Transcript Three Religions of the Middle East

The Religion of Judaism
Judaism
• The Mogen David, or
Star of David, is the
central symbol of
Judaism. The star is
the sign of the house
of David, the family
that produced the
kings of Biblical
Israel.
Basics
• The followers of this religion are called
Jews.
Religious Figures
• Abraham: Founder of Judaism
• Moses: Most important prophet. Jews
believe that God gave Moses the Torah
Holy Book
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Their holy book is called the TeNaKh.
Contains the Old Testament
It is in written Hebrew.
This book has three parts
– Torah: The most important part of the book. It
contains stories of ancient Hebrews and
Hebrew law.
• Nevi’im: History of Hebrew prophets
• Ketuvim: writings including psalms, or prayers
written in song or poem form.
Beliefs
Key Beliefs
– The Sabbath Day is holy. Rest and pray
Friday evening to Saturday evening.
– Hebrew is the sacred language
- There are 613 commandments or laws
- Live a good moral life
Worship Services
– Services are held in a synagogue on Friday, PM
and Saturday AM
– A Rabbi leads the service
Holy Cities
• Jerusalem is sacred to Judaism because it
was the location of the Temple of Solomon.
Now all that remains is the West Wall, or
the Wailing Wall.
Practices and Rituals
• Fast during the holiday of Yom Kippur to
atone for bad acts.
• Give to the needy
• Jews should eat Kosher foods.
• They cannot eat “tref.” This includes pork,
shellfish. And meat prepared with dairy
products.
• Rosh Shoshanna
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After Death
• Afterlife
• Salvation and or damnation
Jews in the World today
• There are approximately 19 million people
who practice Judaism in the world today.
Spread and Origin
• This is the oldest religions.
• Judaism originated in the Middle East and
has spread throughout all parts of the world
because of both voluntary migrations and
forced exile.
Sects
• Orthodox: VERY Strict
• Conservative: Strict
• Reform: Not as strict