Introduction
The key religious beliefs of Judaism
First of all it should be pointed out that Judaism is considered to be not only a religious belief, but also a mode of life. Thus, one can conclude that Judaism is based not only on a variety of spiritual values, but it involves a wide range of moral principles, people are to live according to. When speaking about the key conceptions Judaism includes, one can probably notice that its beliefs and practices are similar to those ones, which Christianity and the Muslim religion involve. Judaism’s key aim is to bring the world to conciliation and happiness.
According to the monotheistic religion of the Jews, there is one God in the world Whose Law is to be observed by humanity. God provided human beings with a right of choice; therefore, they can choose between good and bad. Serving God in a proper way means imitating God’s moral conduct and principles. People are to live according to the Torah, which reflects the basic rules of Judaism. Thus, there is a strong need to “care for the poor, love neighbors, celebrate Sabbath and festivals; respect God’s rules of honesty in business and daily life; observe Jewish law on matters of birth, education, marriage and death” (Marans, n.d., p. 1).
The persecution of Jews throughout the centuries
When discussing the persecution of Jews, it must be noted that no one of a wide range of religious groups experienced so much punishment, tortures and massacres as the Jewish religion did. The earliest records of the Jewish people’s sufferings are related to the times of King Nebuchadnezzer. The followers of Abraham’s teaching were uprooted from the holy city of the Jews and sent into exile. When the era of expatriation ended, people experienced the piece for about three centuries; then the Jewish communities started to be victimized by Christianity.
In times of the Crusades, non-Christian believers were recognized to be the threat, as their spiritual values and principles differed from ones propagandized by the Christian religion. The supporters of Judaism were cast out of all over. Within Spain, the Jewish people were not regarded as the threat, as they pretended that they believed in Jesus Christ, but practiced Judaism indeed. However, when the Spanish Inquisition was formed, the Jewish people continued to be persecuted.
Generally, the Jews were persecuted in all the times, although it is necessary to keep in mind that the cultural and economic progress of the 19th century seems to be impossible without the contribution of the Jewish communities.
The Europeans’ injudicious horrors of Judaism cannot be neglected, as the horrors played an important role in the persecution of the Jewish people in times of the Second World War. Most of the Europeans were sure that Christian children were used in numerous secret rituals non-Christian believers performed to communicate with their God. Hitler, in turn, used such irrational fears to annihilate the Jews. It should be noted that the Germans attributed the blame to the Jewish people for their defeat in times of the First World War (Moss, n.d., para. 7).
Conclusion
In our days, Judaism is considered to be one of the strongest religions all over the world. Despite the fact that the Jewish communities suffered more than any other religious groups, the Jewish faith still exists and will do.
References
Marans, R. (n.d.). An Introduction to Judaism for Catholic Students. Sju.edu. Web.
Moss, A. (n.d.). The History of Jewish Persecution. Arizona.edu. Web.