Origins of Judaism

Study Notes

Judaism is one of the world's oldest major religious traditions still practiced today, and it's the foundation religion for Christianity and Islam.
The term "Judaism" originated from the name "Judah," the ancestor of the Israelite kingship and the name of the region where the Temple of Jerusalem was built.

According to the Torah, Abraham was a nomad who was told by Yahweh that he would become the ancestor of a great nation, known as the Abrahamic covenant.
Abraham's grandson Jacob's story is recounted in the Torah, and Jacob's name is later changed by Yahweh to Israel, becoming the name of their tribe.
Jacob has 12 sons who become founders of their own tribes that are part of the larger tribe of Israel.

Moses becomes the first major leader of the tradition, leading the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years as they make their way to the "Promised Land" that Yahweh promised to the Israelites.
The Promised Land was described as "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8, NRSV).

Historians struggle to date the narrative of Judaism's origins due to a lack of external evidence about whether events were historically factual.
Abraham might have lived as early as the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE.
The Exodus from Egypt, when Moses led the Israelites out of slavery, might have occurred around the 13th or 12th centuries BCE.
The origins of the Kingdom of Israel, with Judaism as the main religion focused around the Temple of Jerusalem, date to around the 10th century BCE.

Jewish religion was centered around the Temple of Jerusalem, a holy building where Jews could worship Yahweh.
After the destruction of the Temple, worship was congregational and held in synagogues, which are still found around the world today.
The two most important sacred texts or scriptures for Judaism are the Tanakh (also called the Hebrew Bible) and the Talmud, which contains commentaries on the Tanakh.
Shabbat, or the Sabbath, is a weekly holy day observed by many Jews, which occurs from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.

Throughout history, the Jewish people have been conquered or driven out of their homeland, leading to diasporas or dispersions of the people.
The Babylonian Exile in 586 BCE led to the destruction of the Temple and a religious and identity crisis for Judaism.
During the Persian Empire's rule, the Jews were allowed to return and rebuild their Temple.
However, in 70 CE, the Temple of Jerusalem was again destroyed and the Jews were sent into exile once again.

The region of Israel and Judah did not fall back into Jewish control until it was officially declared the State of Israel in 1948 CE.
Many Jewish people only had opportunities for semi-permanent living during the near two millennia between the exile and the founding of the State of Israel.
During this time, Jews faced persecution, particularly during the Crusades of the Middle Ages and the Holocaust, which was a period of systematic killing by the Nazis.

Judaism has had a long and impactful history, both as a world power and as a persecuted religious community.
Judaism has played an important role in other major world religions, such as Christianity and Islam, which consider themselves extensions of Jewish teachings.
Today, Judaism is practiced by a small number of people, but its impact on religious society and culture is significant, with Christianity and Islam making up about 31% and 24% of the world's population, respectively.