Judaism:  Christianity’s roots.

Is Jerry Lewis Jewish by nationality or religion, or both?  How about Bradley Cooper?  Jerry Seinfeld?  Madonna?  Winona Ryder?  What makes a person Jewish anyway? Let’s explore.

Judaism has been described as a religion, a race, a culture and since 1967, a nation.  While each description has some application, all are true.  However many people who call themselves Jews do not believe in the religion part of it at all—which to this shiksa, seems impossible.  In fact, more than half of all Jews in Israel today call themselves “secular,” and do not believe in G-d or any of the religious beliefs of Judaism.  Half of all Jews in the United States do not belong to a synagogue.  Even though they may practice some of the rituals of the faith and celebrate some of the holidays, they do not think of these actions as religious activities.  Yet the most traditional and the most secular people are still considered Jews, regardless of their disbelief. 

But what about the faith?  Once again, we must take a look at the history of Judaism as a framework for comprehension.  Not surprisingly, we find the history of the Jewish people in the Old Testament.  Judaism traces her roots back to Genesis 14.13 and the patriarch Abraham.  The sacrificial system instituted by God as recompense for man’s sin - without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.¹  The wandering and wonderings of the Jewish people spreads over a thousand years in the 39 books of ‘the old Bible’ as my mama called it. 

In A.D. 70, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, along with the Temple, so the Jewish people have had no place to offer sacrifices for their sins, which was required by the law of Moses in Deuteronomy 12.  After the destruction of the temple, the Jewish people scattered to the far ends of the earth, where they established communities, and built synagogues to keep their faith alive.

In 1948, the state of Israel was born and it became a homeland to the Jewish people once again.  They began emigrating from all over the world to set up their Jewish state.  Then in 1967, the Israelis captured all of Jerusalem—the first time they held it since 586 B.C.  ‘The people, the Land’ belong together in the Jewish mind.

The only sacred Scripture recognized by the Jewish people is the Old Testament, with the first five books—the Torah—being the most important.  Torah means ‘teaching and direction’—the Law--also called the Pentateuch.  In addition, other teachings of revered rabbis have been added through the centuries, and make up the Mishnah, 1000 pages in length, and written in about 200 A.D.  The Mishnah consists mostly of instructions for daily living, known as Halakah, which means ‘the way to walk’.  And finally the Talmud was written in about A.D. 500, is based on the Mishnah—and includes 36 volumes of Jewish learning. 

When trying to figure out the doctrine or sacred beliefs of Judaism, there is no easy plan of attack, as the descriptions of the various forms of the faith vary according to geographical regions, ethnicities, and whether folks are traditional or non-traditional.  Simplistically, there are four forms—Orthodox—including Hasidism and Zionism, Reform, Conservative, and Messianic Judaism. 

Orthodox Jews are the oldest of the Judaic branches, and also the strictest.  They endeavor to follow the Law of Torah, believing it is Divine—having been transmitted by God to Moses.  Orthodox Jews also endeavor to abide by the 613 commandments (or mitzvoth) of the Halakah, (from the Mishnah).  They pray three times a day, and keep kosher.  Kosher adherence prohibits the eating of pork and shellfish; dairy and meat items cannot be eaten together (no cheeseburgers).

“Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy” Exodus 20.8     Therefore, in orthodox observance of the Law of Moses: there is refrain from work on the Sabbath, travel, using the phone, writing, touching money or even posing for pictures.  The Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday, and soon after, the mother (or woman of the house) lights the traditional Shabbos candles and gives the age-old blessing, “Blessed are Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us by Thy laws and commanded us to kindle the Sabbath light.”  At the dinner table, the father then blesses the wine, and after everyone has a sip, he slices the loaf of Challah bread. 

The family goes to the synagogue every Saturday morning.  Interestingly, Orthodox Jews refrain from sexual relations for two weeks each month; they endeavor to avoid inter-religious marriage, and spend a lot of time studying the scripture.  Every facet of the Orthodox Jew’s life is ruled by the Torah, Mishnah and Talmud. 

Under the branch of Orthodoxy, there are various subgroups, which maintain significant social differences, and different interpretations of Jewish law.

>Religious Zionism – places a priority on the modern state of Israel to Judaism.

>Hasidic Judaism – has great emphasis on all Jewish traditions, including the mystical

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York is the mecca for Hasidic Jews in the U.S.  Check out this Youtube clip of Tishrei 5775: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXtjlILM_vY

But in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, timed with the Enlightenment and migration to the US in a couple different waves of folks from Europe, came the cry for modernization.

Conservative Judaism – *largest of the three main branches of Judaism in the U.S. - founded in the 19^th century, and quickly gained popularity in Germany and the U.S. While the Conservative Jews have a more relaxed view and interpretation of the Torah, they still believe the Law is important.  They also want to keep alive the Hebrew language and the traditions of Judaism.

TRADITION is very important to the Jewish people, and it is a way they preserve what has come before—something God instructed his people, the Israelites to do throughout the Old Testament.

Reformed Judaism – *second largest branch in the U.S.

In Reformed Judaism, a good deal of distance has been placed between themselves and Orthodoxy.  The principles of Judaism are emphasized rather than the practices.  Most Reformed Jews do not find it important to keep ‘kosher’, and do not feel bound to other such laws. 

Reformed Jews are more current with modern culture in terms of customs, dress, and other common practices.  They believe in complete gender equality in religious study, ritual, and observance.  (hence, women rabbis)

While these three branches of Judaism are seen in America, and the diaspora; in reality, only orthodoxy is officially recognized by the Israeli government. 

Messianic Jews – Messianic Jews believe that Jesus, who they call Yeshua, is both the resurrected Jewish Messiah and their divine Savior.  However, while Messianic Jews practice their faith in a way that they consider to be authentically Torah-observant and culturally Jewish, Jews and Jewish denominations do not consider Messianic Judaism to be a form of Judaism.

In Common  

**tikkam olam – a sense of Jewish responsibility to heal or repair the world

**klal Yisrael – a sense of being part of, and responsible for, the universal Jewish community

**sacred texts – a shared recognition of the Torah, and the Talmud …

That’s a very brief summary of Judaism, and gives you some idea of the history and what we see of Jewish faith and culture today.