Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion that originated in West Asia during the Bronze Age. It considers the Jewish people as chosen by God to serve as an example of devotion and purity. The core beliefs are in one God, following the Torah, and the coming of the Messiah. The largest Jewish populations are in Israel, the United States, and Canada. Key events include receiving the Ten Commandments from Moses at Mount Sinai and the Holocaust under Nazi Germany.

2. Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion that traces
its origin as an organized belief system during the Bronze
Age in West Asia. The religion also include Christianity
and Islam. It is the religion professed by the Jews known
as the “people of the Book” in reference to their sacred
text written covering nearly a thousand years and
formalized as a canon of teaching by the end of the first
century C.E.

3. The Jews consider themselves as the people chosen
by God to serve as an exemplar of devotion and
purity to humankind. It is quite difficult to study key
events in the historical foundation of Judaism
without discussing the history of the Jewish people
from the time of the Hebrews’ mass departure from
Egypt or the Exodus.

4. The largest concentration of Jews can be found
in Israel, North America (United States and
Canada ), and Central Europe. Other countries
with sizable Jewish population include France,
United Kingdom, Russia, Argentina, Germany,
and Australia.

5. Sacred
Scriptu
res
JUDAISM
Worships and
Observances
Beliefs
and
Doctrines
Subdivisions
Concept Map

6. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
It is quite difficult to separate the history of
Judaism from the history of the Jews themselves
(Parrinder 1967). The ancestors of the Jews were
groups of Semites called Hebrews whose origin can
be traced in the desert lands of Arabia (Brown
1975).

7. Socio-Political DynamicsofJudaism
The Old Testament gives us ideas on socio-
political dynamics of Judaism. Understanding the
Jewish concepts on politics and society would
help us understand the historical development of
Judaism as one of the world’s religions and see its
relevance in contemporary times.

8. Sacred Scriptures
The Jewish people have been called the “people of the
Book” in reference to the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh or Mikra
) that has been the authority, guide, and inspiration of the
many forms of Judaism that have evolved throughout the
different periods of time and in various places (Parrinder
1971).

9. BeliefandDoctrines
In Judaism, actions are more significant than beliefs.
However, while Judaism has no dogma, there is deffinitely a
place for belief within the religion since it focuses in the
worship on one God, the practice of good deeds, and the
love of learning (Brasswell 1994). For the Jews, there is one
everlasting God who created the universe in its entirety
remains the master of it (Parrinder 1971).

10. ARTICLESOFFAITH
Perhaps the closest approach in having an acceptable creed
in Judaism was proposed by the eminent medieval Jewish
philosopher Mosheben Maimon (also known as Rambam or
Moses Maimonides) during the latter part of twelfth century
C.E as an appendix to his commentary on the Mishnah.
According to Moshe ben Maimon, the minimun
requirements of Jewish belief as listed in his thirteen
principles of faith are as follows:

11. JewishPrinciplesofFaith
1. God exists.
2. God is one and unique.
3. God is incorporeal.
4. God is eternal.
5. Prayer is to be directed to God alone and no to other.
6. The words of the prophets are true.
7. Moses’ prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets.
8. The Written Torah and the Oral Torah were given to Moses.
9. There will be no other Torah.

12. 10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of men.
11. God will reward the good and punish the
wicked.
12. The Messiah will come.
13. The dead will be resurrected.

13. TheTenCommandments
The Ten Commandments are a set of absolute
laws given by God to Moses at the biblical Mount
Sinai that shall govern the life of every Israelite.
Most scholars consider this period as the official
beginning of Judaism as an organized and
structured belief system.

14. Worship and Observances
The Jewish community utilizes a lunar calendar with twelve months,
Each beginning at the new moon of 29 or 30 days. Every festival and
Sabbath commences and terminates at dusk (or sunset) rather that
midnight in adherence to the biblical pattern.
The Days of Awe
Tishri is the seventh month in the acclesiastical year of the Jewish calendar. The
first ten days of Tishri are called the “Days of Awe” (Yamim Noraim) wherein the
first two days comprise the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the tenth day as the
Day od Atonement (Yom Kippur).

15. Women inJudaism
Women role in the Jewish religion is
determined by the Tanakh, the “Oral Torah”,
and Jewish customs. Mishnah instructs that
women must follow nearly all the negative
commandments except trimming the beard
and viewing a dead body.

16. Jewish Diaspora and Zionist Movement
In the 16th and 17th centuries, there had been calls to
persuade the Jews to return to Palestine. During the
late 18th century, the Haskalah (“Jewish
Enlightenment”) movement promoted Jewish
assimilation to Western secular culture (Parrinder
1971).

17. Holocaust
The term Holocaust is of Greek origin that means
“sacrifice by fire”. In history, holocaust pertains to the
methodical, bureautic, and state-sponsored
persecution and execution of around six million Jews
undertaken by the Nazi regime and its collaborators
from 1933 to 1945.

18. Anti-Semitism
The term anti-Semitism pertains to hostility
towards and discrimination against the
Jewish people that was strongly felt in
France, Germany, Poland, and Russia in the
late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The term was popularized in Germany
around 1870s.

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