Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems

In this module, it aims to examine the basic elements of the three Abrahamic religions,
namely Judaism. Christianity and Islam. This chapter focuses on, specifically Judaism’s origins,
sacred texts, doctrines, practices, denominations and challenges of this religion.

Objective of this Module

 Understand the worldview of each of the world’s major religions
 Analyze the culture of the region that gave rise to specific religions
 Explain and describe the core teachings of the major religions

Lesson 4: Judaism
 Objectives
 Trace the origin of Judaism and identify its sacred texts
 Explain the basic doctrines and practices of Judaism
 Distinguish the different denominations of Judaism and discuss some of its
challenges

Judaism is the religion of the Jews. The terms “Judaism” and “Jews” were derived from
the word “Judah”, the name of the fourth of the twelve son of Jacob (Jacob was the son of
Isaac, who was son of Abraham). One becomes a Jew either by ancestry, when one of
his/her parents or both of them are Jews, or by religious affiliation or conversion, when
he/ she professes faith in Judaism. We shall, in this lesson, mean by “Jews” as followers
or converts of Judaism. The Jews are also called “Hebrews” (as Abraham was called a
“Hebrew”) and Israelites (as Jacob was also called “Israel”). The Jews consider
themselves as “God’s chosen people”. The founders of Judaism were Abraham (2,000
BC) and Moses (1391-1271 BC).
Sacred Texts
o Tanakh- the primary sacred text of the Jews; the Hebrew Bible. It consists of the
Torah (The Teachings), Nevi’im (The Prophets), and Kethuvim (The Writings).
The Tanakh generally corresponds to the “Old Testament” (but some Jewish
scholars do not accept this term) of the Christian Bible. The supplementary sacred
texts are the Talmud and the Midrash. The Talmud consists of the books of
Mishnah (originally the Oral Torah, which was meant to supplement the Written
Torah of the Tanakh) and Gemara (the legal and ethical commentaries on the
Mishnah). The Midrash, written around the layout of the Tanakh, are stories that
relate to the words, themes, or stories in the Tanakh.

Basic Doctrine
o The 613 Mitzvot: the rules Moses received from God, which include the Ten
Commandments; they were identified and itemized by Moses Maimonides or
Rambam, the Jewish philosopher and rabbi and Torah Scholar.
o The 13 Principles of Faith; the core beliefs of Judaism as summarized by Moses
Maimonides:
 1.God exists;
2. God is one and there is nothing else like him;
3. God is spiritual in nature; he does not have corporeal aspects (physical
form);
 4. God is an everlasting God, without beginning or end;
 5. God alone is the appropriate object of worship and prayer;
 6. The Hebrew prophets spoke the truth from God;
 7. Moses was the greatest of God’s prophet;
 8. God gave Moses the both written and oral Torah;
 9. There is and will no other Torah than the one revealed to Moses;
 10. God is aware of every thought and action of human beings;
 11. The righteous will receive a reward from God; he will punish the
wicked;
 12. The promised Messiah will come at the proper time;
 13. All human beings who have ever lived will be raised from the dead.
o Monotheism; the belief that there is only one God, the creator of the world and
the author of the divine laws both written and oral, which were given to Moses
o The Afterlife: while believing in the afterlife, the Jews, however, have no precise
doctrines indicating the specific nature of the afterlife. Some believe in
reincarnation, while some believe in something similar to the Christian heaven
and hell (the difference, However, is that Jews believe that punishment in hell is
only temporary---there is specified time for the punishment after which either the
soul is completely destroyed or it goes to a state of remorse).
o The Messianic Age: the belief in the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection
of the righteous dead (dead Jews who lived a righteous life). The Messiah is
conceived by some Jews as a human being, not a god or demigod, who will be a
political and military leader who will deliver the Jews all over the world from
oppression, will establish peace on earth, will establish a world government base
in Israel, and will rebuild the temple of Jerusalem, among others.

Practices
o Daily Prayers: three daily prayer services during the day (morning, afternoon,
evening) done in one’s home or in the synagogue, facing the site of the temple in
Jerusalem
o Sabbath Day: the most sacred day of the week, occurring every sunset on Friday
until sunset on Saturday; strictly no work; dedicated solely to prayer and rest from
the usual everyday activities.
o Circumcision: done on male infants on the eight day after the birth; signals their
entry into the covenant of God and the Jewish patriarchs.
o Rite of Passage: a ceremony that marks the entry of Jewish boys and girls into
maturity in their faith; underwent by boys at the age of 13 (afterwards a boy is
called a bar mitzvah, meaning “son of the commandment”). And by girls at the
age of 12 (afterwards a girl is called a bat mitzvah, meaning “daughter of the
commandment”)
o Festival:

 Pilgrim Festivals; Pesah (Passover), Shavu ‘ot (Pentecost) , and Sukkot

(booths—reminder of the booths in the desert where the Israelites lived
after being delivered by God from their slavery in Egypt)
 Days of Awe (days of Repentance/High Holy Days): Ro’sh ha-Shanah
(Jewish New Year, celebrating God’s creation of the world). Ten days of
repentance (the ten days in between the Ro’sh ha-Shanah and Yom
Kippur). Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

Challenges
o Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust: Anti-Semitism is the attitude of hatred
towards the Jews, manifested in social and legal discriminations of Jews
and violent attacks against them. This attitude culminated in the holocaust
referring to the systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish
men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany and its
collaborators during World War II.
o Zionism: the movement that realized that dream of the Jews to go back to
their promised; and Canaan or Palestine (now called Israel), and to
establish their own state.
Exercise 1
Direction: Answer the following questions using 3-5 sentences.

1. Differentiate the Talmud from Tanakh.

2. Identify and briefly describe yearly Jewish festivals.

Exercise 2
1. Research also on the role of the Philippines in helping the victims of the holocaust and in
the institution of the State of Israel. Answer using 3-5 sentences.
2. Watch the documentary “How I Survived the Holocaust” and write a 1 paragraph
reflection paper. ( https://youtu.be/ciBQFItYc7E )

REFERENCE:

 Mabaquiao Jr., Napoleon (2017), The Padayon Series Introduction to World Religions
and Belief Systems, Phoenix Publishing House, Inc., Quezon City.