Judaism, the Jewish Religion - Essay Example

Running Head: Judaism, the Jewish Religion College Name: Question One Judaism did not stop with the Bible, it is a living religion constantly developing in response to the changing intellectual perceptions and social realities. The word Judaism has two meaning. It donate the entire civilization past and present of the Jewish people with the entire civilization it means all the secular and sacred element of the culture, history and social invitation of the Jewish people It also denotes just the religion of the Jewish people. Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jewish people, is called Canaan the land of promise or Israel the Holy land. The people are called Israelites, Jew, Hebrews. At present, this land is mostly in the modern Jewish state of Israel. To the religion of Judaism, Palestine and Hebrew language are sacred. This is so because it was in the land of Canaan and in the Hebrew language that God’s revelation was given to the people of the Israel through prophet, jewish religious rites and observances were formed in the Holy land, Hebrew language dominates in the worship of the Jewish people( for the strict traditionalists all worship is done in Hebrew , for the modernists, worship is done in part Hebrew) and lastly there is a strong belief among Jews everywhere that Israel and Hebrew have a role to play in the destiny of the world and of all nation. (Steinberg, 1988) Although Judaism shows a unified and continuing spiritual pattern throughout its history it is not a simple and homogenous entity. In his book Basic Judaism Milton Steinberg lists the following seven strands that are woven together 1. A doctrine concerning God the universe and man 2. a morality fix the individual and society 3. A regimen of rite, custom and ceremony 4. A body or law 5. A sacred literature 6. Institutions through which the foregoing find expression 7. The people Israel-central strand out of which and about which the others are spun Today, there are two distinct version of the Jewish religion the strict traditionalist and modernists. They differ in their interpretation of Judaism although they have more in common than apart. They agree on what constituted Judaism in its very beginning what brought it into existence was a particular conception of God and it is that conception of God, which has kept it alive ever since. (Steinberg, 1988) Assertions About God The fact of God’s existence is assumed, is given. God is understood to be a Person with the following attributes; God is a creator of all things through all time God is one not many by this affirmation of the oneness of God, Judaism from very early its history declared war against idolatry in all its forms it has maintained this declaration down the ages by refuting The deistic quality of Zoroastrianism The Trinitarians idea of Christianity particularly in its incarnation doctrine of God-man The atheism of modern society (Steinberg, 1988) God is spirit i.e. at one and the same time, is a mind that thinks and a power at work, a reason and a purpose God is a lawgiver in that He is the source, not only of the natural law to which the whole universe conforms but also of the moral law, which regulates human existence God is the guide of history God directs and works in human history to realize His will and purpose for humanity God is a savoir of souls Judaism understand Salvation as humanity’s victory over its limitation such as ignorance and insensitivity. Salvation is understood also to be conquest of sinfulness and evils within the person such as pride, selfishness, hate, lust, cynicism and deliberate rejection of goodness and truth. (Leo, 1999) God is liberator of human being and their societies. He is the power, which work in individuals and nations and will not permit them to acquiesce in servitude of their own making or that of other people making God is humanity helper through the resources one the physical word which are considered dependable and the sum total of all that makes up the human personality. These assertions about God has not led Judaism into formulating any dogmas or creeds which people confess as such. The main reason for lack of dogma is that the Jews whose religion is Judaism are members of a religious community, a historic people and participants of culture. In its origin and growth Judaism started first with a people, then a region. The religion rates the good life higher than doctrines. Moreover, Judaism cherishes and encourages freedom of thought. Creeds and doctrines would restrict free thought. (Leo, 1999) This is not to say that freedom of thought in Judaism is unlimited. Certain standards have been set to which ideas and speculation about God must conform if they are to be acceptable. The idea of God as being immanent, for examples, is freely discussed, reflected and demonstrated by Jewish philosophers with the individual being left free to decide how God should be envisaged Theories have been advanced to account for the presence of evil in the world such as evil may be the result or the sin or the one whom it is visited and its visitation is a chance to expiate the sin, evil is an incomprehensible enigma whose unraveling is God’s alone among other theories. Despite all these theories advanced to account for evil Judaism makes no effort to attain conformity on the issue. (Leo, 1999) Each person is encouraged and expected to recognize evils as something to be fought by:- i) Caring for the victim of evils, those who mourn, who are hungry, the naked, the sick, the ignorant, the oppressed and the enslaved. ii) Rooting out evil from the world of nature, oneself and society iii) Enduring those evils which cannot be fought with dignity and courageous faith and refusing to be demoralized by evil how ever large or grim it might be Judaism affirms the goodness of life when lived properly. Each person stands directly under God’s gaze. Judaism does not advocate vicarious salvation. Each person must redeem his or her soul. One way by which a person is enabled to do this is by the observance of the commandments, the Torah (Neil, 1996) Judaism is a scriptual religion. It derives from centers about and makes explicit the contents of a sacred document. The most sacred of the Scriptures of Judaism is the Torah. The Torah-book, which is used in the synagogue for worship services, is a succession of parchments sewn together breadth wise and rolled about two wooden poles, making twin cylinders. The parchment contain a hard – written well-edited, Hebrew original of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible i.e. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Besides, the Torah contains a doctrine about one universal God, an outline of the ethic of justice and loving kindness, a prescription of rituals holy days, festive seasons and pertinent forms of worship and observance, an ordinance of religious, domestic social, philanthropic and political institutions and lastly, an explanation of the Jewish people as a kingdom of priests; a holy nation through whom all families of the earth are to be blessed. The traditionalists Jews differ in their understanding of the significance of the Torah- book from the modernists. Despite the differences that exist between the traditionalist and modernist interpretation of Torah both revere it each in their way and both look to it for guidance and inspiration, the two share a common purpose. Judaism recognizes the need for individual to address God in prayer. There is a schedule of times and seasons laid down in Judaism when people should get together as Jewish people to worship God. The synagogue can be a square or an oblong building, with the Ark to the east. All worshippers face the Ark. In older Orthodox (traditionalist) synagogues, there is a gallery, which is reserved for women. In reform or modern synagogues men and women sit together. The Ark containing the Torah book is draped by a curtain in front of which hangs an ever – lighted lamp. The reading desk is directly in front or facing the Ark. Some modern synagogues have pipe organs with a choir behind a grille. The interior of the synagogues has no pictures although it can be decorated with stained glass windows, decorated crowns to the scrolls or Torah and panels containing the 1st words of each of the Ten Commandments. Men wear hats or skullcaps and white prayer shawls round their shoulders while women can wear hats but no prayer shawls. (Jacob, 2000) According to the traditionalist interpretation of Torah, the whole Torah, every word and letter was God revealed directly to the whole community of Israel on Mt. Sinai or indirectly though Moses. Every part of it is completely true and good. The nature of revelation and inspiration guarantees its absolute intellectual and moral validity. (Jacob, 2000) For the modernist the Torah is inspired to the extent to which truth and goodness are present in it. Torah is tested against the standard by which everything else is judged. It is not the work of a single person or period, but is a composite of several documents written by different authors and put together by unknown editors. To the traditionalist Judaism was revealed completely on Mt. Sinai and cannot change. Under all the various ways it has been restated down the ages it has persisted as one and the same from Moses to the present time. To the modernist the law of change is universal and Judaism in not exception. It continues to grow. Traditionalists hold the view that the revelation of the Torah overflows into the rest of scripture and into classical Talmodic literature and in diminishing degree into later rabbinic writings. Both Torah book and the Torah tradition are divinely inspired. To the modernist they accept the rest of the scripture and tradition as generally inspired. It is not regarded as beyond criticism but the natural unfolding of a particular people’s pilgrimage from darkness to perception. It is a record of how people face and try to answer the deepest question of human existence. (Jacob, 2000) In orthodox (traditionalist) synagogues the service starts at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday morning (Sabbath) and lasts three hours. In Reform (modernist) synagogue, it starts later and last 1 ½ hours. The order of services being as follows; The reader in a black robe, hat and prayer shawl recites, form the lectern, a prayer of praise to God, praising His unity and providence. 18 blessing in which God is praised for His goodness and care for Israel follows this. These prayers and blessings are recited in Hebrew in orthodox synagogues and in part English, part Hebrew in Reform synagogues. The congregation sits during most of the service. The Shema is recited in Hebrew. The Ark is then opened and the Torah book is carried round the synagogues in procession. The reading of the law follows. After reading the Torah – book is rolled up, veiled and returned to the Ark in procession as when it was taken out. A short teaching follows, then traditional hymns, prayers and blessings. Special services may be held; followed by a sanctification of a cup of wine and two loaves, which are blessed and later eaten by all present. No collection taken during the service since the handling of money is forbidden during the Sabbath, as are mourning and fasting. The worship service at the synagogue is concluded at home by the family meal, which is eaten in an atmosphere of festivity. (Norman, 1996) According to Nevsuer (1989), the Jewish tradition orders that a number of Festivals be observed through out the year, through these rituals the Jew affirms certain things about human life and the place of God in it. For the traditionalist the various rituals and observances are revealed and so ordained by God. This alone justifies their observance. Judaism is understood to be more than just a church, a community of people, but rather a way of life, full and complete. Ritual is the instrument, which moulds the beliefs, morals and worship of the Jew, making religion penetrate every aspect of life Judaism seeks to sanctify life. Ritual enables the ordinary person to be constantly aware of God. (Norman, 1996) Judaism has survived as a district religion mainly because of the way it understands itself in relation to other nations. It came to existence because the people of Israel accepted God’s choice of them at the beginning of their history. Having accepted God and His Torah Israel accepted the responsibility; the mission God gave them for the rest of the world. Judaism has not yet fulfilled this mission and continues to believe that the future of the whole humanity is closely tied up with that of Israel. It dreams of the kingdom of God, a perfected world where all people regenerated. The kingdom of God will be brought about by the Messiah; a human being especially appointed by God and equipped by Him with the power and authority to cleanse the world of its evils and to establish good in unshakable foundations. This is the torch of hope that Judaism holds for the rest of human kind. (Neil, 1996) Question Two Comparing Judaism with Christianity has been my interest, having learnt and researched more on Judaism I am always curious to know how Judaism compares with other religions, in this case Christianity. In comparing the two religions I discovers that Christianity arose in Palestine among the Jewish people, where Jesus lived and died. It was within the framework of Jewish world – view that the teachings of Jesus also received. The disciples of Jesus also received the teachings as Jews. I find that when Paul was going about preaching to the Gentiles he often started at the Jewish synagogues in the towns he visited. This explains why in need to understand the social religious situations of the Jews in order to understand the founding Christianity. Palestine, the promised land of the Jews, lay at the cross – between Egypt and Assyria and between Arabia and Asia Minor. (Barrett, 1999) Because of its position, Palestine was annexed by almost every nation that came to power in the region. In 63 BC the Romans took Jerusalem and are said to have defiled the temple. It was under the Roman rule that we find Palestine at the time Christ was born and right through his life on earth. According to Barrett (1999) historical records tell us that the Jews were not easy people for the Romans to govern. This was because of their exclusive religion, which gave no room for other religions except the Lord of Hosts. By the time of birth of Jesus Christ, the Jews were found in various cities of the Mediterranean world. These Jews of the Diaspora erected synagogues whenever they settled. It was at these synagogues that they taught the law and the prophets. These synagogues played an important role in the spread of the Christian faith. (Barrett, 1999) The Greeks were very proud people. They produced great philosophers such as plate and Aristotle. However, all this changed with the conquests of Alexander the Great between 334 and 323 BC. As a result of establishment of Greek empire incorporating Palestine, a consumption society emerged. The Greek found himself lost in the University of empire, while their goods found themselves in competition with other goods including the Lord of Hosts. Their rules of conduct conflicted with the custom of others including Jewish Torah in spite of the conflicts, teaching of Greek philosophers particularly Plato contributed to the evolution of the Christian ideas. It was in this kind of empire that Christianity emerged. (Barrett, 1999) Reference Barrett, D. (1999): World Christian Encyclopedia, London, Oxford university press. Jacob, N. (2000): Torah From Our Sages, Chicago, Chicago University press Leo, T. (1999): Judaism: Development and Life, New York, McGraw-Hill Neil, G. (1996): The Way into Encountering Judaism, New York, St martins Press Nevsuer, J. (1989): Judaism in the beginning of Christianity, Philadelphia, Fortress press. Norman, S. (1996): Judaism and world, Religion, London, Macmillan Rabbi, T (1968): The Jewish way of life, London, Edward Goldton Steinberg, M. (1988): Basic Judaism, New York, Harcourt Brace. Read More