Essay on History of Judaism

Judaism being the oldest out of these three dominant religions was developed in the “third millennium BCE” (130). Canaan is where the Hebrews first prospered, until around 1500 BCE. At this time a famine struck, and influenced the Jewish people to move to Egypt. Egypt was lead by the Hyksos, which shared languages and cultural beliefs with the Hebrews. In Egypt “the Hebrews thrived over the next few centuries, until the Egyptian overthrew the Hyksos and enslaved the Hebrews” (130). At that time Moses (a man lead by God), rallied the Hebrews and helped them escape the slavery they endured in Egypt.

Similarly to Buddhism, Judaism retains its own uniqueness as well. In 2000 BCE, Abraham established the religion of Judaism. The religion is founded upon the Hebrew Scripture, which accounts for the will of God for man and later became part of the Torah, the holy book. With many followers, also known as Jews, in the United States and in Israel, Judaism is considered as a western religion. As a monotheistic religion, Jews believe in the one and only God. Jewish people worship in synagogues. In contrast to Christianity and Islam, which follows Hebrew Laws as well, Judaism focusses much less on death. In the religion, Jews believe death is a natural occurrence. The theology of Judaism revolves around four central

In 588 B.C a horrible act was started by the Babylonian Empire. The Babylonian captivity had started and was exiling the Hebrews from their land. This was a very hard time for the Jews. The exile had brought a significant amount of change to how Judaism was practiced. Before they got exiled by the Babylonians their life revolved around the temple in Jerusalem, which the Babylonians have destroyed. The Hebrews believed that this was an act of god like when they were slaves in Egypt and then freed. They believed that they have to still keep their beliefs till god saves them again. Since they didn’t have a temple to go to where they made animal sacrifices they shifted their minds to the religious side. This is what led to the rise of

Early modern Jewish history is filled with depth and knowledge that captivated and cultivated the religion into what it would become. An important part of the history were the ideologies and philosophies of Moses Mendelssohn. Considered the first modern Jewish philosopher and a shaper of Judaism, Mendelssohn was the start of what would become the Jewish Enlightenment. Being the first person to translate the Bible from Hebrew to German, he opened up the door for Jews to rediscover and enhance their knowledge. A writer and philosopher, several of Mendelssohn's writings were highly successful and considered a herald to a new way of thinking. While many of his writings received praise from people of different parts, critiques arose, including

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Before we can totally dive into how the Temple destruction changed Judaism, we must gain some knowledge of the Jewish faith itself, as well as Jewish terms. One of the first ideas many people may discover about the term “Jew” is its lack of use in the Old Testament scriptures.

Judaism and Christianity is a monotheistic religion. "Judaism is a diverse tradition associated with the Jewish people", and Jesus is a Jew. Many people insist Judaism is the foundation of Christianity because Christianity originated from Judaism (when God showed himself to Abraham and Moses), but not an expansion of Judaism. This two religions, both refer to Jesus Christ, even though his role in each religion differs. The Jews refer to God as Yahweh (“I am who I am”) while the Christians refer to him as God. They have the same origin, believe that Abraham was the father of faith and Moses received the Ten Commandments. Both religions relate in faith and the scripture they share, but as much as they associate, they also have differences.

Hi Emily I must say I agree with you that it was really good on Rabbi Wise to try to incorporate American values into their beliefs and understanding. Although I think that perhaps it was a lot for the Jewish to take in with the whole new ambiance thing. I think that Wise was moving at a faster pace by trying to Americanize Judaism and the Jews, but speaking in English and German was definitely a good move on his part to reach all his audience especially those that no longer knew Hebrew. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be an elder at this time and to see so many changes going on. Great post!

Although the exact age of the Jewish faith is debatable, one thing is certain, it is a faith with an extensive, and at times tumultuous, history. Throughout the history of Judaism, Jewish people have faced ongoing persecution and discrimination. Despite these conflicts, the faith is alive, strong, and growing. Like many religions faced with adversity, Judaism has had to accommodate the ever-changing world to maintain their faith. One significant moment of change, the falling of the Second Temple, had the opportunity to destroy Judaism for good, but the Jewish people came together and reformulated their religion in order to save their faith.

Judaism is a monotheistic religion and it beliefs are the complete opposite of ancient polytheistic religion like that of Hinduism. Monotheism is the belief of one God. The religion started with the ancient Israelites, who referred to their God as El. Their God was known by many names to include, El Shaddai, El Elyon, El Olam and Most frequently Elohim and YHWH. Their God was worshipped by burning animal sacrifices on an alter. Their God was not worshiped in a temple or building until the time of Solomon (961-922 B.C.E.). It was not until the time of Moses and the great Exodus of the chosen people of God, that their Law was given unto them on Mt. Sinai to Moses, the prophet. YHWH communicated their law to the Israelites through Moses. Ten absolutes laws, the Ten Commandments. These rules and regulations are supposed to govern the interactions between man with man, and man with God. Judaism having its spiritual and ethical

Disregarding preceding events, most notably the enslavement of the Jewish people by the Egyptians, aggression against the Jewish people has precedent in events occurring over two and a half thousand years ago. In the fifth century BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon catalyzed the Jewish Diaspora after destroying a five hundred year jewish temple in Israel and forcing the Jewish people into exile. Although many Jews eventually returned home when the more tolerant Persian empire came to power, dominion was soon transferred to the Roman Empire who again forced the Jewish people into exile. The Romans annihilated a substantial portion of the Jewish population and compromised the identity of the Jewish homeland by renaming it Palaestina. Jews would be scattered throughout the empire, in places such as Germany, at this time. Centuries later, Christianity would be declared the official religion of the empire. Using the infrastructure of the Roman Empire, Christianity would become the dominant religion throughout Europe. Fortunately, the Jews were mainly able to

The amount of deaths that occurred during the Jewish Wars are staggering; these tragedies can only be preceded by the Holocaust. Because of the impact of the first Jewish War and Bar Kokhba, the population decreased from “from 7 to 8 million before the revolt to under 2 million by the 3rd century C.E. While some of this spiral may have been caused by a falling birthrate, much was due to conversion to Christianity, assimilation, and abandonment of Judaism.” (25). If the war of Masada had not occurred, and not such an astonishing amount of people had died, “Judaism instead of Christianity might have emerged as the main religion of the Roman Empire.” (27). Also, the persecution thoroughly tested the strength of the Jew’s beliefs. Hadrian, a fickle leader, illegalized circumcision. This was a paramount part of the law of the Jews, and so it was a “strike at the very heart of Jewish identity and religion.” (29). There is a countless plethora of examples of harsh edicts that rulers would put into place against the Jews. But, their responses often involved revolts, which in turn led to the unification of believers. When there is a common, malicious enemy in sight, the will to fight leads to a prevailing allegiance to one’s faith. This made them stronger and more rebellious, which is most likely why the Jewish religion is still prevalent in our society, and why the nation of Israel was reinstated in

Judaism, which began in the Middle East, is the oldest monotheistic religion. Abraham is typically known as the founder of Judaism and the first Jew. It is said that Abraham made a covenant with God and this began Judaism. Because of Judaism, Christianity and Islam all recognize Abraham as the first prophet, all three of these are considered Abrahamic religions ("Religion: Three Religions, One

Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world. Jewish people have suffered persecution through the holocaust, they were left with nothing. No leader or land to call their own as everything was taken from them.