Judaism Overview Judaism

Class Objective:  Students will understand the essential questions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  Essential Questions -  Who was the founder?  Where did it originate?  What are the key texts?  What are the core beliefs?  What happens when a believer dies?  What are their practices and rituals?  How has the religion spread geographically ?

Zoroaster  Taught that on Earth people receive training for a future life. On Earth the forces of good and evil battle one another and people must choose between them.  Those who chose good would be rewarded with eternal blessings and those who chose evil would face punishments.  These beliefs impacted Judaism and Christianity.

Judaism  Jewish people are also called Hebrew.

 The Christians also use the first five books as the Old Testament.  These books contain historical accounts of important events. They also contain stories told to teach important lessons.

Founder  The “ father ” or founder of the Hebrew people was Abraham.  He lived in Sumer.  He left Sumer and led his people through the desert to Canaan.  Abraham ’ s story is told that God said to take his family and God would show them where to settle. As long as the Jewish people are there they will be blessed.

Abraham

 The land that they moved to was called Canaan.  Canaan is where modern day Israel is located.  Eventually the descendants of Abraham left Canaan and traveled West into Egypt.

The Exodus  The Hebrews lived peacefully in Egypt for some time. Then the Egyptians no longer favored them.  The Hebrews were held as slaves for 400 years and suffered greatly.  The Hebrews were then led out of slavery by a great leader named Moses.

Moses  Led by Moses, the Hebrews fled into the deserts of the Sinai Peninsula, where they wandered in the wilderness.  Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai. When he returned he carried tablets bearing the Ten Commandments.  The Ten Commandments are moral laws revealed to Moses by the Hebrew god, Yahweh.

10 Commandments  The first four commandments concerned the Hebrews ’ relationship with God.  The last six commandments concerned the Hebrew ’ s relationship with one another.

 The Hebrew people agreed to follow these commandments.  This was an example of entering into a covenant with Yahweh.  Moses announced that Canaan was a promised land to his ancestors and Yahweh had sent him to found the holy nation.

 The Hebrew people were inspired by Moses’ words and set out for Canaan.  They wandered in the desert for many years before entering the “promised land.”  They were expecting to find a land “flowing with milk and honey.”

 The Hebrews from Egypt joined those who lived on the border of northern Canaan.  Together, they became a loose confederation of tribes bound together in order to maintain the Ark of the Covenant.  Prophets would appear from time to time to warn people that God was angry because they were straying from the terms of the covenant.

 The Hebrews became tough desert tribes from living in the wilderness.  The groups called the Canaanites and Philistines were a struggle for the Hebrews.  They tried to conquer both groups, but the Canaanites and Philistines resisted.  Eventually the Hebrews conquered the Canaanites.  They drove the Philistines closer to the sea coast, but never conquered them completely.

 Since the Hebrews lived in the wilderness, they were living a nomadic lifestyle.  They were split up into twelve tribes.  During times of fighting, the tribes would unite under one king.

Kings of Israel  From about 1020 to 922 B.C.., the Hebrews united under three able kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. The new kingdom was called Israel.  Under David, the village of Jerusalem was conquered and made the capital and religious center.  Under Solomon, Israel reached the height of its wealth and power.  For 100 years Israel enjoyed its greatest period of power and independence.

 After Solomon’s death, unity was disrupted by struggles for political power.  In the late 900s BC the 10 northern tribes revolted and the kingdom split in two.  The northern part remained the kingdom of Israel and the capital was Samaria.  The Southern part, located around the Dead Sea, became the kingdom of Judah. The capital was Jerusalem.

 Since the Hebrews were no longer united, they lacked the strength to withstand invasions.  In 722 BC the Assyrians conquered Israel. They captured and enslaved many Hebrews.  In 587 BC the Chaldeans destroyed Jerusalem and took the Hebrews captive.  When Cyrus, the Persian king conquered the Chaldeans, he allowed the Hebrews to return to their homeland.

 The Hebrew scriptures tell of the creation of the world and the special missions of Hebrews.  About one third of these scriptures, also known as the Old Testament, is Hebrew history.  The remaining scriptures include laws, property, prophecy, and religious instruction.

The Torah  The first five books of the Old Testament are known as the Torah.  It includes the Hebrew Code of Laws, called the Mosaic law.  Law reflected the belief that all people deserved kindness and respect.

 The early Hebrews worshipped Yahweh as their only god.  Yahweh protected them from enemies and provided food and water.  Those who sinned against Yahweh would suffer and their children and succeeding generations would also suffer.

 As time went on, the Hebrews came to believe that people had a choice between good and evil and would be held responsible for their choices.  Yahweh was now a god who lived in the hearts of worshippers. They would serve him out of love.  Yahweh was viewed as a spiritual force, not as a glorified human or a part of nature.  Earthly political leaders had no claims to divinity. Only Yahweh was divine.

 Today, many people refer to the values first established by the Hebrews as Judeo-Christian ethics.  The Jewish system of ethics carried over into the founding of Christianity.

Modern Day Judaism  Judaism does not focus much on abstract cosmological concepts. (the nature of God, man, the universe, life, afterlife) They focus on this life, here and now.  They have substantial room for personal opinion on all these matters.  They are much more concerned about actions than beliefs.

Modern Day Judaism  Judaism focuses on relationships:  The relationship between God and mankind  The relationship between God and Jewish people  The relationship between Jewish people and the Land of Israel  The relationship between human beings

Worship and Practices  Jewish pray in a congregation three times a day.  They study the Torah.  The Torah is read each Sabbath. The Sabbath is spent in prayer, study, rest, and family feasting.  The Jewish year includes five major festivals- Passover, Shabuoth, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur.  The two minor holidays are Hanukkah and Purim.

 Judaism originated in the Middle East and has spread throughout all parts of the world because of both voluntary migrations and forced exile or expulsions.  The Jewish population is about 15 million.  Most live in the United States, Israel, and Russia.

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 Open to page 452 in the World Geography Today textbook.  Read pages and answer the questions.

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