Judaism

One Of Earth's Oldest Religions

by Robert Kopp III (rkopp@cap.gwu.edu)
written 22 Jul 1994

This article is classified "Real"


Judaism is one of the world's oldest religions.  It is the ancestor of both
Christianity and Islam.  The first written evidence of Judaism is the Book
of J.  It was written around 1000 BCE, and is one of the books the later
evolved into the Torah.  The Torah is the most important Jewish holy book.
Much of it is the Christian Old Testament.

Judaism believes in one omnipotent, omniscient G-d.  This is written in the
most important prayer in Judaism, the Sh'ma.  Translated from the Hebrew,
it says, "Hear, O Israel: The Eternal is your G-d, the Eternal is One."

Hebrew is the language of most Jewish prayers and the historical language
of the Jews.  Yiddish and Ladino are languages that Jews used for much of
this millennium.  They are derived in part from Hebrew.  They are also
derived from the language of the areas where the Jews were living.
Yiddish is mostly derived from German.  Ladino is mostly derived from
Spanish.

Jews have no tradition of an afterlife.  Although for a period of time,
Jews believed in the existence of a Heaven and a Hell, almost all modern
Jews do not.

There are many different groups of Judaism with different strength of
beliefs.  These range from the extreme Orthodox to the non-religious.  The
organization of these groups differ considerably.  In Judaism, there is
no one policy.  There are an almost unlimited variety of groups, including
Reconstructionist Jews, Jewish Buddhists, Jews for Jesus, and Chasidic
Jews.

Jews hold services in a synagogue.  While most of the building can be, and
frequently is, used for other purposes, the room where the service is
held is not.  This room houses the ark, which is where the Torah scrolls
are kept.

Among the most important holidays are Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and
Pesach.  Although Channukah is the most commercialized, it is actually a
minor holiday.

Judaism is classified as: 1A4M-01B.

See also:
  • Classification Of Religions
  • Genesis Revised

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