 | This article does not cite any sources; the information may not be accurate or reliable. |
| Judaism | |
|---|---|
 An artists depiction of Jews praying at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel | |
| Founded in | Bronze age Ancient Near East |
| Founder | Abraham, Moses |
| Significant Scriptures | The Torah |
| Sects | Orthodox Conservative Reform |
Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, having been practiced in the Middle East for thousands of years. It originated from the teachings of Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Isaiah and other Prophets. One central belief of Judaism is the Covenant between God and Abraham.
Judaism has always promoted the study of the Torah and other religious texts. This emphasis on scholarship produced a wealth of theological and legal texts. Contributions of Jewish scholars have significantly advanced every field of study.
Jews consider themselves to be, in some way, the Chosen People of God. The adoption into the Jewish people, of individuals or groups who were not raised as Jews is controversial among many, despite it having been a recurrent feature of Jewish history. Jews are almost unique among the world's major religions in that they do not encourage others to accept their teachings.
The history of the Jewish people is characterized by long periods of brutal persecution. Jewish communities have been subjected to every imaginable form of violent attack. Synagogues and Jewish writings have been destroyed, Jews have been driven from one region to another and their property plundered or confiscated. The Holocaust or Shoah, the genocide carried out by Germany's National Socialist dictatorship from 1939 - 1945, nearly succeeded in annihilating Europe's Jewish population, killing nearly six million Jews within six years. Six million is 78% of the 7.3 million Jews who previously lived in the territory conquered by Germany during World War II.
The world's reaction to the Holocaust was to aid in the formation of the state of Israel, a state specifically set up for Jews.
Today there are an estimated 14 million categorised as Jews by descent. An estimated 9.5 million practice some form of Judaism.
Divisions within Judaism[edit]
The main body of active adherents, who adhere strictly to the teachings and practices as handed down through the centuries are referred to as Orthodox Jews. Men keep their heads covered in some form, even if only by a kippah (skull cap, yomulka).
The "Ultra-Orthodox" Jews are the Haredi and the Hassidim. The (male) Haredi Jews cover their heads with large hats, and have large families. The (male) Hassidim invariably also wear large hats, but also wear some form of eightennth-century European costume, in black. They "enjoy" their religion, with much singing and dancing. Both of these groups tend to have large families.
At the other end of the spectrum are Liberal, Progressive and Reform Jews. These three groups differ in their actual practices, but all try to adapt Judaism to incorporate more "modern" ideas - maybe men and women sitting together; maybe using the vernacular language in the services, rather than Hebrew; allowing women to become rabbis, etc.
Distribution of Jews today[edit]
The largest single assemblage of Jewry is in the New York-New Jersey area, with perhaps six or seven million people. Israel now has nearly as many Jews, including immigrants from India and Ethiopia, as well as lighter-skinned people from Europe and the Middle East.
The Satmar Hassidim interpret the Scriptures as putting the Coming of the Messiah before the setting up of a theocratic state. While Bahá'ís might take the same view, with Bahá'u'lláh's manifestation preceding His World Order, it sets them at odds with Zionist Jews, who see the necessity of setting up a homeland for the Jews as the priority. This led to some Hassidim leaving Palestine when the state of Israel was being set up, and congregating in New York. Other groups of Hassidim do not have this problem with the state of Israel.
The United Kingdom at one time had perhaps half a million Jews, but marriage out of the community and emigration to Israel has reduced this number to under 300,000. France, Canada, Russia and Argentina are the other countries with more than 150,000 Jews.
