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The most profound revolution in Hebrew thought, though, occurred in the migration from Egypt, and its great innovator was Moses. In the epic events surrounding the flight from Egypt and the settling of the promised land, Hebrew religion became permanently and irrevocably, the Mosaic religion.
Jun 3, 2024 · The term synagogue is of Greek origin (synagein, “to bring together”) and means “a place of assembly.” The Yiddish word shul (from German Schule , “school”) is also used to refer to the synagogue, and in modern times the word temple is common among some Reform and Conservative congregations.
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Judaism stems from a collection of stories that explain the origins of the “children of Israel” and the laws that their deity commanded of them. The stories explain how the Israelites came to settle, construct a Temple for their one God, and eventually establish a monarchy—as divinely instructed—in the ancient Land of Israel. Over centuries, the Is...
Jewish law, called Halakhah, having been interpreted and re-interpreted over millennia, has changed over time. Even so, religious Judaism operates cyclically, and the linear way that modern historians view history does not correspond to this worldview. As historian Yosef Yerushalmi explained, the Rabbis “seem to play with time as though with an acc...
Despite the authority of the rabbinic voice in the Talmud, Judaism is non-hierarchical. There is not—nor has there ever been—a single authority; the religion is embodied by a collection of learned voices, which often disagree. We tend to conceive of Judaism as an ancient religion—based out of the Levant where God gave the Israelites the Torah. But ...
Anatomy of a Talmudic page (BBC) David Biale, ed. Cultures of the Jews: A New History (New York: Schocken, 2006). Nicholas De Lange, An Introduction to Judaism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000). John Efron, et al. The Jews: A History (Upper Saddle River NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008). Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath (New York: Farrar, Str...
4 days ago · With the transformation of Judaism into an ecclesiastical institution, largely on the model of German Protestant churches, its ideas and structures took on the cast of its environment in a way quite unlike what had ensued in its earlier confrontations with various philosophical systems.
Judaism is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion. According to the Bible, Abraham and Sarah were the first to recognize God, and they are considered the ancestors of all Jews today. Some people think that Judaism is a culture, like being Irish or Indian. Others view it as a religion.
4 days ago · Judaism - Israel, Jerusalem, Holy Places: The land of Israel, as is evident from the biblical narratives, played a significant role in the life and thought of the Israelites. It was the promised home, for the sake of which Abraham left his birthplace; the haven toward which those escaping from Egyptian servitude moved; and the hope of the ...
Judaism, as a religion, and certainly Conservative Judaism, sees creation as a purposeful process directed by God. However, each individual defines the Divine. This is clearly in consonance with the theory of Intelligent Design.
