Judaism and the Jewish People

Section 1: The Origins of Judaism

A Torah is generally seen written on a scroll. Image taken from: tlj-news.com.

The Early Israelites and the Worship of One God The most important tenant of the Jewish

religion is its belief in monotheism or the

belief in one God.

The Jewish people believe that their religious

origins are found in the Torah.

The Torah consist of the first five books of the

Hebrew Bible

Abraham and Isaac

Abraham is known as the father of Judaism.

Abraham is known as the starting point of the Jewish

religion. God made an agreement with him, in which

he agreed to move his family to Canaan. God promised him that if he did this, he, his current family,

and his future family members would always own the

land of Canaan. This is why Canaan is called, The

Promised Land.

Isaac was Abraham’s son and also a patriach of the

Jewish religion.

Jacob

Jacob was the grandson of Abraham, who

was the first patriarch of the Jewish religion.

Jacob had twelve sons that started tribes,

which represented the Jewish religion.

Jacob’s name was eventually changed to

Israel, thus the Jewish people became

known as Israelites.

What led to the Exodus?

The Israelites went to Egypt, because there was lack of food in Canaan. The Israelites knew that grain was plentiful in Egypt, so they decided to move there.

Upon their arrival into Egypt, the pharaoh allowed the Israelites to stay, but the pharaoh treated the Israelites very badly, as he compelled them to do hard work.

Years of prayers finally were answered, when God went to Moses and told him to guide his people out of Egypt.

Moses

Moses was adopted by the pharaoh’s family.

God came to Moses and told him to rescue his people by leading them out of Egypt.

Moses then went to the pharaoh and asked that he lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The pharaoh refused to let them leave. As a result God sent many hardships to the people of Egypt.

After the last punishment, in which the first-born son of every Egyptian was put to death, the pharaoh finally agreed to free the Israelites.

Moses then led the Israelites out of Egypt.

The Desert Experience

According to the text, the Israelites had a

difficult time living in the desert on their way

back to Canaan.

God gave them specific instructions, but

they did not always listen to God. They soon

realized that when they didn’t listen to God,

bad things would happen. Eventually, they

learned to listen and thus God provided

food and water, which made their lives

easier.

Ten Commandments

Image of the Ten Commandments. Image taken from: clydefossum.com.

Laws for Living and the Impact of God’s Laws

When Moses met God at the top of Mount Sinai,

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments,

along with other laws. The Ten Commandments

is the most important aspect of the Torah.

The Ten Commandments teach the Jewish

people how to behave towards each other and

God.

Jewish people feel that all people are created

in the image of God and thus it is duty to treat

them with respect and goodwill

Canaanite Art

Return to the Promise Land

The Israelites were questioning their faith, but after Moses received the Ten Commandments from God they resumed their journey to Canaan.

After Moses died his deputy Joshua took over. He led the Israelites into Canaan and defeated city after city.

After the Israelites took over Canaan, the descendants from Jacob’s sons settled in different areas of Canaan. The people living in Canaan when the Israelites invaded called themselves Canaanites. They believed in many Gods and Goddesses. This belief in more than one God was problematic to the Israelites, as they sometimes strayed away from their religion, but always came back to it.