Judaism is a religion of the Jewish people from Israel. Jewish people had to overcome many difficulties; oppression, humility, dispersion, and lack of religion or faith. The Jewish had to adjust to their circumstances as everything changed frequently.From the destruction of their Temples in 70CE to the Holocaust in the twentieth century, the Jewish people manage to hold strong to their faith and perseverance to survive. Judaism is prominent in today’s modern world; many Jewish people practice traditional rituals and holidays that originated in Israel millions of years ago.
Abraham was said to be the first patriarch in 1900 BCE. God used Abraham as an example by asking him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, for God. Around the 12th century, Moses leads the Israelites out of bondage and suffering in Egypt. King Solomon was said to have built the first Temple in Jerusalem in 900BCE for the Ark of the Covenant.In 586BCE, Jerusalem was captured, the temple was destroyed, and the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon. A second temple was built in 515BCE but was captured and destroyed by the Romans in 70CE.
The Temple in Jerusalem is called the holy place or ‘mikdash’, with a holy area inside called the kodesh. The Ark of the Covenant is the Torah, the Jewish bible. The Torah is considered perfect and has significant and special meaning to the Jewish people. The Torah is comprised of the Five Books of Moses which retells the story of God’s creation of earth and humans. The Torah is used for teaching how to obey the one God. The Ark of the Covenant holds the Ten Commandments, or the will of God.
The Nation of Israel is sometimes referred to as ‘the smallest of peoples.’ It is also viewed as the spiritual center of the world for all to grow closer to God. Jewish people struggled to keep their Temple, their city, and their faith as others destroy what the Jewish build. Moses was able to escape from the destruction and is said to be the chosen one by God to defy the pharaoh. An angle appeared to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments and told Moses to take the Israelites out of Egypt.
The Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinani for the people of Jerusalem. These commandments tell the will of God and how humans should behave in life to reach the heavens. The Ten Commandments tell of how God brought the Jewish people out of Egypt and out of bondage. The Jewish are not allowed to honor or worship any other God. These commandments are a guide for people to live a sin-free life. These Ten Commandments tell how people should act in thoughts, speech, and action towards God, family, and other people. The Ten Commandments leads humans to have harmony with God.
Jewish people learn about God, creation, and how to behave according to the Torah and the commandments. The Torah consists of the Five Books of Moses, God’s story of creation, The Ten Commandments, songs of praise, and poetry. The Jewish people accept the faith and words of God because He choose Moses to lead the Israelites out of suffrage, slavery, and death. The Israelites were told to wonder the desert and wilderness for forty years before they could re-enter the promise land of Canaan.
Although Israel was the homeland for many Jewish people, life for the Jewish was difficult. Muslim rulers forced many Jewish believers out into other countries. Jewish people who lived in Christian countries lived under Christian laws. Judaism transformed into three major sects; Reformed, Conservative, and Orthodox. Each sect has a different belief, different history, and different traditions. Although different sects of Judaism exist, they are still grouped together as one religion. Jewish people became victims of the Christian crusaders in 1095. Many Jewish people migrated to the United States and other countries to escape the torture and humiliation.
During the twentieth century, almost six million European Jewish people were murdered by the Nazi leadership, under the leader Adolf Hitler, simply because they were Jewish. By 1920, the Nazis set up many large-scale death camps to exterminate all the Jewish people from existence, stating the ‘Jews’ were posing a threat against other religions. Many Jewish people lost their entire family, friends and loved ones due to the brutal killings during the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism was prevalent in many countries and continued even after the tragic events of the Holocaust. Many Jewish people had retreated from their religion during and after the Holocaust.
Most Jewish holidays and sacred practices include prayer, reflection, repentance, and charity. Traditional rituals have found a way to the twenty first century from the time before Christ existed. Most rituals include giving thanks while drinking wine and eating various fruits. Every fruit, wine, and movement has a meaning to the Jewish people. Many rituals last days or weeks; some celebrations are to commemorate the victory over tragic events.
There are many Jewish people who continue to follow the traditions of their ancestors, while many other Jewish people follow the new ways of universalism. Conservative Jewish people are among the largest groups, recreating historical religion to suit their lives in the modern world. Women are taking a more active role in their religion, claiming they have an active role in prayer and religious participation. Some men and women are bringing in new ways to worship, celebrate, and honor God but there are just as many Jewish people who carry on the traditions of the old country. Judaism is constantly transforming into new and improved ways of the old traditional religion.