The History of Judaism PDF

The History of Judaism 1) Judaism came from a group of pastoral nomads. People that moved from place to place following food, yet knew how to domesticate animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats. 2) The Jewish religion is highly important to many different facets of Wor...

The History of Judaism 1) Judaism came from a group of pastoral nomads. People that moved from place to place following food, yet knew how to domesticate animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats. 2) The Jewish religion is highly important to many different facets of World History and other world religions (Christianity and Islam) 3) The core beliefs of Judaism a) Monotheistic- One God, sovereign over everything. He created the World in 6 days and rested on the seventh day b) God made a covenant with a man named Abraham, from which the Jewish people descended from (God’s chosen people) c) God gave the laws (10 Commandments) to a man named Moses, who led the exodus of the Jewish people from slavery to their promised land (Israel) d) Prophecies were given to chosen individuals, including Jeremiah, Isaiah, and a host of others. These prophets pointed to a coming messiah who would restore Israel to prominence e) Practicing Jews today do NOT believe this messiah has arrived yet. 4) The Jewish scriptures are divided into 3 parts: a) Torah- First 5 Books written by Moses- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy b) Nevi’im- The Prophets-Starting with Joshua c) Ketuvim- The Psalms and Proverbs 5) In Christianity today these first five books are called the Pentateuch. The books of the Jews are referred to as The Old Testament 6) Most Jews do NOT recognize the New Testament and its proclamation of Jesus Christ as the messiah as Holy Scripture. They see Jesus as a great teacher and prophet, but not the promised messiah. Reasons for this belief A) Jesus was not a descendant of King David B) The concept of the Holy Trinity does not go with monotheism C)The Messiah was supposed to build a 3rd Temple D)Jesus contradicted the Torah 7) Notable Jewish Leaders a) Abraham- Patriarch of Jewish people b) Moses- Led Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt to the cusp of Promised Land. This journey took 40 years  c) David- Early King of Jewish people- Reigned for 30 years and established Jerusalem as capital of Israel d) Solomon- Son of David- Built the great temple of Jerusalem. According to Jewish tradition, the wisest man who ever lived. e) Jesus- Yes, he was a Jew 8) In 1948, Israel became an independent country 9) There are around 14.8 million Jews in the world today