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From the pie chart (in the PowerPoint Presentation), you will discern that Judaism is the smallest of the world’s major contemporary religions. It may also surprise you that the majority of Jews in
the world today live in the United States of America. Here are some statistics:
Worldwide = 14,551,000*
United States= 5,621,000*
Africa= 220,000*
Asia = 50,000*
Europe= 2,427,000*
Latin America = 1,152,000*
Israel = 5,200,000*
*Note that these are approximate figures.
The word Judaism can have two meanings. On one hand, it can refer to the civilization and the culture of the Jews. On the other hand, it can refer to the Jewish religion. We will focus our
attention on the Jewish religion. In the book of Genesis, we find the story of Abraham, who was born in Ur of the Chaldeans. Abraham’s own religious experience brought him to the point where he put
all his trust in one protective Godhead, El. El-Shaddai, as Abraham called him, overshadowed the household gods of stone and wood. It is clear from the biblical account that Abraham brought
personal dedication to his belief in the one monotheistic God, and decided to obey and to follow this God. We know this is true through one striking example where Abraham was expected to offer up
his son, Isaac, who was born when both Abraham and his wife Sarah were advanced in years. As the story goes, God makes a covenant with Abraham and promises him numerous descendants and permanent
occupation of the land of Canaan. (Read Genesis 12:1ff.)

Recall that Abraham had two sons, the first being Ishmael through Sarah’s servant Hagar, and the second being Isaac through Sarah, who both become leaders of great nations. Ishmael becomes the
father of the Arab nation, and Isaac becomes the father of the Jewish nation.

The next important icon in the development of Jewish history is Moses. Moses is important for the Jewish faith because the laws that are part of the Torah were brought to the Hebrews by him–God’s
chosen leader. Recall the story recorded in Exodus 3:1ff, where God reveals Himself to Moses at a time when he kept his father-in-law Rauel’s flocks. (Read Exodus 3:1-14). God chose Moses to
deliver the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and gave him divine assistance at crucial points. A series of ten plagues convinced Pharaoh that he should release the Hebrews. The last plague, when the
angel of death killed all Egyptian first-born sons but passed over the homes of Hebrews without harming them is still remembered by every Jew today. This event is recalled annually in the Jewish
holiday Passover.

The summit of experience for the Hebrews under Moses was receiving the Commandments on the top of Mount Sinai. The covenant that God made with the Hebrews through Moses was that if they would serve
God exclusively, He would give them a promised land and make them a great nation. If they accepted the promise, they had obligations to fulfill that were moral, ceremonial, and cultural. (Read the
Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-14.) The Ten Commandments and their interpretations are part of a larger discussion of moral, ceremonial, and cultural laws contained in four books of the Torah:
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Together with Genesis — the book that describes the beginning of creation, humans, and the ancestors of the Jewish people — these books constitute the
sacred books that Jews still read in their service of worship and study in their homes and schools.

A passage in the Torah known as the Shema, the commandment in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, that begins with “hear” directs adherence of Judaism. (Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9.)

The historical development continues with Joshua, after the death of Moses. Then it moves into the era of the kings: Saul, David, Solomon. Then it develops through to the prophets. Hebrew prophets
were critical to the moral, social, and spiritual life of the Hebrews. The words they spoke were not their own; they were prefaced “thus said the Lord.” (Prophets are those men who feel called to
speak for God). In Judaism, their message was that the only way to avert national and personal disaster was through exclusive devotion to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses that was
required in the Torah.

At this point refer to the PowerPoint presentation and also to Molloy’s text for an understanding of Jewish writings, Jewish divisions and cultural festivals and holidays.

However, what is important to grasp at this stage is that Judaism is ONE of Three Monotheistic faiths in the world today. The other two are Christianity and Islam. The critical question that this
statement rises, in this lesson and further in the course, is simply this: What does Monotheism mean for each of these traditions? How do they articulate their belief regarding monotheism in light
of the person, life, words and works of Jesus Christ? I think these are crucial questions which demand thoughtful responses. As stated above, the foundation upon which Judaism has built their
understanding of monotheism is the Shema (Deut 6:4) “Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim is one Yahweh,” or “. . . Yahweh is one.” Islamic scripture stresses the oneness of God in explicit terms
especially in contrast to the polytheists of Arabia. The Holy Qur’an, the sacred text of Islam, pronounces condemnation upon anyone who identifies “other
gods” with Allah: “Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him.” (4:48).

Yet, it would appear that the Bible (including the Hebrew Bible) acknowledges the existence of other gods in the Psalms and the encounter Moses has with God in Mount Sinai in the command, “have no
other gods before me.” Consider these important issues and others your textbook exposes.

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Read Chapter 8 in Experiencing the World’s Religions: Traditions, Challenge, and Change textbook. Be prepared to comment and discuss in Threaded Discussion 2.2 “Judaism.”
2. View PowerPoint Presentation Judaism. Be prepared to comment and discuss in “Judaism” Threaded Discussion.
3. Read Biblical texts as reflected in the Prescribed Reading: The Biblical Citations are contained in the prescribed readings: Experiencing World Religions, Chapter 8. You are required to be
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INSTRUCTIONS
1. For your initial post, discuss the following in a paragraph of 200-300 words:
a. Briefly describe three theophanies recounted in Genesis and Exodus.
b. Does God still reveal Himself through theophanies in this day and age? Why or why not? Offer
some rationale for your response.
c. Define “prophet” in the Hebrew tradition. Recount briefly the story of one of the prophets.
d. Do we still have prophets in this day and age? What criteria would one use to determine that the
voice of that individual is authentic?