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Introduction
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Prophet Moses
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Concept of God
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Holy Scripture
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Beliefs
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Worship and Practices
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Daily Life of a Jew
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Dietary Laws
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Moral and Social Order
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Holy days and Festivals
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Branches and Sects
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Miscellaneous
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Judaism is the religion of ancient Hebrews and
their descendants the Jews, and is the oldest among the three
great monotheistic religions, the other two being Christianity
and Islam. It is closely related to Christianity and Islam as
the source of all the three great religions is the revelations
of God through the Prophets – Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (May
Allah’s peace be upon them) – all descendants of Prophet
Abraham. Christianity incorporated the Jewish Bible in its own
scripture under the name of Old Testament, whereas Islam honours
the Jewish holy places of the past as its own and believes in
the great prophets of the biblical times. According to the Old
Testament, Judaism is based on a covenant between God and
Prophet Abraham about 1800 B.C and the renewal of covenant with
Moses about 1250 B.C. The religion rests on the concept of one
transcendent, Omnipotent, Eternal and Invisible true God, Whose
will is revealed in Torah and Who has a special relationship
with his chosen people, the Jews.
The word “Judaism” is derived from the Greek word
‘Iondaismod, first used by Greek – speaking Jews about 100 B.C.
to distinguish their religion from Hellenism, and it may be
traced ultimately to the name of Jacob’s fourth son, Judah (Yehuda),
whose descendants, together with the offspring of Benjamin,
formed the southern kingdom of Judah, the capital of which was
at Jerusalem. After the destruction of the northern kingdom of
Israel and the dispersion of its constituent tribes, the people
of Judah (late known as Yehudim, Judacans, or Jews) became the
principal bearers of Jewish culture and remained so even after
their state was destroyed.1
The English term “Jew,” derived by way of the
Greek loudaios and the Latin Judaeus from the Hebrew Yehudi,
originally applied to members of the tribe of Judah and in late
biblical times to Jews in general (Esther 2:5). In early
biblical times the ancestors of the Jews called themselves
“Children of Israel,” from the name that Jacob was given after
his encounter with the angel (Genesis 32:29). In contact with
foreigners, they called themselves Ivrim (“People from beyond
the river”), from which came the Latin Hebraeus, the Old French
Hebreu or Ebreu, and the English Hebrew used as an alternative
for Jew. From the name “Children of Israel” is derived the
English term “Israelite.2
The only generally accepted definition of a Jew
is the one based on the Halakah, the traditional Jewish
religious law, according to which a Jew is a person who either
was born to a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism.3
The Jews are spread widely in the world and no
exact statistics are available about them in most countries. In
1980 their population in the world was approximately 13 million
which increased to around 14 million by the end of the century
i.e. by the end of the year 2000 A.D. In Israel, the only Jewish
country in the world which was created in 1948, the number of
Jews is about 5 million, in the United States their number is
around 6 million and in Soviet Union it is about 2 million. Rest
of them live in other 80 countries of the world mostly in those
of America and Europe. The Jews in numbers are not large in
comparison with the world’s total population, but the mark the
Jews have made in the world is large and significant indeed.
Their name is synonymous with wealth and Learning. In Americas
and Europe their control in industry, trade, banking, press and
in electronic media is much more than due on the basis of
population.
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Moses is regarded as the founder of Judaism, the
greatest Prophet and central figure in the Jewish nation. His
name in Hebrew is Mosheh. The greatness of Moses lies in the
fact that he brought his people, the children of Israel, out of
Egypt, “the house of bondage”, received from God the Ten
Commandments and the Torah on Mount Sinai, and led his people in
the desert wanderings for 40 years. Above all Moses was the
Prophet of God and a mediator between God and the children of
Israel. According to the Jews, it is through his intermediacy
that God concluded a covenant with children of Israel at Mount
Sinai in which God chose them to be his people and they
undertook to worship God only and obey his laws. About the name
of this great Hebrew Prophet, the Bible states, though the later
scholars reject it, that the Pharaoh’s daughter named the infant
she found in the river ‘Mosheh’ because she said, “I drew him
out of water” (Hebrew: ‘Mishiti’) Historically, Moses lived
between 1350 and 1250 B.C. A brief account of Moses, as
constructed by Encyclopedia Americana from sacred writings of
the Jews, is given below:-
Moses was the son of Amram and Jochebed, both of
the tribe of Levi. Before his birth, the Egyptian Pharaoh had
decreed that every male child born to his Hebrew slaves should
be cast into the Nile River. In an effort to save her son,
Jochebed placed Moses in an ark of bulrushes by the river’s
brink. He was found there by the pharaoh’s daughter, who took
pity on him. At the suggestion of Moses’ elder sister, Miriam,
his nursing was entrusted to “a Hebrew woman,” who was none
other than his own mother. After Moses was weaned, he was
adopted by the pharaoh’s daughter and raised in the royal
palace.
The Bible makes no mention of Moses’ upbringing
at the Egyptian court. But according to Talmudic legend, his
life was saved by the angle Gabriel. While a young child, Moses
took the crown from the head of the pharaoh and placed it on his
own head. To test whether Moses understood what he had done, a
bowl of hot coals and a bowl of precious stones were placed
before him. As Moses reached out for the jewels, Gabriel, who
had made himself invisible, caught the child’s hand and directed
it toward the coals. Moses lifted a red-hot coal to his mouth,
burning part of his lip and tongue. His life was thus saved, but
from then on he was “slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
At some point he learned that he was a Hebrew,
and was concerned about the bondage of his people. Upon reaching
adulthood, Moses “went out unto his brethren” and saw an
Egyptian smiting a Hebrew slave. He killed the Egyptian and
buried him in the sand. When the incident became known to the
Pharaoh, Moses had to flee to escape the death penalty.
He found refuge in Midian with Jethro (Reuel), a
Midianite priest, and later married his daughter, Zipporah, who
bore him two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Moses lived as a
shepherd in Midian for 40 years. During his sojourn with Jethro,
it is possible that he absorbed Midianite ideas about the deity.
One day, while Moses tended the flock on "the
Mountain of God Horeb," the Lord appeared to him in a burning
bush, which was not consumed by the flames. The Lord revealed
himself to Moses as the God of his fathers, the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and stated that his name was Yahweh, or Ehye
("I am," or "I cause to be"). He commanded Moses to return to
Egypt to liberate his people from bondage and lead them to "a
land where milk and honey flow." Moses protested that he could
not perform such a task and pleaded for release because of his
slow speech. But God promised to assist him and chose Moses'
brother Aaron as his spokesman. Moses then returned to Jethro
and, without disclosing God's revelation, sought permission to
visit his brethren in
Egypt.
On his way back to
Egypt
with his wife and children, Moses met Aaron and told him of
God's words. Moses and Aaron then approached the Children of
Israel, who accepted them as their leaders.
Thereupon they went to the Pharaoh and declared, "This is what
Yahweh, the God of Israel, has said, 'Let my people go, so that
they may keep a feast in the wilderness in honor of me.” When
the pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave
Egypt,
God inflicted ten plagues on the nation. The pharaoh remained
adamant after the first nine. But the tenth plague—the death of
all the firstborn of Egypt—finally broke his resistance. The
Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Israelites, whose
doorways had been marked with lamb’s blood. After a hasty
nocturnal meal of the Passover lamb and matzo (unleavened
bread), the Children of Israel marched out of
Egypt.
The pharaoh soon changed his mind and sent his army in pursuit,
trapping the Israelites on the shores of the
Sea of Reeds (later misinterpreted as the
Red Sea).
Then followed the miraculous passage through the Reed Sea, which
Moses parted by stretching out his hand over it. The pursuing
Egyptians were drowned when the waters returned. The Israelites
traveling through the wilderness complained to Moses of hunger
and thirst, and at God's command he performed miracles to
provide water, manna, and quail.
Moses then led his people to Mt Sinai, where they entered into a
covenant with God. While the Israelites remained at the foot of
the mountain, he climbed to the peak and was met there by God,
who revealed to Moses his Law - the Ten Commandments. Moses
stayed with God on
Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights, during which time he had
nothing to eat or drink.
When Moses descended, he found the Israelites worshiping a
golden calf. Enraged, be shattered the tablets containing the
Ten Commandments. After the people were punished and repented,
God commanded Moses to go up
Mt. Sinai again. Moses remained there another 40 days and 40
nights, during which time God instructed him in the law and
again inscribed the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets.
Moses then led the Israelites through their wanderings in the
desert for 40 years, to the border of
Canaan.
According to tradition, Moses, under God's
direction, wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the
Bible (known as the "Torah of Moses”). When he reached the age
of 120, God warned him that he was about to die. Thereafter,
Moses appointed Joshua as his successor and gave a blessing to
each of the tribes. Although not permitted to enter Canaan, he
was allowed to view it from Mt. Nebo, where he died.
Moses' story ends enigmatically in Deuteronomy: “He was buried
in the valley in the
land
of Moab… and no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day." The
Pentateuch conclude with a pithy eulogy of Moses: "And there
hath not arisen a prophet in Israel like unto Moses whom the
Lord knew face to face in all the signs and the wonders … and in
all the great terror which Moses wrought in the sight of
Israel.”
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Judaism is strictly a monotheistic religion and
its followers are strictly monotheists. A Jew acknowledges
reality of God and believes that God is one. He expresses that
belief daily in the recital of the Shema, “Hear, O Israel, the
Lord is God, the Lord is One.” The Shema is heart of every
Jewish religious worship. More than this it is the heart of
Judaism.
God’s personal name in the Bible is JEHOVAH. In
many translations of the Bible this name is found at Psalm 83:18
where we read (AV): That men may know that thou, whose name
alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.” The
Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) says of this divine name: “Jehovah,
the proper name of God in the Old Testament.” However, in
Hebrew, the language in which the first 39 books of the Bible
were written, God’s name is represented by four Hebrew letters,
YHWH. In ancient times the Hebrew Language was written without
vowels. Many scholars think the name was pronounced Yahweh. So
this name is also found in some editions of the Bible. But the
name Jehovah is most widely known.
Tracing the development of concept of God among
the Hebrews, the authors of “Great Religions By Which Men Live”
write:
“The legends show that the god was at first a tribal god, a
protector and benefactor of the Hebrews, the descendants of
Abraham. He was known and worshiped by Abraham, his son Isaac,
and his grandson Jacob, who was later called Israel.
Gradually, the Hebrew-Jewish people became convinced that this
tribal god was actually the one and only God of all creation. Of
course, this process took time. It took century after century,
through the periods of the greats Hebrew leaders – the tribal
fathers, Moses, David and the other kings, Isaiah and the rest
of the Prophets. Slowly the people were gaining a world view
that could not have been theirs at theirs beginning as wandering
nomad tribes.
But now, for 2500 years, the great affirmation of Judaism has
been: “…the Lord our God, the Lord is One”.
For a long time, Jews did not find it important to discuss the
nature of God. God exists, he is One, he is reality. Even today,
there is not a creed describing the characteristics of God. The
Shema is sufficient.
However, some rabbis and philosophers did become interested in
describing God's qualities, though no Jew is ever required to
affirm the ideas. God is righteous. He is the Creator. He is
Spirit. God is a sympathetic helper to man, providing the means
whereby man may save himself from the limitations of ignorance
and sinfulness. God has made men as his children; thus, they
reflect his nature.”
Explaining the concept of God as held by the Jews, the
Encyclopedia Americana writes:
“Although Judaism has no formal creed, certain basic elements
can be discerned among the Jews of every age. Foremost among
these is the belief in God as affirmed in Deuteronomy (6:4):
“Hear O Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." This
statement, known as the Shema from the first word in Hebrew,
epitomizes the faith of the Jews. It is included in their daily
prayers and is the last thought to be uttered at the time of
death. The Bible offers no theological arguments for the
existence of God. His presence and gracious goodness are
manifest in all creation, at all times and in all places.
For the Jewish people, however, God chose one particular time
and place in which to reveal his special relationship with them.
According to the scriptural account, God, speaking through Moses
at Sinai, instructed the Children of Israel in every detail of
the Law. By accepting the Mosaic Law the people entered into a
Covenant with God that assured them his everlasting care so long
as they would abide by his precepts and statutes. They became
God's "peculiar treasure, a people chosen among all the nations
to bear witness to him.”
Highlighting Judaism’s Concept of God, the
Encyclopedia Encarta holds:
The idea of transcendence is introduced in the
opening verses of the Hebrew Scriptures, in which God is
presented as creator, and this conception impresses itself on
all Jewish discourse about God. To say the world is created
means that it is not independent of God or an emanation of God,
but external to him, a product of his will, so that he is Lord
of all the earth. This explains the Jewish antipathy to idolatry
– no creature can represent the Creator, so it is forbidden to
make any material image of him. Nonetheless, it is also part of
the creation teaching that the human being is made in the image
of God. Thus, the Hebrew understanding of God was frankly
anthropomorphic. He promised and threatened, he could be angry
and even jealous; but his primary attributes were righteousness,
justice, mercy, truth, and faithfulness. He is represented as
king, judge and shepherd. He binds himself by covenants to his
people and thus limits himself. Such a God even if
anthropomorphic, is a living God. It is true that the name of
God, Yahweh, was understood as “I am who I am,” but this was not
taken by the Hebrews of biblical times in the abstract,
metaphysical sense in which it was interpreted later. The Hebrew
God was unique, and his command was, “You shall have no other
gods beside me!”
Regarding concept of Jews about God, the
Collier’s Encyclopedia writes:
“The Jew holds that God is the Creator of all
things at all times; that He is at one and the same time a Mind
that uninterruptedly contemplates and a Power that is eternally
at work; that He is universal, ruler of all the world, which is
one as He is One. The Jew believes that God is the giver not
only of natural law but of moral law; that He is the guarantor
of immortality, the ethical, holy and righteous One, who
enforces the right; that He is the guide of history; that He is
both transcendent and immanent. The Jew believes that God is
man’s helper and friend, father of all mankind; that He is the
liberator of men and nations; that He is the saviour of all
souls, helping men to be delivered from ignorance, sinfulness,
and the evils within themselves, such as pride, selfishness,
hate, and lust. But salvation is not achieved solely by an act
of God; God requires man’s cooperation in the process. The Jew
holds that God recognizes no principle or power of evil in
creation; that He Himself is the author of both light and
darkness. Evil remains an inscrutable mystery for the Jew, and
he accepts it as a challenge to overcome it wherever he finds it
in the world. Whenever evil oppresses him, his faith in God
sustains him in the face of it.”
Jehovah is not an oppressive God. “All his ways
are justice”, says Deuteronomy (32:4). “True, he is "a God
exacting exclusive devotion," but he is also "a God merciful and
gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and
truth." (Exodus 20:5; 34:6) "He himself well knows the formation
of us, remembering that we are dust." (Psalm 103:14 [102:14, Dy]).
With Jehovah there are "wisdom and mightiness; he has counsel
and understanding." (Job 12:13) Evidence of his wisdom is seen
in all his creative works, in both heaven and earth.”
Jews agree that we cannot know the final answers to the
mysteries of life and God. But Jews declare that in the goodness
of lives lived righteously, the goodness of God is known:
O Lord, how can we know Thee? Where can we find
Thee? Thou art farther than the farthermost star. Thou art as
mysterious as the vast solitudes of the night and yet art as
familiar to us as the light of the sun. To the seer of old Thou
didst say: Thou canst not see my face, but I will make all my
goodness pass before thee. Even so does Thy goodness pass before
us in the realm of nature and in the varied experiences of our
lives. When justice burns like a flaming fire within us, when
love evokes willing sacrifice from us, when, to the last full
measure of selfless devotion, we proclaim our belief in the
ultimate triumph of truth and righteousness, do we not bow
before the vision of Thy goodness? Thou livest within our
hearts, as Thou dost pervade the world, and we through
righteousness behold Thy presence.
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The Holy Scripture or the sacred writings of
Judaism comprise two major collections – the Bible and the
Talmud.
The Bible:
The first and foremost among the sacred writings
of Judaism is the Bible which may be called the Hebrew Bible and
which is the same as the Christian’s Old Testament. There are
three major divisions of the Hebrew Bible and it contains 39
books in all. First such division is represented by Torah which
comprises the five books of Moses.
The Torah means ‘teaching’. The Torah, Judaism
holds, was divinely revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai soon after
the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (1250 B.C). It consists
of Five books, sometimes, called the Pentateuch, which are:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
All Jews are encouraged to study Torah. It is
regularly read each year in the synagogues, a portion on each
Sabbath.5 Traditions further tell that God Himself
spoke the Ten Commandments to Prophet Moses on Mount Sinai which
are found in the twentieth Chapter of Exodus. There were more
commandments than these, to be sure over six hundred in all. The
commandments deal with a wealth of subjects: diet, crime and
punishment, religious practices, holy days, and human
relationships.6 Torah forms the basic source of
Jewish law covering every aspect of social and religious
behaviour.
The second section or division of the Jewish
Bible is called “The Prophets” which contains the books of
Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, and I and II kings, known as
the Early Prophets as well as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and
the 12 Minor Prophets, known as the Later Prophets.
Many people believe that the height of Jewish
thought and understanding was reached in the teachings of the
prophets. The Prophets were spokesmen for God, who warned of
dire consequences if God’s will were not followed.
Still third section of the Jewish Bible is known
as “The Writings” which comprises in all 13 Books. It includes
books of history recounting the adventures of the Hebrew-Jewish
people and their growing understanding of their world. It
includes the Psalms and the other books of poetry. While these
are not considered to be the basic Law, as the first five books
are, they are still in the spirit of the Law.
All the books contained in Hebrew Bible or the
old Testament, in all its three divisions are shown in the
following chart:
TORAH
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
FORMER
PROPHETS
Joshua
Judges
1 – 2 Samuel
1 – 2 Kings
LATTER
PROPHETS
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
The Twelve:
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Hoggai
Zechariah
Malachi
THE
WRITINGS
Psalms
Proverbs
Job
Song of Songs
Ruth
Lamentations
Ecclesiastes
Esther
Daniel
Ezra-Nehemiah
1 – 2 Chronicles
The Bible was composed over a period of more than
1,000 years, from the 12th to the 2d centuries B.C. Not until the
2d century A.D. was the Canon closed, excluding the books that
became the Apocrypha. The original text of the Old Testament is in
the Hebrew language, with a few brief passages in Armaic.7
The Talmud:
Second to the Bible is the Talmud. It is a book
containing the civil and canonical laws of the Jews and includes
the Mishnah, a compilation from oral tradition written in Hebrew
about 200 A.D., and the Gemara, a collection of comments and
criticisms by the Jewish rabbis, written in Armaic during 3rd and
4th centuries. There are in fact two Talmuds: the one made in
Palestine (The Jerusalem Talmud), finished at the beginning of the
5th century, and the other made in Babylon, completed at the end
of the 6th century.
The Talmud is in effect, an extension of the Torah
down into the centuries which followed the completion of the other
writings. The Talmud arose to meet conditions that the Jews faced
in later times. As their homes and surroundings changed, their
religious and cultural needs changed. Additional laws grew out of
the newer needs these were passed from generation to generation by
word of mouth. From time to time, learned rabbis commented on
these oral laws and on the earlier, written ones, seeking to
reinterpret them for the changing times.8
Belief in God:
The Most important teaching of Judaism is that
there is one God who alone is to be worshipped. Judaism teaches
that a person serves God by reading the Holy scriptures and by
acting upon what they teach. A Jew, therefore, first of all
believes that God is one, and expresses that belief daily in the
recital of the Shema,” Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord
is one”. The Jew believes that God is spirit, the Absolute Being
who calls himself, “I am who I am”. Followers of Judaism thus
believe in one God and worship him alone associating no idols or
images with him.
Covenant with God:
The Jews believe that they have a special
relationship with God through a covenant that God made with
Abraham the ancestor of the Hebrews. According to the Bible, God
promised to bless Abraham and his descendants if they worshiped
and remained faithful to Him. God renewed this covenant with
Abraham’s son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob. Jacob was also called
Israel and so his descendants are called children of Israel or
Israelites. God later renewed this covenant with the children of
Israel through their leader Moses at Mount Sinai and gave Moses
Ten commandments and the Torah. These commandments and the books
were given to Israelites to teach them how to live and behave.
Chosen People:
The Jews believe that God had elected Israel and
his descendants out of all the nations of the worlds to be
recipients of his revelation and to bear witness to him. They are
therefore, the chosen people of God and hence they had special
privileges. However, this idea of being a privileged people was
condemned by their prophets. Listen to an early prophet as he
tries to correct their mistaken ideas:
“Are you not like the Ethiopians in my
sight,
O Israelites”, is an oracle of the Lord.
“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
Also the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?”
An anonymous prophet shows that their God is the
God of all people. He quotes God as saying: Blessed be Egypt my
people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage.”
The whole book of Jonah is directed against narrow nationalism and
the chosen people” idea held by many Jews of that time.9
Thus under the influence of the Prophets and the
teachers, idea of chosenness was interpreted in different way. It
was said that the Jews had been chosen to serve God and to teach
and lead the other people of the world toward service of one God.
So chosenness came to be understood throughout
Jewish history as moral responsibility. In the 19th Century the
Concept of the chosen people was translated by Reform Judaism into
the “Mission of Israel”. The scattering of Jewish people was
viewed not as punishment for sins but as a reflection of God’s
desire to have them bear universal witness to him so that
ultimately all mankind might be turned toward worship of one god
only. Later, in Reconstructionist Judaism, the concept of chosen
people was dropped as it was considered inappropriate to modern
universalism.
The Messiah and Kingdom of God:
Traditionally the Jews believed, and many of them still believe,
that God would send a Messiah to save them and establish kingdom
of God on earth. In this kingdom, God’s law would prevail and all
men will find justice and peace and fulfillment of their noble
aspirations. Righteousness would rule the world and evil would be
suppressed.
The word Messiah comes from the Hebrew word Mashiah,
which means the anointed one. A descendant of David, he will
reestablish the Davidic line that will rule in Jerusalem and will
rebuild the destroyed sanctuary. The age of the Messiah will be a
time of universal brotherhood in which all nations will
acknowledge God’s sovereignty and righteous of past generations
will experience a resurrection. This Messianic concept is
different from the Christian concept derived from it, in that its
fulfillment is to be on earth and not in heaven.
The Book of Isaiah describes the Messiah as a just
ruler who will unite the Jewish people and lead them in God’s way.
The Messiah will correct wrongs and defeat the enemies of the
people.
Many Jews still expect a Messiah to come. But
others speak instead of a Messianic Kingdom. They believe a period
of justice and peace will come through the cooperation of all
people and the help of God.10
The Promised land:
The Jews have been the world’s best-known displaced
persons. More than two thousand years ago, world events left them
without a permanent home and sent them forth to roam the earth.
Wherever they settled, they kept alive their traditions and their
worship of God. Often they stayed together in their own
communities, in order that they might better keep their holy days
and their dietary laws.11
Other people found the Jewish ways different and
some times difficult to understand. The differences caused some
people to complain and even to persecute the Jews. The Christians
particularly – accusing Jews of having killed Jesus – have been
guilty of such persecution.12
For over two thousand years the Jews had been
reminding themselves the ancient promise of God about a land that
would be theirs. This was the legendary promised land sought by
the Hebrews who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses. This
land they had for a time, but they were conquered by one nation
after another, only to be driven out in the end.13
Many Jews had kept alive the hope that once again
the land of Palestine would be theirs. They found the opportunity
at last to have their promised land when the politics of the world
enabled them to create the state of Israel in 1948.
Repentance:
The Jews believe in repentance which is the way to
recover from the ill consequences of errors and sins. Repentance
implies return to God and also forgiveness of Him when one has
committed a sin by failure to live by His command. So highly
regarded is repentance that the true penitent stands where not
even the fully righteous can stand. Related to repentance is the
concept of atonement i.e., performing a specific act (e.g.
sacrifice) that helps a person become “at one” with God. In
theology, atonement means reconciliation with God (or the gods) by
means of sacrifice or offering. Thus in the Bible the Jewish law
required that “you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for
atonement” (Revised Standard Version: Exodus 29:36). Even the
altar, and also the smaller altar of incense, had to be “atoned”
once a year (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:18). Although the
sacrifice might be eaten as food, it was effective (Exodus 29:33).14
The elaborate ritual of the Day of Atonement (Yom
Kippur) is described in Leviticus 16. In addition to the sacrifice
of a bull and a ram, two goats were presented to the Lord. On the
head of one of the goats the sins of Israel were laid symbolically
(but, in ancient thought, really), and it was then led into the
wilderness and left to die. This meant the removal of the people’s
sins, because the goat bore them “to a solitary land.”15
Hereafter:
The Jews of Biblical times did not believe in life
after death and reward for obedience to God promised in the Bible
is “That you may live long in the land which I, the Lord your God,
give to you.”
As to the character of Paradise or Heaven where the
righteous are rewarded, and of Hell or Gehenna, where the wicked
are punished, Jews have differing interpretations. The Bible is
silent on these matters; later literature contains these beliefs,
but here, too, there is much difference of opinion.
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One of the constant features of Judaism since
earliest times has been worship of God through prayer and
sacrifice. Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, prayed to God and
offered sacrifices. The Jews are obliged by tradition to worship
three times a day: morning, afternoon and evening, with special
prayers on the Sabbath and on festivals and special calendar
events.
The Synagogue
is the Jewish house of worship and the center of Jewish education
and community activities. A synagogue has a sanctuary where
religious services are held. It may also include a school where
children study Judaism, the Hebrew language, and Jewish history.
Most synagogues have a social hall as well. A synagogue is
frequently called a temple.16
Most synagogues are constructed so that the worshipers face toward
the holy city of Jerusalem during the service. At the front of the
sanctuary stands the ark, a chest in which the scrolls of the
Torah are kept. In front of the ark hangs the eternal light, an
oil lamp whose constant flame symbolizes God's eternal presence.
The sanctuary of a synagogue also includes a branched candlestick
called a menorah and a tablet bearing the first two words of each
of the Ten Commandments written in Hebrew.17
The Rabbi
serves as spiritual leader, teacher, and interpreter of Jewish
law. Traditionally, rabbis were chiefly teachers of the law.
Today, rabbis also deliver sermons during worship services in the
synagogue, give advice to people with problems, and perform many
other functions. A person who wants to become a rabbi must spend
years studying Hebrew sacred writings and Jewish history,
philosophy, and law.18
The Cantor
chants the prayers during worship in the synagogue. The cantor has
a trained voice and special knowledge of Hebrew and the traditions
of chanting. In many synagogues, the cantor also directs a choir
and conducts religious education.19
Worship
in Judaism lakes place both in the home and in the synagogue.
Important parts of home worship include daily prayers, the
lighting of the Sabbath candles, and the blessing of the wine and
bread at the Sabbath meal. Jews also observe many holiday rituals
at home.20
Worship practices in the synagogue differ among the branches of
Judaism and even within these groups. Orthodox and Conservative
synagogues conduct services daily, but most Reform synagogues have
services only on the Sabbath and holidays. In all Orthodox and
some Conservative synagogues, at least 10 men must be present for
a service to take place. This minimum number of participants is
called a minyan. Any male who is at least 13 years old may lead
the service. In most Conservative and Reform congregations, women
may lead the service and be part of the minyan.21
Synagogue worship consists primarily of readings from the Torah
and the chanting of prayers from a prayer book called the siddur.
In Orthodox synagogues, men and women sit separately and chant
almost all the prayers in Hebrew. In Conservative and Reform
congregations, men and women sit together, and much of the service
is in the language of the country. Conservative and Reform
services may also include music and a sermon.22
Judaism, like Islam, has no priesthood, no
organized church, no religious hierarchy. People of locality
choose or appoint themselves their Rabbi. Even a layman with
essential basic knowledge can lead prayers in a synagogue.
Judaism, like Islam, does not believe in asceticism. Hence there
are no monks and nuns.
Fasting:
In Judaism, apart from the great Fast of Atonement (Yom Kippur) on
the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tishri, the Old Testament
(Zechariah 8:19) mentions four lesser fasts, now identified as
those occurring on (1) the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tebeth,
when the siege of Jerusalem began; (2) the 17th of the Hebrew
month of Tammuz, when the walls were breached; (3) the 9th of the
Hebrew month of Ab, when the Temple was destroyed; and (4) the 3d
of the Hebrew month of Tishri, when Gedaliah, governor of Judah,
was assassinated (II Kings 25:25). There is also a fast of Esther
(Esther
4:16),
and of the firstborn on the vigil of Passover. Fasts last from
sunrise until the first stars appear, except those of Yom Kippur
and the 9th of Ab, which are observed "from sunset to sunset.” No
fast, except Yom Kippur, can fall on the Sabbath.23
Judaism is essentially a social and family religion
which, more than almost any other, concerns itself with the
observances of every aspect of daily life. As in Islam (q.v.)
details are laid down in the most minute way for the behaviour of
the orthodox.24
Birth:
The birth of a child is regarded as an unquestioned
blessing and a mark of God’s favor. Especially in biblical times,
children and kinfolk were the instruments for preserving the
memory of persons after death.25
On the first Sabbath following the birth of a girl,
the father is called to the Torah during the synagogue service. A
prayer is said on behalf of the mother’s speedy recovery from
childbirth, and the daughter is given her name. A son is named at
the B’rit Milah (Covenant of Circumcision) on the eighth day after
birth. At the father’s request an official, called a mohel,
performs the circumcision, and the child is brought into the
Covenant of Abraham. Then the child receives his Hebrew name in a
prayer for his well-being and the hope that he will fulfill the
aspirations of his parents.26
Puberty:
At the age of 13, a boy becomes a full member of
the Jewish community. This event is celebrated in the synagogue
with a ceremony called a bar mitzvah. Some Reform and Conservative
synagogues have a similar ceremony for girls called a bat mitzvah.
The young person reads from the Torah during the ceremony, which
is followed by a social celebration. Many congregations also
conduct group confirmation services. On these occasions, young
people who are 15 or 16 years old pledge to follow the teachings
of the Torah.27
Marriage:
The commandment to “be fruitful and multiply” was
the first one given to Adam and Eve. Accordingly, to marry and
fulfill this commandment has always been understood to be the
obligation of every Jew.28
Jewish rites in connection with marriage include
the following: solemnizing of the betrothal; calling of the groom
to the reading of the Torah in the synagogue on the Sabbath before
his marriage (not a usual Reform practice); use of the canopy
under which groom and bride stand for the ceremony (not used
regularly by Reform Jews); the drinking together from the wine
cup; the groom’s placing of the ring on the finger of the bride
during the recitation of an ancient formula wherewith the man
takes the woman to wife; the seven Benedictions in Praise of God
(Reform uses one); the breaking of glass following the ceremony
(not a Reform practice), in remembrance of the destruction of the
Temple; and the concluding priestly benediction (not used by the
Orthodox). Orthodox Jews read a marriage contract (Kethubah)
during the ceremony; Reform Jews do not. If a marriage breaks up,
the husband must give the wife a writ of divorce called a get. An
Orthodox Jew cannot remarry unless a religious divorce has been
granted.29
Death:
At death, these is confession for the dying; rending of garments
(among the Orthodox) by the bereaved; kindling of a memorial
light, dressing of the dead with a white shroud (an Orthodox
practice); the funeral and interment service, with the reading of
the Kaddish, a prayer for the sanctification of God’s name and for
the acceptance of His will; a week of mourning at home (a lesser
period for Reform Jews); the eleven months for recital of Kaddish
by mourners at the synagogue; the setting of the tombstone at the
end of a year; the Jahrzeit, the annual commemoration of the death
by the lighting of candle and the recital of the Kaddish; and the
memorial services, known as Yizkor services, on the Day of
Atonement, Passover, Sukkoth, and Pentecost.30
Conversion to Judaism.
For persons who wish to embrace Judaism, a ceremony of conversion
(gerut) is conducted by three rabbis who determine the adequacy of
the candidate’s preparation. Among traditional Jews, a visit to
the ritual bath (mikveh) is required for a woman, and of
circumcision for a male. Reform Judaism officially does not
require either.31
Contrary to the practice of Muslims and Christians
who actively preach their religions and convince others for
conversion, the Jews donot propagate their religion and donot make
efforts to persuade others. However, if someone intends to embrace
Judaism, they donot close the door and welcome such a person.
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
The Bible declares that certain animals, fowl, and
fish are acceptable as food but that others are prohibited. To be
acceptable, an animal must both chew the cud and have cloven
hooves. For example, the camel chews the cud but does not have a
cloven hoof and is forbidden, as is the swine, which has a cloven
hoof but does not chew the cud. Fish must have both fins and
scales. Fowl that are allowed or forbidden are listed by name.
Winged animals that creep generally are forbidden, with some
exceptions. Worms, mice, snails, and seafood are forbidden. A
further restriction is “thou shall not boil a kid in the milk of
its mother.”32
The rabbis of the Mishnah and the Talmud provide
elaborate extensions of the biblical injunctions. Even if an
animal is not forbidden, the slaughtering (shechitah) must be done
by an official (shochet) trained to kill with a minimum of pain.
Only the forequarters of a properly slaughtered animal may be
eaten because forbidden sinews are difficult to remove from the
hindquarters. Since the consumption of animal blood is forbidden
(fish blood is not), the flesh must be soaked and salted.33
The restriction of not boiling a kid in the milk of
its mother led ultimately to the prohibition against mixing meat
and dairy foods. In traditional Jewish homes, meat and dairy not
only are unmixed but are prepared in separate utensils, served on
separate dishes, and eaten with separate flatware. Food prepared
in accordance with Jewish dietary laws is called Kosher.34
Reform Judaism officially rejected the dietary laws
as “apt to obstruct spiritual elevation,” although many Reform
Jews keep some form of dietary restriction. Conservative Judaism
officially accepts all of the dietary regulations, except for
wine, which is no longer restricted.35
The insistence upon morality as a principle of
religion is the very core of Judaism. In Judaism, ethics does not
need to be added to religion, because it is already an essential
part of it. Judaism is an ethical monotheism. In Judaism, to know
God does not imply an understanding of the nature of His being but
a knowledge of his government, a perception of the necessity of
sound effort to follow the right way, which God has revealed and
is the same for all human beings.36
Man, made in God’s image, has the duty not only to
preserve and protect his own dignity but the dignity of all men.
Thus each man is equal to all and, as such entitled to equal
enjoyment of freedom and justice. The command, “Love thy neighbor
as thyself,” is a way of saying that man must love his fellowman
because all are children of God. This view is at the basis of
Judaism’s concept of the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood
of the One God.37
Judaism teaches that man must be unfailing in
devotion to truth, for “the seal of the Holy One is Truth.” The
world itself rests upon truth, and he who fails in his duty to
live, speak, and act the truth betrays the world.38
Judaism teaches also that the world itself is good,
that its gifts, including wealth, may be blessings if used
rightly. Judaism is opposed to asceticism. It has an optimistic
view as to the future of this world, believing that it is no “vale
of tears from which it is necessary to escape to another world,
but the very place where God bids us to establish His kngdom.”39
Charity is among the virtues that Jewish tradition
sets forth as the duty of all. Those in need of help are not to be
treated as less than equal, for they too, are the children of God.
Judaism holds that charity is more than compassion, that it is a
form of justice itself, a restoration of what men have been
deprived of as a result of society’s shortcomings. Thus charity in
Judaism is called Zedakah, “Justice,” not only assistance to the
needy, but righteousness itself.40
Duty to the community imposes upon Jews the
obligation to educate their children, an obligation written into
the Bible itself. This duty does not mean education in the general
sense alone; it means providing training for one’s children so
that they can earn a livelihood. Children in turn owe their
parents honor and respect. The prophet Malachi taught that the
Kingdom of God will be established on that day when the “heart of
the fathers will be turned to the children and the heart of the
children to their fathers.”41
The code of conduct for a Jew has been beautifully
laid down by the prophets as below: According to Isaiah, these are
attributes of the man who has pondered the spirit of the law:42
He who walks uprightly, and speaks sincerely,
Who scorns the gain that is won by oppression,
Who keeps his hand free from the touch of a bribe,
Who stops his ears against hearing of bloodshed,
And closes his eyes against looking on evil.
The Prophet Micah reduced the important rules to
only three, in his famous declaration of a man’s spiritual duty:43
You have been told, O man, what is good,
And what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do justice, and to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God.
For Amos, this was the spirit of the Law: “Seek the
Lord, that you may live.”44
The Sabbath:
The importance of the Sabbath to Judaism and the Jewish people is
reflected in the statement, “More than Israel has kept the
Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel.”45
The Bible provides two reasons for setting aside
one day of the week for a special purpose. As stated in Genesis
(2:1 – 3), God completed his creation by the seventh day and made
it a day of holiness and blessing. This is discerned in the
version of the Decalogue that appears in Exodus (20:11), while the
version in Deuteronomy (5:15) declares that the Sabbath must be
kept as a day of rest for human and beast as a reminder that the
children of Israel were once slaves in the land of Egypt.
Unremitting toil of servants and slaves was not to be allowed. The
importance of the Sabbath is further highlighted by its being
called a “sign of the covenant” between God and Israel (Exodus
31:16 – 17).46
The Sabbath in Judaism is the seventh day of the
week, Saturday, which is a holy day of rest. The Sabbath begins at
sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. On the Sabbath,
Jews attend worship services in the Synagogue and have special
meals and family gatherings at home. Orthodox Jews do not work,
travel or carry money on the Sabbath.47
The High Holy Days:
The year begins with ten days of soul-searching and
penitence known as Days of Awe and Reverence (Yamin Noraim). The
first of these is Rosh Hashanah, or New Year, also known as the
Day of Judgement (Yom Ha-Din). The period concludes with the Day
of Atonement (Yom Kippur), a 24-hour fast that begins in the
evening with the Kol Nidre (“All Vows”) service, reminding
worshipers to acknowledge and repent their sins against God and
humanity.48
In Jewish tradition, sins against God will be
forgiven, but sins against human beings will be atoned for only by
restoring harmony with them. To ensure that their names will be
inscribed in the Book of Life for the year to come, Jews are
enjoined to solemn penitence, sincere prayer, and good works.49
The Pilgrimage Festivals:
In ancient times, Jews were expected to make a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem during three major festivals – Passover, Shabuot and
Sukkot. Each of these festivals is associated with some part of
the Jews’ escape from Egypt and their journey to Canaan (now
Israel).50
Passover, or Pesah, comes in March or April and
celebrates the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Jews observe
Passover at home at a ceremonial feast called the Seder. Shabuot,
or Pentecost, comes 50 days after the beginning of Passover and
commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai. Many
congregations celebrate Shabuot by holding confirmation
ceremonies. Sukkot is a harvest festival that begins five days
after Yom Kippur. Jews build small huts for Sukkot as a reminder
of the huts the Israelites lived in during their wandering in the
wilderness.51
Other Holydays:
They commemorate major events in the history of the
Jewish people. The most important of these festivals are Hanukkah
and Purim. Hanukkah, or the Feast of Lights, is a celebration of
God’s deliverance of the Jews in 165B.C. That year, the Jews won
their first struggle for religious freedom by defeating the
Syrians, who wanted them to give up Judaism. Hanukkah usually
comes in December and is celebrated by the lighting of candles in
a special Hanukkah menorah. Purim is a festive holiday in February
or March that commemorates the rescue of the Jews of Persia (now
Iran) from a plot to kill them. On Purim, Jews read the Book of
Esther, which tells the story of this rescue.52
In addition to Yom Kippur, the chief fast day is
Tishah B’Av, the 9th of Av, which memorializes the destruction of
the first and second Temples in Jerusalem.53
Three additional holidays, marking events in the
20th century, are observed by many Jews: Yom Ha-Shoah, or
Holocaust Day, on the 27th of Nisan; Yom Ha-Atzmaut, the
anniversary of the founding (1948) of the State of Israel, on the
5th of Iyar; and Yom Yerushalayim, the unification of Jerusalem
(1967), on the 28th of Iyar.54
At present Judaism has four major branches or
sects, each representing wide range of beliefs and practices which
differ from the other.
1. Orthodox Judaism:
Orthodox Judaism accepts all the traditional Jewish
beliefs and ways of life. Orthodox Jews believe that God revealed
the laws of the Torah and the Talmud directly to Moses on Mount
Sinai. They strictly observe all traditional Jewish laws,
including the dietary rules and the laws for keeping the Sabbath.
Orthodox Jews pray three times daily – in the morning, in late
afternoon, and after sunset. Orthodox men wear hats or yarmulkas
(skullcaps) at all times as a sign of respect to God.55
The Orthodox Jews who form the majority use Hebrew
in all their synagogue services. Special schools, which they
support, teach their children Jewish history and the beginning of
the Hebrew. Many Orthodox Jews still look for the coming of the
personal Messiah.56
2. Reform Judaism:
A modern American movement has attracted many Jews
in this country. It is Reform Judaism and it is a result of an
effort to adapt Judaism to twentieth century Western life. Reform
Jews read the Torah with an eye to its truth as determined by its
agreement with reason and experience. They consider the Talmud a
human creation. According to them Judaism is defined principally
by the Bible. The worship is some what similar to that of
Protestant Christian churches. Families sit together for services
that include organ music and choirs, with the liturgy in Hebrew,
but the sermon in English. Both boys and girls are confirmed.57
Today, Reform Jews believe that moral and ethical
teachings form the most important part of Judaism. They feel that
many of Judaism’s ritual practices have no significance for them.
As a result Reform Jews have discarded many of the traditional
customs and ceremonies of Judaism.58
They reject the idea that Jews are the chosen
people and have a liberal interpretation of dietary laws.
3. Conservative Judaism:
Conservative Judaism developed during the mid
1800’s. Conservative Jews consider the Talmud as much an authority
as the Bible. However, they believe that the scriptures should be
interpreted in light of modern knowledge and culture. Like Reform
Jews, Conservative Jews de-emphasize the rituals of Judaism. But
they follow more of the traditional practices than do Reform Jews.59
It is a compromise between Orthodox and Reform. The
conservative Jews believe that Hebrew should continue to be used
in the traditional forms of worship. On the Sabbath day they do
only necessary work and try to make it a day of prayer.
4. Liberal or Reconstructionist Judaism:
Reconstructionism was founded by Rabbi Mordecai M.
Kaplan. In his book Judaism as a Civilization (1934), Kaplan
sought to apply the conclusion of modern naturalism to the Jewish
religion. The movement has its own prayer books and a Fellowship
of Reconstructionist Congregations. The Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College (1968) is in Philadelphia.60
The Reconstructionists regard Judaism as a
“Religious civilization” evolving in response to changes in the
world. They view Israel as a spiritual center and the Diaspora as
important for Jewish development. God is the power that helps
human beings to realize their potential. The liturgy is similar to
that of Conservative Judaism, but it incorporates other texts and
eliminates references to the “Chosen People.”61
Jewish Calendar:
The Jewish era dates traditionally from the
Creation, which as calculated by the talmudic sages of the 2d and
3d centuries A.D., began on a date corresponding to Tishri 1, 3761
B.C. Thus the year 2,000 corresponds to 5760 – 5761 of the Jewish
era.62
The Jewish year is lunisolar and consists of 12
lunar months of 29 or 30 days. An adjustment to the solar cycle is
achieved by the intercalation of a 13th month (2d Adar) into every
3d, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th year of a 19-year cycle.
A regular Jewish year can have 353, 354 or 355 days, while a leap
year has 383, 384 or 385 days. The total number of days of any
19-year cycle, however, equals that of 19 solar years. Because of
this cyclical nature of the Jewish calendar, fixed in its final
form in the 9th century A.D., Jewish holidays move back and forth
in relation to the civil or Gregorian calendar.63
In biblical times the months usually were called by
ordinal numbers – first Month, Second Months, and so on. A few
months had names as well. The First Month also was called the
Month of Aviv or Spring, corresponding to March-April; the second,
Ziv; the Seventh, Etamin; the Eighth, Bul. Following the
Babylonian Exile, these old Hebrew names were replaced by Aramaic
forms of Babylonian names: I. Nisan; 2. Iyar; 3. Sivan; 4.
Tammuz; 5. Av; 6. Elul; 7. Tishri; 8. Heshvan; 9. Kislev;
10. Teveth; 11. Shevat; 12. Adar; (13 2d Adar). These names in
this order are fixed in the calendar.64
Jewish Symbols:
Of all the Jewish symbols the most famous and
lasting till today is six – pointed star known in Hebrew as the
Magen David i.e. shield or star of David. In the 19th century the
Magen David was selected as the symbol of the Zionist movement,
and it was subsequently adopted by Israel for its flag.
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Appendix
Extracts
From the Holy Bible
(Old
Testament)
-
In the
beginning
God created the heaven and the earth.
-
And the earth
was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
-
And God
said,
Let there be light: and there was light.
-
And God saw the light, that it was good: And God divided the light
from the darkness.
-
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
-
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,
and let it divide the waters from the waters.
-
And
God
made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the
firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it
was so.
-
And God made the firmament, Heaven. And the evening and the
morning were the second day.
-
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together
unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
-
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of
the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
-
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding
seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed
is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so.
-
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after
his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself,
after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
-
And the evening and the morning were the third day.
-
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven
to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and
for seasons, and for day, and years:
-
And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give
light upon the earth: and it was so.
-
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.
-
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon
the earth,
-
And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the
light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
-
And the evening and the
morning were the fourth day.
-
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in
the open firmament of heaven.
-
And God created great whales, and every living creature that
moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their
kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it
was good.
-
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill
the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
-
And the evening and the
morning were the firth day.
-
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after
his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after
his kind: and it was so.
-
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle
after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth
after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
-
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
-
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them.
-
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the flesh of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
-
And God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing
seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for
meat.
-
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the
air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein
there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was
so.
-
And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it
was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
–– Genesis 1: 1-31
2. And God spake
all
these words, saying,
-
I am the Lord thy God,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house
of bondage.
-
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
-
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of
any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
-
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the
Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of
them that hate me;
-
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments.
-
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
-
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
-
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
-
But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou
shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
that is within thy gates:
-
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all
that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
-
Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon
the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
-
Thou shalt not kill.
-
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
-
Thou shalt not steal
-
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
-
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet
thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor
his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
–– Exodus 20: 1-17
3.
He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to
death.
-
And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand;
then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
-
But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him
with guile; thou shalt take him from mine alter, that he may die.
-
And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put
to death.
-
And he that stealth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in
his hand, he shall surely be
put
to death.
-
And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put
to death.
-
And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or
with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
-
If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he
that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his
time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
-
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he
die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
-
Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be
punished: for he is his money.
-
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit
depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely
punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and
he shall pay as the judges determine.
-
And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
-
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth,
hand for hand, foot for foot,
-
Burning for burning, wound for wound stripe for stripe.
-
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid,
that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
-
And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s
tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
–– Exodus 21: 12-27
4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or
sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for
a sheep.
-
If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there
shall no blood be shed for him.
-
If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him;
for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he
shall be sold for his theft.
-
If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be
ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
-
If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall
put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the
best of his own field, and of the best of his own vine-yard, shall
he make restitution.
-
If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of
corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith;
he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
–– Exodus 22:1-6
5. And
if a man entice a maid
that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her
to be his wife.
-
If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay
money according to the dowry of virgins.
-
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
-
Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
–– Exodus 22:16-19
6.
Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were
strangers in the
land
of Egypt.
-
Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
-
If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I
will surely hear their cry;
-
And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword;
and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
-
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou
shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him
usury.
-
If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt
deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
-
For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin:
wherein shall he sleep? And it shall come to pass, when he crieth
unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
-
Thou shalt nor revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
-
Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of
thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
-
Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep; seven
days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give
it me.
-
And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh
that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
–– Exodus 22: 21-31
7. And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in
the fruits thereof:
-
But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that
the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of
the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy
vineyard, and with thy olive yard.
-
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt
rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy
handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
-
And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and
make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard
out of thy mouth.
-
Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
-
Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat
unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time
appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt:
and none shall appear before me empty:)
-
And the feast of
harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in
the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of
the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labour out of the field.
-
Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord
God.
–– Exodus 23: 10-17
8. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of
the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in
the seat of the scornful.
-
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night.
-
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
-
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind
deriveth away.
-
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners
in the congregation of the righteous.
-
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the
ungodly shall perish.
–– Psalms 1: 1-6
9.
Give ear
to my
words,
O lord, consider my meditation.
-
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto
thee will I pray.
-
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning
will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
-
For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither
shall evil dwell with thee.
-
The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers
of iniquity.
-
Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor
the bloody and deceitful man.
-
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy
mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
-
Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies;
make thy way straight before my face.
-
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is
very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter
with their tongue.
-
Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels;
cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they
have rebelled against thee.
-
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them
ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also
that love thy name be joyful in thee.
-
For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou
compass him as with a shield.
–– Psalms 5: 1-12
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
1- Colliers Encyclopedia.
2,3- Encyclopedia Americana.
4- Great Religions by Which Men Live.
5- Encyclopedia Americana.
6- Great Religions by Which Men Live.
7- Encyclopedia Americana.
8,9- Great Religions by Which Men Live.
10- World Book Encyclopedia.
11 to 13- Great Religions by Which Men Live.
14, 15- Encyclopedia Americana.
16 to 22- World Book Encyclopedia.
23- Encyclopedia Americana.
24- Pear’s Cyclopedia.
25,26- Encyclopedia Americana.
27- World Book Encyclopedia.
28- Encyclopedia Americana.
29, 30- Collier’s Encyclopedia.
31 to 35- Encyclopedia Americana.
36 to 41- Collier’s Encyclopedia.
42 to 44- Great Religions by Which Men Live.
45, 46- Encyclopedia Americana.
47- World Book Encyclopedia.
48,49- Encyclopedia Americana.
50 to 52- World Book Encyclopedia.
53, 54- Encyclopedia Americana.
55- World Book Encyclopedia.
56 to 57- Great Religions by Which Men Live.
58,59- World Book Encyclopedia.
60,64- Encyclopedia Americana.
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