JUDAISM

Is an ancient monotheistic
religion that traces its origin as
an organized belief system
during bronze age in a West
Asia.
Judaism is one of the
three Abrahamic
religions that also
include Christianity and
Islam.
JEWS - Consider
themselves as the people
chosen by God to serve as
an exemplar of devotion
and purity to humankind.
 Torah
Most important text of Jewish people

The growth in their population

remain sluggish for a long time as
it grew to only 25% after the
catastrophic event called
Holocaust.
Largest Concentration
of Jews
Central Europe
Israel
North America ( Canada
and United States)
 Historical Background
The ancestors of the
Jews were groups of
Simates called
Hebrews.
The origin of the Jewish
people and the beginning of
Judaism are recorded in the
first five books of the
Hebrew Bible,the Pentateuch.
Judaism has three
notable founding or
patriarchs namely,
Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.
Socio-Political Dynamics of
Judaism
The Old Testament
gives us ideas on socio-
political dynamics of
Judaism.
The Jewish concept of
leadership based on the old
testament direct us to certain
types of leadership one of
which is kingship as the
ideal form of government.
Thus Socio-political
dynamics can also be
describe as following
model of tribal federation
in which varous tribes and
institution shared political
power.
Rabbi – who function as a
teacher and interpreter of the
Jewish
Judaism is not only considered
as a religion but as a way of
life as well.
 Sacred Scriptures
The Jewish people have been
called “people of the book” in
reference to the Hebrew Bible (
Tanakh or Mikra) that has been
the authority, guide, and
inspiration of the many forms of
Judaism .
Hebrew Bible is devided
into three principal
sections namely, the Torah
(teaching),
Nevi’im(Prophets) and
Ketovin (Writings).
Another sacred
writing of Judaism is
the Talmud ( Oral
Torah) which means
“study”.
 Beliefs and Doctrines
JUDAISM
-Action are most significant than beliefs
-no dogma
(Brasswell 1994)
-Focuses on the worship of one god
-Practice of good deeds and the love of
learning
 Parrinder (1971)
Everlasting god who created the
universe
Humans have the ability to restrain
evil intentions because of their
pronsities for both good and evil.
Losch 2011
Human being created God
who provide the capacity
to decide what is right or
wrong , freedom,
responsibilities
 Articles of faith
Perhaps the closest approach in
having an acceptable creed in
Judaism was proposed by the
eminent medieval Jewish
philosopher Moshe ben
Mainom.
(also known as Rambam
or Moscs Maimonides)
during the latter part of
twlelfth country C.E as
an appendix to his
commentary on the
Mishnah.
 Jewish Principles of Faith
 God exists
 God is one and unique
 God is incorporeal
 God is eternal
 Prayer is to be directed to God alone and
to other
 The words of the prophets are true
 Moses’ prophecies are true, and Moses was the
greatest of the prophets
 The Written Torah and the Oral Torah were
given to Moses
 There will be no other Torah
 God knows the thoughts and deeds of men
 God will reward the good and punish the wicked
 The Messiah will come
 The dead will be resurrected
 The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments are
a set of absolute laws given
by God to Moses at the
biblical Mount Sinai that
shall govern the life of every
Israelite.
 The 10
Commandmen
ts in Exodus
20:2-17
 The 10
Commandments
in Deuteronomy
5:6-21
 WORSHIP AND
OBSERVANCES
The Jewish community
utilizes a lunar calendar with
twelve months, each
beginning at the new moon
of 29 or 30 days.
 SABBATH
The most important day in the Jewish
calendar is the Sabbath (or Shabbat)
which commemorates God’s completion
of the creation of the universe and his
rest after six-day toil (Parrinder 1971)
 THE DAYS OF AWE
Tishri is the seventh
month in the
ecclesiatical year of the
Jewish calendar.
 PILGRIMAGE FESTIVAL
During the olden days, the Torah
commanded the ancient
Israelites to go to Jerusalem on
three pilgrimage festivals and
participate in the worship at the
Temple.
 THE THREE PILGRIMAGE
FESTIVAL
Pesach – An eight days
festival,festive meal (seder) is
celebrated wherein the story of
Exodus is narrated by the heads
of the family to the children.
Shavvot – A two day festival
that was originally celebration
of the wheat harvest.Presently,
it is now being held to
commemorable the revelation of
the Torah to Moses at Mt. Sinai.
Sukkot – A nine day
festival,the forty days of
Israelites stay in the desert
wilderness subsisting solely on
the bounty of God.Temporary
booths or structure(sokkah) are
built in homes with a roof
through which one can see the
stars in the sky
OTHER IMPORTANT DAYS
Other important events in the
Jewish calendar includes the
Hannuka ( “ Festival of Lights” or
“ Feast of dedication”), Purim( “
Feast of Esther”) and the
Independence day of the State of
the Israel.
 JEWISH MONTHS AND
FESTIVALS
Nisan ( March or April)
 14- Passover Eve
 15-21 Passover
Iyyar( April or May )
 5- Isarel’s Independence Day
Sivan(May or June)
 6-7- Shavout
Tishri( September or October)
1-Rosh Hashanah
10- Yom Kippur
15- Sukkot
21- Hashanah Rabbah
22- Shemini Atzeret
23-Simchat Torah
Kislev ( November or
December)
25- Hannukah begins up to the
second of Tebet( December or
January)
Adar ( Febuary or March)
14-Purim
 Halakha
 Jewish people follow a set of rules and
practices that govern their everyday
living. Collectively called halakha
which translate as the “ paths that one
walks” this are the Jewish religious law
derived from the “ Written Torah” and “
Oral Torah” including the 613 mitzvot.
 Synagogues
Jewish temples of worship,
instruction and community
fellowship that contains
separate rooms designed for
specific activities such as
praying and studying.
Bimah or tebah – Holiest spot
inside the sygnagogues
Ark of the Convenant
Parochet – Ornate curtain
Ner tamid- Lamp or lantern
Menorah- Sx-branched lamped
stand
Minyan – 10 adults male present
THE TEMPLE