Directions: 1) Read, 2) Highlight Critical Information, 3) Write Questions and Comments

Name ______Judaism Day ______Date ______Period ______

Directions: 1) Read, 2) highlight critical information, 3) write questions and comments to the right & 4) prepare for being quizzed on this material!

Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world. The Jewish faith has influenced the formation of other religions such as Christianity & Islam. Today, the world Jewish population is estimated to be nearly 20 million people. Of today’s Jews, roughly 36% live in Israel and estimated 45% live in the USA. The other 19% are spread out throughout the rest of the world, though mainly in Europe and throughout Russia.

Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. It is based on principles from the Hebrew holy book, called the Tanakh. The Tanakh is in three sections and contains mostly the same books as are found in the Old Testament for Christians. The first and most known of these three sections in is the first section, called the Torah. In this section it describes how somewhere around 1500 B.C. Judaism began with the Covenant between God and a man named Abraham. Abraham trusted totally in God and was therefore willing to sacrifice his oldest son Isaac when God directed him to. Abraham was stopped by God and he never did sacrifice his son because it was a test by God’s of Abrahams trust in God. As result God promised Abraham that all of his descendants would be a part of God’s favored nation. (Genesis 26:4) This nation was going to get special treatment on the judgment day. (Israel has been a notion ever since, even though they have only had a Jewish state since 1947.)

Jews consider Israel to be the land that God promised them. Roughly 3500 years ago God told Abraham to move there from what is now Iraq. Abraham’s descendants, the Jews, lived there until they were made captive by the Egyptians. Once freed from the pharaoh, God told Moses where to lead the Israelites. After 40 years in the desert, Moses took them to Zion, the “Promised Land”. Most Jews state that since the land was given to their ancestors by God, it is rightfully theirs to this very day. In the city of Jerusalem, King David built the holy temple that was the going to be the place that God was going to come to earth and set up his kingdom. To this day, Jews are waiting for God (who they call Yahweh) to come to earth. Jews believe that God will come as the Messiah to create a radical new kingdom here on earth, giving everyone their fair share.

Jews continued to live in Zion until the time of Jesus. Then, less than 40 years after they had Jesus crucified, the Jews themselves were persecuted by the Romans. In 70 AD the Jews fled or else would have been killed. This escape is called the Diaspora. To make sure Jews were gone for good, the Romans destroyed the place that was most holy to Jews, the Temple of David. Only one wall of the temple, the Western Wall, remains today; it is the center of the Jewish faith. It is at this remaining wall that Jews believe God will make his powerful, all controlling presence known to all of mankind. However, it was not until the late 1800’s that Jews started to return to the “Promised Land”. In 1947 after WWII, the world called for a new country that would be just for the Jews. This country became known as Israel and today is at the center of the world’s largest religious & political conflict, Israelis (Jews) vs. Palestinians (Moslems).

Religious Books, Laws & Sects The people of the Jewish faith follow 613 laws as laid out in their holy readings. The laws concern everything from how to get dressed, to marriage, to eating and praying. Different Jews follow these laws to various degrees. Fewer than 300 of the Jewish laws are still applicable today. Jews who follow the laws very strictly are called Orthodox Jews. Reform Jews may not follow any of the laws. Many of the laws are about worship and work. A Jewish “priest” is called a Rabbi and leads Jews in prayer and worship at the Jewish “church”, called a synagogue. 8.