Interfaith Council of
Greater Sacramento

Judaism is the oldest of the three greatest monotheistic religions, and is the parent religion for Christianity and Islam. The Jewish people all believe that they are God's chosen people and the descendants of Abraham. The Jewish community also believes that there is only on true God, who is the creator and ruler of the world. According to a biblical passage, God appeared before Abraham and said, "Go from your country....to the land of that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you.. and by you shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Centuries later, God is recorded as saying, "You shall be my own possession among all nations. You shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." This meaning that the Jewish people are called to a special relationship with God, and a great role in the relationship with mankind.

Beliefs

• God is the creator of all that exists; he is one, incorporeal, and he alone is to be worshiped as absolute ruler of the universe.
  
• The whole of the Torah was revealed to Moses by God. It will not be changed or augmented in the future.
  
• God also communicates to the Jewish people through prophets.
  
• God monitors the activities of humans; he rewards individuals for good deeds and punishes evil.
  
• Jewish belief does not follow the Christian concept of original sin (the belief that all people have inherited Adam and Eve's sin when they disobeyed God's instructions in the Garden of Eden). Judaism affirms the inherent goodness of their lives and draw closer to God by fulfilling mitzvah (divine commandments). No savior is needed as an intermediary.
  
• The Jews are God's chosen people
  
• The 613 commandments found in Leviticus and other books regulate all aspects of Jewish life.
  
• The Ten commandments, as delineated in Exodus 20: 1-17 and Deuteronomy 5: 6-21, form a brief synopsis of the Law.
  
• The Messiah (anointed one of God) will arrive in the future and gather Jews once more into the land of Israel. There will be a general resurrection of the dead at that time. The Jerusalem Temple, destroyed in 70 CE, will be rebuilt.
  
• Boys reach the state of Bar Mitzvah on their 13th birthday; girls reach Bat Mitzvah on their 12th birthday. This means that they're recognized as adults and are personally responsible to follow the Jewish commandments and laws; they are allowed to lead a religious services the are counted in a "minyan" (a quota necessary to perform certain parts of religious services); they can sign contracts: they can testify in religious courts; theoretically, they can marry, although the Talmud recommends 18-24 as the proper age for marriage.
  
  

Practices and Holidays

• Jewish Practices and Holidays
• Observation of the Sabbath (day of rest), starting at sundown on Friday evening.
  
• Strict discipline, according to the Law, governs all areas of life
  
• Regular attendance by Jewish males at Synagogue
  
• Celebration of the annual festivals:
  
• New Years Day (Rosh Hashanah), it occurs in September or October. This festival celebrates God's creation of the world and of his judgement of the world.
  
• The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), it is considered the holiest day in the Jewish religion. It comes as the conclusion to the period of penitence that began on New Years Day. This day is characterized by prayer, fasting and public confession of sin.
  
• Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), a week long harvester festival, giving thanks for God's goodness, and his care for the Jews on their forty-year journey from Egypt to the land of Israel.
  
• Rejoicing of the Torah (Simchat Torah), at the End of the Sukkot. A joyful celebration, giving thanks for the Torah- The first five books of the Hebrew Bible.
  
• The Festival of Lights (Hannukah), an eight day festival which commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem, and the victory of Judas Maccabeus over the Syrians. During this time many Jewish families light a nine branched candlestick (Menorah). The ninth called the "Servant", is used to light the others. One candle is lit on each day until all are alight. Most Jewish families also give out presents each day to one another.
  
• Purim, a joyful celebration which commemorates the events of the book of Esther when the Jews in Persia were saved from massacre.
  
• Passover (Pesach), a family festival which celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. The week-long Passover festival ends with a spring harvest festival.
  
• Pentecost (Shavuot), a period of seven weeks of mourning, associated with the failure of the Jewish revolt against Rome in the 2nd century CE. This festival also celebrates the giving of the Torah to Moses.
  
  

Divisions

• Conservative Judaism: This began in the mid-nineteenth century as a reaction against the Reform movement. It is a main-line movement midway between Reform and Orthodox.
• Humanistic Judaism: This is a very small group, mainly composed of atheists and agnostics, who regard mankind as the measure of all things.
  
• Orthodox Judaism: This is the oldest and most conservative of the Jewish religion. They view their religion as close to its original forms as possible. This group looks upon every word of their sacred texts as being divinely inspired.
  
• Reconstructive Judaism: This is a new, small, liberal movement started by Mordecai Kaplan as an attempt to unify and revitalize the religion. They reject the concept that Jews are a uniquely favored and chosen people.
  
• Reform Judaism: A liberal group, the largest of all the divisions (about 70%), Started in Germany in the 1790's in Germany. They follow the ethical laws of Judaism, but leave it up to the individual the decision whether to follow or ignore the dietary and other traditional laws.