History of World Religions - Judaism
Summary
TLDRThe video covers the history and key beliefs of Judaism, the oldest of the three major monotheistic religions. It begins with an overview of Jewish symbols, such as the Star of David, and explores the geographical origins of Judaism in the ancient land of Canaan, now Israel. The video highlights the role of Abraham as the founder, the Exodus led by Moses, and significant events like the building and destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It also explains key Jewish beliefs, including the expectation of a future Messiah.
Takeaways
- đ The study begins with Judaism, as it is the oldest of the three major monotheistic religions, preceding Christianity and Islam.
- đ Judaism's key symbols include the Menorah, used during Hanukkah, and the Star of David, the main symbol associated with Judaism.
- đ Judaism originated in the Middle East, specifically in the region known today as Israel, where the largest concentration of Jewish people resides.
- đŽ Judaism is traditionally believed to have been founded by Abraham, who is considered the father of the Jewish people and is also recognized by Christianity and Islam.
- âïž Judaism is unique in its monotheistic belief in one God, Yahweh, in a world where polytheistic beliefs were predominant.
- đ The Torah is the holy book of Judaism, consisting of the first five books of the Bible and the writings of the Jewish prophets.
- đ The Ten Commandments, which are part of the Torah, are central to Jewish law and are also recognized in Christianity, although Judaism actually has 613 commandments.
- đ The Western Wall in Jerusalem is the holiest site in Judaism, being the last remaining wall of the Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
- đ Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the Maccabean Revolt against the Greeks and the rededication of the Second Temple.
- đ Jewish people are still awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, a deliverer promised in the Torah, unlike Christians who believe Jesus fulfilled this role.
Q & A
Why does the speaker choose to start with the history of Judaism when discussing monotheistic religions?
-The speaker starts with Judaism because it is the earliest of the three major monotheistic religions, preceding both Christianity and Islam.
What is the significance of the Star of David in Judaism?
-The Star of David is the main symbol associated with Judaism, representing the Jewish faith and its cultural heritage.
Where did Judaism originate, and where is the largest concentration of its followers today?
-Judaism originated in the region known as Canaan, which is present-day Israel. Today, the largest concentration of Jewish followers is in Israel.
Who is considered the founder of Judaism, and what is his significance?
-Abraham is considered the founder of Judaism. He is believed to have made a covenant with God, promising that his descendants would become a great nation if they remained faithful to God.
What is unique about Judaism in the context of ancient religions?
-Judaism was unique in ancient times because it was monotheistic, worshiping only one God, in contrast to the predominantly polytheistic religions of that era.
What is the significance of the Ten Commandments in Judaism?
-The Ten Commandments, part of the 613 commandments given to Moses, are fundamental laws that are both religious and political in nature, guiding the behavior and governance of the Jewish people.
What is the historical importance of the Exodus in Jewish tradition?
-The Exodus, led by Moses, represents the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. It is celebrated during Passover and is a key event in Jewish history.
What is the significance of the Western Wall in Judaism?
-The Western Wall is the last remaining part of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, which was the holiest site in Judaism. It is considered the holiest site for Jewish worship today.
How does the Jewish belief in a Messiah differ from that of Christianity?
-Jews believe that the Messiah, a deliverer promised by the prophets, has not yet come, while Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah who has already arrived.
What are the key aspects of Jewish religious texts, and how do they relate to Christianity?
-The Jewish religious text, the Torah, includes the first five books of the Bible and the writings of the prophets. The Christian Old Testament is essentially the Jewish Torah, highlighting the close relationship between the two religions.
Outlines
đ Introduction to Monotheistic Religions: Starting with Judaism
The speaker introduces the study of monotheistic religions, beginning with Judaism, as it is the earliest of the three major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). The structure of the lesson is outlined, focusing on the symbols, geography, history, and beliefs of Judaism. Key Jewish symbols like the menorah and the Star of David are introduced, and the lesson plan includes studying the origins and basic beliefs of Judaism.
đ Geographical Origins and Historical Beginnings of Judaism
The largest concentration of Jews today is in Israel, but Judaism began in the region of Mesopotamia, where it is believed to have been founded by Abraham around the 2000s BC. The narrative explains that Abraham is considered the father of the Jewish people, despite the lack of historical evidence outside religious texts. Judaism was unique for its monotheism in a predominantly polytheistic world, with Yahweh as the Jewish name for God.
đ The Exodus and the Ten Commandments
Jewish tradition recounts how a famine drove the Israelites to Egypt, where they eventually became slaves. The prophet Moses led them out of slavery in an event known as the Exodus, celebrated during Passover. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, which are part of a larger set of 613 commandments, serving as both religious and political laws for the Jewish people. Moses died before reaching the Promised Land, which his descendants would eventually enter.
âïž The Struggle for the Promised Land and the Establishment of Israel
After Moses's death, Joshua led the Israelites back to Canaan, where they fought local inhabitants for control of the land. These conflicts, documented in Jewish scriptures, depict a violent period of warfare justified by the belief in the land as their divine inheritance. By 1020 BC, the Israelites established a united kingdom under King Saul, followed by King David, who expanded the kingdom and established Jerusalem as its capital.
đ Cycles of Freedom and Bondage in Jewish History
The narrative of Jewish history is marked by cycles of independence and subjugation. The united Israelite kingdom split into two, eventually falling to the Assyrians and Babylonians, who enslaved the Jewish people. After the Persian conquest, the Jews were freed and returned to Canaan, only to face subsequent conquest by Alexander the Great and later the Romans. The celebration of Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabean revolt against Greek oppression and the rededication of the Jewish temple.
đ The Holiest Sites and Scriptures in Judaism
Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism, believed to have been established by King David. The Western Wall, a remnant of the Second Temple, is the most sacred site for Jews today. The Torah, consisting of the first five books of the Bible and the writings of Jewish prophets, is the holy book of Judaism. Jews believe in a future Messiah who will bring peace and justice, a belief that contrasts with Christian views of Jesus as the Messiah.
đŹ Conclusion and Key Takeaways on Judaism
The lesson concludes by summarizing the key aspects of Judaism, including its geography, historical origins, and core beliefs. The importance of Jerusalem, the Torah, and the belief in a future Messiah are emphasized. The speaker encourages students to retain these essential questions for future discussions, marking the end of the session.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄJudaism
đĄAbraham
đĄMonotheism
đĄCovenant
đĄExodus
đĄTen Commandments
đĄPromised Land
đĄTorah
đĄHanukkah
đĄWestern Wall
Highlights
Introduction to the study of monotheistic religions, starting with Judaism due to its chronological precedence over Christianity and Islam.
The Star of David is highlighted as the primary symbol of Judaism, along with the menorah used during Hanukkah.
Geographical origin of Judaism in the land of Canaan, corresponding to modern-day Israel.
Judaism's unique position as a monotheistic faith in a predominantly polytheistic ancient world.
The concept of Yahweh in Judaism, recognized as the same deity worshiped in Christianity and Islam.
The covenant between God and Abraham, marking the foundation of the Jewish faith and its promise of a great nation.
The story of the Exodus, led by Moses, and its significance in Jewish history and celebration, particularly during Passover.
The Ten Commandments as part of the 613 commandments given to Moses, serving both religious and political purposes.
The establishment of the Kingdom of Israel under King Saul, later expanded by King David, who made Jerusalem the capital.
The repeated cycle of Jewish freedom and bondage, from Assyrian and Babylonian captivity to eventual return under Persian rule.
The Maccabean Revolt against Greek rulers and its commemoration through the holiday of Hanukkah.
The Western Wall as the holiest site in Judaism, remaining from the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
The Torah as the holy book of Judaism, containing the first five books of the Bible and the writings of the prophets.
Judaism's anticipation of a future Messiah who will bring peace and justice, in contrast to Christian belief in Jesus as the Messiah.
Summary of key aspects of Judaism, including its geography, founder Abraham, and core beliefs, preparing for further discussion.
Transcripts
greetings and salutations ladies and
gentlemen we'll begin our studies of the
history of the monotheistic world
religions and we'll start it with the
history behind Judaism why Judaism first
well in chronological order of
historical development Judaism develops
before the other two before Christianity
and before Islam thus we'll start with
Judaism to keep it in good order now as
we examine the history behind Judaism uh
how are we going to play this and really
this is the same model that we'll use
with each of the other two religions
we'll start always on this screen on the
left hand side there with the symbol
associated with that religion on the
left hand side at the top you should see
the candles that are the manora which
are used during the celebration of
Hanukkah for the people of Jewish faith
more importantly there in the background
you should also see the Star of David
the Star of David is the main symbol
associated with Judaism now as we
continue to study Judaism we're going to
look at the geography uh in what part of
the world did this religion originate
additionally where do most followers of
Judaism live today so where can you find
them today where did the religion begin
where are they now uh then we'll get
into sort of a real basic history of the
creation of this religion we'll look at
the founder of the Jewish faith and then
we will look at the very basic
traditional history behind the
foundation of this particular faith in
this case Judaism and we'll wrap up with
a little something that I call just the
basics uh and we'll very briefly go
through some of the very basic beliefs
and facts regarding the the Jewish faith
and that the same thing we do with the
other religions as well thus without
further Ado let's go ahead and
begin now people of the Jewish faith can
be found in many parts of the world but
the largest concentration of followers
of Judaism can be found in the country
of Israel when you look at this map here
that shows all the other religions uh
notice how minuscule uh the percentage
of the judaic faith is compared to the
others that is because of the major
monotheistic religions Judaism is the
smallest
now Jewish traditional beliefs state
that Judaism was founded by a man named
Abraham and Abraham is said to have
lived in Mesopotamia in the Fertile
Crescent sometime in the 2000s BC now
there's no way to prove whether or not
Abraham existed uh all three major
monotheistic religions do look to
Abraham as a traditional ancestor but
there's no outside of the religious
writings there's no evidence uh of his
existence it becomes simply a matter of
Faith now the founder of Judaism Abraham
is considered to be the father of the
Jewish people and again as I said he's
connected to the other two monotheistic
religions as well now in this period in
history Judaism would be incredibly
unique because the vast majority of
ancient cultures and ancient religions
were all
polytheistic uh the Jewish people would
be incredibly unique because they are
monotheistic worshiping only one God in
a polytheistic world and speaking of God
uh Jews call God Yahweh now
interestingly enough the god that Jewish
people call Yahweh is the same God that
Christians call God and the same God
that Muslims call Allah so Jews call God
Yahweh and they believe that in the
2000s BC uh God came to Abraham and made
an agreement or a covenant with him and
according to Jewish tradition this
agreement stated that God would make a
great nation out of Abraham and his
descendants if they remained faithful to
God and it is said in tradition that at
this point Abraham left his home in the
city of er traveled the Fertile Crescent
and moved to the land that God
supposedly promised to give to him and
his Descendants the land of Canaan or
what is today the present day country of
Israel according to Jewish tradition
Abraham had children here in uh in
Canaan uh and his son Jacob also known
as Israel excuse me his grandson Jacob
also known as Israel had 12 sons of his
own
who then each went on to lead their own
family group or tribe uh now these 12
family groups or tribes would become the
Mythic 12 tribes of Israel that would
populate the promised land as they would
call it or the land of Canaan now as
time goes on according to Jewish
tradition uh a severe famine gripped the
region that they lived in gripped the
land of Canaan perhaps drought uh
perhaps plague of locust either way
there was a famine and the people left
their Homeland in Canaan and they moved
to Egypt very nearby place with very
fertile
lands according to Jewish beliefs by the
1200s BC the Jews who had moved to Egypt
had somehow become slaves uh however a
prophet and very important person in the
Jewish faith guy by the name of Moses uh
sort of goes head-to-head with the
Egyptian pharaoh secures the release and
freedom of the Jewish people and leads
them on an exodus or a departure from
captivity the exod is celebrated by the
Jewish people today in the religious
celebration of Passover and the Torah
that's the holy book of the Jewish faith
says that during The Exodus God gave to
Moses 10 commandments or 10 laws or
rules for the people to live by in
actuality there aren't 10 there's
actually
613 it's just that Christians and other
westerners only accepted 10 of them so
that's where we get the idea that there
were only 10 commandments when in
reality there were way more than 600 of
them and and it was
more of you know the Ten Commandments
are not just religious rules but they
were also laws politically binding laws
for the people to live by so the Ten
Commandments are actually the 613
Commandments and they're not just
religious Commandments but also
political laws supposedly handed down by
God to Moses for the people to live
by now according to Jewish tradition
Moses doesn't make it back to the
promised land he doesn't make it back to
Canaan he dies before he gets there as
do all of the other Israelites uh who
engaged in the original Exodus but it is
their ancestors who finally returned to
the promised land the homeland of Canaan
and so according to Jewish tradition
after Moses's death a man named Joshua
succeeds him as the leader of the
Israelites and he leads them back into
Canaan after Moses has died and this
period of Jewish scripture and Jewish
history is particularly bloody and
violent because in the scriptures in the
Torah in the writings for the next 200
years years or so the Israelites will
fight the local people the Philistines
and the Canaanites for control of the
land and the Jewish traditional stories
are now pockmarked with stories of War
Stories of Siege of cities Slaughters of
entire populations in order for the
Israelites to reclaim the land that they
believe was their Promised Land kind of
like we mentioned earlier with the
sociology of Religion different
religions using their beliefs to justify
violence and in this particular case you
have this religious belief belief that
the land was promised to them and thus
they're using that belief as a means for
violence to reclaim that land well
they're incredibly successful because by
10:20 BC uh the Israelites have united
into one Kingdom Under a king named Saul
Saul was then later succeeded by the
very famous uh Israelite King David of
the David and Goliath Fame David turns
Israel into an even greater Kingdom uh
and for that great Kingdom he builds a
new capital city called Jerusalem which
if Jewish tradition is to be accepted as
true uh is the modern day city of
Jerusalem that still stands
today now by 9:22 BC the Israelite
Kingdom built by David has now split
into two separate kingdoms and what we
see at this point in history is really
uh that that the story of Judaism is a
story of freedom and Independence
followed by bondage followed by freedom
and Independence followed by more
bondage under the control of others
because this Israelite Kingdom that had
split into to two will eventually be
conquered by the new Power in the region
the Assyrian Empire and the Assyrians
would conquer and Destroy part of the uh
part of the Jewish Kingdom uh and
enslave some of the people until the
Assyrians were then conquered by the
Babylonians who finished off the Jewish
Kingdom and took all of them as slaves
back home to Babylon where they remained
until Along Came the Persians who
conquered the Babylonians and when the
Persians conquered Babylon because the
Persians did not believe in slavery
supposedly they freed the Jewish slaves
and sent them back home to their
Homeland in Canaan and there uh they
continue to live freely in an
independent Kingdom until wait for it
somebody else comes along Alexander the
Great who conquers all of the Persian
Empire including Jerusalem and the land
of Canaan and after Alex Alexander's
Empire fell apart uh the Jewish Kingdom
would remain under the control uh of the
cusd empire
as part of the the old Greek
lands and when the cusd king as it is
written by the by the Jewish traditional
beliefs when the cusd king uh Antiochus
IV tries to force the Jews to give up
their religion and worship the Greek
gods they Rebel if we remember this was
one of the goals of Alexander and the
Greeks to sort of assimilate Greek
culture and spread Greek culture and
Antiochus tries to do this by getting
rid of the monotheistic faith of the
Jews and trying to replace it with the
polytheism of the Greeks again story of
freedom to bondage to Freedom back to
bondage again uh and we see that now the
Jewish people rebel against uh the
Greeks against the uh against Antiochus
in his attempt to force them to accept
the uh Greek religion the Rebellion is
led by a man named Judah makabe and his
brothers and they succeed in defeating
and expelling the Greeks from their
lands and reestablishing an independent
Jewish Kingdom that would continue to
exist
until it was conquered by somebody else
and that would be the Romans in 63 BC so
again we see the pattern of freedom and
Independence bondage freedom and
Independence back again to bondage well
the Jewish celebration of the religious
holiday of Hanukkah is actually a
remembrance of this event it's a
remembrance of the makabe Rebellion uh
and the uh the the the reconsecration of
the temple and the saving of their
monotheistic Faith that's the
celebration of Hanukkah remembering the
makabe Rebellion
all right so that's that's where we're
going to leave the history off and now
we're going to jump into just the facts
the basic facts about Judaism okay uh
really sort of just list off a Litany of
things here the holiest city in Judaism
is Jerusalem the city that they believed
was built by David they call it the city
of David in some regards as a capital to
his kingdom so for the Jewish people
Jerusalem is the holiest city in their
country and and uh and then the the city
is located in the present day country of
Israel and according to the Torah the
land of Canaan which we have already
discussed here which is the present day
land of Israel is the land that Jews
believe God promised to give to Abraham
and his descendants so the land the city
the whole place is incredibly important
religious and holy to these
folks uh people of the Jewish faith
worship their religion in temples that
are called
synagogues and the holiest site in all
of the Jewish faith is a place called
The Western Wall uh and that I mean it's
literally what the name says it's a wall
okay the Western Wall is just a wall but
it's not just a wall you see the history
behind the wall is what's important an
Israelite King by the name of Solomon
years ago built a huge Temple to God in
the capital Jerusalem uh eventually the
temple was destroyed first by the
Babylonians then it was rebuilt in the
first century ad before it was finally
destroyed for Good by the Romans uh in
the year 70 AD when the Romans destroyed
the temple they took apart the whole
thing uh except for part of the walls
and and one of those walls the one on
the western side of the temple was one
of the surviving walls and since it's
the last surviving wall of what had been
the holiest site the holiest temple in
all the Jewish faith that last wall
remains to be the holiest site today and
so the last remaining wall of the temple
the Western Wall is thus the holiest
site in all of Judaism on the right here
you can see this is supposedly what the
original Holy Temple would have looked
like uh in the first century ad when it
was constructed but before the Romans
destroyed it and here we see all that's
left and that is the Western Wall
literally like I said it's a wall but
it's all that remains of their holiest
Temple thus making it the holiest s in
all of
Judaism the Jewish holy book of
scriptures is something that's called
the Torah the Torah from Hebrew
literally translates into the writings
the Torah consists of what are for
Christians anyway the first five books
of the Bible as well as the writings of
the Jewish prophets there's a lot of
connection between Judaism and
Christianity
and for the Christians their Old
Testament is basically the Jewish Torah
so if you're not familiar with Judaism
but you are with Christianity the Old
Testament of the Christian Bible is
basically the Jewish Torah now in these
scriptures the writings of the prophets
and the Torah uh the Jewish scriptures
promised that God would one day send a
messiah who is going to bring peace
Justice and unity to the Earth uh
Messiah means a deliverer and for Jewish
people they believe that that Messiah
has not yet come they believe that this
Messiah is still on the way one day
Christians on the other hand and here's
this connection between Judaism and
Christianity Christians on the other
hand believe that this Messiah was Jesus
and that that person is already come
Jews on the other hand do not believe
this and they are still awaiting the
arrival of this Messiah supposedly
promised by the Torah and by the
prophets okay so there you have it with
Judaism we looked at the geography uh We
examined where Judaism originated as
well as where many of today followers of
Judaism live we saw the founder of
Judaism Abraham and then we looked at
the basic traditional history behind the
foundation of this religion we finished
off with just the basics some really
basic facts and beliefs uh regarding the
Jewish faith so hold on to all of these
essential questions and be ready to
discuss them the next time that we meet
and as always until that time I bid you
farewell
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