Judaism

Jewish people believe there is only one God who has established a covenant, or special agreement, with them. Their God communicates to believers through prophets, and rewards good deeds while also punishing evil. Most Jews (with the exception of a few groups) believe that their messiah ("savior") hasn’t yet come—but will one day.

Jewish people worship in holy places known as synagogues or temples, and their spiritual leaders are called rabbis. The six-pointed Star of David is the traditional symbol of Judaism.

According to the Torah, God first revealed himself to a Hebrew man named Abraham, known as the founder of Judaism. Jews believe that God made a special covenant with Abraham sometime around 2000 B.C. and that he and his descendants were chosen people who would create a great nation.

Abraham’s son Isaac and his grandson Jacob also became central figures in ancient Jewish history. Jacob took the name Israel, and his children and future generations became known as Israelites.

More than 1,000 years after Abraham, the prophet Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt after being enslaved for hundreds of years. According to scriptures, God revealed his laws, known as the Ten Commandments, to Moses at Mount Sinai.

The Jewish sacred text is called the Tanakh, also known as the Hebrew Bible. It includes the same books as the Old Testament in the Christian Bible, but they are placed in a slightly different order.

The Torah—the first five books of the Tanakh—outlines laws for Jews to follow and explains the origins of the Jewish faith. It is sometimes referred to as the Pentateuch.

Many other important Jewish manuscripts were composed in later years. These offered insights into how the Tanakh should be interpreted and documented oral laws that were previously not written down. Around A.D. 200, scholars compiled the Mishnah, a text that describes and explains the Jewish code of law that had been orally communicated up to that point.

The first version of the Talmud, a collection of teachings and commentaries on Jewish law, was finalized around the third century A.D. The Talmud contains the Mishnah and another text known as the Gemara, which examines the Mishnah. The combined texts include the interpretations of thousands of rabbis and outline the importance of 613 commandments of Jewish law. A second version of the Talmud was completed during the fifth century.

Judaism embraces several other written texts and commentaries. One example is the 13 Articles of Faith, which was written by the Jewish philosopher Maimonides.

There are several sects in Judaism, which include:

Orthodox Judaism: Orthodox Jews are typically known for their strict observance of traditional Jewish law and rituals. For instance, most believe Shabbat should not involve working, driving or handling money. Women have a limited role in Orthodox religious practices.

Orthodox Judaism is a diverse sect that includes several subgroups, including Hasidic Jews. This form started in the 18th century in Eastern Europe and holds different values than traditional or ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Hasidic Jews emphasize a mystical experience with God that involves direct communion through prayer and worship. Chabad is a well-known Orthodox Jewish, Hasidic movement.

Reform Judaism: Reform Judaism is considered a liberal sect that values ethical traditions over strict observance of Jewish laws. Followers promote progressive ideas and adaptation. Most of the Jews living in the United States follow Reform Judaic traditions, which allow women full equality in synagogue governance and religious practices.

Conservative Judaism: Many people consider this form of Judaism somewhere in between Orthodox and Reform Judaism. Typically, conservative Jews honor the traditions of Judaism while allowing for some modernization, including allowing women to serve as rabbis and in other leadership positions.

Reconstructionist Judaism: Reconstructionism dates back to 1922 when Mordecai Kaplan founded the Society for the Advancement of Judaism. This sect believes that Judaism is a religious civilization that’s constantly evolving.

Humanistic Judaism: Rabbi Sherwin Wine founded this denomination of Judaism in 1963. Humanistic Jews celebrate Jewish history and culture without an emphasis on God.

While there are various denominations of Judaism, many Jews do not identify with a particular classification and simply refer to themselves as Jewish.

Shabbat is recognized as a day of rest and prayer for Jews. It typically begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday.

Observing Shabbat can take many forms, depending on the type of Judaism that a Jewish family observes. Orthodox and Conservative Jews, for example, might refrain from performing any physical labor, using any electrical device or other prohibited activities.

Most observant Jews celebrate Shabbat by reading or discussing the Torah, attending a synagogue or socializing with other Jews at Shabbat meals.

Around 1000 B.C., King David ruled the Jewish people. His son Solomon built the first holy Temple in Jerusalem, which became the central place of worship for Jews. The kingdom fell apart around 931 B.C., and the Jewish people split into two groups: Israel in the North and Judah in the South.

From ancient times through the modern day, Jewish people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. Some well-known events include:

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem: Sometime around 587 B.C., the Babylonians destroyed the first Temple of Jerusalem that Solomon had built and sent many Jews into exile. A second Temple was built in about 516 B.C., but the Romans eventually destroyed it, too, in A.D. 70. The destruction of the second Temple was significant because Jewish people no longer had a primary place to gather, so they shifted their focus to worshipping in local synagogues.

1066 Granada Massacre: On December 30, 1066, a Muslim mob stormed the royal palace in Granada and killed more than 1,000 Jewish families. The group also kidnapped and crucified Joseph ibn Naghrela, the Jewish vizier to the Berber king.

The First Crusade: In the first of the Crusades, a series of medieval holy wars involving Christians and Muslims, thousands of Jews were killed. Many others were forced to convert to Christianity.

The Spanish Expulsion: In 1492, Spain’s rulers issued a royal edict that declared all Jews who refused to convert to Christianity would be expelled from the country. Experts estimate about 200,000 people were ousted and tens of thousands died while trying to reach safety.

The Holocaust: During the Holocaust, the most infamous of modern-day atrocities, the Nazis murdered more than 6 million European Jews.

During and after the Holocaust, many Jews returned to their homeland (in the Middle East region known as Palestine) and embraced Zionism, a movement that emerged in 19th-century Europe advocating for the creation of a Jewish state.

In 1948, Israel officially became an independent nation. David Ben-Gurion, one of the leading promoters of a Jewish nation state, was the first prime minister.

This event was considered a success for the Jewish people who had tirelessly petitioned for an independent state in their homeland. However, tensions between Jews and Arabs living in Palestine escalated after Israel became a state; these tensions have in some cases led to violence and are still ongoing today.

Jewish people observe several important days and events in history, such as:

Passover: This holiday, which typically occurs in March or April, lasts seven or eight days and celebrates Jewish freedom from slavery in Egypt. Specifically, Passover refers to the biblical story of when God “passed over” houses of Jewish families and saved their children during a plague that was said to have killed all other firstborn babies in Egypt.

Shavuot: Seven weeks after Passover, this holiday commemorates when the Torah was given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Rosh Hashanah: Jews celebrate the birth of the universe and humanity during this holiday, which is also known as the Jewish New Year. It generally falls during the months of September or early October.

Yom Kippur: This “Day of Atonement” is considered the holiest day of the year for Jews who typically spend it fasting and praying. It also falls during the months of September or October.

Sukkot: This week-long holiday comes five days after Yom Kippur. Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the 40 years Israelites spent in the desert.

High Holy Days: The 10 days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are known as the High Holidays, the Days of Awe or Yamim Noraim. The High Holy Days are considered a time of repentance for Jewish people.

Hanukkah: This Jewish celebration, also known as the “Festival of Lights,” lasts eight days during late November or December. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees defeated the Syrian-Greeks over 2,000 years ago.

Purim: This is a joyous holiday, occurring in the month of March, that celebrates a time when the Jewish people in Persia were saved from extermination by Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai.