What faith does the Jews have? The Religion of the Jews

The people of Israel have always evoked envy, hatred and admiration among Europeans. Even those who lost their state and had to wander for almost two thousand years, its representatives did not assimilate among other ethnic groups, but retained both their national identity and culture, based on a deep religious tradition. What faith does the Jews have? Indeed, thanks to it, they experienced a lot of powers, empires and entire nations. They went through everything - power and slavery, periods of peace and discord, social welfare and genocide. The religion of the Jews is Judaism, and it is thanks to it that they still play an important role on the historical scene.

The First Revelation of Yahweh

The religious tradition of the Jews is monotheistic, that is, recognizes only one god. His name is Yahweh, which literally means "he who was, is and will be."

Today, the Jews believe that Yahweh is the creator and creator of the world, and they consider all other gods to be false. According to their creed, after the fall of the first people, the sons of man forgot the true God and began to serve idols. To remind people of himself, Yahweh called a prophet named Abraham, who foretold to become the father of many nations. Abraham, who came from the pagan family, receiving the Lord's revelation, renounced the previous cults and went to wander, guided from above.

In the Torah - the Sacred - the writings of the Jews are told about how God tested the faith of Abraham. When a son was born to his beloved wife, the Lord ordered him to be sacrificed, to which Abraham responded with unquestioning obedience. When he had already brought a knife over his child, God stopped him, regarding such obedience as deep faith and devotion. Therefore, today, when the Jews are asked about the faith of the Jews, they answer: "The faith of Abraham."

According to the Torah, God fulfilled his promise and from Abraham through Isaac produced a large Jewish people, also known as Israel.

The origin of Judaism

The worship of Yahweh as the first descendants of Abraham was not yet, in fact, Judaism and even monotheism in the strict sense of the word. In fact, the gods of the biblical religion of the Jews are numerous. What distinguished Jews from other Gentiles was the unwillingness to worship any other gods (but, unlike monotheism, they recognized their existence), as well as a ban on religious images. Much later than the time of Abraham, when his descendants had already multiplied to the scale of a whole people, Judaism took shape as such. This is briefly described in the Torah.

By the will of destinies the people of the Jews fell into slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, most of whom treated him rather badly. In order to free his elect, God called a new prophet-Moses, who, being a Jew, was brought up at the royal court. After performing a series of miracles known as the Egyptian executions, Moses led the Jews into the desert to bring them to the promised land. During this pilgrimage on Mount Sinai, Moses received the first commandments and other instructions concerning the organization and practice of the cult. So there was a decorated Jewish faith - Judaism.

The First Temple

While in Sinai, Moses, among other revelations, received from the Almighty a guide for the design of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, a portable temple dedicated to bringing sacrifices and other religious rites. When the years of wandering through the desert ended, the Jews entered the promised land and established their statehood in its open spaces, King David intended to replace the tabernacle with a full-fledged stone church. God, however, did not approve David's enthusiasm, and the mission to build a new sanctuary laid on his son Solomon. Solomon, becoming a king, began to fulfill the divine command and built an imposing temple on one of the hills of Jerusalem. According to tradition, this temple stood for 410 years, until in 586 it was destroyed by the Babylonians.

The Second Temple

The temple was for the Jews a national symbol, a banner of unity, fortitude and a physical guarantor of divine protection. When the temple was destroyed, and the Jews were taken prisoner for 70 years, the faith of Israel was shaken. Many began to worship pagan idols again, and the people were threatened with dissolution among other tribes. But there were also zealous supporters of the paternal legends, who advocated the preservation of the old religious traditions and social order. When in 516 the Jews were given the opportunity to return to their native lands and rebuild the temple, this group of enthusiasts led the process of revival of Israeli statehood. The temple was restored, worship services and sacrifices were again held, and incidentally the religion of the Jews acquired a new face: the Holy Scripture was codified, many customs were ordered, official doctrine was formalized. Over time, several religions emerged among the Jews, differing in their doctrinal and ethical views. Nevertheless, their spiritual and political unity provided a common temple and worship. The era of the second temple lasted until 70 AD. E.

Judaism after 70 AD E.

In the year 70 AD. During the fighting during the Jewish War, Titus began to besiege, and subsequently destroyed, Jerusalem. Among the damaged buildings was a Jewish temple, which was completely destroyed. Since then, Jews have been forced, based on historical conditions, to modify Judaism. Briefly, these changes affected the doctrine, but mostly concerned with subordination: the Jews ceased to obey the priestly authority. After the destruction of the temple, there were no priests left at all, and the role of spiritual leaders was assumed by the rabbis, the teachers of the law are laypeople who have a high social status among the Jews. From that time until this day, Judaism is represented only in such a rabbinic form. The role of synagogues - the local centers of Jewish culture and spirituality - came first. Divine services are performed in the synagogues, scriptures are read, sermons are preached, and important ceremonies are performed. At them yeshivas are organized - specialized schools on studying of Judaism, the Jewish language and culture.

It is important to bear in mind that, together with the temple in 70 AD. E. Jews also lost their statehood. They were forbidden to live in Jerusalem, as a result they were scattered around other cities of the Roman Empire. Since then, Jewish diasporas are present in almost every country on all continents. Surprisingly, they were quite resistant to assimilation and were able to carry their identity through the centuries, no matter what. And yet we must remember that over time Judaism has changed, evolved and evolved, therefore, when answering the question "What kind of religion do Jews have?", It is necessary to make an amendment to the historical period, because the Judaism of the 1st century BC. E. And Judaism of the 15th century AD. E., For example, this is not the same thing.

The Doctrine of Judaism

As already mentioned, the doctrine of Judaism, at least modern, is classified as monotheism: this is insisted on by both religious scholars and Jews themselves. The faith of the confession of the Jews consists in recognizing Yahweh as the only god and creator of all things. At the same time, Jews see themselves as special people, the children of Abraham, on whom lies a special mission.

At some point in time, most likely, in the era of the Babylonian captivity and the second temple, Judaism took the concept of the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment. Along with this, there were also ideas about angels and demons - personified forces of good and evil. Both of these doctrines come from Zoroastrianism and, most likely, it was through contacts with Babylon that the Jews integrated these teachings into their cult.

Religious values of Judaism

Speaking about Jewish spirituality, it can be argued that Judaism is a religion briefly characterized as a cult of traditions. In fact, traditions, even the most insignificant ones, have great significance in Judaism, and severe punishment is required for their violation.

The most important of these traditions is the practice of circumcision, without which a Jew can not be considered a full-fledged representative of his people. Circumcision is made in the sign of the Covenant between the chosen people and Yahweh.

Another important feature of the Jewish way of life is strict observance of the Sabbath. The Sabbath day is endowed with extreme holiness: any work, even the most simple, like cooking, is prohibited. Also on Saturday you can not just have fun - this day is reserved only for rest and spiritual exercises.

The currents of Judaism

Some believe that Judaism is a world religion. But actually it is not. First, because Judaism is for the most part a national cult, the path to which for non-Jews is rather difficult, and secondly, the number of its followers is too small to speak of it as a world religion. Nevertheless, Judaism is a religion with world influence. From the bosom of Judaism came two world religions - Christianity and Islam. And the numerous Jewish communities scattered throughout the world have always had some influence on the culture and life of the local population.

However, what is important is that Judaism itself today is heterogeneous within itself, and therefore, when answering the question about what kind of religion the Jews have, it is also necessary to specify its course in each specific case. There are several such groups inside. The main ones are represented by the orthodox wing, the Hasidic movement and the Reform Jews. There are also progressive Judaism and a small group of Messianic Jews. However, the latter Jewish community excludes from the Jewish community.

Judaism and Islam

Speaking of the relationship of Islam to Judaism, it is necessary, first, to note that Muslims also consider themselves to be the children of Abraham, although not from Isaac. Secondly, the Jews are considered the people of the book and bearers of divine revelation, albeit obsolete, from the point of view of Muslims. Reflecting on the faith of Jews, adherents of Islam recognize the fact of worshiping the same god. Thirdly, the historical relationship between Jews and Muslims has always been ambiguous and requires a separate analysis. What is important is that there is much in common between the two in the field of theory.

Judaism and Christianity

With Christians, the Jews always had a difficult relationship. Both sides disliked each other, which often led to conflicts and even bloodshed. Today, nevertheless, the relationship between these two Abrahamic religions is gradually improving, although they are still far from ideal. The Jews have a good historical memory and remember Christians as oppressors and persecutors for 1,500 years. For their part, Christians blame the Jews for the crucifixion of Christ and connect all their historical hardships with this sin.

Conclusion

In a small article it is impossible to comprehensively consider the topic of what kind of faith the Jews have in theory, in practice and in relations with adherents of other cults. Therefore, I want to believe that this small survey will lead to a further, deeper study of the traditions of Judaism.