר lit Splendor or Radiance) is widely considered the most important The Four Holy Cities is the collective term in Jewish tradition applied to the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed: "Since Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Safed (צְפַת pronounced Tsfat; صفد pronounced Safad) is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Hebron ( al-Ḫalīl or al-Khalīl, Standard Hebrew: Ḥevron Tiberian Hebrew: Ḥeḇrôn is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south Tiberias ( British English: /taɪˈbɪəriæs -əs/ American English: /taɪˈbɪriəs/ טְבֶרְיָה Tverya; طبرية Ṭabariyyah Jewish leadership has evolved over time Since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE there has been no single body that has a leadership Abraham ( Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: Sarah (; Arabic: سارة, Sārah; "a woman of high rank" is the wife of Abraham as described in the Hebrew Bible According to the Hebrew Bible, Isaac ( Hebrew: Yitzchak יִצְחָק, Standard Yiẓḥaq This article is about the biblical matriarch For other uses of the word Rebecca see Rebecca (disambiguation Rebecca (also Rebekah also Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard Yaʿaqov Tiberian Yaʿăqōḇ; Rachel (; meaning "ewe" is the second and favorite Wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, first mentioned in the Leah ( "Weary tired" is the first of the four concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob, and mother of six of the Twelve Tribes of Israel along See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ See also Biblical judges Book of Judges List of women warriors in folklore literature and popular culture This article is about the ancient Hebrew religious text For the 20th-century English-language novel see The Book of Ruth (novel The Book of Ruth King Solomon ( Ge'ez: ስለሞን Arabic: ar سليمان, Sulayman, all from the Triliteral root S-L-M, "peace" David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible Hillel (הלל (born Babylon traditionally c110BCE-10CE in Jerusalem) was a famous Jewish religious leader one of the most important figures in Jewish Shammai (50 BCE&ndash30 CE Hebrew: שמאי was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century and an important figure in Judaism 's core work of Rabbinic literature Akiva redirects here For other people and things with this name see Akiva (disambiguation. Abba Arika (175–247 ( Talmudic Aramaic: tmr אבא אריכא) (born Abba bar Aybo was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (1013 - 1103 - also Isaac Hakohen, Alfasi or the Rif (רי"ף - was a Talmudist and Posek (decisor For the astrological concept see Rāshi (Jyotiṣa. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, (רבי שלמה יצחקי better known by the acronym Rashi Tosafists were Medieval Rabbis who created critical and explanatory Glosses on the Talmud. Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and Nahmanides (1194 &ndash c 1270 was a Catalan Rabbi, philosopher, Physician, Kabbalist and biblical commentator. Yosef ben Ephraim Caro (sometimes Joseph Caro) (1488 ( Portugal) - March 24, 1575 ( Safed, Ottoman Empire) was one of the Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions In Judaism, Bar Mitzvah ( Hebrew: בר מצוה "one (m to whom the commandments apply" Bat Mitzvah (בת מצוה "one (f The Shidduch ( Hebrew: שידוך pl shidduchim שידוכים is a system of Matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced Betrothal ( shiddukhin) In Jewish law (halakha Betrothal (shiddukhin or Engagement is defined as the mutual promise between Niddah (or nidah, nidda, nida; Hebrew:נִדָּה is a Hebrew term which literally means separation, generally considered to refer Zeved habat (Sephardic or Simchat bat (Ashkenazi are terms for the ritual for naming infant Jewish girls Pidyon HaBen, (פדיון הבן trans Redemption of the Son) is a ritual in Judaism whereby a firstborn son is redeemed from a Kohen in order Bereavement in Judaism ( is a combination of Minhag (traditional custom and Mitzvot (good deeds or religious obligation derived from Judaism 's classical Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Rebbe (רבי (pronounced in English which means master teacher or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew word Rabbi "Hazan" and "Chazan" redirect here For people named Hazan or Chazan see Hazan (disambiguation Growing importance of the office A kohen (or cohen, Hebrew כּהן "priest" pl כּהנִים kohanim or cohanim) has a separate status in Judaism. This article is about someone who supervises the production of Kosher food A Gabbai ( גבאי) (or sometimes Shamash שמש} is a person who assists in the running of a Synagogue and ensures that the needs are met for example Maggid ( מַגִּיד) sometimes spelled as magid) is traditional Eastern European Jewish religious itinerant A mohel ( Hebrew:מוהל plural mohelim) is a Jewish man who performs the Jewish ritual of Brit milah. A beth din, beit din or beis din ( Hebrew: בית דין "house of judgment" plural battei din) is a Rabbinical Rosh yeshiva, ( pl. Heb. Roshei yeshiva; Yeshivish Rosh yeshivas) (ראש ישיבה is the title given to the dean of A kehilla or kehillah (קהילה Hebrew: "community" is a Jewish Community. A synagogue (from Greek: grc συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, "assembly" he בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of Mikvah (or mikveh) ( plural mikva'ot or mikves) is a ritual bath designed for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism. Gemach ( Hebrew: גמח plural גמחים gemachim, an abbreviation for גמילות חסדים gemilat chasadim, "acts of kindness" is a A synagogue (from Greek: grc συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, "assembly" he בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of Mikvah (or mikveh) ( plural mikva'ot or mikves) is a ritual bath designed for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism. Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name The Tabernacle is known in Hebrew as the Mishkan ( משכן "Residence" or "Dwelling Place" The tallit (טַלִּית also called tallis ( Yiddish, plural taleysm) is a prayer Shawl worn during the morning Jewish services Tefillin, ( תפילין) also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with biblical verses "Kipa" redirects here For the supermarket please see Kipa (supermarket. A Sefer Torah ( Hebrew: ספר תורה; plural ספרי תורה Sifrei Torah; “Book(s of Torah ” or “Torah Scroll (s” Tzitzit or tzitzis ( Hebrew: Biblical ציצת Modern ציצית) are "fringes" A mezuzah (מזוזה "doorpost" (plural mezuzot (מזוזות is a piece of Parchment (usually contained in a decorative case Pekiin tabletjpg|thumb|right|151px| Second Temple period stone tablet from a Synagogue in Peki'in, Israel. Hanukkah Menorah ( Hebrew: מנורה menorah) (also חַנֻכִּיָּה Hanukiah, or Chanukkiyah, pl A shofar (שופר is a horn used for Jewish religious purposes The Four Species ( Hebrew: ארבעת המינים, Arba'at Ha-Minim, also called Arba Minim) are three types of branches and one type of fruit A kittel, also spelled kitl, (קיטל robe coat cf German Kittel ‘(house/work coat’ is a white robe which served as a burial The Gartel is a belt used by married Jewish males predominantly but not exclusively Hasidim during prayer A yad ( יד) literally "hand" is a Jewish ritual pointer used to point to the text during the Torah reading from the Parchment See also Jewish services Listed below are some Hebrew prayers and blessings that are part of Judaism that are recited by many Jews Jewish services ( Hebrew: תפלה, tefillah; plural תפלות, tefillos or tefillot; Yinglish: davening Shema Yisrael (or Sh'ma Yisroel or just Shema) ( Hebrew: שמע ישראל "Hear Israel" are the first two words of a section of The Amidah (Hebrew תפילת העמידה, Tefilat HaAmidah "The Standing Prayer " also called the Shmona Esre ( שמנה עשרה Aleinu ( Hebrew:, "our duty" is a Jewish Prayer found in the Siddur, the classical Jewish prayerbook Kol Nidre ( Aramaic: כל נדרי) is a Jewish prayer recited in the Synagogue at the beginning of the evening service on Yom Kippur Kaddish (קדיש Aramaic: "holy" refers to an important and central prayer in the Jewish prayer service. Hallel (הלל "Praise" is a Jewish prayer &mdasha verbatim recitation from Psalms 113-118 which is used for praise and thanksgiving that is recited Ma Tovu ( Hebrew for "O How Good" or "How Goodly" is a Prayer in Judaism, expressing reverence and awe for Synagogues and Havdalah is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the symbolic end of Shabbat and holidays and ushers in the new week This article discusses the traditional views of the two religions and may not be applicable all adherents of each The historical interaction of Judaism and Islam started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. Judeo-Christian (or Judaeo-Christian, sometimes written as Judæo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held Alternative Judaism or Agnostic Judaism refers to a variety of groups whose members while identifying as Jews in some fashion nevertheless do not practice Rabbinical Jewitchery (from the terms Jew and witch, "shaman"/"sage" in its pure meaning or Jewish Neopaganism is a religious movement that Religious pluralism is a set of religious world views that hold that one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth and thus recognizes that some level of truth and value exists in Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility Criticism of Judaism has existed since Judaism 's formative stages as with many other Religions, on Theological grounds Philo-Semitism, Philosemitism, or Judeophilia is an interest in respect for and appreciation of the Jewish people their historical significance and the Judaism has been influenced by the experience of slavery of the Hebrews in the land of Egypt, as narrated in the biblical story of The Exodus Yeshiva or yeshivah (jəʃi'və ( Hebrew: ישיבה "sitting (n History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history In 2007, the world Jewish population was estimated at 13. Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of " Who is a Jew " remains a 2 million people—41% of whom live in Israel and 59% in the diaspora. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The Jewish diaspora ( Hebrew: Tefutzah, "scattered" or Galut גלות "exile" Yiddish: tfutses) the presence [3]
According to Jewish tradition, the history of Judaism begins with the Covenant between God and Abraham (ca. Covenant, meaning a solemn contract oath or bond is the customary word used to translate the Hebrew word berith ( ברית, In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title Abraham ( Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: 2000 BCE), the patriarch and progenitor of the Jewish people. The Patriarchs (also known as the Avot in Hebrew) according to the Judeo-Christian Old Testament are Abraham, his Son Judaism is among the oldest religious traditions still in practice today. Jewish history and doctrines have influenced other religions such as Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. The Bahá'í Faith is a Religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind
Judaism differs from many religions in that in modern times, central authority is not vested in any single person or group, but in sacred texts, traditions, and learned Rabbis who interpret those texts and laws. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Throughout the ages, Judaism has adhered to a number of religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and continues to govern it. Although Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a Creed or Catechism Omniscience (ɒm'nɪsɪəns (or Omniscient Point-of-View in writing is the capacity to know everything infinitely or at least everything that can be known about a character Omnipotence ( Omni Potens: "all Power " is unlimited power In Religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses physical existence and in one form is also independent of it In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title Creation according to Genesis refers to the Hebrew narrative of the creation of the heavens and the earth as told in chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis According to traditional Jewish belief, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Israelites, and revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah, and the Jewish people are the descendants of the Israelites. Covenant, meaning a solemn contract oath or bond is the customary word used to translate the Hebrew word berith ( ברית, See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. See also Mitzvah See also Biblical law in Christianity The 613 Mitzvot ("commandments" (also " 613 Mitzvos Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ The Biblical Mount Sinai is an ambiguously located mountain at which the Hebrew Bible states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to According to Rabbinic Judaism, the oral Torah, oral Law, or oral tradition ( is the oral tradition received in conjunction with the written Torah The traditional practice of Judaism revolves around study and the observance of God's laws and commandments as written in the Torah and expounded in the Talmud. Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Responsa, Rabbinic literature and similar The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history
Contents |
Religious doctrine and principles of faith
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh records that Judaism's Patriarch Abraham was called out by God from among the Chaldeans, and God then established His special covenant with Abraham. Although Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a Creed or Catechism See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is Abraham ( Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: Yet the Hebrew Bible dates the belief in a single God to the very beginning, as reported in Genesis Chapter 1, and portrays near-universal awareness of Abraham's God among older societies, and worship of that same God by others.
While Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice, it has always been fiercely monotheistic in theology -- although the Bible or Tanakh records significant periods of apostasy among many Israelites from Judaism's beliefs. For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is
Some note that similar beliefs including good and evil were prevalent among the followers of the ancient religion of Zoroaster, to which the Israelites may have been exposed during their slavery under the Medes. In Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy, the phrase good and evil refers to the location of objects desires and Behaviors on a two-way Zoroaster ( Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra) also referred to as Zartosht (زرتشت The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. Judaism and Zoroaster may have derived their views of God from a still-earlier, common source. That is how the Jewish and Christian Bibles report the creation of humans much earlier in history, who all had full knowledge of God from their beginning in the Garden of Eden. Not to be confused with Eden Gardens.The Garden of Eden ( Hebrew "pleasure" גַּן עֵדֶן Arabic: جنات عدن, Yet some scholars advocating for Zoroaster's influence claim credit for that religion having influenced Judaism. Judaism, however, asserts that there are no other religions -- there are only Jews and non-Jewish gentiles. [4]
Historically, Judaism has considered belief in the divine revelation and acceptance of the Written and Oral Torah as its fundamental core belief, but Judaism does not have a centralized authority dictating religious dogma. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to This gave rise to many different formulations as to the specific theological beliefs inherent in the Torah and Talmud. The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history While some rabbis have at times agreed upon a firm formulation, others have disagreed, many criticizing any such attempt as minimizing acceptance of the entire Torah. Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master [5] Notably, in the Talmud some principles of faith (e. g. , the Divine origin of the Torah) are considered important enough that rejection of them can put one in the category of "apikoros" (heretic). Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief [6]
Over the centuries, a number of clear formulations of Jewish principles of faith have appeared, and though they differ with respect to certain details, they demonstrate a commonality of core ideology. Of these, the one most widely considered authoritative is Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith. Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and Although Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a Creed or Catechism These principles were controversial when first proposed, evoking criticism by Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo. Hasdai ben Abraham Crescas ( Hebrew: חסדאי קרשקש) (born in Barcelona,c Joseph Albo ( Hebrew: יוסף אלבו) (c 1380–1444 was a Jewish philosopher and Rabbi who lived in Spain during the The thirteen principles were ignored by much of the Jewish community for the next few centuries. (Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought, Menachem Kellner). Over time two poetic restatements of these principles ("Ani Ma'amin" and "Yigdal") became canonized in the Jewish prayer book, and eventually became widely held. Ani Ma'amin (אני מאמין "I believe" is a prosaic rendition of Maimonides ' thirteen-point version of the Jewish principles of faith. Yigdal ( יִגְדָּל; yighdāl, or יִגְדַּל; yighdal; means " Magnify Living God" is a Jewish Today most Orthodox authorities hold that these beliefs are obligatory, and that Jews who do not fully accept each one of them are potentially heretical:
- I know with complete conviction[7] that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
- I know with complete conviction that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.
- I know with complete conviction that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is not a body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever.
- I know with complete conviction that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.
- I know with complete conviction that to the Creator, blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.
- I know with complete conviction that all the works of the prophets are true.
- I know with complete conviction that the prophecy of Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both of those who preceded him and of those who followed him.
- I know with complete conviction that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him.
- I know with complete conviction that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will never be any other Law from the Creator, blessed be His name.
- I know with complete conviction that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds of human beings, and all their thoughts, as it is said: “[He] that fashioned the hearts of them all, [He] that comprehends all their actions. ”
- I know with complete conviction that the Creator, blessed be His Name, rewards those that keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them.
- I know with complete conviction in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, with all this I wait every day for his coming.
- I know with complete conviction that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, blessed be His name, and exalted be His Name forever and ever.
Some, such as Rabbi Joseph Albo and the Raavad, criticized Maimonides' list as containing too many items that, while true, were not fundamentals of the faith, and thus placed too many Jews in the category of "heretic", rather than those who were simply in error. Rabbeinu Abraham ben David was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, Sefer Halachot of rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and Many others criticized any such formulation as minimizing acceptance of the entire Torah (see above). As noted however, neither Maimonides nor his contemporaries viewed these principles as encompassing all of Jewish belief, but rather as the core theological underpinnings of the acceptance of Judaism. Along these lines, the ancient historian Josephus emphasized practices and observances rather than religious beliefs, associating apostasy with a failure to observe Jewish law and maintaining that the requirements for conversion to Judaism included circumcision and adherence to traditional customs. Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus Male circumcision is the removal of some or all of the Foreskin (prepuce from the Penis.
Jewish religious texts
Rabbinic literature
Jews are often called the "People of the Book," and with good reason: Judaism has an age-old intellectual tradition of text-based Torah study. This article is about the theological concept in Islam. For the novel by Geraldine Brooks see People of the Book (novel. Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Responsa, Rabbinic literature and similar The following is a basic, structured list of the central works of Jewish practice and thought. For more detail, see Rabbinic literature. Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense can mean the entire spectrum of Rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history
- Tanakh[8] (Hebrew Bible) and commentaries
- Works of the Talmudic Era (classic rabbinic literature)
- Mishnah and commentaries
- Tosefta and the minor tractates
- Talmud:
- The Babylonian Talmud and commentaries
- Jerusalem Talmud and commentaries
- Midrashic literature:
- Halakhic literature
- Major Codes of Jewish Law and Custom
- Mishneh Torah and commentaries
- Tur and commentaries
- Shulchan Aruch and commentaries
- Responsa literature
- Major Codes of Jewish Law and Custom
- Jewish Thought and Ethics
- Jewish philosophy
- Kabbalah
- Hasidic works
- Jewish ethics and the Mussar Movement
- Siddur and Jewish liturgy
- Piyyut (Classical Jewish poetry)
Jewish legal literature
The basis of Jewish law and tradition ("halakha") is the Torah (also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses). See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic The Masoretic Text ( MT) is the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible ( Tanakh) A targum ( Hebrew: תרגום plural targumim, lit "translation interpretation" is an Aramaic Translation of the Hebrew Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism The Tosefta ( Aramaic: תוספתא is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah. The minor tractates (Hebrew מסכתות קטנות masechtot qetanot) are essays from the Tannaitic period or later dealing with topics about which no formal The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשָׁלְמִי often the Yerushalmi for short is a collection Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic The Midrashim are mostly derived from and based upon the teachings of the Tannaim: Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law The Mishneh Torah ( Hebrew: משנה תורה subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Chazaka (יד החזקה is a code of Jewish Religious law Arba'ah Turim (ארבעה טורים often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code, composed by Yaakov ben Asher The Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך literally " Set Table " (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulchan Arukh) is a Codification Responsa ( Latin: plural of responsum, "answers" comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by Legal scholars in response to questions Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of Ethics. Mussar movement refers to a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement (a "Jewish Moralist Movement" that developed in 19th century Orthodox A siddur ( Hebrew: סידור plural siddurim) is a Jewish Prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. Jewish services ( Hebrew: תפלה, tefillah; plural תפלות, tefillos or tefillot; Yinglish: davening See also Religious Jewish music A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט pijút and) is a Jewish liturgical poem usually designated Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to According to rabbinic tradition there are 613 commandments in the Torah. See also Mitzvah See also Biblical law in Christianity The 613 Mitzvot ("commandments" (also " 613 Mitzvos Some of these laws are directed only to men or to women, some only to the ancient priestly groups, the Kohanim and Leviyim (members of the tribe of Levi), some only to farmers within the land of Israel. A kohen (or cohen, Hebrew כּהן "priest" pl כּהנִים kohanim or cohanim) has a separate status in Judaism. In the Jewish tradition a Levite ( is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. This article discusses the Biblical patriarch See Levi Strauss for the inventor of jeans Levites for the Biblical tribe or Matthew the Evangelist For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Many laws were only applicable when the Temple in Jerusalem existed, and fewer than 300 of these commandments are still applicable today. Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name
While there have been Jewish groups whose beliefs were claimed to be based on the written text of the Torah alone (e. g. , the Sadducees, and the Karaites), most Jews believed in what they call the oral law. The Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect founded in the second century BC, possibly as a political party Karaite Judaism or Karaism (ˈkærəˌaɪt ˈkærəˌɪzəm) is a Jewish movement NOTE The word sect should not be used without defining it first and An oral law is a Code of conduct in use in a given Culture, Religion or community application by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted These oral traditions were transmitted by the Pharisee sect of ancient Judaism, and were later recorded in written form and expanded upon by the rabbis. The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated"
Rabbinic Judaism has always held that the books of the Torah (called the written law) have always been transmitted in parallel with an oral tradition. To justify this viewpoint, Jews point to the text of the Torah, where many words are left undefined, and many procedures mentioned without explanation or instructions; this, they argue, means that the reader is assumed to be familiar with the details from other, i. e. , oral, sources. This parallel set of material was originally transmitted orally, and came to be known as "the oral law". An oral law is a Code of conduct in use in a given Culture, Religion or community application by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted
By the time of Rabbi Judah haNasi (200 CE), after the destruction of Jerusalem, much of this material was edited together into the Mishnah. The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism Over the next four centuries this law underwent discussion and debate in both of the world's major Jewish communities (in Israel and Babylonia), and the commentaries on the Mishnah from each of these communities eventually came to be edited together into compilations known as the two Talmuds. Iraqi Jews are Jews born in Iraq or of Iraqi heritage The history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history These have been expounded by commentaries of various Torah scholars during the ages.
Halakha, the rabbinic Jewish way of life, then, is based on a combined reading of the Torah, and the oral tradition - the Mishnah, the halakhic Midrash, the Talmud and its commentaries. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic The Halakha has developed slowly, through a precedent-based system. The literature of questions to rabbis, and their considered answers, is referred to as responsa (in Hebrew, Sheelot U-Teshuvot. Responsa ( Latin: plural of responsum, "answers" comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by Legal scholars in response to questions ) Over time, as practices develop, codes of Jewish law are written that are based on the responsa; the most important code, the Shulchan Aruch, largely determines Orthodox religious practice today. The Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך literally " Set Table " (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulchan Arukh) is a Codification
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology Major Jewish philosophers include Solomon ibn Gabirol, Saadia Gaon, Maimonides, and Gersonides. Solomon ibn Gabirol, also Solomon ben Judah ( שלמה בן יהודה אבן גבירול, Shelomo ben Yehuda ibn Gevirol; أبو أيوب سليمان Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and Levi ben Gershom ( לוי בן גרשום) better known as Gersonides or the Ralbag (1288-1344 was a famous Rabbi, philosopher Mathematician Major changes occurred in response to the Enlightenment (late 1700s to early 1800s) leading to the post-Enlightenment Jewish philosophers. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century Modern Jewish philosophy consists of both Orthodox and non-Orthodox oriented philosophy. Notable among Orthodox Jewish philosophers are Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and Yitzchok Hutner. Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler ( 1892 - 30 December 1953) was an influential Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, Talmudic scholar and Jewish philosopher Joseph Ber (Yosef Dov Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik (יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ'יק was an American Orthodox Rabbi, Talmudist and modern Yitzchok (Isaac Hutner (1906–1980 was an Orthodox Rabbi and American Rosh yeshiva born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Well-known non-Orthodox Jewish philosophers include Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Mordecai Kaplan, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Emmanuel Lévinas. Martin Buber ( 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian Israeli Jewish Philosopher, translator Franz Rosenzweig ( December 25, 1886 December 10, 1929) was an influential Jewish theologian and philosopher. Mordecai Menahem Kaplan ( June 11, 1881 &ndash November 8, 1983) was a Rabbi and the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism Abraham Joshua Heschel ( January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) was a Warsaw-born American Rabbi and one of the leading
Related Topics
- Torah databases (electronic versions of the Traditional Jewish Bookshelf)
- List of Jewish prayers and blessings
Jewish identity
Distinction between Jews and Judaism
According to Daniel Boyarin, the underlying distinction between religion and ethnicity is foreign to Judaism itself, and is one form of the dualism between spirit and flesh that has its origin in Platonic philosophy and that permeated Hellenistic Judaism. A Torah database (מאגר תורני or מאגר יהדות is an electronic collection of classic Jewish texts in electronic form the kinds of texts which especially in Israel are often See also Jewish services Listed below are some Hebrew prayers and blessings that are part of Judaism that are recited by many Jews Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Hellenistic Judaism was a movement which existed in the Jewish diaspora before the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD that sought to establish a Hebraic-Jewish [9] Consequently, in his view, Judaism does not fit easily into conventional Western categories, such as religion, ethnicity, or culture. Boyarin suggests that this in part reflects the fact that most of Judaism's 4,000-year history predates the rise of Western culture and occurred outside the West. During this time, Jews have experienced slavery, anarchic and theocratic self-government, conquest, occupation, and exile; in the Diasporas, they have been in contact with and have been influenced by ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenic cultures, as well as modern movements such as the Enlightenment (see Haskalah) and the rise of nationalism, which would bear fruit in the form of a Jewish state in the Levant. Haskalah ( Hebrew: השכלה "enlightenment" "education" from sekhel " Intellect " "mind") the Jewish Enlightenment They also saw an elite convert to Judaism (the Khazars), only to disappear as the centers of power in the lands once occupied by that elite fell to the people of Rus and then the Mongols. "Kazar" redirects here for the Marvel Comics character see Ka-Zar; for the village in Azerbaijan see Xəzər. Thus, Boyarin has argued that "Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension. "[10]
In contrast to this point of view, practices such as Humanistic Judaism reject the religious aspects of Judaism, while retaining certain cultural traditions. Humanistic Judaism is a movement within Judaism that emphasizes Jewish culture and history—rather than belief in God—as the sources of Jewish identity Jewish law also recognizes converts who are not ethnically Jewish. A conversion to Judaism (גיור giyur) is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community
What makes a person Jewish?
According to traditional Jewish Law, a Jew is anyone born of a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism in accord with Jewish Law. " Who is a Jew? " (Mihu Yehudi? ?מיהו יהודי is a basic question about Jewish identity. A conversion to Judaism (גיור giyur) is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community American Reform Judaism and British Liberal Judaism accept the child of one Jewish parent (father or mother) as Jewish if the parents raise the child with a Jewish identity. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions All mainstream forms of Judaism today are open to sincere converts. The conversion process is evaluated by an authority, and the convert is examined on his sincerity and knowledge. [11]
Traditional Judaism maintains that a Jew, whether by birth or conversion, is a Jew forever. Thus a Jew who claims to be an atheist or converts to another religion is still considered by traditional Judaism to be Jewish. However, the Reform movement maintains that a Jew who has converted to another religion is no longer a Jew,[12][13] and the Israeli Government has also taken that stance after Supreme Court cases and statutes. [14]
The question of what determines Jewish identity in the State of Israel was given new impetus when, in the 1950s, David Ben-Gurion requested opinions on mihu Yehudi ("who is a Jew") from Jewish religious authorities and intellectuals worldwide in order to settle citizenship questions. This is far from settled, and occasionally resurfaces in Israeli politics. Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is
Jewish demographics
The total number of Jews worldwide is difficult to assess because the definition of "who is a Jew" is problematic as not all Jews identify themselves as Jewish, and some who identify as Jewish are not considered so by other Jews. Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of " Who is a Jew " remains a According to the Jewish Year Book (1901), the global Jewish population in 1900 was around 11 million. The latest available data is from the World Jewish Population Survey of 2002 and the Jewish Year Calendar (2005). In 2002, according to the Jewish Population Survey, there were 13. 3 million Jews around the world. The Jewish Year Calendar cites 14. 6 million. Jewish population growth is currently near zero percent, with 0. 3% growth from 2000 to 2001. Intermarriage and the declining birthrate have influenced Jewish population figures, although conversion to Judaism may help to offset this slightly.
It has been noted by some writers that the apparent prominence of Jews is disproportionate to the size of their population. One example, Mark Twain comments:
If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30 1835 – April 21 1910 better known by the Pen name Mark Twain, was an American Humorist, satirist Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection analysis interpretation or explanation and presentation of Data. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. The Milky Way (a translation of the Latin Via Lactea, in turn derived from the Greek Γαλαξίας (Galaxias sometimes referred to simply Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. The field of finance refers to the concepts of Time, Money and Risk and how they are interrelated Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?[15]
Jewish denominations
In the late Middle Ages, when Europe and western Asia were divided into Christian and Islamic countries, the Jewish people also found themselves divided into two main groups. Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, namely in Germany and Poland, were called Ashkenazi. Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim ( Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, ˌaʃkəˈnazim sing Sephardic Jews can trace their tradition back to the Mediterranean countries, particularly Spain and Portugal under Muslim rule. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. When they were expelled in 1492, they settled in North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, the Far East, and northern Europe. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan The Far East is a term often used by people in the Western world to refer to the countries of East Asia. Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland The two traditions differ in a number of ritual and cultural ways, but their theology and basic Jewish practice are the same.
Over the past two centuries the Ashkenazi Jewish community has divided into a number of Jewish denominations; each has a different understanding of what principles of belief a Jew should hold, and how one should live as a Jew. To some degree, these doctrinal differences have created schisms between the Jewish denominations. Schisms among the Jews are cultural as well as religious They have happened as a product of historical accident geography and Theology. Nonetheless, there is some level of Jewish unity. For example, it would not be unusual for a Conservative Jew to attend either an Orthodox or Reform synagogue. The article on Relationships between Jewish religious movements discusses how different Jewish denominations view each other. The relationships between the various denominations of American Judaism can be conciliatory welcoming or even antagonistic Many non-Ashkenazi Jews, especially in the United States, are members of congregations affiliated with the various movements, although they may not specifically identify themselves as members of that denomination. They frequently do so out of convenience, and are likely to describe their religious practice as "traditional" or "observant", as opposed to "Orthodox" or "Conservative".
- Orthodox Judaism holds that both the Written and Oral Torah were divinely revealed to Moses, and that the laws within it are binding and unchanging. Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized According to Rabbinic Judaism, the oral Torah, oral Law, or oral tradition ( is the oral tradition received in conjunction with the written Torah Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ Orthodox Jews generally consider commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch (a condensed codification of halakha that largely favored Sephardic traditions) such as the Moses Isserlis's HaMappah and the Mishnah Berurah, to be the definitive codification of Jewish law, and assert a continuity between the Judaism of the Temple in Jerusalem, pre-Enlightenment Rabbinic Judaism, and modern-day Orthodox Judaism. The Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך literally " Set Table " (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulchan Arukh) is a Codification Moses Isserles is commonly known as "the Rema" ( Hebrew: רמ"א Mishnah Berurah ( Hebrew: "Clarified Teaching" is a work of Halakha (Jewish law by Rabbi Yisrael Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name Most of Orthodox Judaism holds to one particular form of Jewish theology, based on Maimonides' 13 principles of Jewish faith. Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and Orthodox Judaism broadly (and informally) shades into two main styles, Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredi Judaism. The philosophical distinction is generally around accommodation to modernity and weight placed on non-Jewish disciplines, though in practical terms the differences are often reflected in styles of dress and rigor in practice. According to most Orthodox Jews, Jewish people who do not keep the laws of Shabbat and Yom Tov (the holidays), kashrut, and family purity are considered non-religious. Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath For the Gregorian dates of Jewish Holidays see Jewish holidays 2000-2050. Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, he כַּשְׁרוּת refers to Jewish dietary laws. Niddah (or nidah, nidda, nida; Hebrew:נִדָּה is a Hebrew term which literally means separation, generally considered to refer Any Jew who keeps at least those laws would be considered observant and religious.
Hasidic Jews wearing black frock coats and fur shtreimels- Modern Orthodox Judaism emphasizes strict observance of religious laws and commandments but with a broad, liberal approach to modernity and living in a non-Jewish or secular environment. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Modern Orthodox Judaism (or Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize traditional observance Modern Orthodox women are gradually assuming a greater role in Jewish ritual practice, which is not acceptable in the Haredi community.
- Haredi Judaism (also known as "ultra-Orthodox Judaism," although some find this term offensive) is a very conservative form of Judaism. Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. The Haredi world revolves around study, prayer and meticulous religious observance. Some Haredi Jews are more open to the modern world, perhaps most notably the Lubavitch Hasidim, but their acceptance of modernity is more a tool for enhancing Jewish faith than an end in itself. Chabad-Lubavitch is one of the largest Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism, and is based in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn
- Hasidic Judaism is a stream of Haredi Judaism based on the teachings of Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer (The Baal Shem Tov). Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Rabbi Yisroel (Israel ben Eliezer (רבי ישראל בן אליעזר August 27, 1698 (18 Elul &ndash May 22, 1760) often called Hasidic philosophy is rooted in the Kabbalah, and Hasidic Jews accept the Kabbalah as sacred scripture. Hasidic Philosophy or Hasidus (Hebrew חסידות alternatively transliterated as Hassidism, Chassidut etc Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. They are distinguished both by a variety of special customs and practices including reliance on a Rebbe or supreme religious leader, and a special dress code particular to each Hasidic group. Rebbe (רבי (pronounced in English which means master teacher or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew word Rabbi
- Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside of the United States and Canada, developed in Europe and the United States in the 1800s as Jews reacted to the changes brought about by the Enlightenment and Jewish emancipation. Conservative Judaism (also known as Masorti Judaism in Israel and Europe) is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out The Masorti movement is the name given to Conservative Judaism in the State of Israel. It is characterized by a commitment to following traditional Jewish laws and customs, including observance of Shabbat and kashrut, a deliberately non-fundamentalist teaching of Jewish principles of faith, a positive attitude toward modern culture, and an acceptance of both traditional rabbinic modes of study along with modern scholarship and critical text study when considering Jewish religious texts. Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, he כַּשְׁרוּת refers to Jewish dietary laws. Conservative Judaism teaches that Jewish law is not static, but has always developed in response to changing conditions. It holds that the Torah is a divine document written by prophets inspired by God, but rejects the Orthodox position that it was dictated by God to Moses [citation needed]. Similarly, Conservative Judaism holds that Judaism's Oral Law is divine and normative, but rejects some Orthodox interpretations of the Oral Law. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the oral Torah, oral Law, or oral tradition ( is the oral tradition received in conjunction with the written Torah Accordingly, Conservative Judaism holds that both the Written and Oral Law may be interpreted by the rabbis to reflect modern sensibilities and suit modern conditions, although great caution should be exercised in doing so.
- Reform Judaism, called Liberal or Progressive in many countries, originally formed in Germany in response to the Enlightenment. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions Progressive Judaism is an umbrella term used by strands of Judaism which affiliate to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century (Note that in the United Kingdom, there are two distinct congregational unions, Reform and Liberal. The former is significantly more traditional than the latter, but both hold to similar theoretical positions. ) Its defining characteristic with respect to the other movements is its rejection of the binding nature of Jewish ceremonial law as such and belief instead that individual Jews should exercise an informed autonomy about what to observe. Reform Judaism initially defined Judaism as a religion, rather than as a race or culture, rejected most of the ritual ceremonial laws of the Torah while observing moral laws, and emphasized the ethical call of the Prophets. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Nevi'im (נְבִיאִים "Prophets" is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, between the Reform Judaism developed an egalitarian prayer service in the vernacular (along with Hebrew in many cases) and emphasized personal connection to Jewish tradition over specific forms of observance. Today, many Reform congregations encourage the study of Hebrew and traditional observances, while a smaller number continue to espouse the liberal ethos of the classical reformers of the nineteenth century.
- Reconstructionist Judaism started as a stream of philosophy by Mordechai Kaplan, a Conservative rabbi, and later became an independent movement emphasizing reinterpreting Judaism for modern times. Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan (1881 – 1983 Mordecai Menahem Kaplan ( June 11, 1881 &ndash November 8, 1983) was a Rabbi and the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism Like Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism does not hold that Jewish law, as such, requires observance, but unlike Reform, Reconstructionist thought emphasizes the role of the community in deciding what observances to follow.
- Jewish Renewal, a recent North American movement, was begun by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a Hassidic rabbi, in the 1960s. Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, Musical and Rabbi Zalman M Schachter-Shalomi, b and commonly called " Reb Zalman " (pr rǎb is considered one of the major founders of the Jewish Renewal movement Jewish Renewal focuses on spirtuality and social justice, but does not address issues of Jewish law. Men and women participate equally in prayer.
- Humanistic Judaism. Humanistic Judaism is a movement within Judaism that emphasizes Jewish culture and history—rather than belief in God—as the sources of Jewish identity A small nontheistic movement that emphasizes Jewish culture and history as the sources of Jewish identity. Founded by Rabbi Sherwin Wine, it is centered in North America and Israel but also has affiliated groups in Europe and Latin America. Sherwin Theodore Wine ( January 25, 1928 &ndash July 21, 2007) was a Rabbi and a founding figure in
Jewish denominations in Israel
Even though all of these denominations exist in Israel, Israelis tend to classify Jewish identity in ways that are different than diaspora Jewry. Religion in Israel is a central feature of the country and plays a major role in shaping Israeli culture and lifestyle The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic Most Jewish Israelis classify themselves as "secular" (hiloni), "traditional" (masorti), "religious" (dati) or Haredi. Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. The term "secular" is more popular as a self-description among Israeli families of western (European) origin, whose Jewish identity may be a very powerful force in their lives, but who see it as largely independent of traditional religious belief and practice. This portion of the population largely ignores organized religious life, be it of the official Israeli rabbinate (Orthodox) or of the liberal movements common to diaspora Judaism (Reform, Conservative).
The term "traditional" (masorti) is most common as a self-description among Israeli families of "eastern" origin (i. e. , the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa). This term, as commonly used, has nothing to do with the official Masorti (Conservative) movement. The Masorti movement is the name given to Conservative Judaism in the State of Israel.
There is a great deal of ambiguity in the ways "secular" and "traditional" are used in Israel. They often overlap, and they cover an extremely wide range in terms of ideology and religious observance.
The term "Orthodox" is not popular in Israeli discourse, although the percentage of Jews who come under that category in Israel is far greater than in the diaspora. Various methods of measuring this percentage, each with its pros and cons, are the proportion of religiously observant Knesset members, the proportion of Jewish children enrolled in religious schools, and statistical studies on "identity. For Beit Knesset a Jewish Place of worship, see Synagogue. The Knesset (כנסת lit "
What would be called "Orthodox" in the diaspora includes what is commonly called dati (religious) or haredi (ultra-Orthodox) in Israel. The former term includes what is called "Religious Zionism" or the "National Religious" community, as well as what has become known over the past decade or so as haredi-leumi (nationalist haredi), or "Hardal," which combines a largely haredi lifestyle with nationalist ideology. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation
Haredi applies to a populace that can be roughly divided into three separate groups along both ethnic and ideological lines: (1) "Lithuanian" (non-hasidic) haredim of Ashkenazic origin; (2) Hasidic haredim of Ashkenazic origin; and (3) Sephardic haredim. The third group is the largest, and has been the most politically active since the early 1990s.
Alternative Judaism
Other expressions of Jewish identity fall outside of this conservative-liberal continuum. Alternative Judaism or Agnostic Judaism refers to a variety of groups whose members while identifying as Jews in some fashion nevertheless do not practice Rabbinical
Unlike the above denominations, which were ideological reactions that resulted from the exposure of traditional rabbinic Judaism to the radical changes of modern times, Karaite Judaism did not begin as a modern Jewish movement. Karaite Judaism or Karaism (ˈkærəˌaɪt ˈkærəˌɪzəm) is a Jewish movement NOTE The word sect should not be used without defining it first and The followers of Karaism believe they are the remnants of the non-Rabbinic Jewish sects of the Second Temple period, such as the Sadducees, though others contend they are a sect started in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE The Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect founded in the second century BC, possibly as a political party The Karaites (or "Scripturalists") accept only the Hebrew Bible and what they view as the Peshat: "Plain or Simple Meaning"; and do not accept non-biblical writings as authoritative. Some European Karaites do not see themselves as part of the Jewish community, while most do. It is interesting to note that the Nazis often did not associate Karaites with Jews, and therefore several Karaite communities were spared in WWII and exist to this day even in places such as Lithuania where Jewish communities were completely devastated. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the In other areas, such as Greece, the Nazis deemed Karaites as belonging to a greater Jewish tradition and abused them accordingly. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία
Another historical division among ethnic Jews are the Samaritans, who maintain a distinct cultural and religious identity from mainstream Judaism, and are located entirely around Mount Gerizim in the Nablus/Shechem region of the West Bank and in Holon, near Tel Aviv in Israel. Mount Gerizim ( Samaritan Hebrew Ar-garízim, Arabic جبل جرزيم Jabal Jarizīm, Tiberian Hebrew הַר גְּרִזִּים Nablus ( sometimes Nābulus; Arabic:; næːblʊs is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem Shechem ( Sichem, Shkhem or Shachmu, Hebrew: שְׁכֶם / שְׁכָם, Standard The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria Holon (חוֹלוֹן, Ḥōlōn is a City in Israel, on the central coastal strip south of Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv-Yafo (תֵּל ־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ تل أبيب Tal ʾAbīb) (usually Tel Aviv) is the second-largest city in Israel
Jewish observances
Religious clothing
A kippah (Hebrew: כִּפָּה, plural kippot; Yiddish: יאַרמלקע, yarmulke) is a slightly-rounded brimless skullcap worn by many Jewish men while praying, eating, reciting blessings, or studying Jewish religious texts, and at all times by some Jewish men. "Kipa" redirects here For the supermarket please see Kipa (supermarket. Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High In non-Orthodox communities, some women have also begun to wear kippot. Kippot range in size from a small round beanie that covers only the back of the head, to a large, snug cap that covers the whole crown.
Tzitzit (Hebrew: צִיציִת) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tzitzis) are special knotted "fringes" or "tassels" found on the four corners of the tallit (Hebrew: טַלִּית) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tallis), or prayer shawl. Tzitzit or tzitzis ( Hebrew: Biblical ציצת Modern ציצית) are "fringes" Ashkenazi Hebrew is the pronunciation system for Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew favored for liturgical use by Ashkenazi Jewish practice The tallit (טַלִּית also called tallis ( Yiddish, plural taleysm) is a prayer Shawl worn during the morning Jewish services A shawl ( Persian شال Shāl from Sanskrit: साडी śāṭī is a simple item of Clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders upper body and arms The tallit is worn by Jewish men and some Jewish women during the prayer service. Customs vary regarding when a Jew begins wearing a tallit. In the Sephardi community, boys wear a tallit from bar mitzvah age. In some Ashkenazi communities it is customary to wear one only after marriage. A tallit katan (small tallit) is a fringed garment worn under the clothing throughout the day. In some Orthodox circles, the fringes are allowed to hang freely outside the clothing.
Tefillin (Hebrew: תְפִלִּין), known in English as phylacteries (from the Greek word φιλακτέριον, meaning fortress or protection), are two square leather boxes containing biblical verses, attached to the forehead and wound around the left arm by leather straps. Tefillin, ( תפילין) also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with biblical verses They are worn during weekday morning prayer by observant Jewish men and some Jewish women. [16]
A kittel (Yiddish: קיטל), a white knee-length overgarment, is worn by prayer leaders and some observant traditional Jews on the High Holidays. A kittel, also spelled kitl, (קיטל robe coat cf German Kittel ‘(house/work coat’ is a white robe which served as a burial This article refers to the Jewish holidays For other uses see here. It is traditional for the head of the household to wear a kittel at the Passover seder, and some grooms wear one under the wedding canopy. Jewish males are buried in a tallit and sometimes also a kittel which are part of the tachrichim (burial garments).
Prayers
Traditionally, Jews recite prayers three times daily, with a fourth prayer added on Shabbat and holidays. Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath For the Gregorian dates of Jewish Holidays see Jewish holidays 2000-2050. At the heart of each service is the Amidah or Shemoneh Esrei. The Amidah (Hebrew תפילת העמידה, Tefilat HaAmidah "The Standing Prayer " also called the Shmona Esre ( שמנה עשרה Another key prayer in many services is the declaration of faith, the Shema Yisrael (or Shema). Shema Yisrael (or Sh'ma Yisroel or just Shema) ( Hebrew: שמע ישראל "Hear Israel" are the first two words of a section of The Shema is the recitation of a verse from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad — "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One!"
Most of the prayers in a traditional Jewish service can be said in solitary prayer, although communal prayer is preferred. Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomion, Δευτερονόμιον "second law" is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament Communal prayer requires a quorum of ten adult Jews, called a minyan. In Law, a quorum is the minimum number of members of a Deliberative body necessary to conduct the business of that group A minyan (מנין lit to count number; pl minyanim) in Judaism refers to the Quorum required for certain religious In nearly all Orthodox and a few Conservative circles, only male Jews are counted toward a minyan; most Conservative Jews and members of other Jewish denominations count female Jews as well.
In addition to prayer services, observant traditional Jews recite prayers and benedictions throughout the day when performing various acts. See also Jewish services Listed below are some Hebrew prayers and blessings that are part of Judaism that are recited by many Jews Prayers are recited upon waking up in the morning, before eating or drinking different foods, after eating a meal, and so on. Modeh Ani ( Hebrew: מודה אני "I give thanks" the first words of the prayer is a Jewish Prayer that observant Jews Birkat Hamazon, ( known in English as the Grace After Meals, ( Yiddish: בענטשן translit
The approach to prayer varies among the Jewish denominations. Differences can include the texts of prayers, the frequency of prayer, the number of prayers recited at various religious events, the use of musical instruments and choral music, and whether prayers are recited in the traditional liturgical languages or the vernacular. In general, Orthodox and Conservative congregations adhere most closely to tradition, and Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues are more likely to incorporate translations and contemporary writings in their services. Also, in most Conservative synagogues, and all Reform and Reconstructionist congregations, women participate in prayer services on an equal basis with men, including roles traditionally filled only by men, such as reading from the Torah. Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have Torah reading ( is a Jewish religious Ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. In addition, many Reform temples use musical accompaniment such as organs and mixed choirs.
Jewish holidays
Jewish holidays celebrate central themes in the relationship between God and the world, such as creation, revelation, and redemption. For the Gregorian dates of Jewish Holidays see Jewish holidays 2000-2050. Revelation is the act of revealing or disclosing (see etymology or in the theological perception making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication In Theology, salvation can mean three related things being saved from or Liberation from something such as Suffering or the punishment of
Shabbat
Shabbat, the weekly day of rest lasting from shortly before sundown on Friday night to shortly after sundown Saturday night, commemorates God's day of rest after six days of creation. Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath [17] It plays a pivotal role in Jewish practice and is governed by a large corpus of religious law. At sundown on Friday, the woman of the house welcomes the Shabbat by lighting two or more candles and reciting a blessing. The evening meal begins with the Kiddush, a blessing recited aloud over a cup of wine, and the Mohtzi, a blessing recited over the bread. It is customary to have challah, two braided loaves of bread, on the table. Challah ( hallah) ( Hebrew: חלה) also known as khale (eastern Yiddish barches ( German and During Shabbat Jews are forbidden to engage in any activity that falls under 39 categories of melakhah, translated literally as "work. See also Shabbat See also Shomer Shabbat, Rabbinically prohibited activities of Shabbat The commandment to keep Shabbat as a " In fact the activities banned on the Sabbath are not "work" in the usual sense: They include such actions as lighting a fire, writing, using money and carrying in the public domain. The prohibition of lighting a fire has been extended in the modern era to driving a car, which involves burning fuel, and using electricity.
Three pilgrimage festivals
Jewish holy days (haggim), celebrate landmark events in Jewish history, such as the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah, and sometimes mark the change of seasons and transitions in the agricultural cycle. The Three Pilgrimage Festivals, known as the Shalosh Regalim (שלוש רגלים are three major festivals in Judaism &mdash Pesach ( The three major festivals, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot, are called "regalim" (derived from the Hebrew word "regel," or foot). On the three regalim, it was customary for the Israelites to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the Temple.
- Passover (Pesach) is a week-long holiday beginning on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan (the first month in the Hebrew calendar), that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. Passover ( Hebrew, Yiddish: פֶּסַח Pesach, Tiberian: pɛsaħ Israeli: Pesah, Pesakh, Yiddish This article is about the Jewish month of Nisan See Nissan Motors for the automobile manufacturer Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. Outside Israel, Passover is celebrated for eight days. In ancient times, it coincided with the barley harvest. It is the only holiday that centers on home-service, the Seder. The Passover Seder Meal ( Hebrew: סֵדֶר seðɛɾ "order" "arrangement" is a Jewish ritual feast held on the first (and for some the Leavened products (chametz) are removed from the house prior to the holiday, and are not consumed throughout the week. A leavening agent (sometimes called just leavening or leaven) is a substance used in Doughs and batters that causes a foaming action intended Chametz (חָמֵץ (also Chometz or Chumetz) refers to bread grains and leavened products that are not consumed on the Jewish holiday of Passover Homes are thoroughly cleaned to ensure no bread or bread by-products remain, and a symbolic burning of the last vestiges of chametz is conducted on the morning of the Seder. Matzo is eaten instead of bread. Matza (also Matzah, Matzoh, or Matsah) מַצָּה in Ashkenazi matzo or matzoh, and in Yiddish, matze
- Shavuot ("Pentecost" or "Feast of Weeks") celebrates the revelation of the Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. Shavuot (or Shavuos, in Ashkenazi usage Hebrew: שבועות, lit term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. Also known as the Festival of Bikurim, or first fruits, it coincided in biblical times with the wheat harvest. Shavuot customs include all-night study marathons known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot, eating dairy foods (cheesecake and blintzes are special favorites), reading the Book of Ruth, decorating homes and synagogues with greenery, and wearing white clothing, symbolizing purity.
- Sukkot ("Tabernacles" or "The Festival of Booths") commemorates the Israelites' forty years of wandering through the desert on their way to the Promised Land. Sukkot ( also known as Succoth, Sukkos, Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles) is a Biblical Pilgrimage It is celebrated through the construction of temporary booths called sukkot (sing. sukkah) that represent the temporary shelters of the Israelites during their wandering. See also Sukkot A sukkah is a temporary dwelling that Jews use during the holiday of Sukkot. It coincides with the fruit harvest, and marks the end of the agricultural cycle. Jews around the world eat in sukkot for seven days and nights. Sukkot concludes with Shemini Atzeret, where Jews begin to pray for rain and Simchat Torah, "Rejoicing of the Torah," a holiday which marks reaching the end of the Torah reading cycle and beginning all over again. Shemini Atzeret (שמיני עצרת - "the Eighth of Assembly" is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. Simchat Torah or Simchas Torah (שמחת תורה is a Jewish holiday marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings and the beginning The occasion is celebrated with singing and dancing with the Torah scrolls.
High Holy Days
The High Holidays (Yamim Noraim or "Days of Awe") revolve around judgment and forgiveness. This article refers to the Jewish holidays For other uses see here.
- Rosh Hashanah, (also Yom Ha-Zikkaron or "Day of Remembrance," and Yom Teruah, or "Day of the Sounding of the Shofar"). Rosh Hashanah (ראש השנה literally "head of the year" Biblical: ˈɾoʃ haʃːɔˈnɔh Israeli haʃaˈna Yiddish: hɑˈʃɔnə is a Jewish A shofar (שופר is a horn used for Jewish religious purposes Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year (literally, "head of the year"), although it falls on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, Tishri. The Hebrew calendar (הלוח העברי ha'luach ha'ivri) or Jewish calendar is a Lunisolar calendar used by Jews for predominantly religious Tishrei (or Tishri) (ˈtɪʃri or) ( Hebrew: תִּשְׁרֵי ( תִּשְׁרִי) Standard Tišre Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the 10-day period of atonement leading up to Yom Kippur, during which Jews are commanded to search their souls and make amends for sins committed, intentionally or not, throughout the year. Holiday customs include blowing the shofar, or ram's horn, in the synagogue, eating apples and honey, and saying blessings over a variety of symbolic foods, such as pomegranates.
- Yom Kippur, ("Day of Atonement") is the most solemn day of the Jewish year. Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר ˈjɔm kiˈpur also known in English as the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn and important of the Jewish holidays Its It is a day of communal fasting and praying for forgiveness for one's sins. Observant Jews spend the entire day in the synagogue, sometimes with a short break in the afternoon, reciting prayers from a special holiday prayerbook called a "Mahzor. " Many non-religious Jews make a point of attending synagogue services and fasting on Yom Kippur. On the eve of Yom Kippur, before candles are lit, a prefast meal, the "seuda mafseket," is eaten. Synagogue services on the eve of Yom Kippur begin with the Kol Nidre prayer. It is customary to wear white on Yom Kippur, especially for Kol Nidre, and leather shoes are not worn. The following day, prayers are held from morning to evening. The final prayer service, called "Ne'ilah," ends with a long blast of the shofar.
Other holidays
Hanukkah, חנוכה, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev (Hebrew calendar). Hanukkah (חנוכה alt Chanukah) also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the For the Warhammer Fantasy location see Kislev (Warhammer Kislev ( Hebrew: כִּסְלֵו, Standard The Hebrew calendar (הלוח העברי ha'luach ha'ivri) or Jewish calendar is a Lunisolar calendar used by Jews for predominantly religious The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on.
The holiday was called Hanukkah meaning "dedication" because it marks the re-dedication of the Temple after its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Another Antiochus IV Epiphanes was king in Commagene under Caligula and Claudius. Spiritually, Hanukkah commemorates the "Miracle of the Oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name The Maccabees ( Hebrew: מכבים or מקבים, Makabim or Maqabim; Greek Μακκαβαῖοι, /makav'εï/ were The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i An oil is a substance that is in a viscous Liquid state ( "oily") at ambient temperatures or slightly warmer and is Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days - which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate new oil.
Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Bible and was never considered a major holiday in Judaism, but it has become much more visible and widely celebrated in modern times, mainly because it falls around the same time as Christmas and has national Jewish overtones that have been emphasized since the establishment of the State of Israel.
Purim (Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm English: "Lots") is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman, who sought to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. Purim ( Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm " lots " related to Akkadian pūru) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates |||} Persian Jews or Iranian Jews are Jews historically associated with the Persian Empire or Iran. Haman (or Haman the Agagite המן האגגי is an individual who according to Old Testament tradition was a 4th Century BC Persian noble Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, mutual gifts of food and drink, charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal (Esther 9:22). Alms or almsgiving exists in a number of religions In general it involves giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue Other customs include drinking wine, eating special pastries called hamantashen, dressing up in masks and costumes, and organizing carnivals and parties. A hamantash (also spelled hamentasch, homentash, homentasch, (humentash, pluralized with -en
Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, which comes out in February-March. Adar ( Hebrew: אֲדָר, Standard Adar Tiberian ʾĂḏār; from Akkadian
Torah readings
The core of festival and Shabbat prayer services is the public reading of the Torah, along with connected readings from the other books of the Tanakh, called Haftarah. Torah reading ( is a Jewish religious Ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is The haftarah or haftorah (also haphtara) ( Hebrew: הפטרה plural haftarot or haftorahs; "parting" Over the course of a year, the whole Torah is read, with the cycle starting over in the autumn, on Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah or Simchas Torah (שמחת תורה is a Jewish holiday marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings and the beginning
Synagogues and Religious Buildings
Synagogues are Jewish houses of prayer and study. A synagogue (from Greek: grc συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, "assembly" he בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of The Esnoga ( Ladino: אסנוגה) also known as the Snoge or Portuguese Synagogue, is a 17th-century Sephardic Synagogue They usually contain separate rooms for prayer (the main sanctuary), smaller rooms for study, and often an area for community or educational use. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. The Reform movement mostly refer to their synagogues as temples. Some traditional features of a synagogue are:
- The ark (called aron ha-kodesh by Ashkenazim and hekhal by Sephardim) where the Torah scrolls are kept (the ark is often closed with an ornate curtain (parochet) outside or inside the ark doors);
- The elevated reader's platform (called bimah by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim), where the Torah is read (and services are conducted in Sephardi synagogues);
- The eternal light (ner tamid), a continually-lit lamp or lantern used as a reminder of the constantly lit menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem
- The pulpit, or amud (Hebrew, a lecturn facing the Ark where the hazzan or prayer leader stands while praying. V02p111001 Aronjpg|thumb|150px| Modena, Italy ( 1505)]]V02p109001 Aron Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim ( Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, ˌaʃkəˈnazim sing Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Parochet (also paroches, parokhet) is the curtain on the front of the Aron Kodesh in a Synagogue that covers the Sifrei Torah (Torah A bimah (among Ashkenazim derived from Greek) almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim is the elevated A sanctuary lamp, altar lamp, or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many denominations of Jewish and Christian Pekiin tabletjpg|thumb|right|151px| Second Temple period stone tablet from a Synagogue in Peki'in, Israel. Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name "Hazan" and "Chazan" redirect here For people named Hazan or Chazan see Hazan (disambiguation Growing importance of the office
In addition to synagogues, other buildings of significance in Judaism include yeshivas, or institutions of Jewish learning, and mikvahs, which are ritual baths. Yeshiva or yeshivah (jəʃi'və ( Hebrew: ישיבה "sitting (n Mikvah (or mikveh) ( plural mikva'ot or mikves) is a ritual bath designed for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism.
Dietary laws: Kashrut
The laws of kashrut ("keeping kosher") are the Jewish dietary laws. Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, he כַּשְׁרוּת refers to Jewish dietary laws. Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, he כַּשְׁרוּת refers to Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with Jewish law is termed kosher, and food not in accord with Jewish law is termed treifah or treif. See also Kashrut Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of Jewish religion The Torah cites no reason for the laws of kashrut, but the rabbis have offered various explanations, including ritual purity, teaching people to control their urges, and health benefits. Kashrut involves the abstention from consuming birds and beasts that prey on other animals, and creatures that roam the sea floor eating the excretions of other animals. Major prohibitions exist on eating pork, which is considered an unclean animal, and seafood. Meat is ritually slaughtered, and meat and milk are not eaten together, based on the biblical injunction against cooking a kid in its mother's milk.
Although hygiene may have been a factor, the deeper purpose of kashrut is to lend a spiritual dimension to the physical act of eating. The idea is that Jews should not put anything into their mouths that involves spiritual "negatives" such as pain, sickness, uncleanliness, or cruelty to animals.
Family purity
The laws of niddah ("menstruant", often referred to euphemistically as "family purity") and various other laws regulating the interaction between men and women (e. Niddah (or nidah, nidda, nida; Hebrew:נִדָּה is a Hebrew term which literally means separation, generally considered to refer Niddah (or nidah, nidda, nida; Hebrew:נִדָּה is a Hebrew term which literally means separation, generally considered to refer g. , tzniut, modesty in dress) are perceived, especially by Orthodox Jews, as vital factors in Jewish life, though they are rarely followed by Reform or Conservative Jews. Tzniut or Tznius (also Tzeniut) ( Hebrew: צניעות " Modesty " is a term used within Judaism and has its greatest influence The laws of niddah dictate that sexual intercourse cannot take place while the woman is having a menstrual flow, and she has to count seven "clean" days and immerse in a mikvah (ritual bath) following menstruation. Sexual intercourse, in its biological sense is the act in which the male reproductive organ (in humans and other higher animals enters the female reproductive tract The menstrual cycle is a recurring cycle of physiologic changes that occurs in reproductive-age Females Overt menstruation (where there is blood flow from the Mikvah (or mikveh) ( plural mikva'ot or mikves) is a ritual bath designed for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism.
Life-cycle events
Life-cycle events, or rites of passage, occur throughout a Jew's life that serve to strengthen Jewish identity and bind him/her to the entire community. A rite of passage is a Ritual that marks a change in a person's social or sexual status
- Brit milah - Welcoming male babies into the covenant through the rite of circumcision on their eighth day of life. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions Male circumcision is the removal of some or all of the Foreskin (prepuce from the Penis. The baby boy is also given his Hebrew name in the ceremony. A naming ceremony intended as a parallel ritual for girls, named zeved habat, enjoys limited popularity. Zeved habat (Sephardic or Simchat bat (Ashkenazi are terms for the ritual for naming infant Jewish girls
- Bar mitzvah and Bat mitzvah - This passage from childhood to adulthood takes place when a female Jew is twelve and a male Jew is thirteen years old among Orthodox and some Conservative congregations. In Judaism, Bar Mitzvah ( Hebrew: בר מצוה "one (m to whom the commandments apply" Bat Mitzvah (בת מצוה "one (f In the Reform movement, both girls and boys have their bat/bar mitzvah at age thirteen. This is often commemorated by having the new adults, male only in the Orthodox tradition, lead the congregation in prayer and publicly read a "portion" of the Torah.
- Marriage - Marriage is an extremely important lifecycle event. Betrothal ( shiddukhin) In Jewish law (halakha Betrothal (shiddukhin or Engagement is defined as the mutual promise between A wedding takes place under a chupah, or wedding canopy, which symbolizes a happy house. A chuppah ( חוּפָּה) (also spelled hupah, chupah, or chuppa - plural chuppot or chuppahs, Hebrew At the end of the ceremony, the groom breaks a glass with his foot, symbolizing the continuous mourning for the destruction of the Temple, and the scattering of the Jewish people.
- Death and Mourning - Judaism has a multi-staged mourning practice. Bereavement in Judaism ( is a combination of Minhag (traditional custom and Mitzvot (good deeds or religious obligation derived from Judaism 's classical Mourning is in the simplest sense synonymous with Grief over the Death of someone The first stage is called the shiva (literally "seven", observed for one week) during which it is traditional to sit at home and be comforted by friends and family, the second is the shloshim (observed for one month) and for those who have lost one of their parents, there is a third stage, avelut yud bet chodesh, which is observed for eleven months. In Judaism, shiv'ah or shiva ( is the week-long period of grief and Mourning for the seven first-degree relatives father mother son daughter brother
See also:-Yetzer harah
Community leadership
Classical priesthood
The role of the priesthood in Judaism has significantly diminished since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, when priests attended to the Temple and sacrifices. Yetzer is the inclination towards either good or evil in Judaism. The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE The priesthood is an inherited position, and although priests no longer have any but ceremonial duties, they are still honored in many Jewish communities. Many Orthodox Jewish communities believe that they will be needed again for a future Third Temple and need to remain in readiness for future duty. This article is about a potential but unbuilt future temple For Herod the Great 's massive renovation of the Second Temple see Herod's Temple.
- Kohen (priest) - patrilineal descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses. A kohen (or cohen, Hebrew כּהן "priest" pl כּהנִים kohanim or cohanim) has a separate status in Judaism. This article is about Aaron the Levite in the Hebrew Bible, the Qu'ran, and other sources Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ In the Temple, the kohanim were charged with performing the sacrifices. Today, a Kohen is the first one called up at the reading of the Torah, performs the Priestly Blessing, as well as complying with other unique laws and ceremonies, including the ceremony of redemption of the first-born. The Priestly Blessing, (ברכת כהנים translit Birkat Kohanim) also known in Hebrew as Nesiat Kapayim, ( lit.
- Levi (Levite) - Patrilineal descendant of Levi the son of Jacob. In the Jewish tradition a Levite ( is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. This article discusses the Biblical patriarch See Levi Strauss for the inventor of jeans Levites for the Biblical tribe or Matthew the Evangelist Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard Yaʿaqov Tiberian Yaʿăqōḇ; In the Temple in Jerusalem, the levites sang Psalms, performed construction, maintenance, janitorial, and guard duties, assisted the priests, and sometimes interpreted the law and Temple ritual to the public. Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name Psalms ( Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים, or "praises" is a book of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) included Today, a Levite is called up second to the reading of the Torah.
Prayer leaders
From the time of the Mishnah and Talmud to the present, Judaism has required specialists or authorities for the practice of very few rituals or ceremonies. The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history A Jew can fulfill most requirements for prayer by himself. Some activities — reading the Torah and haftarah (a supplementary portion from the Prophets or Writings), the prayer for mourners, the blessings for bridegroom and bride, the complete grace after meals — require a minyan, the presence of ten adults (Orthodox Jews and some Conservative Jews require ten adult men; some Conservative Jews and Reform Jews include women in the minyan). term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to
The most common professional clergy in a synagogue are:
- Rabbi of a congregation - Jewish scholar who is charged with answering the legal questions of a congregation. A synagogue (from Greek: grc συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, "assembly" he בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master This role requires ordination by the congregation's preferred authority (i. e. from a respected Orthodox rabbi or, if the congregation is Conservative or Reform, from academic seminaries). A congregation does not necessarily require a rabbi. Some congregations have a rabbi but also allow members of the congregation to act as shatz or baal kriyah (see below).
- Hassidic Rebbe - rabbi who is the head of a Hasidic dynasty. Rebbe (רבי (pronounced in English which means master teacher or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew word Rabbi Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew
- Hazzan (note: the "h" denotes voiceless pharyngeal fricative) (cantor) - a trained vocalist who acts as shatz. "Hazan" and "Chazan" redirect here For people named Hazan or Chazan see Hazan (disambiguation Growing importance of the office The voiceless pharyngeal fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet Chosen for a good voice, knowledge of traditional tunes, understanding of the meaning of the prayers and sincerity in reciting them. A congregation does not need to have a dedicated hazzan.
Jewish prayer services do involve two specified roles, which are sometimes, but not always, filled by a rabbi and/or hazzan in many congregations. In other congregations these roles are filled on an ad-hoc basis by members of the congregation who lead portions of services on a rotating basis:
- Shaliach tzibur or Shatz (leader — literally "agent" or "representative" — of the congregation) leads those assembled in prayer, and sometimes prays on behalf of the community. When a shatz recites a prayer on behalf of the congregation, he is not acting as an intermediary but rather as a facilitator. The entire congregation participates in the recital of such prayers by saying amen at their conclusion; it is with this act that the shatz's prayer becomes the prayer of the congregation. Any adult capable of reciting the prayers clearly may act as shatz. In Orthodox congregations and some Conservative congregations, only men can be prayer leaders, but the Conservative and Reform movements now allow women to serve in this function.
- The Baal kriyah or baal koreh (master of the reading) reads the weekly Torah portion. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to The requirements for being the baal kriyah are the same as those for the shatz. These roles are not mutually exclusive. The same person is often qualified to fill more than one role, and often does. Often there are several people capable of filling these roles and different services (or parts of services) will be led by each.
Many congregations, especially larger ones, also rely on a:
- Gabbai (sexton) - Calls people up to the Torah, appoints the shatz for each prayer session if there is no standard shatz, and makes certain that the synagogue is kept clean and supplied. A Gabbai ( גבאי) (or sometimes Shamash שמש} is a person who assists in the running of a Synagogue and ensures that the needs are met for example
The three preceding positions are usually voluntary and considered an honor. Since the Enlightenment large synagogues have often adopted the practice of hiring rabbis and hazzans to act as shatz and baal kriyah, and this is still typically the case in many Conservative and Reform congregations. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century However, in most Orthodox synagogues these positions are filled by laypeople on a rotating or ad-hoc basis. Although most congregations hire one or more Rabbis, the use of a professional hazzan is generally declining in American congregations, and the use of professionals for other offices is rarer still.
Specialized religious roles
- Dayan (judge) - An ordained rabbi with special legal training who belongs to a beth din (rabbinical court). A beth din, beit din or beis din ( Hebrew: בית דין "house of judgment" plural battei din) is a Rabbinical A beth din, beit din or beis din ( Hebrew: בית דין "house of judgment" plural battei din) is a Rabbinical In Israel, religious courts handle marriage and divorce cases, conversion and financial disputes in the Jewish community.
- Mohel - Ritual circumciser who performs the brit milah (circumcision). A mohel ( Hebrew:מוהל plural mohelim) is a Jewish man who performs the Jewish ritual of Brit milah. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions An expert in the laws of circumcision who has received training from a qualified mohel.
- Shochet (ritual slaughterer) - In order for meat to be kosher, it must be slaughtered by a shochet who is an expert in the laws of kashrut and has been trained by another shochet. Shechita ( Hebrew:he שחיטה is the Ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws.
- Sofer (scribe) - Torah scrolls, tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (scrolls put on doorposts), and gittin (bills of divorce) must be written by a sofer who is an expert in Hebrew calligraphy and has undergone rigorous training in the laws of writing sacred texts. Sofer, Sofer STaM, or Sofer ST"M ( Heb "scribe" סופר סת”ם, pl term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Tefillin, ( תפילין) also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with biblical verses A mezuzah (מזוזה "doorpost" (plural mezuzot (מזוזות is a piece of Parchment (usually contained in a decorative case
- Rosh yeshiva - A Torah scholar who runs a yeshiva. Rosh yeshiva, ( pl. Heb. Roshei yeshiva; Yeshivish Rosh yeshivas) (ראש ישיבה is the title given to the dean of Yeshiva or yeshivah (jəʃi'və ( Hebrew: ישיבה "sitting (n
- Mashgiach of a yeshiva - Supervises the emotional and spiritual welfare of students in a yeshiva, and gives lectures on mussar (Jewish ethics). Mashgiach Ruchani ( Hebrew משגיח רוחני) or mashgiach for short means a spiritual supervisor or guide
- Mashgiach - Supervises manufacturers of kosher food, importers, caterers and restaurants to ensure that the food is kosher. This article is about someone who supervises the production of Kosher food Must be an expert in the laws of kashrut and trained by a rabbi, if not a rabbi himself. Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, he כַּשְׁרוּת refers to Jewish dietary laws.
History
Origins
Traditional view
At its core, the Bible is an account of the Israelites' relationship with God from their earliest history until the building of the Second Temple (c. Jewish history is the History of the Jewish people, faith, and culture. The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. The Dura-Europos synagogue is unique among the many ancient synagogues that have emerged from archaeological digs in that it was preserved virtually intact See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE 350 BCE). This relationship is often a contentious one, as the Israelites struggle with their faith in God and attraction to other gods. Among the larger-than-life figures we meet in the Bible are the Patriarchs — Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who wrestled with their beliefs —- and Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt. Abraham ( Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: According to the Hebrew Bible, Isaac ( Hebrew: Yitzchak יִצְחָק, Standard Yiẓḥaq Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard Yaʿaqov Tiberian Yaʿăqōḇ; Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ
Abraham, hailed as the first Hebrew and the father of the Jewish people, rejected the idolatry that he saw around him and embraced monotheism. Abraham ( Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: Hebrews (or Hebertes, Eberites, Hebreians, " Habiru " or " Habiri " Hebrew: עברים Idolatry is usually defined as Worship of any Cult image, Idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] As a reward for this act of faith in one God, he was promised many offspring: "Look now toward heaven and count the stars/So shall be your progeny. " (Genesis 15:5) Abraham's first child was Ishmael and his second son was Isaac, whom God said would continue Abraham's work and inherit the Land of Israel (then called Canaan), after having been exiled and redeemed. Ishmael ( Hebrew: יִשְׁמָעֵאל, Standard Yišmaʿel Tiberian Yišmāʿêl Arabic: إسماعيل According to the Hebrew Bible, Isaac ( Hebrew: Yitzchak יִצְחָק, Standard Yiẓḥaq For other uses see Israel (disambiguation The Land of Israel ( Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל Eretz Yisrael) is Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. God sent the patriarch Jacob and his children to Egypt, where after many generations they became enslaved. The Patriarchs (also known as the Avot in Hebrew) according to the Judeo-Christian Old Testament are Abraham, his Son Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard Yaʿaqov Tiberian Yaʿăqōḇ; Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now God later commanded Moses to redeem the Israelites from slavery, leading to the Exodus from Egypt. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ The Exodus ( is the term used for the escape departure and emancipation of the enslaved Israelites freed from Ancient Egypt as described in the Hebrew The Israelites gathered at Mount Sinai in 1313 BCE (Jewish Year 2448) and received the Torah - the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Biblical Mount Sinai is an ambiguously located mountain at which the Hebrew Bible states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. Leviticus (from Greek Λευιτικός, "relating to the Levites " The Book of Numbers, ( Bamidbar, meaning in the wilderness) is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomion, Δευτερονόμιον "second law" is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament These books, together with Nevi'im and Ketuvim are known as Torah Shebikhtav: literally the "Written Torah," as opposed to the Oral Torah, which refers to the Mishna and the Talmud. Nevi'im (נְבִיאִים "Prophets" is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, between the Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים "writings" is the third and final section of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) after Torah and Nevi'im According to Rabbinic Judaism, the oral Torah, oral Law, or oral tradition ( is the oral tradition received in conjunction with the written Torah Eventually, God led them to the land of Israel. For other uses see Israel (disambiguation The Land of Israel ( Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל Eretz Yisrael) is
God designated the descendants of Aaron, Moses' brother, to be a priestly class within the Israelite community. This article is about Aaron the Levite in the Hebrew Bible, the Qu'ran, and other sources A kohen (or cohen, Hebrew כּהן "priest" pl כּהנִים kohanim or cohanim) has a separate status in Judaism. They first officiated in the tabernacle (a portable house of worship), and later their descendants were in charge of worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Tabernacle is known in Hebrew as the Mishkan ( משכן "Residence" or "Dwelling Place" Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name
Once the Israelites had settled in the land of Israel, the tabernacle was planted in the city of Shiloh for over 300 years during which time God provided great men, and occasionally women, to rally the nation against attacking enemies, some of which were sent by God as a punishment for the sins of the people. Shiloh ( שלה Šīlōh, שלו Šīlô, שילו Šîlô) is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a city This is described in the Book of Joshua and the Book of Judges. The Book of Joshua ( Hebrew: Sefer Y'hoshua ספר יהושע is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christian Book of Judges ( Hebrew: Sefer Shoftim ספר שופטים is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. As time went on, the spiritual level of the nation declined to the point that God allowed the Philistines to capture the tabernacle in Shiloh. The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan,
The people of Israel then told Samuel the prophet that they had reached the point where they needed to be governed by a permanent king, as were other nations, as described in the Books of Samuel. Samuel ( Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל, Standard Šəmuʼel Tiberian Šəmûʼēl) is an important In Religion, a prophet (or prophetess) is a person who has encountered the Supernatural or the divine and serves as an intermediary The Books of Samuel ( Hebrew: Sefer Sh'muel ספר שמואל are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaism 's Hebrew Bible) and also of Samuel grudgingly acceded to this request and appointed Saul, a great but very humble man, to be their King. Saul (שאול המלך (or Sha'ul) ( Arabic: طالوت,Tālūt ( (reigned 1047 - 1007 BCE is identified in the Books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles When the people pressured Saul into going against a command conveyed to him by Samuel, God told Samuel to appoint David in his stead. David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible
Once King David was established, he told the prophet Nathan that he would like to build a permanent temple, and as a reward for his actions, God promised David that he would allow his son to build the temple and the throne would never depart from his children (David himself was not allowed to build the temple because he had been involved in many wars, making it inappropriate for him to build a temple representing peace). For other Biblical people with this name see Nathan (given name. As a result, it was David's son Solomon who built the first permanent temple according to God's will, in Jerusalem, as described in the Books of Kings. King Solomon ( Ge'ez: ስለሞን Arabic: ar سليمان, Sulayman, all from the Triliteral root S-L-M, "peace" Solomon's Temple (בית המקדש transliterated Beit HaMikdash) also known as the First Temple, was according to Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The Books of Kings ( Sefer Melachim, ספר מלכים are a part of Judaism 's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible.
Rabbinic tradition holds that the details and interpretation of the law, which are called the Oral Torah or oral law, were originally an unwritten tradition based upon what God told Moses on Mount Sinai. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the oral Torah, oral Law, or oral tradition ( is the oral tradition received in conjunction with the written Torah An oral law is a Code of conduct in use in a given Culture, Religion or community application by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted However, as the persecutions of the Jews increased and the details were in danger of being forgotten, these oral laws were recorded by Rabbi Judah haNasi (Judah the Prince) in the Mishnah, redacted circa 200 CE. Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism The Talmud was a compilation of both the Mishnah and the Gemara, rabbinic commentaries redacted over the next three centuries. The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or less commonly Gemorra) (from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally " study" The Gemara originated in two major centers of Jewish scholarship, Palestine and Babylonia. Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud were created. The older compilation is called the Jerusalem Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשָׁלְמִי often the Yerushalmi for short is a collection It was compiled sometime during the fourth century in Israel. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled from discussions in the houses of study by the scholars Ravina I, Ravina II, and Rav Ashi by 500 C. Ravina I was a Jewish Talmudist and Rabbi who began the process of compiling the Talmud with Rav Ashi. Ravina II was a Jewish Talmudist and Rabbi who in 475 AD finished editing the Gemara portion of the ''Talmud Bavli'', completing the Rav Ashi ( רב אשי) ("Rabbi Ashi" (352&ndash427 was a celebrated Jewish religious scholar a Babylonian amora, who reestablished E. , although it continued to be edited later.
Critical historical view
Critical scholars (who may or may not be observant Jews), reject the claim that sacred texts, including the Hebrew Bible were either dictated by God or divinely inspired. See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is Instead, they see these texts as authored by humans and meaningful in specific historical and cultural contexts. Many of these scholars accept the general principles of the documentary hypothesis and suggest that the Torah consists of a variety of inconsistent texts edited together in a way that calls attention to divergent accounts. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to [18][19][20]
These scholars have various theories concerning the origins of the Israelites and Israelite religion. Most agree that the people who formed the nation of Israel during the First Temple era had origins in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, although some question whether any or all of their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt. Many suggest that during the First Temple period, the people of Israel were henotheists, that is, they believed that each nation had its own god, but that their god was superior to other gods. Henotheism ( Greek heis theos "one god" is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean devotion to a Single god while accepting [21][22] Some suggest that strict monotheism developed during the Babylonian Exile, perhaps in reaction to Zoroastrian dualism. [23]
In this view, it was only by the Hellenic period that most Jews came to believe that their God was the only God (and thus, the God of everyone), and that the record of His revelation (the Torah) contained within it universal truths. This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. This attitude reflected a growing Gentile interest in Judaism (some Greeks and Romans considered the Jews a most "philosophical" people because of their belief in a God that cannot be represented visually), and growing Jewish interest in Greek philosophy, which sought to establish universal truths, thus leading - potentially - to the idea of monotheism, at least in the sense that "all gods are One. The term Gentile (from Latin, gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe refers to non- Israelite tribes or nations in the Bible. Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the role of Reason and Inquiry. " It was also at this time that the notion of a clearly bounded Jewish nation identical with the Jewish religion formed. [24] According to one scholar, the clash between the early Christians and Pharisees that ultimately led to the birth of the Christian religion and Rabbinic Judaism reflected the struggle by Jews to reconcile their claims to national particularism and theological universalism. [25]
According to Prof. Ze'ev Herzog of Tel Aviv University, monotheism, as a state religion, is likely "an innovation of the period of the Kingdom of Judea, following the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel. Ze’ev Herzog (born 1941 is an Israeli Archeologist, professor of archaeology at The Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU אוניברסיטת תל־אביב את"א is Israel 's largest on-site University, located in Tel Aviv. " Herzog states that "The question about the date at which monotheism was adopted by the kingdoms of Israel and Judea arose with the discovery of inscriptions in ancient Hebrew that mention a pair of gods: Jehovah and his Asherah. At two sites, Kuntiliet Ajrud in the southwestern part of the Negev hill region, and at Khirbet el-Kom in the Judea piedmont, Hebrew inscriptions have been found that mention "Jehovah and his Asherah," "Jehovah Shomron and his Asherah, "Jehovah Teman and his Asherah. " The authors were familiar with a pair of gods, Jehovah and his consort Asherah, and send blessings in the couple's name. " [26]
Canaanite Religious Heritage
The origins of Yahweh himself may be rooted in earlier Canaanite religion, which was centered on a pantheon of gods much like the Greek pantheon. Canaanite religion is the name for the group of Ancient Semitic religions observed by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Ba’al is the most recognized of this pantheon, mentioned over sixty times in the Bible. [27] Ba’al was the storm-god and the god of fertility to who worship is repeatedly forbidden in the Old Testament. In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. [28] In a society focused on survival, fertility represented the ultimate good. He was not, however, the head of the pantheon. That title belonged to El, the Compassionate. According to a theory originally posited by Mendenhall, a group of oppressed and self-marginalized people, the ‘apiru (a term for people who stood outside the established order, also possibly the origin of the word Hebrew) began to worship El as their primary deity.
The worship of the god known as Yahweh, not originally a Canaanite god, was probably developed in south of the Levantine region, in Midian[29] and brought to the region of the Levant by a group of nomads from the south (slaves from Egypt, according to biblical tradition). For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the The foreign god Yahweh is believed to have become amalgamated with the native god El and taken on many of his characteristics: an aged god; a wise god; even the creator god. [30] As further evidence for the amalgamation, the Old Testament uses the word “El” for God. In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Notably, the Priestly source uses the term “El-Shaddai” for God. El-Shaddai most likely means “El, the mountain one,” in reference to El’s terrestrial dwelling. [31]
Israel as a new, established ethnic group is generally thought to have consolidated in the twelfth century B. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. C. ,[32] although some archaeologists, notably Israel Finkelstein, refute the claim that Israel was a coalition of oppressed peoples, arguing that the emergence of the Jewish people as a distinct ethnos did not occur until the ninth or eighth century B. Israel Finkelstein is an Israeli archaeologist and academic. He is currently the Jacob M For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ C. . [33]
Eventually, Judaism dropped all associations with other gods and goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon and become monotheistic. When exactly this occurred, however, is also debated. Plausible cases have been made for the continued worship, or veneration, of Asherah by the Israelites, as Yahweh’s consort, well after the amalgamation of Yahweh and El and the official orthodoxy of that preached Yahweh-alone. Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links Asherah, El’s consort in the Canaanite pantheon, is mentioned over forty times in the Old Testament,[34] usually within the context of a condemnation of the worship of her or the use of her cult symbol, believed to be that of a stylized tree. Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. [35] Not quite a graven image, it is believed to have been generally-tolerated (amongst the people if not the official orthodoxy) as a common tool of worship among Israelite women. Idolatry is usually defined as Worship of any Cult image, Idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. [36]
Inscriptions from Kuntillet‘Ajurd and Khirbet el-Qom refer to “Yahweh and his Asherah”. [37] It is debated whether the inscriptions refer to Asherah the goddess or “the Asherah,” a symbol of Asherah’s cult. Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was In either case, Yahweh is undoubtedly associated with Asherah. For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was Just as Yahweh took up many traits of El’s; it is perceived as likely that he also took up El’s consort. For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links
A likely influence on the final purge of Asherah and all Canaanite gods from Israelite religion was Josiah’s reformation, believed to have taken place in 621 B. Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was Ancient Semitic religion spans the Polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the Ancient Near East. Josiah or Yoshiyahu ( was king of Judah, and son of Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. C. . [38]
Antiquity
- Further information: Canaanite religion
The United Monarchy was established under Saul and continued under King David and Solomon with its capital in Jerusalem. Canaanite religion is the name for the group of Ancient Semitic religions observed by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early The United Monarchy ( United Kingdom of Israel and Judah) refers to a period in the traditional account of the History of ancient Israel and Judah lasting Saul (שאול המלך (or Sha'ul) ( Arabic: طالوت,Tālūt ( (reigned 1047 - 1007 BCE is identified in the Books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible King Solomon ( Ge'ez: ስለሞን Arabic: ar سليمان, Sulayman, all from the Triliteral root S-L-M, "peace" Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the After Solomon's reign the nation split into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel (in the north) and the Kingdom of Judah (in the south). The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian ruler Sargon II in the late 8th century BCE with many people from the capital Samaria being taken captive to Media and the Habor valley. The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Sargon II ( Akkadian Šarru-kinu "legitimate king" reigned 722 – 705 BC was an Assyrian king The Khabur River (also Habur Habor Kebar Chebar Chaboras; Aramaic: ܚܒܘܪ, Kurdish: Çemê Xabûr, Turkish: Habur The Kingdom of Judah continued as an independent state until it was conquered by a Babylonian army in the early 6th century BCE, destroying the First Temple that was at the center of ancient Jewish worship. Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. Solomon's Temple (בית המקדש transliterated Beit HaMikdash) also known as the First Temple, was according to The Judean elite were exiled to Babylonia and this is regarded as the first Jewish Diaspora. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital During this captivity the Jews in Babylon wrote what is known as the "Babylonian Talmud" while the remaining Jews in Judea wrote what is called the "Palestinian Talmud". These are the first written forms of the Torah and the Babylonian Talmud is the Talmud used to this day. Later many of them returned to their homeland after the subsequent conquest of Babylonia by the Persians seventy years later, a period known as the Babylonian Captivity. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to A new Second Temple was constructed, and old religious practices were resumed. The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE
During the early years of the Second Temple, the highest religious authority was a council known as the Great Assembly, led by Ezra of the Book of Ezra. Among other accomplishments of the Great Assembly, the last books of the Bible were written at this time and the canon sealed. Hellenistic Judaism spreads to Ptolemaic Egypt from the 3rd century BC, and becomes a notable religio licita throughout the Roman Empire, until its decline in the 3rd century parallel to the rise of Gnosticism and Early Christianity. Hellenistic Judaism was a movement which existed in the Jewish diaspora before the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD that sought to establish a Hebraic-Jewish Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra It is often asserted that the Roman empire differentiated between "lawful" ( religio licita) and "illicit" ( religio illicita) religions The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c
After a Jewish revolt against Roman rule in 66 CE, the Romans all but destroyed Jerusalem. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Following a second revolt, Jews were not allowed to enter the city of Jerusalem and most Jewish worship was forbidden by Rome. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews, Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, prayer took the place of sacrifice, and worship was rebuilt around rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities (see Jewish diaspora). The Jewish diaspora ( Hebrew: Tefutzah, "scattered" or Galut גלות "exile" Yiddish: tfutses) the presence
Historical Jewish groupings (to 1700)
Around the first century CE there were several small Jewish sects: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and Christians. The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated" The Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect founded in the second century BC, possibly as a political party The Essenes were strictly speaking a Jewish religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, these sects vanished. Christianity survived, but by breaking with Judaism and becoming a separate religion; the Pharisees survived but in the form of Rabbinic Judaism (today, known simply as "Judaism"). Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated" The Sadducees rejected the divine inspiration of the Prophets and the Writings, relying only on the Torah as divinely inspired. The Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect founded in the second century BC, possibly as a political party Revelation is the act of revealing or disclosing (see etymology or in the theological perception making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication Nevi'im (נְבִיאִים "Prophets" is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, between the Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים "writings" is the third and final section of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) after Torah and Nevi'im term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Consequently, a number of other core tenets of the Pharisees' belief system (which became the basis for modern Judaism), were also dismissed by the Sadducees.
Like the Sadducees who relied only on the Torah, some Jews in the 8th and 9th centuries rejected the authority and divine inspiration of the Oral Law as recorded in the Mishnah (and developed by later rabbis in the two Talmuds), relying instead only upon the Tanakh. An oral law is a Code of conduct in use in a given Culture, Religion or community application by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is These included the Isunians, the Yudganites, the Malikites, and others. The Maliki Madhhab ( Arabic مالكي) is one of the four schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam They soon developed oral traditions of their own, which differed from the rabbinic traditions, and eventually formed the Karaite sect. Karaite Judaism or Karaism (ˈkærəˌaɪt ˈkærəˌɪzəm) is a Jewish movement NOTE The word sect should not be used without defining it first and Karaites exist in small numbers today, mostly living in Israel. Rabbinical and Karaite Jews each hold that the others are Jews, but that the other faith is erroneous.
Over time Jews developed into distinct ethnic groups — amongst others, the Ashkenazi Jews (of central and Eastern Europe), the Sephardi Jews (of Spain, Portugal, and North Africa), the Beta Israel of Ethiopia and the Yemenite Jews, from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim ( Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, ˌaʃkəˈnazim sing Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan The Beta Israel (ביתא ישראל Beta Israel, "House of Israel" Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Yemenite Jews ( Hebrew: תֵּימָנִים, Standard Temanim Tiberian Têmānîm The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab) This split is cultural, and is not based on any doctrinal dispute, although the distance did result in minor differences in practice and prayers.
Persecutions
Antisemitism arose during the Middle Ages, in the form of persecutions, pogroms, forced conversion, expulsions, social restrictions and ghettoization. See also Antisemitism, History of antisemitism, New antisemitism The persecution of Jews has occurred many times in Jewish history. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility The history of antisemitism, hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group goes back many centuries A pogrom is a form of Riot directed against a particular group whether ethnic religious or other and characterized by destruction of their Homes Businesses A forced conversion is the conversion to a Religion or philosophy under duress with the threatened consequence of earthly penalties or harm A ghetto is described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social legal or economic pressure
This was different in quality to any repressions of Jews in ancient times. Ancient repression was politically motivated and Jews were treated no differently than any other ethnic group would have been. With the rise of the Churches, attacks on Jews became motivated instead by theological considerations specifically deriving from Christian views about Jews and Judaism Langmuir, Gavin (1993). History, religion, and antisemitism. University of California Press. ISBN 0520077288. .
Hasidism
Hasidic Judaism was founded by Yisroel ben Eliezer (1700-1760), also known as the Ba'al Shem Tov (or Besht). Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Rabbi Yisroel (Israel ben Eliezer (רבי ישראל בן אליעזר August 27, 1698 (18 Elul &ndash May 22, 1760) often called It originated in a time of persecution of the Jewish people, when European Jews had turned inward to Talmud study; many felt that most expressions of Jewish life had become too "academic", and that they no longer had any emphasis on spirituality or joy. His disciples attracted many followers; they themselves established numerous Hasidic sects across Europe. Hasidic Judaism eventually became the way of life for many Jews in Europe. Waves of Jewish immigration in the 1880s carried it to the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Early on, there was a serious schism between Hasidic and non-Hasidic Jews. European Jews who rejected the Hasidic movement were dubbed by the Hasidim as Misnagdim, (lit. Misnagdim or mitnagdim is a Hebrew word ( מתנגדים) meaning "opponents" "opponents"). Some of the reasons for the rejection of Hasidic Judaism were the overwhelming exuberance of Hasidic worship, its untraditional ascriptions of infallibility and alleged miracle-working to their leaders, and the concern that it might become a messianic sect. Since then differences between the Hasidim and their opponents have slowly diminished and both groups are now considered part of Haredi Judaism. Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism.
The Enlightenment and Reform Judaism
In the late 18th century CE, Europe was swept by a group of intellectual, social and political movements known as the Enlightenment. Haskalah ( Hebrew: השכלה "enlightenment" "education" from sekhel " Intellect " "mind") the Jewish Enlightenment Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century The Enlightenment led to reductions in the European laws that prohibited Jews to interact with the wider secular world, thus allowing Jews access to secular education and experience. A parallel Jewish movement, Haskalah or the "Jewish Enlightenment," began, especially in Central Europe, in response to both the Enlightenment and these new freedoms. Haskalah ( Hebrew: השכלה "enlightenment" "education" from sekhel " Intellect " "mind") the Jewish Enlightenment Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and It placed an emphasis on integration with secular society and a pursuit of non-religious knowledge such as reason. The thrust and counter-thrust between supporters of Haskalah and more traditional Jewish concepts eventually led to the formation of a number of different branches of Judaism: Haskalah supporters founded Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism, while traditionalists founded what is called Orthodox Judaism, and Jews seeking a balance between the two sides founded Masorti and Conservative Judaism. Reform movement in Judaism is a historic and on-going religious and Social movement that originated simultaneously in the early nineteenth century in the United Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized The Masorti movement is the name given to Conservative Judaism in the State of Israel. Conservative Judaism (also known as Masorti Judaism in Israel and Europe) is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out A number of smaller groups came into being as well.
The Holocaust
The Holocaust was the genocide of six million Jews under Nazi Germany in World War II[39] The state-led systematic persecution and genocide of the Jews (and other minority groups) of Europe and European Colonial North Africa during World War II by Nazi Germany and its collaborators[40] The persecution and genocide were accomplished in stages. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual/group by another group Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group North Africa is a relatively thin strip of land between the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean, stretching from Moroccan Atlantic World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers During World War II Nazi Germany occupied all or parts of the following countries Poland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group Legislation to remove the Jews from civil society was enacted years before the outbreak of World War II. The Nuremberg Laws ( German: Nürnberger Gesetze) of 1935 were denaturalization laws passed in Nazi Germany. Concentration camps were established in which inmates were used as slave labour until they died of exhaustion or disease. See also List of Nazi-German concentration camps, Extermination camp Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany under Hitler maintained Where the Third Reich conquered new territory in eastern Europe, specialized units called Einsatzgruppen murdered Jews and political opponents in mass shootings. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Einsatzgruppen ( German: "task forces" "intervention groups" were Paramilitary groups formed by Heinrich Himmler and [41] Jews and Roma were crammed into ghettos before being transported hundreds of miles by freight train to extermination camps where, if they survived the journey, the majority of them were killed in gas chambers. During World War II Ghettos were established by the German Nazis to confine Jews and sometimes Gypsies into tightly packed areas of the cities Extermination camps were two types of facilities that Nazi Germany built during World War II for the systematic killing of millions of people in what has become Every arm of Germany's bureaucracy was involved in the logistics of the mass murder, turning the country into what one Holocaust scholar has called "a genocidal nation. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. "[42]
Judaism today
In most industrialized nations with modern economies, such as the United States, Israel, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina and South Africa, a wide variety of Jewish practices exist, along with a growing plurality of secular and non-practicing Jews. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena above all it is the Culture of secular communities of Jewish people but it can also include For example, in the world's second largest Jewish community, that of the United States, according to the 2001 edition of the National Jewish Population Survey, 4. The National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS most recently performed in 2000-01 is a representative survey of the Jewish population in the United States sponsored 3 million out of 5. 1 million Jews had some sort of connection to the religion. Of that population of connected Jews, 80% participated in some sort of Jewish religious observance, but only 48% belonged to a synagogue.
Religious (and secular) Jewish movements in the USA and Canada perceive this as a crisis situation, and have grave concern over rising rates of intermarriage and assimilation in the Jewish community. Interfaith marriage, traditionally (especially in the Catholic Church) called Mixed marriage, is Marriage (either religious or civil Jewish Assimilation is a social and religious process of loss of the Jewish identity of an individual by marriage to a spouse that is not Jewish or the abandonment Since American Jews are marrying later in life, and are having fewer children, the birth rate for American Jews has dropped from over 2. 0 to 1. 7 (the replacement rate is 2. 1). (This is My Beloved, This is My Friend: A Rabbinic Letter on Intimate relations, p. 27, Elliot N. Dorff, The Rabbinical Assembly, 1996). Elliot N Dorff (born 24 June 1943) is a Conservative rabbi a professor of Jewish Theology at the American Jewish University (formerly The Rabbinical Assembly (RA is the international association of Conservative Rabbis The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology programs and practices of the Intermarriage rates range from 40-50% in the US, and only about a third of children of intermarried couples are raised as Jews. Due to intermarriage and low birth rates, the Jewish population in the US shrank from 5. 5 million in 1990 to 5. 1 million in 2001. This is indicative of the general population trends among the Jewish community in the Diaspora, but a focus on total population obscures growth trends in some denominations and communities, such as Haredi Judaism. The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism.
The Baal teshuva movement is a movement of Jews who have "returned" to religion or become more observant. See also Repentance in Judaism Baal teshuva ( Hebrew: he בעל תשובה; for a woman he בעלת תשובה baalat/baalas teshuva;
Judaism and other religions
Christianity and Judaism
- See also: Judeo-Christian, Christianity and antisemitism, Jewish view of Jesus, Cultural and historical background of Jesus, and Christian-Jewish reconciliation
Historians and theologians regularly review the changing relationship between some Christian groups and the Jewish people; the article on Christian-Jewish reconciliation studies one recent issue. This article discusses the traditional views of the two religions and may not be applicable all adherents of each Judeo-Christian (or Judaeo-Christian, sometimes written as Judæo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held Although Christian antisemitism is considered to have started around the 12th century its roots are attributed by some scholars to anti-Jewish attitudes and polemic beginning While Judaism has no special or particular view of Jesus, and very few texts in Judaism directly refer to or take note of Jesus, Judaism takes a strong Scholars examine the cultural and historical background of Jesus in order to better understand Jesus his ministry and the origins of Christianity There has been significant progress in the reconciliation between Christianity and Judaism in recent years Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings There has been significant progress in the reconciliation between Christianity and Judaism in recent years
Islam and Judaism
- See also: History of the Jews under Muslim rule and Islam and antisemitism
Islam and Judaism have a complex relationship. The historical interaction of Judaism and Islam started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. Aside the regions of Israel and Judea Jews have lived in the Middle East at least since the Babylonian Captivity ( 597 BCE, about 2600 years See also Islam and Judaism Islam and antisemitism looks at the teaching of Islam relating to Jews and Judaism and the attitudes of the The historical interaction of Judaism and Islam started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. Traditionally Jews living in Muslim lands, known as dhimmis, were allowed to practice their religion and to administer their internal affairs, but subject to certain conditions. A dhimmi ( ذمي, collectively أهل الذمة, ahl al-dhimma, the people of the dhimma or pact of protection Ottoman Turkish [43] They had to pay the jizya (a per capita tax imposed on free adult non-muslim males) to Muslims. Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah (جزْية ʤɪzjæh Ottoman Turkish: cizye both derived from Pahlavi and ultimately from Aramaic [43] Dhimmis had an inferior status under Islamic rule. They had several social and legal disabilities such as prohibitions against bearing arms or giving testimony in courts in cases involving Muslims. [44] Many of the disabilities were highly symbolic. The most degrading one was the requirement of distinctive clothing, not found in the Qur'an or hadith but invented in early medieval Baghdad; its enforcement was highly erratic. The yellow badge (or yellow patch) also referred to as a Jewish badge, was a cloth patch that Jews were ordered to sew on their outer garments in order The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous [45] Jews rarely faced martyrdom or exile, or forced compulsion to change their religion, and they were mostly free in their choice of residence and profession. [46] Indeed, the period 712-1066 under the Ummayads and the Abbasids has been called the Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain. For the period of Spanish cultural flourishing in the 17th century see Spanish Golden Age. The notable examples of massacre of Jews include the killing or forcibly conversion of them by the rulers of the Almohad dynasty in Al-Andalus in the 12th century. The Almohad Dynasty (From Arabic الموحدون al-Muwahhidun, i Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or [47] Notable examples of the cases where the choice of residence was taken away from them includes confining Jews to walled quarters (mellahs) in Morocco beginning from the 15th century and especially since the early 19th century. A mellah ( Arabic ملاح probably from the word ملح Arabic for "salt" is a walled Jewish quarter of a city in Morocco, an [48] There were some forced conversions in the 12th century under the Almohad dynasty of North Africa and al-Andalus as well as in Persia. The Almohad Dynasty (From Arabic الموحدون al-Muwahhidun, i Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or [49] Standard antisemitic themes have become commonplace in the propaganda of Arab Islamic movements such as Hizbullah and Hamas, in the pronouncements of various agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and even in the newspapers and other publications of Refah Partisi. Hezbollah (حزب الله, literally " party of God " is a Shi'a Islamic political and Paramilitary organisation Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Welfare Party (Refah Partisi (RP in Turkey was founded by Ahmed Tekdal in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties Milli Nizam "[50]
Judaism and Zoroastrianism
For part of its early history, Jews lived under the Zoroastrian Persian Empire. Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Some scholars believe Judaism started off as a western branch of Zoroastrianism, as evidenced by the fact that Cyrus the Great, the first king of the Persian empire, and subsequent Iranian kings funded the reconstruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings
Alternative views are that this overlooks the enormous importance assigned in antiquity to beliefs in local gods dominant over specific regions, and that Cyrus reportedly funded the reconstruction to gain the approval and blessing of the local "god" over the nation of Israel. Disregarding or angering the regional god was understood to be bad luck, generating curses, conflict, and poverty in the region affected.
Syncretic movements incorporating Judaism
There are some organizations that combine elements of Judaism with those of other religions. The most well-known of these is the Messianic Judaism movement (closely related to Hebrew Christianity), groups of ethnic Jews and gentiles (non-Jews), historically sponsored by Christian organizations, who promote the belief that Jesus is the Messiah. Messianic Judaism is a Christian movement that emphasizes the Jewish roots of the Christian religion Jewish Christians (sometimes called also "Hebrew Christians" or "Christian Jews") is a term which can have two meanings a historical one and a Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) This article is about the concept of a Messiah in religion notably in the Christian Islamic and Jewish traditions These groups typically combine Christian theology and Christology with a thin veneer of Jewish religious practices. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Christology (from Christ and Greek grc -λογία -logia) is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with Jewish services ( Hebrew: תפלה, tefillah; plural תפלות, tefillos or tefillot; Yinglish: davening The most controversial of these groups is the American Jews for Jesus which actively proselytizes ethnic Jews through numerous missionary campaigns in major American cities. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Jews for Jesus is a Christian evangelistic organization that focuses specifically on the conversion of Jews to Christianity, viewing its followers
Other examples of syncretism include Judeo-Paganists, a loosely-organized set of Jews who incorporate pagan or Wiccan beliefs; Jewish Buddhists, another loosely-organized group that incorporates elements of Asian spirituality in their faith; and some Renewal Jews who borrow freely and openly from Buddhism, Sufism, Native American religion, and other faiths. Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought Jewitchery (from the terms Jew and witch, "shaman"/"sage" in its pure meaning or Jewish Neopaganism is a religious movement that A Jewish Buddhist (also Jubu or Buju) is a person with a Jewish Ethnic or Religious background who practices forms of Buddhist Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, Musical and Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفیگری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States.
See also
Jews and Judaism
- Jewish population
- Antisemitism
- Israel
- Secular Jewish culture
- List of notable converts to Judaism
- Zionism
- Jewish ethnic divisions
- Jews and Judaism in Africa
- Sephardi Jews
- Ashkenazi Jews
- Bené Roma
Jewish law and religion
- Who is a Jew?
- Lashon hara
- Jewish views on homosexuality
- Forgiveness
- Sephardic Judaism
- Role of women in Judaism
Comparative
- Alaha
- Abrahamic religion
- Judeo-Islamic topics
- Jewish views of religious pluralism
- List of religions
- Samaritanism
References
- ^ AskOxford: Judaism
- ^ Shaye J. Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of " Who is a Jew " remains a This article deals with the practice of Judaism and the living arrangement of Jewish people in the listed countries Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena above all it is the Culture of secular communities of Jewish people but it can also include Jewish humour is the long tradition of Humour in Judaism dating back to the Torah and the Midrash, but generally refers to the more recent This article endeavours to list some notable people who have converted or are believed to have converted to Judaism History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the See also Judaism by country Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population Since Biblical times the Jewish people have had close ties with Africa beginning with Abraham 's sojourns in Egypt, and later the Israelite captivity under Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim ( Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, ˌaʃkəˈnazim sing " Who is a Jew? " (Mihu Yehudi? ?מיהו יהודי is a basic question about Jewish identity. Lashon hara (or Loshon hora) ( Hebrew לשון הרע "evil tongue" is the prohibition in Jewish Law of telling Gossip The subject of homosexuality in Judaism dates back to the Biblical book of Leviticus. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you deny the other person's responsibility for hurting you and it doesn't minimize or justify the wrong Sephardic Judaism is the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law Religious pluralism is a set of religious world views that hold that one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth and thus recognizes that some level of truth and value exists in The following is a list of Religions and spiritual traditions, however it excludes modern religions which can be found in List of new religious movements. D. Cohen 1999 The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties, Berkeley: University of California Press; p. 7
- ^ Percent of world Jewry living in Israel climbed to 41% in 2007 - Haaretz - Israel News
- ^ Rietti, Rabbi Jonathan. “You Shall Be A Light Unto Nations”: A Jew’s Responsibility to The Gentile World [1]
- ^ Rabbi S. of Montpelier, Yad Rama, Y. Alfacher, Rosh Amanah.
- ^ M. San 10:1.
- ^ Rietti, Rabbi Jonathan. How Do You Know the Exodus Really Happened? [2] The word "emunah" has been translated incorrectly by the St. James Bible as merely "belief" or "faith," when in actuality, it means conviction, which is a much more emphatic knowledge of God based on experience.
- ^ "Judaism 101: A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts", Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations in America, April 12, 2006.
- ^ Boyarin, Daniel (October 14, 1994). Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) "Introduction", A radical Jew: Paul and the politics of identity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, pp. Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a Publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in Academic 13–38. ISBN 0-520-08592-2 LCCN 93-36269. The Library of Congress Control Number or LCCN is a serially based system of numbering cataloging records in the Library of Congress in the United Retrieved on 2006-06-15. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history “Paul was motivated by a Hellenistic desire for the One, which among other things produced an ideal of a universal human essence, beyond difference and hierarchy. This universal humanity, however, was predicated (and still is) on the dualism of the flesh and the spirit, such that while the body is particular, marked through practice as Jew or Greek, and through anatomy as male or female, the spirit is universal. Paul did not, however, reject the body — as did, for instance, the gnostics — but rather promoted a system whereby the body had its place, albeit subordinated to the spirit. Paul's anthropological dualism was matched by a hermeneutical dualism as well. Just as the human being is divided into a fleshy and a spiritual component, so also is language itself. It is composed of outer, material signs and inner, spiritual significations. When this is applied to the religious system that Paul inherited, the physical, fleshy signs of the Torah, of historical Judaism, are re-interpreted as symbols of that which Paul takes to be universal requirements and possibilities for humanity. ”
- ^ Boyarin, Daniel (October 14, 1994). Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) "Answering the Mail", A radical Jew: Paul and the politics of identity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, p. Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a Publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in Academic 244. ISBN 0-520-08592-2 LCCN 93-36269. The Library of Congress Control Number or LCCN is a serially based system of numbering cataloging records in the Library of Congress in the United Retrieved on 2006-06-15. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history “Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension with one another. ”
- ^ Weiner, Rebecca (2007). Who is a Jew?. Jewish Virtual Library. The Jewish Virtual Library is an online Encyclopedia published by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE Retrieved on 2007-10-06. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus
- ^ http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/10-Reform/section-15.html Reform's Position On. . . What is unacceptable practice?
- ^ Heschel, Susannah (1998) Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 157. ISBN 0226329593
- ^ Law of Return 5710-1950. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-22. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 202 BC - Hannibal Barca, leader of the Carthaginians, is defeated by the Roman legions under Scipio Africanus
- ^ Mark Twain ("Concerning The Jews," Harper's Magazine, 1899, The Complete Essays of Mark Twain, Doubleday [1963] pg. 249
- ^ "Tefillin," "The Book of Jewish Knowledge," Nathan Ausubel, Crown Publishers, NY, 1964, p. 458)
- ^ "Shabbat", Judaism 101, April 12, 2006.
- ^ Yehezkal Kauffman, The Religion of Israel
- ^ Robert Alter The Art of Biblical Poetry
- ^ E. A. Speiser Genesis (The Anchor Bible)
- ^ John Bright A History of Israel
- ^ Martin Noth The History of Israel
- ^ Ephraim Urbach The Sages
- ^ Shaye Cohen The beginnings of Jewishness
- ^ Daniel Boyarin A Radical Jew
- ^ http://mideastfacts.org/facts/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=34
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 68
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 70
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 15
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, pages 17 - 20
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 32
- ^ J. Ephraim Avigdor Speiser ( January 24, 1902 &ndash June 15, 1965) was a Polish -born American Assyriologist. P. M. Walsh The Mighty From Their Thrones, page 30
- ^ Finkelstein 1996: 209
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 42
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 57
- ^ William G. Dever Did God Have a Wife?, pages 209 - 251
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 49
- ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 229
- ^ Niewyk, Donald L. The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust, Columbia University Press, 2000, p. Columbia University Press is a University press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. 45: "The Holocaust is commonly defined as the murder of more than 5,000,000 Jews by the Germans in World War II. " Also see "The Holocaust," Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007: "the systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women and children, and millions of others, by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Germans called this "the final solution to the Jewish question. "
- ^ Donald L Niewyk, The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust, Columbia University Press, 2000, p. Columbia University Press is a University press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. 45: "The Holocaust is commonly defined as the murder of more than 5,000,000 Jews by the Germans in World War II. " However, the Holocaust usually includes all of the different victims who were systematically murdered.
- ^ Ukrainian mass Jewish grave found
- ^ Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know," United States Holocaust Museum, 2006, p. 103.
- ^ a b Lewis (1984), pp. 10,20
- ^ Lewis (1987), p. 9, 27
- ^ Lewis (1999), p. 131
- ^ Lewis (1999), p. 131; (1984), pp. 8,62
- ^ Lewis (1984), p. 52; Stillman (1979), p. 77
- ^ Lewis (1984), p. 28
- ^ Lewis (1984), pp. 17,18,94,95; Stillman (1979), p. 27
- ^ Muslim Anti-Semitism by Bernard Lewis (Middle East Quarterly) June 1998
Bibliography
- Boyarin, Daniel 1994 A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity Berkeley: University of California Press
- Ancient Judaism, Max Weber, Free Press, 1967, ISBN 0-02-934130-2
- Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition and Practice Wayne Dosick. Ancient Judaism, also known as Ancient Palestine Society and Religion, is a Book written by Maximilian Weber, a German Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (maks 'veːbɐ (21 April 1864 &ndash 14 June 1920 was a German political economist and sociologist who was considered
- Conservative Judaism: The New Century, Neil Gillman, Behrman House.
- American Jewish Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective Jeffrey S. Gurock, 1996, Ktav.
- Philosophies of Judaism Julius Guttmann, trans. by David Silverman, JPS. 1964
- Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts Ed. Barry W. Holtz, Summit Books
- A History of the Jews Paul Johnson, HarperCollins, 1988
- A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America, Jack Wertheimer. Brandeis Univ. Press, 1997.
- Encyclopaedia Judaica, Keter Publishing, CD-ROM edition, 1997
- The American Jewish Identity Survey, article by Egon Mayer, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar; a sub-set of The American Religious Identity Survey, City University of New York Graduate Center. An article on this survey is printed in The New York Jewish Week, November 2, 2001. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
- Lewis, Bernard (1984). Bernard Lewis (born May 31, 1916 in London, England) is a British - American The Jews of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8
- Lewis, Bernard (1999). Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice. W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-31839-7
- Stillman, Norman (1979). Norman Arthur Stillman, also Noam (נועם in Hebrew b 1945 is the Schusterman-Josey Professor and Chair of Judaic History at the University of Oklahoma The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0
- Day, John. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Chippenham: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
- Dever, William G. Did God Have a Wife?. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. , 2005.
- Walsh, J. P. M. The Mighty From Their Thrones. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1987.
- Finkelstein, Israel (1996). Ethinicity and Origin of the Iron I Settlers in the Highlands of Canaan: Can the Real Israel Please Stand Up? The Biblical Archaeologist, 59(4).
External links
General
- The Jewish History Resource Center Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Judaism 101, an extensive FAQ written by a librarian.
- Judaism article from the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
- The Jewish Virtual Library
- Coalition for the Advancement in Jewish Education.
- Shamash's Judaism resource page
- the Jewish Encyclopedia
Orthodox/Haredi
- Orthodox Judaism - The Orthodox Union: Official website
- Chabad-Lubavitch: Official website
- The Various Types of Orthodox Judaism
- Aish HaTorah
- Ohr Somayach
Traditional/Conservadox
Conservative
- The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism: Official website
- Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel
- United Synagogue Youth
Reform/Progressive
- The Union for Reform Judaism (USA)
- Reform Judaism (UK): Official website
- Liberal Judaism (UK): Official website
- World Union for Progressive Judaism (Israel): Official website
Reconstructionist
Humanistic
Karaite
Jewish religious literature and texts
- Complete Tanakh (in Hebrew, with vowels).
- English Tanakh from the 1917 Jewish Publication Society version.
- The Judaica Press Complete Tanach with Rashi in English
- Torah.org. (also known as Project Genesis) Contains Torah commentaries and studies of Tanakh, along with Jewish ethics, philosophy, holidays and other classes.
- Rashi by Maurice Liber Biography of one of the most important rabbis in Judaism.
- The complete formatted Talmud online. Audio files of lectures for each page from an Orthodox viewpoint are provided in French, English, Yiddish and Hebrew. Reload the page for an image of a page of the Talmud.
See also Torah database for links to more judaism e-texts. A Torah database (מאגר תורני or מאגר יהדות is an electronic collection of classic Jewish texts in electronic form the kinds of texts which especially in Israel are often
Wikimedia Torah study projects
Text study projects at Wikisource. In many instances, the Hebrew versions of these projects are more fully developed than the English.
- Mikraot Gedolot (Rabbinic Bible) in Hebrew (sample) and English (sample). Mikraot Gedolot (מקראות גדולות often called the " Rabbinic Bible" in English is an edition of Tanakh (in Hebrew that generally includes four
- Cantillation at the "Vayavinu Bamikra" Project in Hebrew (lists nearly 200 recordings) and English. Cantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Bible in Synagogue services.
- Mishnah in Hebrew (sample) and English (sample). The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism
- Shulchan Aruch in Hebrew and English (Hebrew text with English translation). The Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך literally " Set Table " (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulchan Arukh) is a Codification
Dictionary
Judaism
-proper noun
- A world religion tracing its origin to the Hebrew people of the ancient Middle-East, as documented in their religious writings, the Torah or Old Testament.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic