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Founded: 13 th Century BCE

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Founder: Moses, who emancipated the Jews from slavery in Egypt and later established a ‘covenant’ between his people and Yahweh on Mount Sinai Traditionally, it is held that Abraham and his descendants established Judaism before Moses, however the 10 Commandments are now considered by many to be the foundation upon which Judaism rests.

Judaism

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Roots: dating back approximately 4000 years= origins of Judaism, Islam and Christianity

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Place: Palestine (sometimes called Canaan; now Israel

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Sacred Books : Old Testament (which consists of the Five Books of Law, the historical books, the Prophets and other writings). The most sacred are the Five Books of the Law= called the TORAH

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Symbols: Menorah and Star of David

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Adherents: Smallest major world religions, making up 0.2 % human race

Historical Overview

 Ancient Israel is the birthplace of the 3 great monotheistic religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam  Ancient Israel dates back approximately 4000 years to the books of the Old Testament  Great patriarchs Joshua of Judaism: Abraham, Jacob, Moses,  Hebrews, Israelites, Jews, Semites : have all undergone persecution throughout history; from Babylonian Captivity, Exodus, Diaspora, Spanish Inquisition, Holocaust

Ancient Israel

Birthplace of Judaism is also birthplace to Islam and Christianity

What is in a name?

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Hebrew

means “From across” name given to Abraham and his followers

Israelites

: Abraham’s grandson Jacob renamed Israel which means “he who has wrestled with God”. His descendants were called “Israelites”

Jews

: named after Jacob’s son Judah, ancient father of tribe of King David’s dynasty

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Tracing Roots of Israel’s History

Nomadic tribes wandered into Palestine from east in approximately 1900 BCE Mesopotamian society dominated by polytheism God ( Yahweh ) appeared before Patriarch Abraham and told Abraham “

to go and raise a great nation

” This began the monotheistic tradition of the Hebrew faith with the establishment of the “ Covenant ”, “ Chosen People ” and “ Promised Land ” Abraham settled in Canaan Story: Sacrifice of Abraham

Patriarchs to Judaism

Abraham

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God told Abraham to go to Haran then Canaan and “make of him a great nation”

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Began monotheistic tradition

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Covenant with God The story of the Sacrifice of Abraham

Moses

 For an illustrated story of Moses: click here

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Moses & Exodus: “Let My People Go!”

Moses received revelations from God: burning bush, rod / staff, 10 plagues, parting of the Red Sea End of 13 the th century BCE- Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt during Rames II reign called EXODUS Moses led the 12 Tribes of Israel to Mount Sinai where Yahweh gave him the 10 Commandments , uniting the Hebrews under one God Moses and Hebrews searched for the “

Promised Land

” or the land of milk and honey, however they wandered in the desert for 40 years

Key Concepts

Covenant  solemn and binding agreement between God and Abraham (humanity) as God as the Creator and the Chosen people   Chosen People  Jews considered themselves to be God’s Chosen People as God chose Abraham and led him to monotheism Jews were instruments of God’s will God chose Jews (humanity); humanity must choose God Promised Land  Gained significance during Moses’ life as Hebrews sought to keep covenant and develop a community in the Promised Land. Jews believe this is Israel.

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Development of Judaism

Judges : tribal leaders  Kings : King Saul, King David, King Solomon (built temple)  Division: Judah Northern tribes = Israel; Southern tribes =  Prophetic Tradition : word of God spoken through prophets “Love God and keep the covenant with Him”  Exile in Babylon = Temple of Solomon destroyed; creation of synagogues and rabbis and concept of Messiah “anointed one”  Diaspora : dispersal of Jews outside of Israel and Hellenization  Maccabean Revolt : temple rededicated to God  Expansion of Roman Empire and rule : destroying of the temple leaving only the Western Wall; rabbinic Judaism (interpretative commentaries)

Monotheistic  Oneness of Creator God  Human obligation to worship God   God is immaterial and indivisible

Beliefs

God is refered to as YHWH or YAHWEH “I am that I am” Lineage  People are born a Jew (through mother) or can convert (gerut) Mitzvah  act of performing a good deed or commandment (ie. 10 Commandments)  Bible contains total of 613 mitvoth (some positive, some negative) Jesus  View of Jesus = born a Jew a preacher and teacher  Jesus was not the Son of God; the Messiah is still to come Suffering  suffering is heightened because as the Chosen People, Jews expect to suffer for all of mankind Death and Afterlife  on death, body returns to earth (dust to dust) but soul return to God who gave it  body will be Resurrected and reunited with soul at a later time (therefore no cremation)

TORAH

 consists of Five Books of Moses written on parchment scroll in ancient form by hand and kept in Ark  Torah means “law” but more accurate is “revelation”, “teaching” or “instruction”  Torah is divided into 54 sections and one portion is read each week (2 weeks of year have a double portion) so that the entire Torah is read from beginning to end in a year

Sacred Texts

Tanukh  Jewish Bible, consisting of Torah (Law of Moses), the Prophets, and the Writings Talmud  second most important source of rabbinic Jewish law based on Mishnah, which complements and interprets the Torah and applies scripture to everyday life and observance Mishnah  Early rabbinic teachings on how to live according to Torah

Practices

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Holy Ark & Torah Blessings and prayer Minyan Kashruth Shabbat Circumcision Shofar Bar / Bat Mitvah Marriage Death & Shiva

Holidays

   Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Hanukkah Passover

Symbols

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Star of David

= shape of King David’s shield; symbol adopted by Zionists 

Menorah

= ancient source of light 7 branched= Sabbath 9 branched= Hanukah

Denominations

     Orthodox Reform Conservative Reconstructionist Messianic

Western Wall

•The Western Wall in the midst of the Old City in Jerusalem is the section of the Western supporting wall of the Temple Mount which has remained intact since the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple (70 CE) •It became a center of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and Israel's exile • communion with the memory of Israel's former glory and the hope for its restoration •it became known in European languages as the " Wailing Wall ".

Interesting Facts

 The Israeli flag is rooted in Jewish tradition. The white background symbolizes purity. The symbols on the flag are two stripes —one on the top and one on the bottom—and the Star of David emblem adorning the center. The stripes and blue color are inspired by the techeileth dye of the tallit (Jewish prayer shawl)  Jews have regarded the Land of Israel as their homeland, both as a Holy Land and as a Promised Land.

The Land of Israel holds a special place in Jewish religious obligations, encompassing Judaism's most important sites — including the remains of the First and Second Temples

Judaism In Modern World

Anti Semitism  in York Region and World Zionism  movement originally for re-establishment of Jewish nation in Israel Holocaust  (Heb.,

sho'ah)

which originally meant a sacrifice totally burned by fire  the annihilation of the Jews (6 million) and other groups of people of Europe (5 million) under the Nazi regime during World War II Middle East Conflict  Issue of who has the rightful claim to Jerusalem

This Nazi propaganda poster reads, ‘Behind the enemy powers: the Jew.

“The Eternal Jew” Depiction of a Jew holding gold coins in one hand and a whip in the other. Under his arm is a map of the world, with the imprint of the hammer and sickle. Posters like this promoted a sharp rise in anti-Semitic feelings, and in some cases violence against the Jewish community.

Impact of Ancient Israel

   Covenant = formal agreement between Hebrews and God (Yahweh); Hebrews worshipped God and only God, and in return, they would be God’s Chosen People and given Canaan as the Promised Land Spiritual ideas profoundly influenced Western culture, morality, ethics and conduct Three of the world’s most dominant religions : Judaism, Christianity and Islam all derive their roots from the spiritual beliefs of the Ancient Israelites