Judaism Notes 9.25 & 9.28

Origin Judaism began around 1800 BCE in Mesopotamia, when Abraham made a pact with God saying that if he obeyed God, God would make him the Father of Israel. Promised him the land of Caanan Judaism is monotheistic which is a belief in only one god.

Holy Book The Tanakh i. All of the Jewish writings compiled together C. The Torah (Old testament) i. First 5 books of the Tanakh ii. Tells the story of Genesis and Exodus, which recount the beginning of the world and the creation of the Ten Commandments. iii. known as the “written Torah” iv. Holiest of all Jewish writings D. The Talmud i. Collection of writings from rabbis that interpret and explain the Torah. ii. Known as the “oral Torah”

Notable People Abraham- Father of Judaism Moses- Egyptian prince who lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Received the Ten commandments from God atop Mt. Sinai Jesus- Jewish carpenter whose teachings inspired the Christian religion.

Diaspora Diaspora – scattering of people Throughout Jewish history most the Jewish people have been scattered throughout the globe mainly in Europe and Asia.

Places where Jewish people live Jews are scattered all over the world, and there have been Jewish communities in most parts of the globe for many centuries.  The largest Jewish communities in the world today exist in Israel (5,413,800) and the United States (5,275,000). There are also sizeable Jewish communities in many other countries including the Russia Federation, France, Canada, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Africa and Hungary. Just about every country in Europe has a Jewish community, and there are small communities scattered throughout the Middle East. There are new Jewish communities in parts of Asia, while communities in Australia’s big cities and in many countries in Latin America are also thriving.  Altogether, in the whole world, there are calculated to be 13.4 million Jews.

Jerusalem Holy city for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Currently the capital of Israel.