72
Chapter 8 Judaism
Learning Objectives
8.1 Contrast biblical Judaism with rabbinic Judaism.
8.3 Identify the key tenets of the Jewish faith.
8.5 Describe the High Holy Days and key festivals in the Jewish calendar.
8.6 Differentiate between the major branches of contemporary Judaism.
Chapter Overview
Biblical and rabbinic Judaism
Biblical stories
Ten Commandments
Return to Jerusalem
Rabbinic Judaism
Evolving Judaism
Torah
The one God
Love for God
The sacredness of human life
Law
Living Judaism: An Interview with Eli Epstein
Suffering and faith
Sacred practices
Holy days
Contemporary Judaism
Major branches today
Key Points
Introduction
Judaism has no central leader or group making theological decisions.
It may be defined as an ethnic group or as a religious group.
In religious terms, Jews are those who understand their faith as an ongoing
dialogue with God, both in the past and in the present and into the future.
73
refers to all those who answer the call of
God and strive to live the teachings of the Torah; some Jews, however,
maintain a sense of ethnic identity as Jews but may not be involved in Jewish
religious practices.
The Jews preserved memories of a homeland in the land of Israel and in exile.
8.1 Biblical and rabbinic Judaism
The Jewish sense of history begins with the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. The
experiences of the patriarchs, matriarchs, Moses, and the prophets who brought
commandments from God to his people.
This portion of Jewish history ended roughly at the end of the second century
BCE.
Biblical stories
It is difficult to ascertain the historical accuracy of events detailed in the Tanakh.
The Pentateuch
Tanakh, is held to be the most sacred portion of the Tanakh.
The traditionalist view is that these books were divinely revealed to Moses;
contemporary biblical researchers hypothesize that the books are reworked oral
traditions later set down by different sources.
Some stories, such as the Great Flood, resemble earlier Mesopotamian legends.
Whatever approach one takes to the origin of these stories, they are spiritually
significant to both Judaism and Christianity.
Teaching Note: To illustrate a text-critical approach to the Hebrew Bible, ask
The theme of exile recurs throughout the Hebrew Bible. Jews are repeatedly
exile
o Some Jews adapted an optimistic understanding of exile believing that the
74
Also central is the concept of covenant, a contract between God and the people,
the one Go
o In the Ancient Near East, every nation had a god with whom they had a
Scholarly debate continues over the question of early monotheism, that is,
whether the early patriarchs (and presumably matriarchs) were strictly
monotheistic. The neighboring Canaanites, who influenced the Israelites, were
polytheistic with an emphasis on ritual and myth rooted in agriculture.
is a modern linguistic term applied to Jews, Arabs, and others
ethnic designation.
The genealogies of the Pentateuch explain that the people called Israelites were
the descendants of the offspring of Jacob (and his wives).
o For the people of Israel, this theme of human struggle has allowed the
elve
sons. The twelve sons became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The whole group left for Egypt during a famine; the book of Exodus opens there
about four centuries later.
The book of Exodus relates that Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites
out of Israel.
o God then led the Israelites to Mt. Sinai in order to reestablish the covenant.
There, according to Exodus, God gave Moses a set of rules for the people that
God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt; now they were to accept the
Torah,
The Hebrew Bible explains that the Israelites wandered through the desert for
forty years before being able to reenter the land earlier promised to them. This
the kingdoms.
became very wealthy and built altars to the gods of his wives.
Under these circumstances, prophets men and women who underwent
transformational ordeals that made them instruments for the word of God began
to exhort the people.
During the eighth century, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by
Assyria and the Israelites were taken into exile among the Gentiles or non-Jewish
people.
o Most of the Israelites lost their distinct identity and came to be known as the
Return to Jerusalem
After fifty years in exile, only a small number of Jews returned to Jerusalem; the
remaining Jewish people were said to be living in the diaspora (from the Greek
.
The Persian king Cyrus authorized the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and
it was completed in 515 BCE.
A hereditary priesthood focused on temple rituals and the redaction of the stories
76
The Torah now became the spiritual and secular foundation of the dispersed
Jewish people.
In the diaspora, Jews may have adopted concepts from other traditions such as
that of Satan, the hierarchy of angels, resurrection, and an afterlife (perhaps from
the Zoroastrianism of the Persian Empire).
In the second century BCE, a Hellenistic ruler of Syria (Antiochus IV Epiphanes)
sought to impose Hellenistic practices on all his subjects, including the Jews,
which led to the Maccabean rebellion.
o The successful rebellion led by the Hasmon family of priests established an
o It was the last independent Jewish nation until the twentieth century.
Three sects formed under the Hasmonean king:
o Sadducees (priests and wealthy businesspeople, intent on the letter of the law)
o The Pharisees (who sought to study applications of Torah to everyday life)
After the Romans took over in 63 BCE, Jews began to express belief in a
messianic age in which the Jews would be able to return to their homeland. This
belief was bolstered by the words of some of the earlier prophets.
Prior to this, apocalyptic literature, which views the world in stark terms of good
Some Jews concluded that a Messiah would come to bring evil to an end and
Rabbinic Judaism
The Jewish people scattered throughout the Mediterranean and western Asia.
The inheritors of the Pharisee tradition, the rabbis, established new Jewish
traditions.
77
The interpretation of the Torah gave unity to the Jewish people.
The literature of the Midrash process came to be known as the oral Torah.
In 200 CE, Judah the Prince produced an edition of the legal teaching of the oral
Torah called Mishnah.
o The Mishnah includes directives about the role of women.
The ongoing process of exegesis provides a means of introducing new ideas
into Judaism such as the concept of the soul and the concept of Shekhinah
8.2 Evolving Judaism
During the early centuries of the Common Era, the Jewish population in Israel
declined and settled in other areas of the Roman Empire or among Zoroastrian
Persians in Mesopotamia. Babylon became the major center of Jewish intellectual
activity, until about the tenth century.
Rabbinic study continued throughout the diaspora even after the Talmud was
complete.
o literature records rabbinic answers to legal questions.
they were allowed to maintain their religious traditions as long as they paid a
substantial head tax.
There were times that Muslim rulers were not tolerant and Jews were forced
78
There was less intellectual vibrancy in Christian lands during the Middle Ages,
Christian prejudice against Jews was intense and driven by hatred for the Jews
because they had not accepted Jesus as the messiah.
Beginning in 1095, Jews were targeted during the Crusades.
In the twelfth century, strange rumors (ritual murder of Christians; stealing and
torturing the consecrated bread used for Christian communion; responsible for the
plague) were spread about the Jews as well.
Eventually, Jews came under attack in Poland as well after a revolt against Polish
rule.
Kabbalah and Hasidism
Mystical trends have always been part of Judaism; mystical traditions known as
Kabbalah were put into writing in the Middle Ages.
In eighteenth-century Poland and Ukraine, the ecstatic path of piety known as
Hasidism developed.
The Baal Shem Tov offered joyous worship over academic Torah debates,
Judaism and modernity
Most Jews lived in eastern Europe during the time of the Enlightenment, but in
western Europe, the Enlightenment values of tolerance and reason over tradition
and authority led to lessening of restrictions on Jews.
Moses Mendelssohn, an eighteenth-century
humanity, and sought to integrate Jews more fully into European culture while
79
Critics of this trend, such as Moses Sofer, argued that Jews must maintain their
traditional rituals and segregate themselves from non-Jewish secular culture.
This position came to be known as Orthodox Judaism.
Meanwhile, those inspired by thinkers such as Mendelssohn spawned what
The Holocaust
The Holocaust is, for many Jews, the defining event of the twentieth century.
Centuries of anti-Semitism in various forms (such as pogroms in nineteenth-
Europe.
Although some governments and individuals sought to protect Jews, many
historians believe that free Allied countries should have offered greater
Zionism and contemporary Israel
Zionism, which has deep roots in Jewish tradition, is a movement dedicated to
establishing a Jewish state in the biblical land of Israel.
Political Zionism, led by journalist Theodor Herzl, developed in reaction to late
nineteenth-century European anti-Semitism.
ewish
settlement in Palestine at the end of World War I.
In 1948, Israel declared itself an independent state and soon came under attack.
Conflict with neighboring countries has continued (e.g., the 1967 Six-Day War;
80
Some ultra-Orthodox leaders reject converts to Conservative and Reform
8.3 Torah
Despite changes in Judaism over time, major themes of history and literature
may be identified. Jewish teachings are known as Torah and can be interpreted
in different ways:
o
The one God
Love for God
Humans must love God, an essential commandment that is emphasized in prayers
and religious services.
Central recitation during a religious service and the inscription on the mezuzah at
The sacredness of human life
ically not
interpreted anthropomorphically).
Sexuality is holy within marriage.
81
Law
the covenant with God.
Rabbinic literature indicates that there are 613 mitzvot (commandments;
singular mitzvah), ranging from ethical guidelines to civil matters such
as inheritance and family law. They are found in:
o The Book of Leviticus contains ethical guidelines called the Ten
Commandments.
o The Book of Genesis sets forth the Noahide Code of seven universal
Suffering and faith
If God is all-powerful and rewards the righteous, then why do the innocent
suffer?
8.4 Sacred practices
Daily scriptural study has been a major practice for males since the rabbinic
period.
God is to be remembered in all aspects of life.
Ritual male circumcision (brit milah) traditionally occurs on the eighth day of
life.
Orthodox Jews consider menstruating women unclean; seven days after their
menstrual periods end they immerse themselves in the bath known as a mikveh.
Traditional Jews may begin each day with a prayer; male Jews wear a prayer cloth
(tallit katan) and tefillin (phylacteries) on the forehead and upper arm.
There is a traditional prayer schedule for men; women are excused from this
The Sabbath is observed from sunset Friday night to sunset Saturday night.
o Traditionally, no work is done on the Sabbath.
o Families may attend Sabbath services and begin the Sabbath with a special
82
8.5 Holy days
According to the Jewish lunar calendar, the year begins with the High Holy
Kippur (atonement and cleansing).
Sukkot is a fall harvest festival where a simple outdoor booth (sukkah) is built
and decorated as a dwelling place for seven days. Some contemporary Jews will
live in the sukkah. The fragile hoe reminds the faithful that in God is their real
home.
On the full moon of the month before spring begins is Purim, commemorating the
legend of Esther.
Later in spring comes Pesach or Passover, celebrating the liberation from bondage
in Egypt.
o Pesach is marked by the Seder dinner.
Some also celebrate a new holy day termed Holocaust Memorial Day. In Israel, a
countrywide minute of silence is observed whereby secular and religious Jews
8.6 Contemporary Judaism
There are many different contemporary Jewish groups, with differences
centering on issues such as adherence to the Torah and Talmud, conversion,
Major branches today
There are three major ethnic groupings within contemporary Judaism:
o Descendants of the Ashkenazim, who constitute at least 65 percent of Jews,
In addition, there are distinctions among religiously observant Jews.
In response to secularization, Orthodox Judaism has affirmed the Hebrew Bible as
the revealed word of God and the Talmud as legitimate oral law.
o Orthodox Judaism has no central governing body and there are debates within
Modern Orthodoxy values secular knowledge and interaction with non-Jewish
society.
Religious Zionism emphasizes resettlement of the Jewish people in Israel as part
of a divine plan for the salvation of Jews and the rest of the world.
Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Judaism advocates detachment from non-Jewish culture
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Reform or Liberal Judaism, which began
in Germany.
o Reform services adopted some aspects of Christian church services, changed
traditional liturgies, and highlighted ongoing development in Judaism rather
Conservative Judaism, the largest movement in the United States, is dedicated to
traditional rabbinic Judaism but also sponsors critical study of Jewish texts; it
Jewish feminism
Many women have fought for full religious participation, such as counting as part
of the minyan required for a synagogue service, not having to sit separately from
men, and the ability to seek rabbinic ordination.
They have also sought greater attention for the women of the Hebrew Bible.
84
interpretation of the deeper meaning of the traditional texts.
o An example of this is the feminist Midrash of the interwoven stories of Sarah
and Hagar, the mothers of the founders of Judaism and Islam.
o Orthodox parties took a major role in the formation and governance of the
LGBT Jews
Modern Jews ignore most of the traditional restrictions on sexuality outside of
marriage but same-sex relationships were often hidden to avoid social ostracism.
The Reconstructionist movement was the earliest Jewish group to welcome LGBT
Jews, and now, Jewish communities across the board have become more inclusive
and welcoming.
Gay marriage is accepted by Reconstructionist, Reform, and Conservative Jews
Jewish renewal
Both men and women from a variety of backgrounds are being attracted to
Judaism, and conversions to the faith appear to be increasing.
Key Terms
anti-Semitism Messiah Sephardim
apocalypse Midrash Shekhinah
Ashkenazim minyan synagogue
85
Hasidism rabbi
Review Questions
1. What are the major texts of Judaism? Describe the Tanakh, Torah, and Talmud, and
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the evidence for the development of monotheism in Judaism and ideas about
2. Discuss the major branches of contemporary Judaism. What issues have led to the
development of new branches? How do they differ on issues such as interpretation of
4. Discuss the origins of Zionism and the creation of the modern state of Israel. What are
some of the key topics debated within Israel today?
Class Activities/Assignments
1. There are many novels, autobiographies, and other works portraying various aspects of
The Book of Lights,
(Fawcett, 1982)
2. Ask students to find out which branches of Judaism are represented in the area; some
may wish to attend services.
3. At the beginning of study of the so-called Western traditions, ask students about the
perspective is the east east and the west west? What does this suggest about how
Westerners view the world?
86
day and age,
Recommended Films
The Jewish Customs, KTAV Publishing House, 1988. 50 minutes. Depicts the
Sabbath celebration, dietary laws, Hannukah, blowing of the shofar, affixing a
mezuzah to a doorpost, the use of tefillin, and the Jewish concept of charity; segments
can be shown separately.
L.A. Mohel, University of Southern California School of Cinema and Television, 1999.
30 minutes. Depicts the ritual of male circumcision as practiced by three mohels in Los
Angeles, California.
Ritual: Three Portraits of Jewish Life, ABC-TV for Jewish Theological Seminary of
America, 1990. 60 minutes. Explores daily prayer, celebration of Sukkot, and the ritual
of male circumcision.
Trembling before G-d, New Yorker Films, 2001. 84 minutes. This movie was mentioned
in the text and explores the issues that LGBT Jews faced, especially from the Orthodox
Additional Class Discussion/Essay Questions
1. What does it mean to be Jewish today? Select one of the major branches of this faith
2. What was the role of the Temple for ancient Judaism? What role has it played in
Jewish memory since the destruction of the Second Temple?
3. What relationship does the nation of Israel have to Jewish identity and faith?