Judaism 07 18 2013 I Western Religious Traditions a They are in general monotheistic whereas Eastern religious are in general polytheistic or henotheistic b They have prophets whereas Eastern religions c subject region d They have concept of life after death heaven and hell The Eastern religious have either concept of incarnation or they are silent on the II Judaism Who is a Jew Where is his identity located a Jude one who comes from Judea an identity in terms of land and b Israel name given to Jacob means one who strives with God It is religious identity c Hebrew the people and the language they speak i Most probably the word Hebrew comes from the word Apiru from Phoenician language meaning the one who rides caravans nomadic people III Background in the development of Judaic Thought a Preceding Judaism we have the Near Eastern Religions which comprise the Sumarian Assyrian Babylonian and Egyptian religions They seem to have influenced the development of Judaic thought historically i The Near Eastern Religions polytheistic but try to conceive of one highest God i e Marduk in the Babylonian religion 1 Apsu sweet waters 2 Ti amat salty waters 3 Mumy mist ii They try to conceive of haven and hell and idea of reward and punishment iii We find a parallel Myth of Flood to the Hebrew Bible story of Noah But it is Judaism which becomes monotheistic religion in history of mankind Judaism becomes the foundation in West thereby we have religions such as Christianity Zoroastrianism Islam The Hebrew Bible IV a Judaism is often associated with the land of Israel but Judaism is better understood when one studies the Hebrew Bible iv Written down as early as 800 B C E but final form achieved i History of Jewish people ii Their thought iii How they lived through the history 400 B C E v Consists of 1 Torah Teachings 2 Nevi m Prophets 3 Kethuwim Writings vi These three writings are as a short form called T N K or Tanakh or Tanaka vii The Torah is the first book of the Hebrew Bible viii It is called Pentateuch five scrolls or books ix The second part of the T N K is Prophets who spoke in the name of Jewish people 1 Early prophets who concentrate on the Israelite 2 Later prophets who are visionary and they emphasize kingdom on morals and ethics V The Torah a Pentateuch Five Scrolls or Books b They are as follows i Genesis ii Exoduc iii Leviticus iv Numbers v Deuteronomy VI Genesis a story of creation of the word presents God as i creator ii intelligent being iii active power iv omniscient v omnipotent vi has purpose in creating this universe b the account of Garden of Eden temptress Eve brings punishment on Adam and Eve c Story of Noah and the Flood d Story of Tower of Babel e Abraham is portrayed as the first patriarch From Ur Abraham migrates to Haran and settles in the land of Canaan f Covenant between God and Abraham g Abram s name changed to Abraham namely the one who will multiply VII Exodus a Hebrew midwives were to kill all male children born b Moses was spared c Moses brought up in the house of Pharaoh But when Moses sees an Israeli slave being mistreated he flees from Egypt d The Burning Bush Moses hears the voice of God saying to return to e Moses wants tot know the divine spirit God s response is I will be Egypt to help free the slaves who I will be f YAHWEH the word comes from the verb hayah to exist or to be g It is God who is Life Existence and everything else is contingent alive upon Him h Was religion monotheistic or not i Ten Commandments VIII Leviticus a Describes Laws i Regarding animal sacrifices ii Which animals may or may not be eaten iii Prohibition of eating blood in it iv Cutting ones beard etc IX Numbers X Deuteronomy a The account of wanderings of Jewish tribes at various places a Describes Ten Commandments again b Death of Moses before entering Canaan XI The Judges and Kings a After death of Moses Israelites led by judges b The judges were persons who had i Military power ii Legal authority c Not in the modern sense as we understand the word judge d Joshua i A judge ii Leads the Hebrews across Jordan river iii Takes town of Jericho and land of Canaan iv Canaan divided among eleven of the tribes 1 Levy the 12 tribe is given the charge of worship and religious functions among tribes e The first king is Saul B C E i Tragic figure who commits suicide f Thereafter comes David 1013 i Considered a prototype king of Jews ii Had great aspiration to build the temple of Jerusalem g Solomon i Son of David ii Succeeds in building 1st home for Yahweh iii Raised revenue for temple construction by raising the taxes iv Tax increases causes a revolt against the kingdom of Solomon 1 Northern tribes broke away from control of Jerusalem 2 Southern kingdom carried on its own until Babylonians took control over it h During exile and captivity of Jews by Babylonia Sabbath service of worship developed since it became difficult for the Jews to visit the Temple and perform sacrifices i In 540 B C E Cyrus King of Persia took over Babylonia and allowed Jews to return to their homeland and the Second Temple was built XII The Talmud a Considered the interpretation of Hebrew Scriptures by Rabbis to apply their principles rules and regulations to problems arising in everyday life b Two Kinds of Talmud i Palestinian Talmud ii Babylonian Talmud XIII The Palestinian Talmud a Divided into two parts i The Mishnah Repetition 1 Came to exist by 200 B C E Discusses specific biblical laws and their application It is in six parts ii The Gamera Supplement 1 The further and additional commentary to keep up with the changing times and living conditions XIV The Babylonian Talmud a A large collection of material compiled by Babylonian scholars and specialists the modern edition of which is compiled by Rabbi Adin Steinsalz XV Essentials of Jewish Belief a Belief in one God and only one God i He is the creator of the universe ii The judge of human beings iii He is just iv According to Judaism justice must prevail among human beings and we as humans must strive to establish it b Belief in the message of prophets c Belief that God gave law to Moses d Belief that Messiah has yet to come Messiah means one whose hair is anointed by olive oil e There would be a resurrection in the world to come XVI Main Themes of Judaism a God is One absolute monotheistic i Omnipotent ii Omniscient iii Judge iv This concept develops first at least in the Western religious tradition and becomes finalized in the Hebrew Bible in the year 400 B C