2. Judaism is the way of life of an
historic people founded by the
biblical patriarch, Abraham
about 4000 years ago. After a
period of slavery in Egypt
Moses led the people out of
captivity and received God's
commands (the Torah) at
Mount Sinai in about 1300 BCE.
Joshua later led them to the
Promised Land where they
established the Israelite
kingdom.
3. Their most famous king was
David who established
Jerusalem as the nation's
capital. His son Solomon
built the Temple which was
destroyed by the
Babylonians in 586 BCE.
The Second Temple, built
about 70 years later, was
destroyed by the Romans.
The Jewish people were
scattered throughout the
world but maintained their
religion and way of
life, making many
important contributions to
culture and civilisation.
4. In 1948 the State of Israel was formed and is the
central focus of the Jewish people, though millions
of Jews live in other countries.
The Torah, or first five books of the Hebrew
scriptures, contains 613 mitzvot or commandments
for a holy and righteous way of life. The 613 mitzvot
include the Ten Commandments.
The mitzvot applied by the spiritual leaders or rabbis
make up the Halakhah or Jewish Law. The Halakhah
encompasses all aspects of Jewish life including
theology, ethics, worship, daily rituals, life-cycle
events, marriage, food, clothing, education, work, S
abbaths and holy days.
5. • The most widely-accepted list of Jewish beliefs is the
thirteen principles compiled in the 12th century by Moses
Maimonides. These principles are:
• God exists
• God is one and unique
• God is incorporeal
• God is eternal
• Prayer is to God alone and to no other
• The words of the prophets are true
• Moses was the greatest of the prophets
• The Torah was given to Moses
• There will be no other Torah
• God knows the thoughts and deeds of men
• God rewards the good and punishes the wicked
• The Messiah will come
• The dead will be resurrected
6. A synagogue is the centre of a Jewish religious
community used for prayer, study and
education, social and charitable work and as a social
centre. Judaism's most holy site is the Western Wall
in Jerusalem. This is the retaining wall of the Second
Temple. The most important Jewish festivals are
Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and ten days later, Yom
Kippur (Day of Atonement). Rosh Hashanah is the
anniversary of the creation of the world. The fast of
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year
when Jews repent their sins. Other festivals include
Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavu'ot) and
Tabernacles (Sukkot) which commemorate events in
Jewish history.
7. Pesach recalls the Exodus of the Israelites from
slavery in Egypt, Shavuot celebrates the giving
of the Torah on Mount Sinai and Sukkot
remembers the journey of the Jews through
the desert on the way to the Promised Land.
Yom Hasho'ah is Holocaust Remembrance
Day, a very sad time which recalls the six
million Jews who perished because of Nazi
anti-Semitism between 1933 and 1945. Of
them, 1.5 million were children.
8. There are about 14 million Jewish people in the
world today. About 6 million live in the United
States of America, over 5 million in Israel, 1.3
million in the former Soviet Union, 1.2 million
in other European countries and the
remainder in smaller communities around the
world.
9. In 1788 about sixteen Jewish convicts arrived in
Australia with the First Fleet.
Among them was Esther Abrahams who in 1808, as partner to Lieutenant
George Johnston, became the colony's unofficial 'first lady'. Jewish
worship in Sydney began in about 1817 under the leadership of Joseph
Marcus, a former convict. Phillip Joseph Cohen, a free settler, held services
in his home from 1828.
After using various temporary premises the congregation opened the first
specifically built synagogue in Australia in 1844.
Jewish congregations were formed in Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne and
Adelaide during the 1840s, Brisbane in 1886 and Fremantle in 1887.
10. All together there were
about 1000 Jews among
the 157,000 convicts who
arrived in Australia
between 1788 and 1868.
The majority came from
England. They included
tailors, watchmakers, sho
emakers, grooms, ostrich-
feather
manufacturers, silk-glove
makers and even orange
sellers.
11. They were joined by settlers mostly from
England but also from Germany, and later by
refugees fleeing pogroms (organised
massacres) in Russia and Poland.
• During World War I, 11% of the community enlisted; 17% of these lost their lives.
Lieutenant General Sir John Monash, the Australian Commander-in-chief, was born
in Australia but came from a Polish Jewish family.
• In 1917 the New South Wales Legislative Assembly had to close on Yom Kippur
because both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker were Jewish. In 1931 Sir Isaac
Isaacs, formerly a parliamentarian and then a member (later Chief Justice) of the
High Court, became Australia's first Australian born Governor-General.
12. The Australian Jewish community gradually increased
with the arrival of more Polish refugees in the
1920s; Austrian and German refugees from Nazi
persecution in the 1930s; migrants and refugees
from Europe, Shanghai, Iraq, Egypt, India and
Hungary in the 1940s and 50s; and more recently
migrants from Russia, South Africa and Israel.
Today there are almost 84,000 Jewish people in
Australia, about 0.5% of the population.
