Traditions of the Religion of Judaism

The early patriarchs of the Old Testament sparked three major monotheisms.

Judaism, the oldest Western religion, began around 2000 B.C. The Jewish people believe in one all-knowing God who created the world and they live by the Ten Commandments, the Mitzvoth and the Maimonides Principles of Faith. The main religious text for Jewish people is the Torah, which is the first five books of Moses. They also embrace all 39 books of the Old Testament. A total of three denominations of Judaism exist: Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. While these denominations have varied rules and traditions, there are several main traditions of Judaism.

Circumcision

Brit milah, or bris, is the ceremony during which Jewish baby boys are circumcised. While many baby boys in today's society are circumcised for health reasons, those who are not Jewish have their babies circumcised in the hospital within a day or two of their birth. Jews hold a ceremony on the eighth day of the baby's life for the circumcision. During the ceremony, a moyel says some prayers and performs the circumcision, and then the baby is named.

Shabbat

The Shabbat, the holy day in Judaism, begins Friday at sundown and ends Saturday at sundown. During the Shabbat, Jewish people attend a service at their temple. The service is performed by a rabbi, although members of the temple often participate in some portions. Orthodox Jews follow stricter rules for Shabbat. They do not use any electricity from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. They walk to synagogue on Saturday. Orthodox temples separate the men and women during the service with a screen or partition.

Holidays

Judaism has many yearly holidays or festivals. The main four are Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. Passover, a week-long holiday in the spring, celebrates the Jews' exodus from Egypt. The week begins with a Seder meal, during which the leader of the household recites prayers and reads from the Bible. Only unleavened products are consumed. Yom Kippur is a day of atonement and involves fasting and atoning for sins. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year, and Hanukkah -- referred to as the festival of lights -- is an eight-day celebration in December that commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that occurred in the second century B.C.

Dietary Restrictions

Some Jews -- especially the Orthodox -- follow a kosher diet with rules that were given in the Torah. This diet allows Jews to eat only certain mammals, birds and fish species that have been slaughtered using a particular method by a trained professional. If utensils touch non-Kosher food items they must be cleansed appropriately before they are used on Kosher food. Meat and dairy cannot be served in the same meal, and different utensils must be used for each.

Three Different Levels

The most notable distinction between conservative, reform, and orthodox Jews is their views on the scriptures. Reformed followers believe that the Torah is God-inspired and should be adhered to only as it relates to modern living, while Orthodox followers believe that the Torah is the exact word of God and should be followed to the letter as much as it can be in contemporary circumstances. Conservative Judaism grew out of a tension between orthodox and reformed Judaism, and believes that the Torah was written by God, but transmuted through man.

References

• Eve Tal: Some Background on the Jewish Tradition
• SimpleToRemember.com: Different Sects of Judaism
• ReligiousTolerance.org: Description of Judaism