Judaism: Historical Context and Ffundamental Principles

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Historical context
Key teachings
Sacred texts/scriptures
Ritual/worship service
Personal reflection
Works cited

Introduction

Judaism is all about the life of the Jews as it encompasses their spiritual, physical and emotional life. This religion has its origin from Abraham. According to the tradition of the Jews, he is the first person to have come up with Monotheism. From Abraham, the followers of this religion can be traced through Patriarchs to the Egyptian exile. From then came the Exodus, the receipt of the Torah, fulfilling of the Covenant, the conquering of the promised land (Canaan), Judges, the kingdom and its split in two, the exile in Babylon and the Jews homecoming under Ezra, the ensuing independence loss and demolition of the Temple by the Roman empire, the Jews dispersal all through the globe for centuries, the documentation of maltreatment and pogroms ending in the Holocaust, the formation of prosperous societies in the West, and the reinstitution of a Jewish state.

Judaism is one among 3 of Abraham’s faith. By 2007, the population of Jews was about thirteen million. Most of them were found in Israel or the US. “This religion is characterized by its monotheism, its belief in a special covenant with God making it his ‘chosen people’, ethnic and territorial identity (the ‘promised land’), specific laws and practices, and their belief in the Messiah” (Kanarfogel, 37). Kanarfogel goes ahead to explain that, “the followers of Judaism believe in the ultimate God (the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob)”. They have tagged the chosen people for the reason that God gave them the Torah and his commandments.

This religion started as the Hebrew’s prehistoric faith which is based on the teachings of the Torah (Hebrew Bible). The followers of this religion believe Yahweh picked them to be like a light to all other nations of the world. Their first temple was destroyed in 586 BC while the second one was destroyed in 70 BC. Currently, Judaism is not encompassed in the ancient practices and beliefs related to temple worship although they are still observing their culture and religion via scholarships and strict adherence. To date, Judaism is still being maintained in spite of the Jews’ brutal persecution by a lot of nations. Consequently, this paper will elucidate on Judaism as a religion.

Historical context

Followers of this religion believe that Abraham (Biblical patriarch) was the 1^st Jew. Rabbinic texts show that, Abraham was the first person to rebuff idolatry and advocate for monotheism. “As a result, God promised he would have children, starting with Isaac, who would carry on his work and inherit the land of Israel (then called Canaan) after having been exiled and redeemed” (Jacobs, 392). At one point, Jacob and his offspring were taken to Egypt, they were enslaved for a long time but eventually God used Moses to redeem them. After the redemption, God took the Israelites to Mount-Sinai where they were given the “Torah”. After this, He delivered them to the Promised Land. Here, “God set 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 officiated in the Temple in Jerusalem” (Jacobs, 392).

Following the settlement, the tabernacle was placed at Shiloh for more than three hundred years; in this period Yahweh provided great leaders to rally the Israelites during numerous enemy attacks. “At one point, their spiritual level declined which led to the capture of the tabernacle by the Philistines” (Kanarfogel, 37). Later, the Israelites demanded a permanent king. Yahweh knew this was not good for his people but still had Samuel appoint Saul as the king. “The Jews pressured their king to go against Samuel’s command, consequently, God appointed David instead. The king (David) told Nathan that he wished to build a temple” (Jacobs, 392). As a result, God promised him that his son would build it and that the throne would be in his bloodline. David was not permitted to build it as he had fought so many wars and thus it was unsuitable for him to construct a place symbolizing peace. Therefore, King Solomon constructed a permanent temple in Jerusalem for the Jews to worship from.

“Following King Solomon’s demise, his realm was divided into 2 kingdoms (Israel and Judah)” (Jacobs, 392). The kingdom of Israel had several kings, although after some time God allowed Syria to defeat, conquer and exile Israelites because of the widespread idolatry. On the other hand, Judah continued to be under David’s bloodline. This was where the temple was situated. Once more, the worship of idols became rampant and God allowed Babylonians to conquer it. The Babylonians destroyed the temple that was over 410 years old and exiled the people of Judea. But God still promised that they would be redeemed after 70 years.

After the 70 years, they were permitted to go back to Israel under Ezra. They built another temple (second one) that stayed over for hundred and twenty years only to be destroyed by Romans. “This is the state in which it is to remain until a descendant of David arises to restore the glory of Israel (the current existence of the Islamic Dome of the Rock doesn’t matter to the rabbinical view)” (Kanarfogel, 49).

The Torah that was given to the Israelites on Mt Sinai, on which Judaism is based entirely, was recapitulated in the 5 books of Moses. “This together with the books of the prophets is called the Written Torah. The details which are called the Oral Torah were to remain unwritten” (Kanarfogel, 49). Nevertheless, as Jews persecutions augmented and the information was at risk of being forgotten, it was documented in the “Mishna”, and the “Talmud”, this was besides a few other holy books. To date, the religion of Judaism is centered upon the Torah.

Key teachings

The followers of Judaism believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. These names were later changed to Avraham, Yeetzaak and Yaacov. “They are the Chosen People as they are known because God chose to give them His law in the form of the Ten Commandments and the Torah, through the prophet Moses. They derive their basic teachings from the Torah” (Geemen, 162). As shown by the same author (162), “the teachings of Judaism emphasize that the Torah has 613 commandments. Much of what they regard as religion is in fact” cultural tradition. This has been minted with the Rabbi’s explanation of God’s laws together with particular Rabbinical Assemblies over time.

The core believes and teaching as aforementioned is based on the Torah. But this is not complete without the thirteen principles or foundations of Judaism. The first one is engraved in believing in the existence of the ultimate creator. The followers of this religion are taught that the creator (God) is faultless in every existence. He is the reason why everything exists and without him nothing would be present. They also believe everything depends on him to exist.

The second principle exemplifies God’s unity. This typically shows the exemplary idea of oneness. In this principle God is made known to be one and there is no oneness like God’s. This is shown in the teachings that say “Hear Israel, Hashem is Our God, Hashem is one” (Geemen, 162).

The third principle signifies the rejection of physicality in relationship with God. It states that the aforementioned principle (oneness) has no body or form. It also shows that if God was to assume a body he then would not be God. This also explains why followers of Judaism believe that in heaven there is no tiredness. In the Torah, this is indicated in a verse that says, “For you saw no image”. This means nobody saw the image of God at Sinai since He has nobody power.

Principle number 4 talks of God’s antiquity. It is shown that He subsisted prior to all and subsists after all. This is shown many times in the scriptures.

The fifth one says that God is blessed because “He is worthy that we serve Him, to glorify Him, to make known His greatness, and to do His commands” (Geemen, 164). This also means no man is to worship any other form be it angels or anything created by man or even God himself. Most parts of the Torah cautions on this (Idolatry).

The sixth principle is on prophecy. The Torah attests that prophecy is instilled in certain people by God who then gives them incredible intelligence that is attached to God’s intelligence.

In the seventh principle Judaists believe in the prophetic/predictive ability of Moses the teacher, and peace is to be upon him. He is believed to have the status of an angel and he also spoke to God with no intermediary. Moses was special in the sense that, other prophets were sent angels or got visions or even dreams but he sort of came face to face with God.

The eighth one shows that the Torah upon which they believe, is from heaven. “The teachings of Judaism emphasize that every statement in the book came from God which is filled with wisdom and benefits anyone who understands it” (Geemen, 164). As shown by Geemen (164), the believers of Judaism consider the Torah to know deep and wider than the land and sea.

The next principle is about the Torah’s completeness. This shows it is perfect and nothing can be removed from it or added to it.

The tenth principle is about the relationship between man and God. The teaching on this principle shows that God recognizes every man’s action and never removes His eyes from man.

In the eleventh principle, Judaism gives emphasis to the fact that “God gives reward to he who does the commandments of the Torah and punishes those that transgress its admonishments and warnings” (Geemen, 164).

The principle talking about the era of the Messiah is the twelfth principle. It teaches believers to anticipate the coming of the messiah and therefore to mend their ways. The principle goes further to explain that anyone who doubts this refutes the Torah. Part of this, also says that the Kings of Israel are only from the bloodline of David. “It again states that anyone disputing this denies God’s words and all the words of the prophets” (Geemen, 164).

The last principle in the teachings of Judaism is about resurrection. It teaches the believers that one day all the dead will resurrect and only those who believed and lived in accordance with these principles will go to heaven. Therefore as explained here only those who follow the fundamentals of this faith will gain entry into Israel.

Sacred texts/scriptures

The basic sacred texts and scriptures used by the Jews are the Torah and the Talmud. The latter is an all-inclusive written edition of the oral law of the Jews and the consequent commentaries. This text that originated in the second century means teaching/ learning. It is also the basis of the Jewish law. The Talmud is further divided into two Mishnah and Gemara. The first one is the original oral law account while the latter is based o the records of rabbinic conversations. The conversations were documented in Jerusalem and Babylon consecutively. The Talmud is also known as the Babylon version which has the most authority.

A rabbi (Judah Ha-Nasi) is accredited for completing the Mishnah. He did this after the many rebellions which resulted in the demolition of institutes used in studying the Torah. This motivated him into writing it down as there was no more direct passing over the law from rabbi to learners.

Many Judaism followers do read one page of the Talmud every day. “This is known as Daf Yomi which is the Hebrew expression for page of the day. The tradition began after the first international congress of the Agudath Yisrael World Movement in August, 1923” (Yehezkal, 172). It was initiated as a way of bringing believers together. It was put forward by Meir Shapiro by then the Rav of Lublin, Poland.

As shown by (Yehezkal, 172):

The Mishnah (original oral law written down) is divided into six parts which are called Sedarim, the Hebrew word for order(s). Zera’im (Seeds), is about the laws on agriculture, prayer, and tithes; Mo’ed (Festival), is about the Sabbath and the festivals; Nashim (Women), is about marriage, divorce and contracts and oaths; Nezikin (Damages), is about the civil and criminal laws, the way courts operate and some further laws on oaths; Kodashim (Holy Things), is about sacrificing and the laws of the Temple and the dietary laws; Toharot (Purities), is about the laws of ritual purity and impurity (Yehezkal, 172).

On the other hand the Torah is 1^st fraction of the Hebrew Bible. It is the foundation/basis of the Judaism as a religion. This text is what has been used by the Jewish people all through the ages. The text refers to the 5 books Moses wrote, these include “Bresheit (Genesis), Shemot (Exodus), Vayicra (Leviticus), Bamidbar (Numbers), and Devarim (Deuteronomy)” (Yehezkal, 172).

During a service, scrolls of this text are removed from the Ark and some sections of it readout. This is done mainly on (Sabbath) Sunday morning.

The exceptional segments in the readings are referred to as parshioth which are normally 3-5 chapters. The person reading is supposed to be extremely skilled since the writing of the letters was done without matching vowels. The reader has to be acquainted with the portion very well so as to avoid making errors. The reading is not spoken but is rather done in a very old sing-song-like tune. This scroll is not touched directly when unfolded on a raised pulpit at the center of the church (synagogue). “A pointer/Yad is used instead. This is in the shape of a hand with an outstretched finger. The reading/chanting is performed by a person who has been trained in this task. However it may be carried out by the rabbi”. (Yehezkal, 179)

The scrolls are hand-written in the ancient language (Hebrew by a scribe). This is done on a parchment from a Cow. The whole process can even take a year and half as immense accurateness is required. In the event of a minute mistake, the whole process is invalidated. The complete work is referred to as the Sefer Torah or the Torah book. The scroll is very sacred to the extent that when it gets dropped during the service all people attending the service will have to fast for forty days. Another aspect that displays the symbolical and physical importance of the scrolls is that all through the invasion of Israel, immense efforts were directed towards preserving the scrolls.

Ritual/worship service

In Judaism, “the synagogue is the place of worship. Orthodox Jews often use the Yiddish word shul (pronounced shool) to refer to their synagogue. In the USA, the synagogues are often called temples” (Steinberg, 15). Inside these places of worship, men cannot sit with women and everybody except little girls would have their heads covered.

Their service is normally led by the rabbi. On the other hand for traditional services, a group of 10 elders (Minyan) leads the service. Most of these services are done in ancient Jewish language (Hebrew). Currently, the services are accompanied by choirs in the US and a small number of synagogues in Britain. In these nations men and women may be allowed to sit together and part of the summons can be done in English.

During the service every person apart from young girls would wear a hat for the purpose of showing reverence to God. An undersized cap (yarmulke/kippah) is used by men although normal street hats are generally allowed. These are also availed to visitors with hair grips to keep the hats fitting. There are some occasions when the congregation kisses the fringes of specially made prayer shawls especially during the mentioning of the tzitzit or fringes.

All synagogues have an Ark acting as a closet for keeping the Scrolls of the Torah. They also contain a desk from which the scrolls are read out (this is normally raised and placed at the center of the church). Again the 10 commandments are inscribed on the Ark in the ancient language.

In the synagogue, “an Eternal Light (called Ner Tamid) hangs above the Ark. This light is always burning, as a symbol of God’s presence. It also represents the pillar of fire that guided the Jewish people on their early journey” (Steinberg, 15). It is again common for all people to stand when the Ark is opened.

Personal reflection

My reaction to this service is that it is somehow old-fashioned and too rigid requiring the strict following of specific procedures and rituals. What I disliked most is that, when attending the service, you are required to wear specific attires even if one is not used to them. One is also required to follow certain procedures that involve standing and sitting all the time. The service too is characterized by a somber mood whereas in our churches we are used to pianos, keyboards, guitars, drum sets and other musical instruments where there is singing shouting and dancing.

After attending this service, I really comprehended the fundamental principles of Judaism. I learned how they worship, how they carry themselves, the constituents of the synagogues and how their rituals during worship are performed. It also made me understand that religion can be designed and followed by certain groups of people for a long time. About my supposition, this experience made me believe that, despite the kind of religion one believes in, purity and holiness come from one’s heart and not from the following of the many procedures and rituals of a particular religion.

Works cited

Geemen, Teddy. Principals of Judaism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 20088. Print.

Jacobs, Louis. Judaism. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale.2007. Print.

Kanarfogel, Ephraim. Judaism. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2000. Print.

Steinberg, Milton. Basic Judaism. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 2002. Print.

Yehezkal, Kauffman. The Religion of Israel. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 2000. Print.

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