Judaism Essay Research Paper JudaismJewish history began

Judaism Essay, Research Paper

Judaism

Jewish history began about 4000 years ago in the part of the world that today we call the Middle East. No one person ever began Judaism. The beliefs that became the Jewish faith came about gradually. However, some people were important in making it happen. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, known as the patriarchs are both the physical and spiritual ancestors of Judaism. They founded the religion known as Judaism and their descendants are the Jewish people. According to the Jewish tradition, Abraham was the first to believe there was only one God and left his home to go on a journey because he believe that was what God wanted him to do. He began to teach his beliefs to others. God promised Abraham that one day his descendants would posses a country called Canaan, which came to be known as the promise Land.

Judaism has no dogma, no formal set of beliefs that one must hold on to be a Jew. In Judaism, actions are far more important than beliefs, although there is certainly a place for belief within Judaism. Jews believe that there is only one God, who is external. He is always present everywhere and he knows everything . He made everything, including the world and everything in it. He cares about everything that he made and listen when people pray to him. The believe prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other, when Jews pray to God they call him Adonai, this means Lord. Jews think that God s name is very important, so they use it with great respect. They never use it carelessly. Jewish believes the words of prophets are true and that Moses prophecies are, and Moses was the greatest of the Prophet. They believe the written Torah and Oral Torah were given to Moses and there will be no other Torah. They believe in the return of the Messiah and that the dead will be resurrected. Unlike many other religions, Judaism does not Focus much on abstract cosmological concepts. Although Jews have certainly considered nature of God, man, the universe, life and the afterlife at great length, there is no mandated, official, definitive belief on these subjects, outside of the very general concept discussed above. There is substantial room for personal opinion on these matters.

Observant Jews pray in formal worship services three times a day, everyday; at evening (ma riv) in the morning (shacharit), and in the afternoon (minchah). Daily prayers are collected in a book called a Siddur, which derives from the Hebrew root meaning order because the siddur shows the order of prayers. A Synagogue is the buildings were Jews go to worship God. For the Jews, worship means praying to God, thanking him for the things he has done and asking for his help in their life. They believe that worshiping God is very important. Every Sabbath, the Jewish holy day, many Jews go to the Synagogue because it is a special place to worship God. A synagogue service includes readings from the scriptures, prayers, and singing of Psalms. Usually there is a sermon. Some synagogue services include readings from the Torah; the books of teaching that are written on scrolls. The scrolls are carried carefully from the Ark to the Bimah to be read, and back again after the reading is finished. At services in the synagogue, men wear a Kippah. It is a skullcap, which is beautifully embroidered. It is worn as a sign of respect for God. At morning services, they also wear a tallit. A tallit is a prayer robe, usually made of silk or wool.

The Concept of Salvation from sin as it is understood in Christianity has no equivalent in Judaism. Salvation from sin is unnecessary in Judaism because Judaism does not belief that mankind is inherently evil or sinful or in need of Divine Intervention in order to escape external damnation. In fact, Judaism does not even believe in external damnation. When the Torah speaks of God as our Redeemer, it is not speaking of salvation or redemption from sin; rather it speaks of salvation from the very concrete day-to-day problems that we face, such as redemption from slavery in Egypt or salvation from out enemy in war.

Traditionally, Judaism firmly believes that death is not the end of human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and rather than on afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife. Some scholars claim that belief in the afterlife is a teaching that developed late in the Jewish history. It is true that the Torah emphasizes immediate, concrete physical rewards, and punishment rather than abstract future ones. However, there is clear evidence in the Torah of belief in existence after death. The Torah indicates in several places that the righteous will be reunited with their loved ones after death, while the wicked will be excluded from this reunion. This spiritual afterlife is referred to in Hebrew as Olan-Ha-Ba, the world to come, although this term is also used to refer to the Messianic age. The Olam-ha-ba is another higher state of being.

Judaism has many kinds of celebration and holidays the observe which include; The Month of Tishri, Rosh Hashanah, Days of Awe, Yom Kippur, Sukkoth, Simhart Torah, Hanukkah, Tu b Sherat, Purim, Passover, The counting of Omer, Shavu ot, Tisha B Av, Minor Fast and Hanukkah. One of the important days at the time of The Jewish year is Rosh Hashanah. It reminds the Jews how God made the world. It is also the beginning of the solemn ti