• The followers of Judaism (literally, Judah-ism) are

called Jews.
• Based on a recent estimate by
Deming (2015, 270-71), there are
about 14 million Jews in the world.
• The terms “Judaism” and “Jew” were derived from the word
Judah, which was the name of the fourth of the 12 sons of
Jacob.
• Each of the 12 sons of Jacob became the ancestor of a
certain tribe. The tribe of Judah, therefore, was one of the
12 tribes of Israel (for Jacob was also called Israel).
• The Kingdom of Israel was split into the Northern Kingdom,
which became the Kingdom of Israel, and the Southern
Kingdom, which became the Kingdom of Judah.

• The Kingdom of Israel was later on conquered by Assyria (in

721 BCE) and the 10 tribes constituting it were exiled from
the land.
• From then on, the term “Jews” was used to refer to
the members of the Kingdom of Judah, and no longer
just to the specific tribe of Judah.
• While the followers of Judaism are called Jews, it
must be noted, however, that in the present usage of
the term, “Jews” does not necessarily refer to
followers or converts of Judaism.
• This is because one becomes a Jew either by ancestry
or by religious affiliation or conversion.
• In terms of ancestry, one is automatically a Jew if
both one’s parents are Jews.
• Traditionally, one becomes a Jew if one’s mother is a
Jew regardless of whether one’s father is a Jew or
not.
• Liberally, one can also be a Jew if one’s father is a
Jew even if one’s mother is not, so long as one
chooses to be a Jew.
• In terms of ancestry, one becomes a Jew regardless
of whether one follows the teachings of Judaism or
not
• Jews are also called Hebrews and Israelites.
• Hebrews because they are descendants of Abraham
(who was also a Hebrew).
• Israelites because they are descendants of Jacob,
who was also called Israel
• In this light, the term “Israelites” means “Children of
Israel,” but Jews also take this term to mean “God’s
chosen people.” Non-Jews, on the other hand, are
called Gentiles in the Hebrew Bible.
• Two persons are considered founders of Judaism:
Abraham (2000 BCE) and Moses (1391-1271 BCE).
• It was with Abraham that God made a covenant or
contract that would define the relationship of the
Jews with God.
• The covenant was that God would bless and protect
the lives of those who would obey Him.
• It was through Moses that God made his
commandments that God wanted his people to obey
for their part of the covenant.
• Moses was born during the time when the Israelites
were living in Egypt as slaves
• Israelites become slaves in Egypt because of Joseph,
one of Jacob’s twelve sons.
• Moses was himself an Israelite but he spent the first
half of his life as an Egyptian prince.
• To save the life of Moses, his mother and elder sister
put the baby Moses in a basket and placed the basket in
the Nile River.
• Moses was himself an Israelite but he spent the first
half of his life as an Egyptian prince.
• To save the life of Moses, his mother and elder sister
put the baby Moses in a basket and placed the basket in
the Nile River.
• One day, Moses killed an Egyptian foreman while
protecting an Israelite slave from the harsh treatment
of the foreman. The pharaoh ordered Moses to be
killed, but Moses was able to escape.
• The Passover, is an important event in the history of the
Jews and is still being recalled as a Jewish holiday
• The highlight of this experience for the Israelites was
the receiving of God’s commandments, given to Moses
by God on top of Mount Sinai (renewal of the covenant)
• The Israelites first wandered for 40 years before being
able to enter Canaan. After Moses died, Joshua led the
new generation to enter Canaan. After the entry into
Canaan, three major periods of Hebrew history
followed
1. the age of the judges (the judges were appointed by
God to lead the people in particular situations);
2. the age of the kings (the first of the kings was Saul,
followed by David, and then by Solomon)
3. the age of the prophets (the prophets included Isaiah,
Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, among others, who were
messengers or spokespersons of God).
The primary jewish sacred writings are
those found in the Hebrew Bible (or
Hebrew Scriptures), known in Hebrew as
the Tanakh (or Tanak).
The supplementary ones are called the Talmud
(which contains the Mishnah and Gemara) and
Midrash.
The Hebrew Bible is a collection of particular books
which were once separate scrolls. The word Bible,
in fact, was derived from the Greek word biblia,
which means books. Thus a bible, strictly speaking,
means a collection of books.
The particular books of the Hebrew Bible are classified
into three groups:
1. The Torah (The Teachings)
2. Nevi’im (The Prophets)
3. Kethuvim or Ketuvim (The Writings)
• The word Torah means “teachings and instructions.”

• The Torah is the set of laws that God gave to Moses on

Mount Sinai.
• The Written Torah consists of 613 rules (mitzvot in
Hebrew), which include the ten commandments
written on two stone tablets
• The Oral Torah (which Moses transmitted to Aaron, his brother, who in
turn transmitted to his sons and others), which supplements the Written
Torah.
• It was originally intended to remain as an “oral tradition” and to be
passed on from parent to child throughout the generations.
• It was only later (fourth century BCE, after the destruction of
the second temple of Jerusalem) that the Oral Torah was
written to ensure its preservation during the times of war.
• What the Tanakh contains is the Written Torah
• the Oral Torah is what is contained in the Talmud, which
consists of the books of Mishnah and Gemara (previously
these books were separate until they were combined to form
the Talmud).
• The Written Torah is considered the most important part of
the Tanakh because it contains God’s covenant with the Jews
and God’s instructions to them in fulfilling their part of the
covenant.
• The Torah in the Tanakh contains five books, namely Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deutoronomy.
• These five books are also known as the Pentateuch or the Five
Books of Moses, for they are widely believed to be written by
Moses (some contemporary scholars, though, question
thinking).
• The Nevi’im consists of materials from what are called former
prophets (or major prophets) and latter prophets (or minor
prophets). There are in total 22 books comprising the Nevi’im.
Each book is named after its respective prophet.
• The Kethuvim consists of materials that are generally based
on human knowledge and experiences, some of which reflect
Greek, Persian, and Egyptian influences that greatly
influenced the Israelites.
• The Midrash examines the nonliteral meanings of the Tanakh.

• Midrash writings are ordered around the layout of the Tanakh.

• They are mostly stories that relate to words, themes, or stories in the Tanakh, which
aim to make these words, themes, or stories more understandable and applicable to a
person’s life.
• For example, many people familiar with the story of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden will say that Eve ate an apple. The idea of the apple
came from a midrash, for in the biblical story the name of the fruit is not
mentioned.
• The 613 Mitzvot
• The Ten Commandments
the first five of these 10 commandments, written on the first tablet, all
concern love of God; whereas the next five, written on the second tablet,
all concern love of neighbor.
• The Thirteen Principles of Faith
1. God exists.
2. God is one and there is nothing else like him.
3. God is spiritual in nature; he does not have corporeal aspects (physical
form).
4. God is an everlasting God, without beginning or end.
• The Thirteen Principles of Faith
5. God alone is the appropriate object of worship and prayer.
6. The Hebrew prophets spoke the truth from God.
7. Moses was the greatest of God’s prophets.
8. God gave Moses both the Written and Oral Torah.
• The Thirteen Principles of Faith
9. There is and will be no other Torah other than the one revealed to Moses.
10. God is aware of every thought and action of human beings.
11. The righteous will receive a reward from God; he will punish the wicked.
12. The promised Messiah will come at the proper time.
13. All human beings who have ever lived will be raised from the dead.
• The Jews refer to God as Yahweh or YHVH. Hebrew
was traditionally not written with vowels, so the
name of the Lord that is translated as “Yahweh,”
which was revealed to Moses, was originally written
as “YHVH.”
• While believing in an afterlife, the Jews have no precise
doctrines indicating the specific nature of the afterlife.
• Consequently, there are Jews who believe in reincarnation, while
there are some who believe in something similar to the Christian
heaven and hell (the difference, however, is that the Jews
believe that punishment in hell is only temporary—there is a
specified time for the punishment after which the soul is either
completely destroyed or goes to a state of remorse).
• The lack of precise doctrines in this matter is a result of the
Jewish emphasis and focus on how to live life in the here and
now according to the laws of God, and not on how to get into
heaven.
• Regarding the Messianic Age, the Jews believe in the
coming of the Messiah and the resurrection of the
righteous dead (dead Jews who lived a righteous life).
• They believe he will deliver the Jews all over the world
from oppression, establish peace on earth, create a
world government based in Israel, and rebuild the
Temple of Jerusalem, among others.
• The Jews (except those affiliated with a form of
Judaism called Messianic Judaism) do not believe that
Jesus Christ is the Messiah.
• Before Christ, there were in fact others who also claimed to
be the Messiah, all of whom the Jews also rejected. They also
believe that the prophet Elijah, who did not die but simply
ascended to heaven, will someday return to the world to
announce the coming of the Messiah
• Jewish males observe three daily prayer
services during the day—in the morning,
afternoon, and evening. When making their
prayers either in their home or synagogue,
they must face the direction of the site of
the temple in Jerusalem
• A minyan, consisting of 10 Jewish male adults,
was traditionally required for a public service
or any public reading of the Torah. After the
ruling by the Rabbinical Assembly Committee
in 1973, women may now be part of the
minyan if agreeable to the presiding rabbi.
The Sabbath occurs every sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. Strictly no
work is to be done on Sabbath for it is the most sacred day of the week for the
Jews, dedicated solely to prayer and rest from the usual everyday activities. The
observation of Sabbath honors the day when God, after seeing that all that He
created was good, rested on the seventh day, and most importantly, God’s
commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy.
On the eighth day after their birth, male infants are circumcised, which
signals their entry into the covenant between God and their Jewish
patriarchs. When boys reach the age of 13, they undergo a rite-of-
passage ceremony that marks their entry to adulthood.
 One who has undergone such a ceremony is called a bar mitzvah,
meaning, “son of the commandment.” It signals their acceptance of
their religious duties. In some forms of Judaism, girls also undergo the
same ritual when they reach the age of 12. A girl who has undergone
such a ceremony is called a bat mitzvah.
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