History of Judaism

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Judaism is one of the most ancient religions in the world. Abraham, his descendants, and Moses are believed to have been the founders. According to Jewish beliefs until Abraham man worshiped many Gods. The story begins with Abraham and his wife Sarah trying to conceive a child. When Abraham was 99 and Sarah 90 God came to Abraham and told him they would have a son. After the child was born God again came to Abraham and tested his beliefs by asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Isaac willingly went with Abraham to be sacrificed. Before Abraham could sacrifice Isaac God sent an angel down to stop him. As a reward for his faith God made a covenant with Abraham that he and his descendants would be protected as long as they continued to show faith in him and live a life that was wholesome. Also from this it is said God blessed Abraham with many children. His son Isaac had two sons Jacob and Esau, Jacob who changes his name to Israel had twelve sons. Israel’s had twelve sons they are the “12 tribes of Israel” and their descendants are later known as the Israelites also called Hebrews. Moses who was a direct descendant from the twelve tribes of Israel is also considered to be a founder of Judaism. His story starts with his mother an Israelite/Hebrew was fearful that the King Pharaoh would have him killed so she put him in a basket and sent him downstream. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and she had a servant who was actually his mother nurse him until he was older then she took him and raised him as her own. One day when Moses was a young man he was out and saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. Fearing that Pharaoh knew what happened he fled and lived in Mid’ian where he married and had... ... middle of paper ... ...care for is the position of woman. Although they have made some adjustments for instance divorce there are still some things that could be changed. The biggest impact I believe is they were one of the original monotheistic religions. They also have an unwavering faith in God that I admire throughout all of their trials and tribulations their faith has remained strong. There are not too many people who would not only keep their faith but live honorably after all the things that have happened to them throughout history. Works Cited Epstein, Rabbi I., Judaism, Pomona Press, 2008 Littman, Robert and Pasachoff, Naomi E, Concise History of the Jewish People, Rowman & Littlefield, 2005 Steinberg, Milton, Basic Judaism, Publisher: H B J, 1975 Kaplan, Marian A., Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany, Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

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