What Is Judaism? Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. While far from monolithic in practice and having no centralized authority or binding dogma, Judaism has remained strongly united around several religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, transcendent God that created the universe. According to Jewish thought, God established...
Jewish Literature Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature and rabbinic literature. Medieval Jewish literature includes not only rabbinic literature but also ethical literature, philosophical literature, mystical literature, various...
Jewish Secularism Jewish secularism refers to secularism in a Jewish context, denoting the definition of Jewish identity with little or no attention given to its religious aspects. The concept of Jewish secularism first arose in the late 19th century, with its influence peaking during the interwar period. History The Jews and secularisation The Marranos in Spain, who retained...
The Virgin Birth: Birth of Jesus Without A Biological Father There is consensus among the great majority of Christians and Muslims that Jesus came to earth by means of a virgin birth. And the virgin birth of Jesus was a miracle. Human development begins at fertilization when a male gamete...
Passover Prayers And Blessings We have collected some of the best Passover Prayers And Blessings for protection and support to use in our request to God. May these prayers for safety bring you comfort and peace of mind. May these prayers for strength encourage your spirit and strengthen your faith....
Amen Amen is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic worship, as a concluding word, or as a response to a prayer. Amen is a declaration of affirmation first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently in the New Testament. Common English translations of the word amen include “verily”, “truly”, and “so...
Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon (בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals (בֶּענְטְשֶׁן; bentschen or “to bless”, Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish Halakha (“collective body of Jewish religious laws”) prescribes following a meal that includes at least a kezayit...
Outline Of Judaism The following outline (Outline of Judaism) is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Judaism. Judaism (יהודה, Yehudah, “Judah”) is the religion of the Jewish people. It is an ancient, monotheistic, Abrahamic religion with the Torah as its foundational text. It encompasses the religion, philosophy, and...
Jewish State The Jewish state is a characterization of the nation state of Israel as a sovereign homeland of Jewish people. Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as the homeland for the Jewish people. It was also defined in its declaration of independence as a “Jewish state,” a term that appeared in...
Apostasy In Judaism In Judaism, apostasy refers to the rejection of Judaism and possible defection to another religion by a Jew. The term apostasy is derived from Ancient Greek: ἀποστάτης, meaning “rebellious” (מורד) Equivalent expressions for apostate in Hebrew that are used by rabbinical scholars include mumar (מומר, literally “the one that was changed”), poshea Yisrael (פושע ישראל, literally,...
Persecution Of Jews Persecution of Jews has been a major part of Jewish history, prompting shifting waves of refugees throughout the diaspora communities. Historically, what began as a conflict over religious beliefs evolved into a systematic policy of political, economic, and social isolation; exclusion, degradation and attempted annihilation. It did not begin in the Nazi...
Trinity: Jewish Objections This article covers Trinity: Jewish Objections. Trinity: The fundamental dogma of Christianity; the concept of the union in one God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three infinite persons. It was the Nicene Council and even more especially the Athanasian Creed that first gave the dogma...
Jews Jews (יְהוּדִים ISO 259-2 Yehudim) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and a nation originating from the Israelites and Hebrews of historical Israel and Judah. Jewish ethnicity, nationhood, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the ethnic religion of the Jewish people, while its observance varies from strict observance to complete nonobservance. Jews originated as an ethnic...
Haymanot Haymanot (Ge’ez: ሃይማኖት) is the branch of Judaism which is practiced by the Beta Israel, also known as Ethiopian Jews. In both Geʽez and Amharic, Haymanot means ‘religion‘ or ‘faith.’ Thus in modern Amharic, it is common to speak of the Christian haymanot, the Jewish haymanot or the Muslim haymanot. The term is only associated with a particular religion (Judaism) in Israel. Religious leaders Nabiyy...
Sabbateans The Sabbateans (or Sabbatians) were a variety of Jewish followers, disciples, and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), a Sephardic Jewish rabbi and Kabbalist who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1666 by Nathan of Gaza. Vast numbers of Jews in the Jewish diaspora accepted his claims, even after he outwardly became an apostate due to his forced conversion to Islam in the same year. Sabbatai Zevi’s followers,...
Noahidism Noahidism or Noachidism is a monotheistic, Jewish religious movement based upon the Seven Laws of Noah and their traditional interpretations within Orthodox Judaism. According to Jewish law, non-Jews (Gentiles) are not obligated to convert to Judaism, but they are required to observe the Seven Laws of Noah to be assured of a place in the World to...
Jewish History Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenistic period (323 BCE – 31 BCE) and the earliest mention...
Jewish Atheism Jewish atheism refers to the atheism of people who are ethnically and (at least to some extent) culturally Jewish. Because Jewish identity is ethnoreligious (i.e., it encompasses ethnic as well as religious components), the term “Jewish atheism” does not inherently entail a contradiction. Based on Jewish law’s emphasis...
Jewish Reactions To Intelligent Design This article covers Jewish reactions to Intelligent Design. The reaction of Jewish leaders and organizations to intelligent design has been primarily concerned with responding to proposals to include intelligent design in public school curricula as a rival scientific hypothesis to modern evolutionary theory. Intelligent design is an...
Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad, and Chabad-Lubavitch (חב”ד), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic movement. Chabad is one of the world’s best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups and Jewish religious organizations in the world. Founded in 1775 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the name “Chabad” (חב״ד) is...