What is Judaism and who are the Jews? Basic principles of the Jewish religion
Many people know that Islam and Christianity are the most widespread religions in the world, but not everyone knows their origin from long tradition another worldview - Judaism.
This creed is considered one of the most ancient on our planet and is inextricably linked with the Jewish people, with its mentality, national and ethical views. What is Judaism? What do Jews believe and who do they worship?
What does the word "Judaism" mean?
concept "Judaism" associated with the ancient Greek word Ἰουδαϊσμός used to refer to the Jewish religion as opposed to Greek paganism. The term comes from the name biblical character Judah, in whose honor the Kingdom of Judah was named, and later the entire Jewish people.
Judas, the son of the patriarch Jacob, should not be confused with another Judas who sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, since they are two different individuals.
What is Judaism?
Judaism is a monotheistic religion that recognizes the oneness of God. Its history goes back about 3000 years and covers several important stages. The origin of the doctrine began around the 10th century BC. e. among the nomadic Semitic peoples who revered the god Yahweh and actively practiced sacrifices on altars.
At the second stage of development, covering the period from the VI century BC. e. Until the 2nd century AD, Judaism was built on the ideas of the Second Temple and welcomed the observance of the Sabbath and circumcision. In Western countries, this stage is well known thanks to the New Testament, which describes the life and deeds of Jesus Christ.
The third stage, called "Talmudic Judaism", began in the 6th century and lasted until the 18th century. At this time, the Babylonian Talmud was recognized as the most authoritative interpretation of the Torah, and the traditions of the Jewish rabbis came to the fore.
Unlike Islam and Christianity, modern Judaism is not a world, but a national religion, that is, according to the Jews, it cannot be practiced without being a descendant of the forefathers of the Jewish people.
Who are the Jews?
Jews are an ethno-religious group that includes people who were born Jews or those who converted to Judaism. As of 2015, there are over 13 million representatives of this religion in the world, with more than 40% of them living in Israel.
Large Jewish communities are also concentrated in Canada and the USA, the rest are located mainly in European countries. Initially, the Jews were understood as the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Judah, which existed from 928 to 586 BC. In the future, this term was used to refer to the Israelites from the tribe of Judah, and now the word "Jew" is almost identical to the nationality "Jew".
What do Jews believe?
The beliefs of the Jews are built on monotheism and are indicated in the Mosaic Pentateuch (Torah), which, according to legend, was given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The Torah is often referred to as the Hebrew Bible because in Christianity it corresponds to the books of the Old Testament. In addition to the Pentateuch, the Holy Scriptures of the Jews include two more books - "Neviim" and "Ketuvim", which together with the Torah are called "Tanakh".
The Jews have 13 principles, according to which God is one and perfect. He is not only the Creator, but also the Father of man, and also acts as a source of love, goodness and justice. All people are equal before God, because they are his creations, but the Jewish people directly have great mission which consists in conveying Divine truths to humanity.
The Jews firmly believe that at the end of days all the dead will be resurrected and continue their existence on this earth.
Currents of Judaism
At the present stage of Judaism, which began around the 1750s, several currents separated from the main religion (Orthodox Judaism). So, at the beginning of the 19th century, Reform Judaism was born in Europe, whose followers believe that over time Jewish traditions develop and acquire new content.
In the middle of the same century, conservative Judaism appeared in Germany, based on more liberal views than the Orthodox religion, and in the first half of the 20th century, Reconstructionist Judaism emerged, based on the ideas of several Jewish rabbis, in particular Mordechai Kaplan.
Judaism is a religion that had a great influence on the formation of Christianity. Therefore, there are two tendencies in the presentation of Judaism. The first, Christian theological-theological trend, considers Judaism from the point of view of those moments that affirm the truth of the Christian dogma. At the same time, Judaism itself is criticized as an inauthentic distortion of the “true faith”. Another tradition considers Judaism as a valuable religious entity, the national religion of the Jews. The second approach is more in line with the logic and goals of our presentation, since in this section we analyze national religions. In this case, it seems to us that it is necessary to reveal the content of this religion in itself, regardless of the influences that it had on other religious cult systems. An analysis of these influences must be made at the appropriate time when the subject of the emergence of Christianity is considered.
Judaism is a religious system that originated in the territory; Palestine at the turn of the II-I millennium BC The term "Judaism" comes from the name of the Jewish tribal association of Judah, which was the most numerous among all 12 Jewish tribes ("twelve tribes of Israel"), and at the end of the 11th century BC. e. became the dominant tribe, since at that moment King David, a native of this tribe, became the head of the formed Israeli-Jewish state. The doctrine of Judaism is set forth in a number of canonical documents: Holy Scripture (Tanak) and Holy Tradition (Talmud). The content of Holy Scripture is known to the general reader from the Old Testament of the Bible - the main doctrinal book of Jews and Christians.
Judaism is called the national religion of the Jews. Historians note that the formation of Judaism as national religion Jews began long before the XIII century, when their nomadic tribes invaded the territory of Palestine. Initially, the beliefs, rituals and rituals of the Jewish tribes did not fundamentally differ from the beliefs, rituals and rituals of other peoples at a similar stage of development. Familiarity with the contents of the Old Testament testifies to the strong distribution and influence among the Jewish tribes of totemistic, animistic, magical beliefs and rituals. The religious and cult system of that period had a pronounced polytheistic character. And only from the XIII century BC. e., after the invasion of Jewish tribes into the territory of Palestine and the formation of the Jewish state there, begins to take shape Judaism as a monotheistic religion.
Naturally, monotheism could not develop overnight. The formation of monotheism took a relatively long historical period and assumed the existence of some transitional forms. Such transitional form on the way to the formation of monotheism was henotheism. Henotheism presupposes the existence of one or another people of faith in one God. The Jewish people had such a God god Yahweh(Jehovah). And all religious and cult activity, the system of social norms and social interactions of the Jewish people was built around this God. At the same time, it was recognized that every nation has its own god. The orthodox Jew was obliged to worship only his god and not to enter into relations with other gods. To worship the god Yahweh in the capital of the State of Israel, the son of David, King Solomon in 945 BC. e. the temple of Yahweh was built, which became the center of the religious activity of Judaism. However, polytheism among the Jews lasted for several more centuries, as evidenced by the decree of King Joseph from 622 BC. e. about the abolition of the cults of other gods.
As you know, in 586 BC. e. Judah was captured by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. The temple of Yahweh was destroyed, and the Jews were taken into captivity. During the Babylonian captivity, Judaism became the ideological basis of the struggle of the Jews for the liberation and restoration of their own statehood, which took the form of a movement to return to the land of their ancestors. Since that time, monotheism has finally been established in Judaism. And although many biblical patriarchs and prophets insisted on a monotheistic interpretation of Judaism, the Bible connects the assertion of true monotheism with the name prophet Moses. According to the biblical story, God Yahweh, through the prophet Moses, offered the people of Israel an alliance - a “covenant”. This covenant contains two key provisions.
First, the Jews are obliged to recognize that the God Yahweh is not just one of the gods, even the most powerful and powerful, but the only God, the creator and ruler of everything that happens in nature, society and the fate of every person. Secondly, the Jewish people is God's chosen people, He will be under the special protection of the almighty God as long as he remains faithful to him.
These two provisions are central to the religious-cult system of Judaism. Despite the fact that in Judaism God is proclaimed the creator and ruler of all mankind, he emphasizes that the Jewish people are a special, God chosen people, the people - the Messiah, called to carry out a special civilizing mission with the aim of establishing a kingdom of prosperity, peace and justice on earth. It would seem logical for the representatives of Judaism to strive to go beyond the boundaries of a separate people, spreading their faith among other peoples. But the Jewish clergy prevent the assimilation of Jews. Back in 444 BC. e. it insisted on passing a law prohibiting Jews from joining family relations with other nations. Thus, Judaism orients the Jewish people towards ethnic isolation. And this has its negative consequences associated with the opposition of the Jews to other peoples. But along with the negative moments I, this orientation was one of the reasons for the exceptional resilience of the Jewish people, whose lot in history was very difficult trials.
One such test was the conquest of Palestine in 322 BC. e. Alexander the Great. This event led to the second most significant Jewish settlement in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Jewish War (66-73 AD), which ended in the defeat of the Jews, as well as the suppression of the anti-Roman uprising led by Bar Kokhba (135 AD), led to the mass deportation of Jews and their settlement around the world. During the period of settlement (diaspora), the Talmud is created, which becomes the basis of legislation, legal proceedings and a moral and ethical code for believing Jews. On the basis of the Old Testament and the Talmud, Judaism functions as a complex set of religious ideas and rituals, moral, ethical and legal norms that regulate the entire life of a Jew as an individual, Jewish society and the state.
The cosmological mythology of Judaism is set forth in the first book of the Old Testament - Genesis. This book tells how God created Heaven and Earth, animals and plants, man "in his own image and likeness", man and woman - Adam and Eve from nothing, how these first people committed their "original sin" by picking fruit from the forbidden tree knowledge of good and evil and how God punished them for this by expelling them from paradise. From now on, they had to earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brow and give birth to children in pain. Then comes a story about the fate of the children of these people, about their complex relationship with God.
However, the greatest interest in considering the doctrine and cult of Judaism is the content of the "covenant" that God gave on Mount Sinai to the prophet Moses. The content of this testament is set forth in related versions in two books of the Old Testament "Exodus" (20, 2-17) and Deuteronomy (5,6-12). This "covenant" is 10 commandments - religious, religious and moral and legal norms:
1) May you have no other gods before my face;
2) Do not make for yourself an idol and any image of what is in heaven above and what is on earth below, what is in the water, below the water, do not worship them and do not serve them;
3) Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain;
4) Remember the Sabbath day in order to sanctify it, work six days and do all your works in them, and devote the seventh day Saturday to your Lord, for in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, and rested on the seventh, therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it;
5) Honor your father and your mother;
6) Do not kill;
7) Do not commit adultery;
8) Do not steal;
9) Do not bear false witness against your neighbor;
10) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor thy neighbor's wife, nor his servant, nor his maidservant, nor an ass, nor anything that thy neighbor has.
The Jewish religious and religious system contains many provisions regulating food, marriage, behavior in society and in places of worship. The most significant rites associated with the "chosenness of God" of the Jewish people, the rites of initiation - the circumcision of the foreskin of boys on the eighth day after birth and the bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah ceremony, highlighting the coming of age of boys and girls. A large role in Judaism is given to religious holidays. The most significant of them are: Shabbat (Saturday) - a time of rest and a ban on any activity; yom-kippur (day of forgiveness) - a daily fast, symbolizing repentance; Pesach (Easter) - a holiday that marks the beginning of spring; sukkot and shnuot - holidays dedicated to the harvest; simchat-torah (joy of the Torah) - a holiday on the occasion of the completion of the cycle of reading the Torah in the synagogue.
The organizational structure of Judaism has undergone significant changes over the four millennia of its existence. For a long time Judaism played a leading role the priestly class, concentrating religious life around the temple of Yahweh. During the period of dispersion (diaspora), the leading role in religious life starts playing synagogue- a meeting of believers, headed by a rabbi (teacher). Currently, Judaism is the dominant religion of the State of Israel, which, although it does not have the official status of a state religion, enjoys the exclusive support of state bodies and has a significant impact on the entire social life of the country. The leaders of religious communities - rabbis - are in the public service and are in charge of registration of acts of civil status, exercise control over kashrut (a system of religious rules for the storage, preparation and consumption of food), conduct educational work and religious activities in the army. There are 24 rabbinic courts in ten cities across the country. The activities of the rabbis are coordinated and directed by the Supreme Rabbinate Council. In addition to Israel, Jewish religious associations function in many countries of the world.
Literature
Bible. Books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. M., 1976. Vasiliev L. History of the religions of the East. M., 1962.
History of the Ancient East (Under the editorship of V. I. Kuzishchev) M., 1988. Confucius. Lunyu. Beijing. 1957. Kuhn N. T. Myths Ancient Greece. M., 1960.
Nemirovsky A. I. Myths and legends of the Ancient East. M., 1994
Judaism is one of ancient religions world and the oldest of the so-called Abrahamic religions, which, in addition to it, includes Christianity and Islam. The history of Judaism is inextricably linked with the Jewish people and stretches back into the depths of centuries, at least for three thousand years. Also, this religion is considered the oldest of all those that proclaimed the worship of one God - a monotheistic cult instead of worshiping the pantheons of various gods.
The Emergence of Faith in Yahweh: A Religious Tradition
The exact time when Judaism arose has not been established. The adherents of this religion themselves attribute its appearance to about the 12th-13th centuries. BC e., when on Mount Sinai the leader of the Jews Moses, who led the Jewish tribes out of Egyptian slavery, received a Revelation from the Most High, and a Covenant was concluded between the people and God. This is how the Torah appeared - in the broadest sense of the word, written and oral instruction in the laws, commandments and requirements of the Lord in relation to his worshipers. Detailed description these events are reflected in the book "Genesis", the authorship of which the orthodox Jews also attribute to Moses and which forms part of the written Torah.
A Scientific Perspective on the Origins of Judaism
However, not all scientists are ready to support the above version. Firstly, because the very Jewish interpretation of the history of man's relationship with God includes a long tradition of honoring the God of Israel before Moses, starting with the forefather Abraham, who lived, according to various estimates, from the 21st century to the present. by the 18th century BC e. Thus, the origins of the Jewish cult are lost in time. Secondly, it is difficult to say when the pre-Jewish religion became Judaism proper. A number of researchers attribute the emergence of Judaism to much later times, up to the era of the second Temple (the middle of the first millennium BC). According to their conclusions, the religion of Yahweh, the god that the Jews profess, was not monotheism from the very beginning. Its origins lie in a tribal cult called Yahwism, which is characterized as a special form of polytheism - monolatry. With such a system of views, the existence of many gods is recognized, but veneration turns out to be only one - their divine patron by the fact of birth and territorial settlement. Only later did this cult transform into a monotheistic doctrine, and so Judaism appeared - the religion that we know today.
History of Yahwism
As already mentioned, the God Yahweh is the national God of the Jews. All their culture and religious traditions are built around it. But in order to understand what Judaism is, let's briefly touch on its sacred history. According to Jewish doctrine, Yahweh is the only true God who created the whole world, including the solar system, the earth, all its flora, fauna and, finally, the first pair of people - Adam and Eve. At the same time, the first commandment for a person was given - not to touch the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But people violated the divine command and for this they were expelled from paradise. Further history is characterized by oblivion by the descendants of Adam and Eve of the true God and the appearance of paganism - gross idolatry, according to the Jews. However, from time to time the Almighty made itself felt, seeing the righteous in a depraved human community. Such was, for example, Noah - the man from whom people again settled on the earth after the Flood. But the descendants of Noah quickly forgot the Lord, starting to worship other gods. This continued until God called Abraham, a resident of Ur of the Chaldees, with whom he made a Covenant, promising to make him the father of many nations. Abraham had a son, Isaac, and a grandson, Jacob, who are traditionally revered as patriarchs - the progenitors of the Jewish people. The last - Jacob - had twelve sons. By the providence of God, it happened that eleven of them sold the twelfth, Joseph, into slavery. But God helped him, and over time, Joseph became the second person in Egypt after the pharaoh. The reunion of the family took place during a terrible famine, and therefore all the Jews, at the invitation of Pharaoh and Joseph, went to live in Egypt. When the royal patron died, another pharaoh began to abuse the descendants of Abraham, forcing them to hard work and killing newborn boys. This slavery lasted for four hundred years, until finally God called Moses to free his people. Moses led the Jews out of Egypt, and at the command of the Lord, forty years later they entered the Promised Land - modern Palestine. There, waging bloody wars with idolaters, the Jews established their state and even received a king from the Lord - first Saul, and then David, whose son Solomon built great shrine Judaism - the temple of Yahweh. The latter was destroyed in 586 by the Babylonians, and then rebuilt on the orders of Tyr the Great (in 516). The second temple existed until 70 AD. e., when it was burned during the Jewish war by the troops of Titus. Since that time, it has not been restored, and worship has ceased. It is important to note that in Judaism there are no many temples - this building can be only one and only in one place - on the temple mount in Jerusalem. Therefore, for almost two thousand years, Judaism has existed in a peculiar form - in the form of a rabbinic organization led by learned laymen.
Judaism: basic ideas and concepts
As already mentioned, the Jewish creed recognizes only one and only God - Yahweh. In fact, the original sound of his name was lost after the destruction of the temple by Titus, so "Yahweh" is just an attempt at reconstruction. And she did not receive popularity in Jewish circles. The fact is that in Judaism there is a ban on pronouncing and writing the sacred four-letter name of God - the tetragrammaton. Therefore, from ancient times it was replaced in conversation (and even in the Holy Scriptures) with the word "Lord."
Another important feature is that Judaism is the religion of a purely one nation - the Jews. Therefore, this is a rather closed religious system, where it is not so easy to get into. Of course, in history there are examples of the adoption of Judaism by representatives of other peoples and even entire tribes and states, but in general, Jews are skeptical about such a practice, insisting that the Sinai covenant applies only to the descendants of Abraham - the chosen Jewish people.
The Jews believe in the arrival of the Mashiach - an outstanding messenger of God, who will return Israel to its former glory, spread the teachings of the Torah throughout the world, and even restore the temple. In addition, Judaism has a belief in the resurrection of the dead and doomsday. In order to serve God righteously and to know him, the people of Israel were given the Tanakh by the Almighty - sacred canon books, from the Torah to the revelations of the prophets. The Tanakh is known in Christian circles as the Old Testament. Of course, the Jews categorically disagree with this assessment of their Scriptures.
According to the teachings of the Jews, God is indescribable, therefore, in this religion there are no sacred images - icons, statues, etc. Art is not at all what Judaism is famous for. Briefly, one can also mention the mystical teaching of Judaism - Kabbalah. This, if you rely not on tradition, but on scientific data, is a very late product of Jewish thought, but no less outstanding for that. Kabbalah views creation as a series of divine emanations and manifestations of a number-letter code. Kabbalistic theories, among other things, even recognize the fact of the transmigration of souls, which distinguishes this tradition from a number of other monotheistic, and even more so Abrahamic religions.
Commandments in Judaism
The precepts of Judaism are widely known in world culture. They are closely connected with the name of Moses. This is indeed a genuine ethical treasure that Judaism has brought to the world. The main ideas of these commandments come down to religious purity - the worship of the one God and love for him, and to a socially righteous life - honoring parents, social justice and integrity. However, in Judaism there is a much more extended list of commandments, called mitzvot in Hebrew. There are 613 such mitzvahs. This is believed to correspond to the number of parts of the human body. This list of commandments is divided into two: prohibitive commandments, numbering 365, and imperative, of which there are only 248. The list of mitzvahs generally accepted in Judaism belongs to the famous Maimonides, an outstanding Jewish thinker.
Traditions
The centuries-old development of this religion has also formed the traditions of Judaism, which are strictly observed. First, it concerns the holidays. They are associated with the Jews certain days calendar or lunar cycle and are designed to preserve the memory of the people about any events. The most important of all is Passover. The command to observe it was given, according to the Torah, by God himself at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. That is why Pesach is dated for the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian captivity and the passage through the Red Sea into the desert, from where the people were then able to reach the promised land. The holiday of Sukkot is also known - other an important event that celebrates Judaism. Briefly, this holiday can be described as a memory of the journey of the Jews through the desert after the Exodus. This journey lasted 40 years instead of the initially promised 40 days - as a punishment for the sin of the golden calf. Sukkot lasts seven days. At this time, the Jews are charged with the obligation to leave their homes and live in huts, which the word “sukkot” means. The Jews also have many other important dates celebrated with celebrations, special prayers and rituals.
In addition to holidays, there are fasts and days of mourning in Judaism. An example of such a day is Yom Kippur - the day of atonement, which symbolizes the terrible judgment.
There are also a huge number of other traditions in Judaism: wearing sidelocks, circumcising male children on the eighth day of birth, a special kind of attitude towards marriage, etc. For believers, these are important customs that Judaism imputes to them. The main ideas of these traditions are consistent either directly with the Torah, or with the Talmud - the second most authoritative book after the Torah. It is often quite difficult for non-Jews to understand and comprehend them in conditions modern world. However, it is they who form the culture of Judaism of our day, based not on temple worship, but on the synagogue principle. A synagogue, by the way, is a meeting of the Jewish community on the Sabbath or a holiday for prayer and reading the Torah. The same word also refers to the building where believers gather.
Sabbath in Judaism
As already mentioned, one day is allocated for synagogue worship in the week - Saturday. This day is generally a sacred time for Jews, and believers are especially zealous in observing its charters. One of the ten basic commandments of Judaism prescribes to keep and honor this day. Violation of the Sabbath day is considered a serious offense and requires atonement. Therefore, not a single orthodox Jew will work and generally do what is forbidden to do on this day. The holiness of this day is associated with the fact that, having created the world in six days, on the seventh the Almighty rested and prescribed this to all his admirers. The seventh day is Saturday.
Judaism and Christianity
Since Christianity is a religion that claims to be the successor of Judaism through the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Tanakh about the Messiah on Jesus Christ, the relationship of Jews with Christians has always been ambiguous. Especially these two traditions moved away from each other after the Jewish conclave in the 1st century imposed a herem on Christians, that is, a curse. The next two thousand years were a time of hostility, mutual hatred, and often persecution. For example, the archbishop of Alexandria Cyril in the 5th century expelled a huge Jewish diaspora from the city. The history of Europe is replete with such relapses. To date, in the era of the flourishing of ecumenism, the ice has gradually begun to melt, and dialogue between representatives of the two religions is beginning to improve. Although in the broad layers of believers on both sides there is still distrust and alienation. Christians find it difficult to understand Judaism. Key Ideas christian church are such that the Jews are charged with the sin of the crucifixion of Christ. The Church has long represented the Jews as Christ killers. It is difficult for Jews to find a way to dialogue with Christians, because for them Christians obviously represent heretics and followers of a false messiah. In addition, centuries of oppression taught the Jews not to trust Christians.
Judaism today
Modern Judaism is a fairly large (about 15 million) religion. It is characteristic that at its head there is no single leader or institution that would have sufficient authority for all Jews. Judaism is spread almost everywhere in the world and represents several denominations that differ from each other in the degree of religious conservatism and the peculiarities of the doctrine. The strongest nucleus is represented by representatives of Orthodox Jewry. The Hasidim are quite close to them - very conservative Jews with an emphasis on mystical teachings. Several Reform and Progressive Jewish organizations follow. And on the very periphery there are communities of Messianic Jews who, following Christians, recognize the authenticity of the Messianic calling of Jesus Christ. They themselves consider themselves Jews and in one way or another observe the main Jewish traditions. However, traditional communities deny them the right to be called Jews. Therefore, Judaism and Christianity are forced to divide these groups in half.
Spread of Judaism
The influence of Judaism is strongest in Israel, where about half of all the Jews of the world live. Another approximately forty percent is accounted for by the countries of North America - the USA and Canada. The rest are settled in other regions of the planet.
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. The word "Judaism" comes from the Greek ioudaismos, introduced by Greek-speaking Jews c. 100 BC to distinguish their religion from the Greek. It goes back to the name of the fourth son of Jacob - Judah (Yehuda), whose descendants, together with the descendants of Benjamin, formed the southern - Judean - kingdom with its capital in Jerusalem. After the fall of the northern - Israel - kingdom and the scattering of the tribes inhabiting it, the people of Judah (later known as "Yehudim", "Jews" or "Jews") became the main bearer of Jewish culture and remained so even after the destruction of their state.
Judaism as a religion is the most important element of Jewish civilization. Thanks to the consciousness of their religious chosenness and the special destiny of their people, the Jews were able to survive in conditions when it has repeatedly lost its national-political identity.
Judaism implies belief in the only God and the real impact of this belief on life. But Judaism is not only an ethical system, it includes religious, historical, ritual and national elements. Moral behavior is not self-sufficient, it must be combined with the belief that virtue "glorifies the one God."
The main rationale for the key beliefs and practices of Judaism is the history of the Jewish people. Even borrowing ancient holidays or rituals from the developed cultures of Canaan and Babylonia, Judaism changed their main meaning, supplementing and then replacing the natural interpretation of the historical one. For example, Passover Jewish Easter), originally a spring harvest festival, became a holiday of liberation from Egyptian slavery. The ancient custom of circumcision, originally used by other peoples as a rite that marked the entry of a boy into puberty, was transformed into an act performed at the birth of a boy and symbolizing the introduction of a child into a covenant (alliance-agreement) that God made with Abraham.
The conclusion to which in the 19th century. came some (mostly Christian) historians of religions that Jewish history has given rise to two different religions, namely the religion of Israel before Ezra (c. 444 BC) and then Judaism, has been recognized by many as erroneous. The evolution of Judaism is continuous, and like other religions, Judaism has changed and developed, freeing itself from many old elements and perceiving new principles and norms in accordance with changing conditions. Despite the increasing role of legal elements in Judaism after the Babylonian captivity, the religion remained essentially the same as in the period before the captivity, and any significant doctrine of Judaism after the captivity goes back to earlier teachings.
Story
In a primitive form, the Jewish religion existed during the period of the patriarchs (c. 2000-1600 BC), in an era characterized by the deification of the forces of nature, belief in the power of demons and spirits, taboo, distinction between clean and unclean animals, and veneration of the dead. The germs of some of the important ethical ideas that Moses and the prophets later developed existed already in the earliest period.
According to the Bible Abraham was the first to recognize the spiritual nature of the only God. For Abraham, God is the supreme God, to whom the believer can turn, God, he does not need temples and priests, is omnipotent and omniscient. Abraham left his family, which did not abandon the Assyrian-Babylonian beliefs, and until his death in Canaan, wandered from place to place, preaching faith in the only God.
At Moses(probably 15th century BC), who was brought up in a highly developed Egyptian culture, Judaism took on more complex and refined forms. Moses gave religion the form of the exclusive worship of Yahweh (as the Jews called God). It was his intervention that he explained the terrible catastrophe that befell Egypt and led to the liberation from slavery of the Israelites and the heterogeneous mass of the oppressed - those who were destined to become the Jewish people. The worship of the only God was accompanied by the establishment of ritual and social laws that guided the children of Israel during their wanderings in the wilderness. Cult and ritual had no special meaning for Moses, they were only an additional means of helping the people to maintain devotion to God. The main emphasis was placed on the observance of the spiritual and moral law formulated in the Ten Commandments, which strongly forbade the worship of idols depicting the gods. The religion of Moses allowed the construction of a special tent, the tabernacle of the covenant, which served as a visible sign of the divine presence, as well as the ark of the covenant - a wooden box upholstered with gold, where the "covenant" of Yahweh was placed, a mysterious object, from which, possibly, dangerous radioactive radiation emanated (1 Samuel 5 -6).
After conquering Canaan, the sons of Israel, influenced by local religious customs, developed a cult that included sacrifices, holidays, and local sanctuaries with an organized priesthood. In Canaan, the Israelites also discovered an extremely ramified cult of fertility deities, chief among which was Asirah.
Later, in connection with the struggle against idolatry, prophets appeared in Israel - unique in history ancient world a group of people thanks to whom the religion of the Jewish people reached its highest peak. These were people of various social origins who dared to announce publicly what was revealed to them, even if their prophecies announced great disasters, the death of an entire people or the destruction of the Temple. They preached pure monotheism and universalism, their teaching was permeated with the pathos of social justice. The prophets fought not so much against sacrifices, but rather against giving them an independent value or considering them as the observance of the union-treaty of Israel with God. The controversy of the prophets, which can also be traced in the psalms, played an important role in the liquidation of many independent cult centers, but not in the abolition of sacrifices. As a result of the centralization of cult in the reign of Josiah, the Jerusalem Temple supplanted the old sanctuaries with their pagan deities and cults. It was the prophetic criticism of the cult of sacrifices and the subordination of righteousness to the ritual side that largely led to the so-called. the Deuteronomic Reformation carried out by King Josiah c. 621 BC
With the fall of the Kingdom of Judah and the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC. among exiled Jews living in Babylonia, Judaism took on new forms. During the exile, the Jews settled not only in Babylonia, but also in Egypt, Syria and other countries. There was no trend towards idolatry in exile, and at this time only those rites were performed that were not connected with temple worship. Sabbath observance and circumcision were the most important signs of the union-contract with God. Traditions were recounted in the meetings, Scriptures were interpreted, psalms and other works of religious poetry were read, confessions were made and prayers were offered, either collectively or individually. An innovation in Jewish life became a prayer service. There was no need for buildings, objects of worship, the estate of priests; all that was required was the will of the group or the individual. Assemblies did not divide people according to their social affiliation, and in this sense, democracy later became feature synagogues. When the exiles returned to Jerusalem, prayer worship, developed in the synagogues, became part of the temple service, and after the second destruction of the Temple (70 AD) again supplanted the sacrifices. The synagogue replaced the Temple. For Jews living in the Diaspora, it served as a prayer house, religious school and meeting place. During the Babylonian captivity and after it, the universal significance of the ideas of Judaism was revealed, and it was transformed from a community based on blood relationship to a community based on faith, a member of which could be a representative of any people. National ideals were preserved, which coexisted with the idea of the unity of mankind. This concept is illustrated by seventy sacrifices on the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), symbolizing the participation of seventy peoples of the world in the service of one God.
A little over a hundred years after the destruction of the Temple, the exiles began to return to Palestine. Under the leadership of Nehemiah they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and raised the Temple again. On his orders, Jews dissolved marriages with foreign wives in order to preserve the Jewish community, which was threatened by the penetration of pagan cults and customs brought by foreigners.
If the Temple again became a place of sacrifice, then the synagogue provided an opportunity for everyone to study the Torah (Law). The Law of Moses limited the field of activity of the priestly (priestly) class; the task of interpreting the Torah was taken over by learned scribes (“soferim”). The prestige of the scribes increased, especially at a time when the hereditary priesthood began to adapt to Hellenistic customs and customs. The scribes successfully led the struggle to preserve national and religious purity. In the struggle for freedom, the sons of Mattathia Hasmonean, led by Judas Maccabee, led the Jews to victory over the Greek troops Antiochus Epiphanes(the holiday of Hanukkah is dedicated to the victory in it).
Ezra (Ezra) and the scribes who came after Nehemiah (5-2 centuries BC) are credited with finalizing the three-part canon of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). This work was created at a time when many apocryphal writings appeared. Now the study of the Written Law (Torah she-bi-htav) was supplemented by the interpretation of the Oral Law (Torah she-be-al pe), composed of the commandments that, according to legend, Moses received at Sinai along with the Written Torah. Obviously, many provisions of the Written Torah have changed over time. Written and Oral Law covered ritual practice, economic activity, legislation, hygiene, inheritance law, property law, agriculture, clothing, food prohibitions - almost any area. human life. The written and oral Torah determined not just religion, but a way of life.
In the 2nd century BC. In Judaism, two groups took shape - the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees belonged to the priesthood and the nobility; they served as the backbone of the Tzadokid priestly dynasty and are possibly named after its founder Zadok. The Pharisees, who represented the middle strata of society and acted in accordance with the tradition of the scribes, tried to limit the influence of the Sadducees and challenged their decisions. They proclaimed the priesthood of the whole people as their ideal and were convinced that the whole life of a person should be permeated with piety. The Sadducees proceeded from the letter of the Law, the Pharisees from its spirit. Unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees, along with the Written Torah, recognized the Oral Torah, developed by the scribes and rabbis (rabbis, teachers of the law), considering its prescriptions binding. Thanks to the recognition of the authority of both the Written and the Oral Law, the life of the Jewish people did not lose its traditional features even after the fall of the Jewish state and the destruction of the Temple. The increased authority of the Law turned the teachers of the Torah into the undisputed leaders of the people. There were differences between the Pharisees and Sadducees on a number of specific issues. Thus, the Pharisees recognized the doctrine of the immortality of the soul and the resurrection from the dead, while the Sadducees rejected it.
The tradition of the Pharisees was continued by the tannai (tannaim - "teachers"), the amoraim (amoraim - "interpreters") and the savorai (savoraim - "explainers"), scientists, collective labor which culminated in the creation Talmud, a vast collection of documents including the Oral Law, legal opinions, discussions and decisions on various issues, moral prescriptions and principles, as well as historical narratives, legends and traditions. Your final look Talmud received in Babylonia ca. 500. Last revision Babylonian Talmud attributed to Ravina, head of the academy at Sura, and Rabbi Yose, head of the academy at Pumbedita. Jerusalem, or Palestinian Talmud, created in the schools of Palestine for many generations, was completed ca. 350 in Jerusalem.
Talmud consists of two parts. First part - Mishnah, a work of the Tannays, edited by Judah ha-Nasi ("Judas the Prince"); second - Gemara("completion"), the result of the work of the Amorais. The legal material of the Talmud is called Halacha, and homiletic, allegorical and poetic material - Haggadah("story", "narrative"). The dogma is assigned a subordinate role, since the fundamental principles of the Jewish religion, being well-known and recognized, did not need to be listed or any special formulations. The main attention is paid to the norms regulating the behavior of Jews in any sphere of life. Halacha- main section Talmud, whereas Haggadah occupies a much more prominent place in rabbinical writings of another genre. This genre, the midrash, provided the basic material for Jewish theology.
The era of the Savorai lasted until 600. Around this time, a galaxy of leading scientists appeared, Gaons(from the Hebrew "geonym" - "excellencies", "glorified"). The Gaons presided over the academies at Sura and Pumbedita, two of the leading schools in Babylonia, which became centers of legal learning after the Romans closed the schools in Palestine (300). At that time, the head of the Babylonian community was the "resh galuta" ("head of the exiles", "exilarch"), who, as a rule, was approved by the Persian authorities. But the real influence on the life of the Jews, both in Babylonia and in other countries, was exerted by gaons. The gaonate period lasted about 450 years (600-1050). Some eminent gaons commented on and taught the Law in the schools they presided over and, as chief judges, introduced it into the life of the communities. They were doing research beyond Talmud- history, grammar, liturgy. Rabbi Sherira Gaon from Pumbedita in 987 wrote a famous epistle to the Jews of Kairouan on evolution Talmud, which remains one of the important sources on the subject. Rabbi Amram Gaon of Sura in 870 and Rabbi Saadia Gaon (892-942), an eminent grammarian and philosopher, developed the liturgy. Many gaons, in response to requests from the Jews of the Diaspora, wrote lengthy responsa (this was the name of the messages of authoritative rabbis in response to a question of a halachic nature; the decision set forth in the responsa was a precedent and had the force of law). The best known are the responsa of Rabbi Chai Gaon of Pumbedita, dated to around 1000. The Gaons also edited the Talmudic law codes.
A sect that arose in the era of the Gaonate, known as the Karaites, rejected Talmud. These were the followers of Anan ben David (d. c. 800), who unsuccessfully applied for the post of exilarch held by his uncle. Hardened against the Gaons, who did not support his claims to this position, Anan went to Palestine, where he gathered around him a group of followers convinced that the prescriptions of the Talmudists perverted the Law. Anan called for strict observance of the letter of the Law as formulated in the Bible. Responding to Anan, the rabbis at first emphasized the authority of the Talmud, believing that in the conditions of the spread of Islam it is necessary to adhere to the interpretation of the Written and Oral Torah, consecrated by centuries of tradition. To adequately respond to the challenge of the Karaites, the Talmudists engaged in intensive study of the Bible, Jewish grammar and philology, as well as Jewish theology and ethics. In the end, the growth of the Karaite movement stopped, and for the next generations Talmud remained the most authoritative work.
Generally speaking, Talmud is not so much an ordered code as a simple collection of laws. Besides, Talmud was supplemented by extensive comments by rabbis, who interpreted it in accordance with changes in social and cultural conditions. There were no hard and fast rules of interpretation, no ultimate authority or ultimate authority. In most cases, commentators have tried to base their views on the Bible and Talmud or in the writings of the predecessor rabbis. Lead commentator Talmud was Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzhak of Troyes, 1040-1105). They said that without his comment Talmud now could become a book with seven seals.
While the comments made it easier to learn Talmud, there was a need for an accessible manual that was easy to practical application. Very early began to draw up codes of Jewish law, designed to make up for this deficiency. Among the first - Big Decrees(Galahoth Gedolot) And Gilhot Alfasi, opened the way for further codification. The most important of the later codices was the code of Maimonides Repetition of the Law (Mishneh Torah), Four rows (Arbaa Turim), the work of Jacob ben Asher (d. 1340), and Laid table (Shulchan Aruch) Joseph Karo (1488-1575). The Code of Maimonides represents the system of Judaism in its entirety, and Maimonides, unlike other codifiers, did not follow the order adopted in Talmud, but grouped the material in its own way and introduced new sections. He did not refer to authorities, for which he was criticized; his style is concise. Shulchan Aruch Karo based on Arbaa Turim and supplied with the glosses of Moses Isserles (1520-1572), adopted by modern Orthodox Jewry as a normative code.
In the Middle Ages, Jews made a significant contribution to the development of philosophy. The first prominent Jewish philosopher was Saadia Gaon. His most significant work is Book of beliefs and beliefs(Sefer ha-emunot ve-ha-de "from), where for the first time a philosophical substantiation of the doctrinal provisions of Judaism is given. Bahya ibn Pakuda (11th century) became the first Jewish author to write a treatise on the system of ethics - Duties of the heart. Religious philosophy Judaism owes a lot source of life neoplatonism Solomon ibn Gebirol(1021-1058), known as Avicebron of Valencia. Judas Halevi of Toledo(c. 1080 - c. 1140) criticized the doctrine of emanations, as well as Aristotle's doctrine of the eternity of matter.
The great Jewish scientist and philosopher of the Middle Ages was the already mentioned Moses Maimonides(1135-1204), known by the abbreviation "Rambam", author of a treatise Instructor of the waverers (More Nevuhim), who taught about the harmony of reason and truths received through Revelation. Maimonides was an Aristotelian, and his writings had an undoubted influence not only on Jewish but also on non-Jewish philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas. Other significant Jewish philosophers of the period - Moses ibn Ezra, Levi ben Gershon(1288-1344) and Hasdai ben Abraham Crescas(1340-1410), who tried to purge Judaism from Aristotelianism. Around the beginning of the 17th century. skeptical philosophers appeared among Jewish thinkers, the most famous of which are Uriel Acosta from Amsterdam, Leon from Modena and Yosef Delmedigo, but the edge of their controversy was directed mainly to the extremes of Talmudism and Kabbalah.
The reaction to the rationalism of the philosophers, and above all to the teachings of Maimonides, contributed to the strengthening of the mystical current. The new doctrine, which was called "Kabbalah" ("tradition"), quickly spread from Spain to the north. The first significant book of Kabbalah - Book of Creation(Sefer Yetzirah, 9th century). Kabbalistic literature continued to develop in the Jewish communities of France and Germany, and in the 15th century. flourished in Palestine thanks to the schools Moshe from Cordoba(1522-1570) and Isaac Luria(1534-1572). The most revered Kabbalistic work was the book Zohar, attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, but composed by a Spanish Jew Moses de Leon.
Kabbalah developed as a metaphysical system focused on the doctrine of divine emanations and revelations, the doctrine of the "sefirot" (the stages of emanation and hierarchical levels of spirits and angels), as well as the "gilgul" ("transmigration of souls"). In every word or action, a person had to turn to the thought of a new connection with the spiritual world. The name of God was a mystery covering everything and affecting everything, his letters had mystical power.
Along with this mystical theory, practical Kabbalah developed, emphasizing the importance of human nature. She built a system of demonology and magic, encouraged asceticism, but her focus was messianism and the salvation of Israel. Passion for Kabbalah paved the way for the recognition of false messiahs, such as Abraham Abulafia (1240 - c. 1291), David Reubeni (1490-1535), Solomon Molkho (1500-1532), Sabbatai Zvi (1626-1676), who had thousands of followers , and Jacob Frank (1726-1791). Kabbalah influenced moral literature (“musar”). Among the mystical works can be called a treatise by Samuel Hasid (1115-1180) and his son Judah Hasid (1150-1217) Book of the Pious (Sefer Hasidim), where high moral principles intertwined with superstitions, belief in evil spirits and demons.
The mystical tendency found new expression in Hasidism 18th and 19th centuries, which arose in Poland. To a large extent this movement was a protest against rabbinicism and the view that the study Talmud is the only way to achieve a righteous life. Started the movement Israel ben Eliezer(Baal Shem Tov) (c. 1700-1760) and Dov Baer from Mezherich (1710-1772). Hasidism was a response to the spiritual aspirations of the masses, who had no opportunity to approach God through the study of Talmud, no idea how to do it. The main means by which they could achieve union with God was prayer. But eccentric practices began to take root in Hasidism, clearly contradicting Talmud, and this brought the Hasidim into conflict with Rabbi Elijah (Eliyahu) (1720-1797), the Vilna Gaon, who condemned them.
Moses Mendelssohn(1729-1786), whose philosophical views misunderstood by some Jews as an excuse for their rejection of Judaism, was one of the key figures great renewal, which made it possible to fully comprehend the value of Judaism. Mendelssohn's important contribution to the adaptation of Jewish life to the conditions of existence outside the ghetto was the publication of a German translation of the Pentateuch. He opened the first free Jewish school in Berlin, where, along with the Bible and Talmud secular disciplines were taught. The school served as a model for the Jewish parochial schools that subsequently opened everywhere, and aroused interest in the study of Hebrew. From here began the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) movement in Central Europe. Mendelssohn's followers included Naftali Herz Wessely (1725-1805) in Hamburg, Nachman Krochmal (1785-1840) in Eastern Europe, and Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865) in Italy. A notable contribution to the study of Judaism with the help of European scientific methods introduced by Leopold Zunz (1794-1866), who is considered the founder of the scientific study of Judaism (the so-called Wissenschaft des Judentums).
At the beginning of the 19th century in Germany there was a movement called Reform Judaism. It was stimulated by the desire of the Jews, who were involved in the process of political and cultural emancipation, to adapt Judaism to modern conditions. In the beginning, the efforts of the reformists were directed mainly towards making the synagogue service acceptable to the Western world. An organ, a mixed choir, and the singing of German religious hymns were introduced into worship; German was used as the language of prayer and preaching. During the service, women and men were together. Later, any mention of Zion, which expressed Jewish national aspirations to revive the ancient homeland, was excluded from prayers. This renovationist movement was led by people who did not have a rabbinic title, although the need for change was also advocated by reformist rabbis, among them Abraham Geiger (1810-1874) and Samuel Holdheim (1806-1860). Geiger considered Judaism in a historical aspect, emphasizing that ideas and social institutions, as Jewish history shows, can become obsolete and give way to new ones. Holdheim was a radical proponent of a denationalized Judaism. He went further than Geiger, allowing for changes that Geiger saw as a concession to Christianity, such as moving the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday. Reformism rejected the rabbinic adherence to the letter of the Law, putting forward instead the principle of the historicity of Revelation, from which follows the need for adaptation to the surrounding conditions and the requirements of the era.
The reformist movement penetrated into England and France. His influence was also experienced by Haskala, which developed almost simultaneously in Russia. Half a century later, reforms in Germany began to wane. Reform Judaism, which now has adherents all over the world, experienced its heyday in the United States, where it developed from the 1840s. At the end of the 20th century American Reform Judaism reconsidered its anti-nationalist and anti-rite stance, inherited from German Reformism. Now the ideas of Zionism are spreading in the reformist communities, the original ritual forms are being restored, and a modified or new ritual practice is being introduced. Hebrew began to be widely used in worship.
Answer Orthodox Judaism emancipation and the threat of losing their adherents was the growing resistance to attempts to change the Law received through divine Revelation and its rabbinical interpretation. In Germany Samson Raphael Hirsch(1808-1888), the founder of the neo-orthodox movement, believed that the ideas of Judaism and universal humanism do not contradict each other. In the book Nineteen Letters on Jewry (Neunzehn Briefe über Judenthum, 1836), he argued that the difficulties that arose before the dissident representatives of the younger generation, who tried to reconcile the secular and religious aspects of life, were rooted in ignorance of Judaism. On the other hand, the older generation is to blame for the fact that the observance of Jewish religious institutions has become a mere formality. Rabbi Hirsch agreed with the Reformists that Israel had a purpose, but argued that in order for the Jews to properly carry out their mission, God condemned them to moral and spiritual isolation. Moreover, Rabbi Hirsch argued that the diaspora is a school of purification, which, by the will of God, Jews must go through in order to regain connection with it through the fulfillment of the commandments in the interpretation of rabbinic Judaism. Any changes must include improvements in education designed to introduce Orthodox Judaism and live in accordance with its norms. Hirsch set an example by founding a parochial school in his community in Frankfurt. Following him, Israel Hildesheimer (1820-1899) opened a seminary in Berlin, where Orthodox rabbis were trained in both general and Jewish religious disciplines.
Many Jews were not ready to accept the extremes of both neo-Orthodox and Reformists, but sought a less radical solution to the problem of adapting traditional Jewish norms to the demands of the times. The leader of the moderate wing was Zakharia Frankel(1801-1875), founder of the modern school historical Judaism, later named "Conservative Judaism"". He believed that the institutions formed during historical development, should be honored as unchangeable, and to refuse them is a religious apostasy. His main concern was the preservation of Jewish customs. Frankel avoided controversy with his reformist and orthodox opponents, but took up creative work as head of the rabbinical seminary in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland). He gave all his strength to the education of a new type of scientist who would be committed to both traditional values and a historical-critical approach. In the USA, thanks to Solomon Schechter(1847-1915) and his followers, Conservative Judaism made significant progress and gained big number new supporters. Reconstructionist movement led by Mordecai M. Kaplan(1881-1983) originated within Conservative Judaism, but among its members there are representatives of all directions. From the point of view of reconstructionism, Judaism is a developing religious civilization, the norms of behavior of which are determined not by creed, but by the Jewish people themselves.
The most significant movement of the second half of the 19th century. became Zionism. This term was introduced Nathan Birnbaum in 1886, describing new political views on the restoration of a Jewish state in Palestine and the settlement of the country by Jews. The movement officially took shape at the first World Zionist Congress (1897), which organized Theodor Herzl(1860-1904) in Basel (Switzerland). Zionism embodied the long-standing hope of the Jewish people to find their home, first expressed in biblical times and not extinguished over the centuries of dispersion. Political Zionism, directed by Herzl, recognized that in order to realize this dream, it was necessary to win the support of the peoples of the world. Like other peoples during that period, the Jews believed that the only hope for the preservation of Jewry and its civilization was the assertion of national independence. The rise of anti-Semitism, both intellectual, "scientifically based" and outright pogromist in nature, which led to the mass murder of Jews in Eastern Europe, convinced Jews that they would find safety only in an independent Jewish state. After the First World War, the Zionist movement received international recognition, which was emphasized in the Balfour Declaration (1917) and then in the British Mandate for the Rule of Palestine. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing a Jewish state in Palestine, and on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed.
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Judaism in in general terms familiar to anyone who has read Old Testament. Don't have the time or desire to study the Bible, but would like to know what religion the Jewish people practice? This article outlines the main ideas of Judaism - briefly, without unnecessary facts and redundant terminology. After reading the material, you will learn about the founder of religion, its symbolism and fundamental ideas.
Who founded Judaism
It is generally accepted that the founder of Judaism is Moses ("the one who was saved from the water"). The prophet of Judaism managed to gather the scattered tribes of Israel into a single people. He is also famous for the fact that he carried out the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, where they lived in the position of slaves.
In the time of Moses, the Israelite people increased so much in numbers that the ruler of Egypt gave the order to kill all newborn Jewish boys. The mother of the future prophet saved the baby from death. She placed the child in a wicker basket and entrusted it to the waters of the Nile. The pharaoh's daughter discovered this basket and wanted to adopt the sleeping baby.
Moses grew up and noticed how his fellow tribesmen were oppressed in every possible way. Once, in a fit of anger, he killed an Egyptian overseer, and then fled the country to the land of the Midianites (a semi-nomadic city mentioned in the Koran and in the Bible). Here he was called by God, who appeared to Moses in the form of a bush enveloped in flames, but not burning. God revealed to Moses his mission.
Articles of Faith
If we briefly state the main ideas of Judaism, we get the following list:
- Man was created by God, in the image and likeness of his Creator
- God is the source of Love, Grace and Supreme Justice, he has absolute Reason and Omnipotence
- Life is a dialogue between the Lord and a single person (or a whole people)
- Man is an immortal spiritual being capable of endless development and
- People, regardless of race, are equal before the Lord, everyone is given free will
- Jewish people has a special mission - to convey Divine truths to the rest of humanity
- Non-Jews should observe only the seven laws of Noah's sons, and Jews should fulfill the mitzvot, consisting of 613 prescriptions
- Spirituality dominates matter, but the material world must also be treated with respect
- After the coming of the Messiah (Mashiach), a new kingdom and peace will come on earth
- At the end of days, the dead will rise and again live on earth in the flesh
IN summary It is impossible to cover all the principles of Judaism, but the main ideas of this monotheistic religion should become clear to you.
Main symbols
Star of David. This ancient symbol, depicted as a hexagram - a six-pointed star. It is believed that it symbolizes the shape of the shields used by the wars of King David. The hexagram sign is traditionally considered a Jewish symbol, but it is also known in India as the designation for the Anahata Chakra.
Menorah. Golden candlestick, designed for seven candles. According to legend, during the wanderings of the Jews in the desert, such an object was in the Tabernacle of the Assembly, then it was transferred to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is believed that Moses received the order to make such a candlestick during a conversation with the Lord on Mount Sinai.
Yermolka or kippah. This is the traditional headdress for a pious Jewish man. The yarmulke can be worn under a hat or as an independent headdress. In some cases, the cap is attached to the hair with a hairpin. Jewish women of Orthodox Judaism must also cover their heads. But women do not use a kippah for this, but a wig or a scarf.
