The World's Oldest Religion: Judaism

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Judaism Judaism is one of the oldest religions. Followers of Judaism are called Jews (Jewish Beliefs, 2016). The religion is focused on relationships among the creator, mankind, and the land of Israel. Many people do not realize that Jews believe in God. Judaism only practices worship to one God. Unlike Christianity, Judaism has the belief that the Messiah has not yet come (Rich, 2011). While some religions consider belief to be acceptable, Judaism isn’t one of them. One of the uniquenesses of Judaism is there is no argument with God. Jews do not use God’s name unless in prayer. Jews worship in a synagogue. They have religious practice on Monday, Thursday, Sabbath, and holidays (Taking a Look at Jewish Religious Beliefs, 2016) The Torah …show more content…

Jewish holidays include the Sabbath, Passover, the Day of Atonement, the Festival of Booths, the Jewish New Year, the Festival of Trees, Purim, and the Days of Awe. Although Hanukkah is an important Jewish holiday, it was not part of the Hebrew Scriptures because it is meant to celebrate an event that occurred after the Scriptures were written. During Hanukkah, also known as Festival of Lights, Jewish families light eight candles over a period of eight days. Special Jewish clothing includes the kittel, a white, knee-length over-garment worn on High Holidays, kippah, brimless skullcap worn on many Jewish occasions and at all times by some men, tallit, prayer shawl and tzitzit, tassels on the Tallit's four corners. Jewish holidays are a very important part of their culture, just as Christian holidays are important to ours. Jewish children also celebrate Bar Mitzvahs, which is a rite of passage into adulthood (Judaism Facts, …show more content…

There are over 14,000,000 Jews in the world today. During World War II, there were over 6 million Jews murdered by Nazis. The Jewish population has grown so quickly because any child born to a Jewish mother is automatically a Jew (Judaism Facts, 2017). Judaism has several different sections that have developed over time including conservative Judaism, orthodox Judaism, Hasidic Judaism, and reformed Judaism. Judaism is a religion based more on actions than words. Jews try to make everything in their life holy in some way. The most important practice in Judaism is following the 613 Commandments in the Law of Moses. In the 1100s, a Jewish professor created the 13 Articles of Faith, which summarizes Jewish belief (Judaism Facts, 2017). As the cross is to Christianity, the Star of David is to Judaism. In many schools and churches, it is required to wear the star on your clothes. Another requirement of Judaism is that you do not eat pork, as it is not kosher (Judaism Facts, 2017). Kosher does not mean blessed by a rabbi, which is a popular belief. A rabbi is a Jewish worship leader (Jewish Beliefs,

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