Introduction to Judaism

Origins

·         Judaism is one of the three prophetic Monotheistic Religions in the world; the other two are Christianity and Islam.

·         It is Prophetic as there as there were numerous Prophets who predicted the coming of a Messiah, Monotheistic as they believe in one God – mono (one) Theology (belief/study of God).

History

·         Jews are an ancient people of around 3000 years old; their history is told in the bible and is traced back to Abraham of around 1900 BC (before common time era).

·         The Jews have been known as Jews, Israelites and Hebrews. (Jesus was a Jew, however the Jews accept Jesus as a wise man, but not the chosen Messiah as Christians believe, hence Judaism predates and heavily influences Christianity, but is not part of Christianity).

Abraham

·         Abraham is one of the first recorded leaders of the Hebrews in the Bible. He was a wealthy man who was called by God to leave his land and move from Ur to Canaan, or Israel as it is called today.

·         Abraham heard the call of the Lord to stop believing in pagan Gods (like God of wind, God of Mountain etc) and he followed God’s request and led his people from Mesopotamia to Canaan. This journey is recorded in the book of Genesis.

·         Who is Abraham? He the founder of the Jewish faith.

·         What did Abraham believe? How was it different to the people at the time? He believed that we should worship one God and not many Gods. It is different because at the time because many people believed in many gods but he was different.

·         What do you think a Covenant is, what Covenant did God Make with Abraham? A binding agreement between two people. God entered into a covenant with Abraham. He promised to take the Jews from slavery and deliver them to the promised land of Israel. He expected his people to obey and understand his commandments.

·         What sacrifice was Abraham requested to make? Why did God ask this of Abraham? Abraham was asked to sacrifice his only son Issac. He was asked to sacrifice his son as a test to God to prove that he has faith and loves God. He did not need to sacrifice his son and their hearts were filled with love and faith.

·         Search the site for the word Patriarchs? What does this mean? A Patriarch is the male head of a family or tribal line.