A brief description of the Jewish people: origins, traditions and history.

1. The Jews
In this presentation, you will learn a few facts
about the Jews:
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Their origins.
Their religion.
Their traditions.
The presence of the Jews in the Iberian
Peninsula.
The Sephardic Jews.

2. 1. Who are the Jews?
Where do they originate from?
A little bit of History...

3. Who are the Jews?
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The Jews are a nation, a people and a religion.
They originate from an area located in the
Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in Asia
(approximately the territory occupied by Israel
nowadays).
The Jews have a very rich cultural heritage that
has been preserved and transmitted for
generations.

4. According to the Bible, Abraham was selected by
Yahweh (or Jehovah) as the founder of the
Hebrews, 'the chosen people'.
Yahweh signed a pact with Abraham. God would
become the protector of the Hebrews (or Jews).
It is difficult to know when Abraham lived.
Abraham had a son called Isaac. Isaac had a son
called Jacob.
Jacob had twelve children. They founded the
twelve tribes of Israel.

6. The sacrifice of Isaac proved the
loyalty of Abraham to Yahweh

7. Around the year 1000 BC, David
founded the kingdom of Israel

8. David conquered Jerusalem, the
holy city of the Jews

9. David was succeeded by Solomon. It was a time
of splendour for the Jewish people. Solomon built
the First Temple of Jerusalem

10. After Solomon died, the kingdom was
divided in two: Israel and Judah

11. By 722 BC, the Assyrians conquered the kingdom
of Israel.
In 586 BC, the Babylons conquered Judah.
The temple of Jerusalem was destroyed for the
first time.
Thousands of Jews were taken to Babylon and
were enslaved.

12. In 539 BC, the Babylonians were conquered by
the Persians.
As a consequence, the Babylonian empire
disappeared. Many Jews were allowed to go back
to Jerusalem.
A second temple was built in Jerusalem.

14. In 63 BC, Pompey conquered the
territory of Israel.
Israel was under Roman rule.

15. In 66 AD, the Jews rebelled against the Romans.
In 70 AD, the second temple was destroyed.

16. Today, only the Western Wall of the temple
remains. Some Jews gather there everyday to
pray.

17. After the destruction of the Second Temple of
Jerusalem, the Jews migrated to other areas of
the world.
First, to Asia and Africa.
And later to Europe and America.

18. Jews lived all over Europe during the
Middle Ages, the Modern Era and the
Contemporary Era

19. Some of these Jewish migrants arrived at the
Iberian Peninsula, and established there as early
as the 4th century AD.
The Jews stayed in the Iberian Peninsula until
1492.
They lived in the Peninsula for over 1000 years.

20. In 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany.
Germany was suffering a severe economic crisis
those days.
And Hitler unfairly, ridiculously blamed the Jews
(among others) for that crisis.
The nazis were racists. Their foolish ideas caused
the death of millions of innocent people in the
world.

21. It is estimated that 6 million Jews were exterminated by
the German nazis during World War II

22. After the Holocaust (or Shoah), many Jews
returned to their original land.
The state of Israel was created in 1948.

23. Israel has 8 million inhabitants.
75 % of them are Jews, and 20 % Arabs.
However, most Jews don't live in Israel.
There are very important Jewish communities in
the US, South America and many other countries.

24. 2. What is the Jewish religion
(Judaism) like?

25. Judaism is a monotheistic religion.
Jews call their god Yahweh, or
Jehovah

26. The first five books of the Bible (the
Torah) are the basis of the Jewish
religion.

27. A baby born from a Jewish woman
becomes automatically Jewish.

28. Males are circumcised on their
eighth day of life.

29. Someone who is not born from a Jewish
mother can also convert into Judaism.
However, Jews usually don't try to convert
anybody.

30. The practice of the Jewish religion
implies to follow many rules, customs
and traditions.

31. Jews pray at the synagogue

32. They also pray privately in the morning, in
the afternoon and in the evening.

33. The rabbi is the spiritual guide of a
Jewish community.

34. There are strict rules about the
foods Jews are allowed to eat
- They can't eat certain animals (like shellfish or
pork), but they can eat other animals (cows,
sheep, goat, etc.)
- They eat only fish with fins and scales.
- Meat and milk must not be consumed together.
- Only animals who have been blessed by the
rabbi before slaughter can be eaten.

35. A teenage boy becomes an adult at the
age of 13.
A teenage girl becomes an adult at the
age of 12.

36. When they are 13, phylacteries and a tallit (a
shawl) are given to boys

37. Ritual baths (or mikveh) are taken in many
circumstances
- After a woman has
given birth to a child.
- By a bride, before
her wedding.
- By a father, previous
to the circumcision of
his son, etc.

38. Weddings are happy ceremonies

39. The bridegroom breaks a glass with his foot
in memory of the destruction of the Temple
of Jerusalem.

40. When someone dies, mourning lasts
for one week.

41. People remain inactive during the
mourning period.
They don't work, or shave.
Music is not allowed during those days.

42. 3. Feasts

43. Jews celebrate many feasts during the year.
These are some of the most important ones.

44. New year's day
- The sacrifice of
Isaac is
commemorated.
-A special horn
(shofar) is blown.
- The sins of the
previous year are
symbolically thrown to
a lake or a river.

45. Nine days later, Yom Kippur is
celebrated
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It is the holiest day of
the year.
It is a day of fasting
and intensive praying.
On Yom Kippur, Jews
ask Yahweh to forgive
their sins.
People wear white
clothes.

46. Sucot
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It commemorates the
life in the desert and
the Exodus from
Egypt.
Every family builds a
hut on the outside.

47. Festival of lights (Hanukká) is a happy
celebration. A candle is lighted every day. No
shool for eight days!

48. Pourim is the equivalent of the Christian
carnival. It is also a happy time

49. Jewish Easter commemorates the
Exodus from Egypt.
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A special type of
bread is eaten.
In the past, a lamb
was sacrified.

50. The Sabbath (Saturday)
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Saturday is the holy day of the week for the
Jews. It is a day of rest.
Strict (or orthodox) Jews don't write, work,
cook, drive, wash clothes or burn anything.
It is a family day. Some Jews go to the
synagogue.

51. 4. The Jews in the Iberian Peninsula

52. It is difficult to know exactly when the first Jews
entered the Iberian Peninsula.
After the destruction of the second temple of
Jerusalem (70 AD), some Jews must have settled
in Hispania.
There is archaeological evidence of the presence
of Jews in the Peninsula from the 4 th century, that
is, still during the Roman Empire.

53. During the late Roman empire, Jews were Roman
citizens.
They had their own laws, and were mainly
respected.

54. During the Visigothic kingdom, things changed.
After Reccared converted into catholicism, Jews
were no longer accepted, and they started to be
persecuted in the Iberian Peninsula.
Many laws that restricted the liberties of the Jews
were passed.

55. When the muslims invaded the Iberian Peninsula,
Jews were more respected in general.
Jews had to pay taxes to the muslim governors.
Some Jews had political power during the
caliphate of Córdoba.

56. Almoravids and almohads were less tolerant with
other religions.
So Jews started to be discriminated.

57. Jews in Al Andalus
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Some Jews were
merchants, doctors,
or cultivated the land.
They spoke Arabic in
Al Andalus.
Some Jews were
famous singers and
poets.
Maimónides was a
famous Jewish doctor
and philosopher who
lived in Al Andalus

58. When the Way of St James was created in
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the 9 century, some Jews migrated to the
Christian kingdoms in the North.
Jews saw opportunities of trade with the
pilgrims, and settled in the towns near the
Way.

59. The Christian kings needed people to settle in the
territories they conquered to the muslims.
So at first, Jews were mainly respected.

60. For many years, Jews, Christians and
muslims co-existed in the Peninsula

61. Some Jews cooperated with king
Alfonso X in the School of
Translators in Toledo.

62. However, Christians became more intolerant
against the Jews from the 14th century.
They started to be discriminated, and segregated.
The reason? Just religious intolerance.

63. Some christians began to accuse the Jews of
doing horrible things, all of them false: killing
babies, poisoning water, having pacts with the
devil, etc.
In 1391, thousands of Jews were massacred in
Spain and other countries.
th
In the 15 century, the Spanish Jews had to live in
enclosed quarters, couldn't sell certain products
to christians, were not allowed to be doctors any
more, etc.
Some Jews were forced to convert into
Catholicism

64. Some synagogues were converted
into christian churches

65. st
On May 31 , 1492, the Catholic Kings
decided to expell all the Jews from the
Iberian Peninsula

66. The Jews had two choices: either
convert into Christianism, or leave
Spain

67. Those who didn't convert had two months to
leave.
They couldn't take any gold or silver with them,
only personal belongings.
Jews had been living in Spain for over 1000
years. The Catholic kings said: one king, one
religion. So the Jews were not welcomed in Spain
any more.
Sadly, 200,000 Jews had to leave the land of their
ancestors. They left Spain for ever. The return
was not possible.

68. And again, the main reason for this was
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE.

69. 5. The sephardic Jews

70. The Jews that left Spain never forgot their
beloved motherland.
Many of them went to Portugal, the North of
Africa, the Balkans, Palestine and other countries.
And later, to America.

71. They continued talking the mother tongue of their
ancestors (Castilian or Catalan) in the territories
where they settled.
Sephardic (or ladino) was transmitted generation
after generation.
Also they kept their traditions, their songs and
their customs.

72. They never forgot SEFARAD, the name
Jews gave to the Iberian Peninsula.

73. Still many Sephardic Jews speak Sephardic (or
ladino), an old version of Castilian, no matter
where they live.
Unfortunately, the tradition of using Sephardic in
the family is less common nowadays.

74. Jews were allowed to return to Spain in 1869

75. Nowadays, there are about 50,000
Jews living in Spain

76. They are perfectly integrated in our
society