Judaism
Judaism is the ethnic religion of the Jewish people. It is an ancient, monotheistic, Abrahamic
religion that encompasses the religion, philosophy, and culture of the Jewish people. It began
over 3,000 years ago and is well known through the book of both the Torah and the Old
Testament called Exodus, which describes the emancipation of the Hebrews from Egyptian
captivity in the thirteenth century B.C.E. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the
expression of the covenant that G-d established with the Children of Israel. It encompasses a
wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. The Torah is part
of the larger text known as the Tanakh, or the Hebrew Bible, and is supplemented by oral
tradition represented in later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. The Torah consists of
the five books of Moses, which are also contained in the Christian Bible. With between 14.5 and
17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth largest religion in the world. It is part of
the Jewish faith that one never speaks or writes out the word or name of G-d, out of reverence.
G-d is referred to as “Adonai” in religious texts and prayers.
Figure 8. A Hasidic Jewish family in New York City.
The most important teaching of Judaism is that there is one G-d, who wants people to do what
is just and compassionate. Judaism teaches that a person serves G-d by learning the holy
books and doing what they teach. These teachings include both ritual actions and ethical
interpretative frameworks. Jews place an emphasis on moral behavior and action in this world
as opposed to personal salvation in the next world. Like Hindus and Buddhists, the Jewish
sages believed in non-violence and taught: “Anyone who takes a single life, it is as though he
has destroyed the entire world. And anyone who saves a single life, it is as though he has saved
the entire world” [8]. Jews also believe in improving the world around them, as another core
value is that of Tikkun olam, which translates to mean “repair” and “of all time [later translated to
mean the world]”—meaning they feel an obligation to fix up the world.[9] Another related value is
that of tzedakah, which translates to mean “righteousness or justice or fairness,” but which is
often mistaken for charity. The Talmud categorizes tzedakah into eight levels with the lowest
level of giving as “begrudging” and the highest as “enabling the recipient to become self-reliant”
[10]
It is a mitzvah, or commandment, and is one of 613 laws.
Today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism (Haredi Judaism and
Modern Orthodox Judaism), Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism. Major sources of
difference between these groups include their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the
Rabbinic tradition, and the significance of the State of Israel. There is a wide spectrum of
devotion, practice, and even appearance within Judaism, but the most visible are Orthodox
Jews because they are recognized by their outward appearance. For example, one
ultra-orthodox group that emphasizes conservatism and tradition are Hasidic Jews, who have a
large population in parts of Brooklyn, New York. They are recognizable by their dress
code—women cover most of their bodies (shirts with sleeves below the elbows, legs covered
with pantyhose, hair covered with a wig or a headscarf, and often a hat, etc.) and men wear
black coats, black hats, payos or long curly sideburns, and full uncut beards (sometimes brown
fur hats depending on the sect and time of year and/or holiday), and sometimes white stockings
(depending on the type of Orthodox Jewish sect). At the other end of the spectrum is Reformed
Judaism, which permits women to be rabbis and does not require strict observance to the laws
found in the Torah.
Although Jews make up a very small percentage of the global population (0.2 percent), most
people around the world are familiar with Jewish culture and practices, and some historical
facts. Children all over the world are taught about the genocide that occurred during World War
II when six million European Jews were killed in the Holocaust. In New York City, public schools
observe many of the major Jewish holidays including Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, and
Passover. Foods associated with traditional Jewish culture like bagels and lox, knish, latkes,
and babka are enjoyed widely.