1. Judaism

2. Origins
You might see Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as three traditions vastly opposed to each other. In fact, the opposite is true—they have a common origin, shared scriptures, and cite many of the same historical figures. One way to think of them is like three streams starting from the same spring, and branching off at various points to flow in different directions. Judaism is where all three began, so let’s start by taking a look at the basics of this religion.

3. Covenant Maybe a scroll with the word Covenant on it?
The central principle of Judaism is the covenant, an agreement between God and the Jewish people. Jewish tradition says that God promised that in exchange for the Jews’ compliance with certain laws, he would take care of them and provide them with their own land. The history of the Jewish people and the covenant are laid out in the Jewish scriptures.

4. Hebrew Bible Prophets Writings Torah Former Prophets
First five books of Bible (aka Old Testament)
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Former Prophets
4 books
Latter Prophets
14 books
Four sections:
Poetical books
Psalms, Proverbs, Job
2. Megillot (Scrolls)
Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, Esther
3. Prophecy
Daniel
4. History
Ezra, Nehemiah, and I and II Chronicles
The Hebrew Bible is comprised of three books—the Torah, Prophets, and the Writings. The Torah, generally considered to be the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) describe the creation of man, how the covenant came to be, and what Jews are required to do for their part of it. The Prophets are subdivided into two major parts: four books of the "Former" prophets and 14 books of the "Latter" prophets. Together these books trace Jewish history from the time of Moses' death until the destruction of the First Temple and the subsequent exile of the southern kingdom to Babylonia. Divided into four sections, the Writings include: poetical books (Psalms, Proverbs, and Job), the Megillot, or Scrolls (Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and Esther), prophecy (Daniel), and history (Ezra, Nehemiah, and I and II Chronicles). The Writings are a miscellaneous collection of liturgical poetry, secular love poetry, wisdom literature, history, apocalyptic literature, a short story, and a romantic tale.

5. Mitzvot 613 Mitzvot = commandments 248 positive 365 negative
First five books of Bible (aka Old Testament)
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
A very important part of the Torah is the 613 mitzvot or commandments it contains. These are considered to come directly from God. There are 248 positive mitzvot or things that you should do and 365 negative mitzvot or things you should not do. Many of the mitzvot cannot be observed following the destruction of the Second Temple. According to one school of thought, there are 77 negative and 194 positive commandments that can be observed today. There are 26 commands that apply only within the Land of Israel. The “10 Commandments” are just a small part of the mitzvot that God commanded the Jews to follow.

6. Talmud
Mishnah
Gemara
Because the instructions in the Torah were somewhat vague, God is said to have explained the entire Torah to Moses. These instructions were passed orally from one generation to the next, until a rabbi decided to write all of them down. These instructions are contained in a 63 volume text called the Mishnah. Eventually, explanation was also needed for the Mishnah, and this was written down in what is now called the Gemara. Together, the Mishnah and Gemara are known as the Talmud.

7. Jewish Law
Jewish law is the foundation of being Jewish. Like many other traditions, acting in accordance with what is prescribed is the key to the tradition. In this case, following the commandments means keeping the covenant with God. In many cases, these acts are seen as keeping the Jews separate from others, and that is in some ways what they are meant to do. However, following Jewish law is probably best understood as a group of people doing what they are supposed to in order to maintain a relationship with God, and not as a reflection upon or statement about any other tradition.

8. Conversation and Salvation
A person can convert to Judaism. It requires intense study, living as part of a Jewish community, and serious commitment. The various traditions within Judaism (e.g. Orthodox vs. Reform) may not accept a person who has been converted within another tradition because they don’t recognize the authority of the rabbi within that tradition. Jews do not attempt to convert others and there are no Jewish missionaries. Unlike many Christians, Jews believe that a person can follow the seven laws of Noah and be assured of a place in the world to come. Formal conversion isn’t necessary for salvation.

9. Jewish Movements
There are within Judaism as within many other traditions, several schools of thought. These differ in how literally they take the scriptures, how much they think biblical requirements can be changed, and whether those requirements are mandatory. The groups have appeared and evolved over the years. Today, the main movements are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. There are several Orthodox groups. The common element among them is that they follow Jewish law and believe that God gave Moses the entire Torah at Mount Sinai. Reform Jews do not believe that the Bible was written by God. They instead believe that it was created by several different authors and put together into one book. Reform Jews do not follow Jewish law as Orthodox Jews do, but maintain similar values, ethics, and the overall culture. Conservative Jews can be thought of as a sort of middle ground—they do believe that the information in the Torah and other Jewish scriptures came from God, but they also hold that because they were transmitted by humans, they have a human component to them.

10. Jewish Culture
There is another group, the Jews who do not consider themselves part of any of these movements. Instead, they maintain Jewish culture and tradition without maintaining it as a religion. This again goes back to how you define a religion. If religion involves a deity or some sort of higher power, then only those that follow Jewish tradition in order to maintain the covenant would be considered religious. If you believe religion only involves a certain set of practices, then even this group might be considered religious.

11. Either way, keep in mind that Judaism, like Christianity, started in the Middle East with a belief in one deity. It is the religion based on the idea of a particular relationship between that deity and a specific group of people.