Judaism – New World Encyclopedia
Posted By admin on May 22, 2015
Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. While far from monolithic in practice and having no centralized authority or binding dogma, Judaism has remained strongly united around several religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, transcendent God that created the universe.
According to Jewish thought, God established a covenant with the Jewish people, then known as the Israelites, and revealed his laws and commandments to them in the form of the Torah. Jewish practice is devoted to the study and observance of these laws and commandments, as they are interpreted according to various ancient and modern authorities.
Judaism does not easily fit into common western categories, such as religion, ethnicity, or culture. In religious terms Judaism today is comprised of three main denominations: Orthodox (including several varieties), Conservative, and Reform, plus a large body of secular Jews who belong to no organized religious institution.
Judaism is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. The tenets and history of Judaism form a major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions, including Christianity and Islam.
Much of the Hebrew Bible is an account of the Israelites' relationship with God as reflected in their history from the time of Abraham until the building of the Second Temple (c. 350 B.C.E.). Abraham is generally seen as the first Jew, although he was also the progenitor of several non-Jewish tribes. Rabbinical literature holds that he was the first person to reject idolatry and preach monotheism. As a result, God promised he would have many children: "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 whose descendants would inherit the Land of Israel (then called Canaan), after having been exiled and redeemed. God sent Abraham's grandson, the patriarch Jacob and his children to Egypt, where they later became enslaved. As Jacob was also known as "Israel," his tribe became known as the Israelites.
God sent Moses to redeem the Israelites from slavery. After the Exodus from Egypt, God led the Jews to Mount Sinai and gave them the Torah, eventually bringing them to the land of Canaan, which they conquered at God's command. God designated the descendants of Aaron, Moses' brother, to be a priestly class within the Israelite community. 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.
Once the Israelites had settled in Canaan, the Tabernacle was established in the city of Shiloh for over 300 years. During his time, God provided great leaders known as the judges to rally the nation against attacking enemies sent by God as a punishment for the sins of the people, who failed to separate themselves from the Canaanites and joined in worshiping the Canaanite gods.
The people of Israel then told the prophet Samuel, the last and greatest of the judges, that they needed to be governed by a permanent king, as were other nations. God acceded to this request and had Samuel appoint Saul to be their first monarch. However, when Saul disunited with Samuel and proved to lack zeal in destroying Israel's enemies, God instructed Samuel to appoint David in his stead.
David and Saul struggled with each other for many years, but once David's kingship was established, he told the prophet Nathan that he would like to build a permanent temple for the Lord. God promised the king that he would allow his son to build the temple and that the throne would never depart from his children. It was thus David's son, Solomon, who built the first permanent temple in Jerusalem, as described in the Books of Kings.
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Judaism - New World Encyclopedia
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