Middle East Information Resource
Religions/Belief Systems - Judaism
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. It is the third largest religion in the Middle East. There are about five million Jews in the region, almost all of them in Israel. The land of Israel is believed by the Jews to have been given to them by God, and Jerusalem is a sacred city.
The most fundamental principles of Judaism are the belief in a transcendent and omnipotent One True God, whose will can be learned from the Torah, and in a unique relationship between God and the Jewish people. The covenant between God and the Jews was first made with Abraham. This covenant was renewed with Abraham’s son Isaac, and grandson Jacob. The covenant was extended and refined when Moses received the Ten Commandments. According to the covenant, the Jews are a chosen people, giving them a favored status as well as some obligations.
Judaism holds that the Torah is the law of Moses, which was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. However, some believe that the Torah, though divinely inspired, is a compilation of literature from several sources. The Torah contains the first five books of the Hebrew bible.
The Talmud is a compilation of the civil and canonical laws of the Jews. Part of the Talmud is the Mishna, which is a compilation of the oral traditions, written in Hebrew. The Gomorra, also part of the Talmud, is a collection of comments and critical analyses, written in Aramaic by Jewish scholars over the centuries. The Jerusalem Talmud was compiled at the end of the 5th century, and the Babyonian Talmud was completed at the end of the 6th century.
Modern movements within Judaism find their roots in the Enlightenment. In the 18th century Moses Mendelsshon was an important proponent of Rationalism in Jewish thought. He also translated the Bible into German. On of his followers, David Friedländer founded Reformed Judaism. The Reform movement was quite assimilationist, and the more moderate Conservative movement also developed.
Judaism awaits the coming of the Messiah, who will liberate the Jews and bring back justice and security to the World. While more Orthodox Jewish groups still wait for his coming, other groups interpret the Messiah as symbolic of an enlightened age of peace and cooperation.
In theory, Judaism does not recognize any central religious authority, other than God. The fundamental organizing principles of Judaism are the family and the congregation. Congregations usually choose rabbis, who are learned in Jewish law and customs. The rabbi’s role is more that of a teacher than a priest, in the sense that he is not in any way an intermediary between his congregation and God. The rabbi can be a woman in Reform congregations, but not in Orthodox.
During services a cantor chants the prayers. The congregation gathers in a synagogue, which is often both a sanctuary for religious services and a place of religious education and community activities. In Orthodox congregations, men and women sit separate, but together in Reform and Conservative congregations. Jews also performs rituals in the home. This includes daily prayers, Sabbath observance and some of the yearly festivals. Conversion to Judaism is possible, but rather than being encouraged is made somewhat difficult.
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