Judaism

Judaism is one of the oldest religions known to man. Judaism is a monotheistic religion, which is the belief in one divine creator. The Jewish know the creator as God, Elohim, Hashim or Yahweh. Judaism is a religion that was founded by Abraham who is known as the first Hebrew patriarch. Judaism originated in Palestine and was founded by Abraham. Abraham made a covenant with God (Jews, 2007). In this covenant God created law, and provided them with a way of life (Jews, 2007, para. 2).

Jews are known as “people of the book” (Jewish sacred texts, 2005, para. 1). The Jewish belief system and way of life is centered around these sacred texts. The main sacred texts are as follows. The Torah: the 5 books of Moses, The Tanakh: the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud: the oral Torah, Midrash: Book of sermons, Responsa: Volumes of writings with answers to Jewish law, and the central text of Kabbalah-the mystical branch of Judaism (Jewish sacred texts, 2005). These writings are a vital part of the Jewish religion. In the Jewish synagogue, these texts are studied and read several times a week (Jewish sacred texts, 2005, para. 3).

The Torah is a vital part of the Jewish religion, because in the broader sense of the word, it refers to the entire Jewish bible. The prophet Moses reveals the teachings of God to the nation of Israel which is the Torah (Tabor, 1998). In the Torah, there are a total of 613 commandments or mitzvot (Tabor, 1998, para.1). The Torah is the 5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, The Torah also refers to the entire Jewish bible. The teaching of the Torah begins with the creation of the world, and end with Moses’ last days.

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