Judaism, the jewish religion, is one of the oldest monotheistic religions. Jews believe in only one God, as the creator of the universe and all divine laws.
Even though it is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, the number of believers in Judaism is one of the lowest compared to other religions, such as Christianity, for example.
Currently, there are about 14 million Jews in the world, most of them in the United States of America and Israel.
judaism was founded by Abraham, about 2,000 years ago a. C or approximately 4,000 years in the Middle East. In addition to Abraham, a very important prophet for Judaism was moisés, considered the liberator and lawgiver of the Jewish people.
The Jews' relationship to God is based on a covenant. They call themselves “the people chosen by God” and live according to the laws handed down by Him to Moses.
These laws and commandments are contained in their texts and sacred books, the main one being the Torah, which makes up the first 5 books of the Hebrew bible, also equivalent to the Pentateuch, the first five of the Christian Holy Bible. Are they:
- bereshit (Genesis);
- Shemot (Exodus);
- vayikrah (Leviticus);
- Bamidbar (Numbers);
- Devarim (Deuteronomy).
Another holy book of the Jews is the talmud, which contains the comments and instructions of the spiritual leaders of Judaism on how to follow the laws of the Torah.
Judaism is also a religion that directly influences the lifestyle of Jews and is closely linked to sense of community and family, where all people participate in the same religious rituals and customs in set.
The services and meetings are held in the synagogues, a temple used for prayers and learning the sacred scriptures, with the presence of spiritual leaders, the rabbis.
The main beliefs and characteristics of Judaism are:
- It is monotheistic, that is, it believes in only one God, who is called the creator of the universe and divine laws;
- It follows the 10 commandments and other laws that appear in its sacred texts, sent by God to the prophets, such as Abraham and Moses;
- It is not a missionary or universal religion, so there is no intention on the part of Jews to propagate Judaism;
- They believe they are “God's chosen people”;
- They believe that Abraham is the father of all Jews and Moses the deliverer and lawgiver sent by God to the Jews;
- Depending on Jewish lineage, they do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah promised in the Torah texts;
- A person is only considered Jewish if his mother is Jewish.
Origin and History of Judaism
Tradition tells that Judaism arose in the year 2000 BC. Ç. and its founder is Abraham, the first patriarch of the people of Israel and also entitled the first Jew.
It is stated in the Torah that God called Abraham and commanded him to lead his people towards Canaan, the promised land, which is currently the territory of Palestine.
In this calling, if Abraham fulfilled his promise, God would make all of his descendants the great nation in the promised land. According to Jewish traditions, this was the first covenant made between God and the Jewish people.
Years later, famine ravaged the territory of Canaan, driving the Jews to Egypt in search of more fertile lands, where they were enslaved for over 400 years.
It was then that the prophet Moses, in the twelfth century a. C., received instructions from God to release them and bring them back to the promised land, in a movement that was historically known as the Exodus.
It is during this period that the famous episodes of delivery of the Ten commandments at Mount Sinai and the opening of the Red Sea.
The return to Canaan made the Jewish people a powerful nation in the Middle East during the reign of its first kings: Saul, David and Solomon. But other forces in the East, such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians, gained more power and ended up occupying the territory, which starts the diaspora, which was the dispersion of the Jewish people to several other nations.
The Jews would only return to the Middle East region after World War II, with the creation of the state of Israel, which shares with the Palestinians the territory that in antiquity was known as the land promised.
See more about the meaning of Log and Exodus.
Types of Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism, the oldest and most conservative line of Judaism, believes that God's promised Savior Messiah is yet to come. Unlike Christians, they do not believe that Jesus Christ (Yeshua) is the messiah.
This strand is known for faithfully maintaining and following traditional and older customs, rituals and rules, opposing the more modern and liberal Jewish lines.
For Orthodox Judaism there is only one God, considered eternal, disembodied and indivisible, to whom they faithfully follow the stipulated laws contained in the sacred texts of the Torah and Talmud.
Orthodox Judaism too do not accept in his order persons who are not children of Jewish mothers and who, consequently, are not considered Jews.
Nazarene Judaism
Nazarene Judaism was created 2,000 years ago through Jesus Christ and comes from the first Jewish disciples of Yeshua (Jesus).
This Jewish line believes that Jesus is the messiah sent by God, but that his spirit is the God's own incarnation.
The basis of Nazarene Judaism is that Jesus was not the founder of Christianity, but God himself who came incarnated as a man to teach how to follow the teachings of the Torah, and who will return to the Earth.
This line of Judaism does not believe that there is a trinity, that is, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. For this group, there is only God.
Messianic Judaism
Messianic Judaism is a new Jewish current, created in 1970, and is not recognized by the State of Israel.
It is a strand that was born in the United States of America, recognizing the figure of Jesus Christ as Messiah and accepting that He is the son of God and came to save and teach the Jewish people and the Gentiles (the non-Jews).
However, they define that Judaism is the religion with teachings and commandments for the Jews and Christianity for the Gentiles. In this case, the Jews must follow the Torah and the Gentiles, the so-called “7 Noetic Laws”, a covenant made between God and Noah after the flood.
Messianic Jews believe in the existence of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
Symbols of Judaism
Kippa
The kippa is a kind of hat used by Jews to demonstrate your fear and respect for Gods. By wearing the hat, the Jews seek to represent the separation between human beings and God, recognizing that God is above all things.
Women also wear a scarf or hat to represent the same aspects of the kippa.
Star of David
It is one of the main symbols of Judaism, present even on the flag of Israel. The Star of David, also called Magen David, has several meanings for Jews.
As it is formed by two large triangles, for example, Jews often say that the union of both represents the relationship of the Jewish people with God.
The Star of David was also used by King David on his shield during battles. Therefore, it also symbolizes for the Jews the kingship and presence of God in the ancient biblical wars won by the Jewish people.
See more about Star of David.
Menorah
The menorah is a candelabra with 7 candles, which in the books of the Torah, were lit by the high priest, Jewish leaders who took care of the synagogues, the temples.
These candles could never be extinguished. So they were lit with oil and cleaned daily.
For Judaism, the Menorah means the 7 knowledges, known as the 7 orifices that are in the human face: the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth.
In this sense it represents the illumination of what is heard, what is said, what is seen and what is breathed.
shofar
The shofar, a musical instrument, represents to the Jews the ram that was sacrificed by the prophet Abraham in place of his son Isaac.
This instrument is used in festivities, mainly to represent the Jews' reverence for God and the remembrance of the 10 Commandments sent by God to Moses.
The Rituals of Judaism
Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah
One of the main rituals of the Jewish people is the Bar Mitzvah, which is the boy's initiation into adulthood, around 13 years of age. At the age of 13, a ceremony is held where the child follows all the precepts of Judaism. For girls, the name of the ritual is Bat Mitzvah.
Circumcision
Circumcision is the act of removing the skin, called the foreskin, which covers the man's genital organ and must be done on the eighth day of the child's life.
This ritual that appears in the Torah and was a pact made between God and Abraham, who at 99 years of age did his own circumcision and that of his children.
Jews believe that circumcision keeps the pact with God, opening paths to spirituality.
the sabbath
O sabbath, or Sabbath, known as the Sabbath day, is the Jewish rest day. It is a period of gratitude and contemplation in which one should not work, starting at sunset on Friday and ending at dusk on Saturday.
The traditional festivals of Judaism
Jewish festivals have movable dates and follow the solar calendar, the main ones being:
- Passover (Passover) commemorating the liberation of the Jewish people from Egypt
- Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year;
- Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the last day on which the Jews obtain divine forgiveness for their sins of the previous year;
- hanukah, which marks the end of the Assyrians' dominion over the land promised to the Jews and the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem;
- simchatLog which represents the day God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses.
See more about the meaning of Hanukkah.
Judaism in Brazil
The Brazilian Jewish community is the second largest in Latin America, second only to Argentina in number of members.
Judaism in Brazil started during the colonial period, in which Portuguese Jews emigrated to the country.
In the 17th century there was a large group of Jews who settled in northeastern Brazil, especially in Recife, finding freedom of worship during the period of Dutch occupation in the territory.
The independence of Brazil guaranteed tolerance to other cults, in addition to Catholicism, and more Jewish groups migrated to Belém, in the north of the country, and to Rio de Janeiro.
With the Proclamation of the Brazilian Republic, the separation of State and Church and religious freedom, more immigrants settled in the country, mainly in the region of Rio Grande do Sul and large urban centers such as Sao Paulo.
Judaism and Christianity
The religious practices of Judaism and Christianity have several similarities, like belief in the same God. But the big difference lies in the belief in Jesus Christ, which will also vary according to the Jewish current.
The Jews follow the Ten Commandments, the same as those of Christianity that were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Judaism does not share with Christians the belief in original sin, that is, that we all pay for the sin committed by Adam and Eve and that made them leave the Garden of Eden, considered paradise.
Christianity primarily follows what is written in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the new covenant made with God through Jesus Christ, while the Jews consider and follow only the ancient texts, the Torah, as the basis for their faith and practices.
See more about other topics such as:
- New Testament;
- Yahweh;
- Syncretism;
- Gnostic;
- Holocaust;
- Buddhism;
- Hinduism;
- Islam.