Introduction to Judaism

God, Torah, and Israel

Although definitions of “Judaism” as a religious tradition vary, they often involve a combination of commitments to monotheistic belief, sacred texts, and the social and cultural histories and traditions of Jewish people. Download (PDF) Simply put...

God: Biblical Monotheism

In the ancient Near East, the Jewish theology of one singular, universal God represented a synthesis of existing beliefs and an influential innovation in the history of the world’s religions. Download (PDF) The vision of a universal, singular God is...

Torah: Covenant and Constitution

The Torah, the central Jewish scripture, provides Judaism with its history, theology, and a framework for ethics and practice. Torah technically refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy)...

Israel: Jewish Nationhood

Israel has existed for Jews as a physical historical homeland and as a term that refers to the shared identity, history, and culture of the Jewish “tribe,” “family,” or “people.” The Jewish “nation,” whether metaphorical or literal, has provided some...

Post-Biblical Religion

After the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, Jewish rabbis developed a system of Jewish ethics (including laws of justice, dietary laws, and a yearly cycle of holidays) and refashioned Jewish practice to center on the synagogue, or...

Rabbinic Text

The Jewish commentaries and interpretations of the Bible, ranging from legal codes to rabbinic dialogues, from philosophical inquiry to folklore, collectively form the Talmud. The earliest commentary is called the Mishnah, while the later commentary on...

Diaspora Community

Throughout their history, Jews have been forced to flee from their homelands into galut , or exile, creating distinct and prominent communities in Babylonia, Germany, and Iberia. Diaspora, or dispersion, created Jewish communities such as the Ashkenazi...

Kabbalah and Hasidism

Kabbalah, the mystical tradition within Judaism, includes the modern Hasidic movement, which emerged out of the charismatic Jewish communities of 18th century Eastern Europe. Kabbalistic practice concerns the potential involvement of God in the world...

Modern Jewish Culture

Judaism’s syncretic interaction with the European Enlightenment created the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment). From the Haskalah came the contemporary Jewish Reform, Conservative, and neo-Orthodox movements, as well as Zionism, a political form of Jewish...

Zionism and Israel

Zionism is a political movement that was initiated in the late 19th century with the aim of actualizing the Jewish sense of peoplehood in a physical nation, leading to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Zionism today informs many Jews’ continued...

Antisemitism and the Holocaust

Many trace the roots of antisemitic sentiment to particular passages in the Christian New Testament, but antisemitism became especially fervent in the European Enlightenment as Jews began gaining greater civil freedoms. The most horrific and destructive...