Judaism is the religious beliefs and the way of life of the Jews, that started as the faith of the early Hebrews. Their holy book is the Hebrew Bible especially the Torah. The Basic concept of Judaism is that the Israelites are chosen to bring light to the rest of the world. They worshipped Yahweh, which means God in Jerusalem beginning in the time of David. Rabbinic Judaism came into being with their various believes and way of life that were related to the Temple of Jerusalem. Their verbal laws and interpretations were written in Talmud and Mishna. They maintained their cultural beliefs even after the maltreatments they underwent from other nations.
Judaism during the age of definition started with the laws of the Pharisees who stressed the importance of strong definition of Torah. The study of Talmud was vital in order to understand the legal and theological issues that came up. The verbal law and the Talmud managed how the scripture were interpreted thus enhancing the practice of Judaism when Temple sacrifices were not there. It is believed that Moses at Mount Sinai accepted the Torah from God and some additions of the oral or verbal law that Moses conveyed to the people. They incorporated these teaching of Moses in their religious and cultural practices.
The Rabbi was considered as the teacher of the oral law during the time of Talmud. Their work was to interpret Judaism’s both the written and the oral law. They also acted as civil judges and directed people on matters of morality. The scribes recorded the interpretation of the law as they transpired throughout. The Pharisees were a cult that dedicated to follow the precise verbal or written law. The Rabbi was a respected member of the society and was addressed with humility and respect. The society offered animal sacrifices to Yahweh in prayer and to ask for his blessing. They received Yahweh’s answer for their prayers and thanked him through other sacrifices. Yahweh talked to people from his heavenly throne and watched over them while they followed his commandments.
Judaism was a religion where they believed in one God but worldly gods replaced this with time. It was after God gave Moses the oral law that the various divisions in Judaism occurred. These included the Samaritans, the Sadducees and with time came the Karaites. These groups depended on the written law that they followed with their own interpretations. With the later years, the issues of a messiah cropped up. They believed that the messiah would come to save the world from destruction of sin that some believed and others did not. In the Torah, the teachers of the law studied that the messiah would come and he will self proclaim himself to the world. (Boyarin)
Judaism has been in existence for a long time and it is among the first religions of the world. It is believed that Christianity and Islam among others were born from Judaism, which applies, to all human beings. Judaism differentiates between the Jews and the non-Jewish with the scripture. The Jews are believed to be those that are guided by the biblical commandments ultimately those by the rabbis to number 613. The Non Jews are those that who are guided by the seven commandments “Noachide Laws” designed after the floods. Judaism emphasizes on the importance of observing the state of Holiness.
Works Cited
Boyarin, Daniel. A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.Print.