Judaism is the monotheistic religion of the Jewish people and its law is rooted in the Torah – the first five books of the Bible. They consist of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
According to the Torah, the father of Judaism is Abraham, who was born about 4000 years ago. At that time, many gods were worshiped, but he believed that there was only one God.
This religion grew out of the covenant between Abraham, his children and their descendants. Moses received the Torah from God and he led the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt. Later on, he taught the people God’s laws.
When Jewish children turn 13 there’s a celebration that commemorates a passage into Jewish adulthood. The ceremony includes standing before the congregation and reading a section of the Torah. This ceremony is called a bar Mitzvah (for boys) or bat Mitzvah (for girls). After the ceremony young people can participate fully in traditions.
Jewish Observances and Rituals
Observant Jews follow a lot of rituals for every part of their lives. These are some of the most important Jewish observances and day today, as well as the life cycle rituals:
Children and Young adults
- Circumcision (covenant of Abraham)
- Adulthood: Bat-Mitzvah, bar Mitzvah
- Menstrual purification (Mikvah–purification bath)
- Marriage Rituals
Death and Mourning
- Belief in bodily resurrection requires burial; cremation and embalming prohibited.
- “Purification” (cleansing) of the corpse, covering it in a simple white shroud.
- Recitation of “Kaddish, the affirmation of faith in God.
- Successive phases of mourning, decreasing in intensity:
- Until funeral
- First seven days (shivah)
- First month
- First-year
- The annual commemoration of the date of death of a close relative
Dietary laws (Kosher foods)
- Definitions of permissible species
- Separation of meat and dairy foods, slaughter and removal of blood from meat
Praying Rituals
- Daily prayer: Morning, afternoon and evening.
- The synagogue, a quorum of ten (minyan)
- Ritual objects: Phylacteries (tefillin), fringed garment (tallit)
Facts about Judaism
Just like every other religion, there are a lot of things that Judaism consists of. Starting from the Torah up to every part of the traditions and the rituals. These are some facts about the Jewish religion, you probably didn’t know before.
Judaism Has Several Different Sects
The three main branches within Judaism are Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews. There are also some smaller denominations of the religion as well and all of them represent their own unique practices. They all follow their version of Judaism, but the basis of the belief is the same because they all share the same origin.
Judaism Is One Of The Three Abrahamic Religions
Judaism, Christianity and Islam share the same origin. And Judaism is the oldest one of the three Abrahamic religions.
According to the Book of Exodus, the Jewish People Began as Slaves
The second book of the Hebrew Bible, the Exodus is generally attributed to Moses. The book of Exodus tells us how Moses freed the Jewish people from slavery with the help of Yahwe. It also says that God chose the Israelites as his people
There Are 613 Commandments In The Law Of Moses
The main source of Jewish religious law, the Talmud tells that there are 613 commandments in the law of Moses. These commandments, also known as mitzvot are divided into 3 main categories – mishpatim, edit and chukim.
Synagogues Are The Place Of Worship In Judaism
When Jewish people want to go to worship and pray, they go to the Synagogue. It is believed that they came to existence during the Babylonian captivity in Israel. The Jewish temples were not accessible for worship. Today, some synagogues have separate rooms for studying the Torah.
The Tallit is a shawl that’s used during the prayers and modern-day Jews want to protect the shawl and to keep the mint condition for as long as possible. If you are looking to keep your tallit safe and protected from the weather and travel conditions, you might need a tallit and tefillin bags.
These bags are small and compact and they will be a good match for anything you wear. We all know that Jewish people pay attention to the way they represent themselves in public. There are a lot of places where you can buy these bags and one of them is https://jewish.shop/.
There Is No Original Torah Existing Today
The oldest Torah scroll was found at a university in Bologna and it dates back to about 800 years ago. The damaged and old Torahs have to be stored in a synagogue or buried. What this means is that the first Torah that was ever written does not exist anymore.
A lot of the scrolls have also been destroyed in times of war by other cultures. There some old documents that still exist and some of them are the Dead Sea Scrolls (408 BCE to 318 CE), Nash Papyrus (2nd century BCE), and En-Gedi Scroll (3rd or 4th century CE).
The Religious Symbol Of Judaism Is The Star Of David
The Star of David became a symbol of the Zionist community in the late 1800s. It has appeared on tombstones and Jewish buildings for many centuries before.
Hanukkah Is A Jewish Holiday Known As The Festival Of Lights
This holiday celebrates the rededication of the second temple in Jerusalem. The holiday is celebrated for eight days and a candle is lit every night in a special menorah. Hanukkah includes eating good food and exchanging gifts and because of that, it’s compared with Christmas. The date is different every year, but it’s always on the 25th of the month after the Hebrew month of Kislev.
The Western Wall Is A Holy Site For Prayer And Pilgrimage
Because the Jews are prohibited from praying on the Temple Mount, the closest place that is connected to the holiest place in Judaism is the Western Wall. This is an extremely important site where Jews can do their prayer and pilgrimage. If you book a private tour to Jerusalem, you will visit the Western Wall and other interesting places in Jerusalem. To learn more about these tours click here.
Additional Facts about Judaism
- There are about 15 million Jews in the world
- About 6 million Jews were killed during the holocaust
- Anyone born to a Jewish mother is Jewish
- Jews are only allowed to eat Kosher food
- Yom Kippur is one of the holiest days of the year for Jews
Judaism is one of the oldest and biggest religions in the world. It consists of a lot of different ways of teaching, important traditions and rituals. Are there any other facts about the Jewish religion that you’d like to share with us?
