Introduction

Judaism is the religion of Jews who were the descendants of the ancient Hebrews who called themselves "the chosen people". It is thus a revealed or God-made religion. It is also based on a revelation made to Prophet Moses on the Mount Sinai. Since Judaism is associated with the name of Moses, Patriarch Abraham is considered as its real founder and father of Jewish faith who lived about 1900 B.C.E

The homeland of Jews is Palestine in the Middle East, which was under the domination of others for more than 20 Centuries. In 70 CE, the Jerusalem temple was destroyed and the Jews were scattered throughout the world. It is said that there are about 5000 Jews in India. Out of these, 4000 reside in Thane and Mumbai and especially in Alibaug area.

Origin and Development of Judaism

Origin of Judaism may be attributed to a divine covenant between the God of the ancient Israelites and Abraham over 3500 years ago. The story of the origin and early development of the religion is given in the Old Testament itself. It is said that God chose Abraham and revealed Himself to him many times. In due course, he communicated his visions and the message of God to the people. This is how Judaism came into existence and is known to be a Revealed Religion.

History of Judaism

Abraham lived a nomadic life moving from one place to another. A terrible famine made his descendent Jacob and his people move to Egypt. Egyptians made them slaves and they had to struggle with the Egyptians. Moses was born later in the 13th Century B.C. Moses, led his people out of captivity in Egypt and received the Law from God. After Moses, there was a chain of Prophets who shaped and reshaped this religion amidst various ups and downs that it experienced from time to time. Joshua led them into the Promised Land where Samuel established the Israelite kingdom with Saul as its first king. King David established Jerusalem and King Solomon built the first temple there. Jerusalem is the Holy City for Judaism, Christianity as well as Islam.

Basic Features of Judaism

Jews believe in one creator who alone is to be worshipped as absolute ruler of the universe. He monitors people"s activities and rewards good deeds and punishes evil. The Torah was revealed to Moses by God and cannot be changed. Jews believe in the inherent goodness of the world and its inhabitants as creations of God and do not require a savior to save them from original sin. They believe they are God"s chosen people.

The Basic Features of Judaism are as follows:
1. Judaism is a classical example of a revealed religion in which God himself has given the entire body of religion to His "chosen people".

2. It is strictly monotheistic religion, believing in one and only one God. God has a personality and he listens to and answers to the people"s prayer.

3. Besides having metaphysical attributes of omnipotence, omniscience omnipresence, etc. God is pre-eminently imbued with such moral qualities as justice, mercy, kindness, love, holiness, etc.

4. With its God being pre-eminently imbued with moral qualities, Judaism is primarily an ethical religion giving out moral rules of conduct and a way of life - of justice, mercy, humility, modesty, etc. God, of course requires man to serve and to pray him, but the least of service that man is required to do is in the form of the observance of the Torah (the Law) and the commandments given to people by God.

5. The world is created by God out of nothing and is dependent upon him, but then it is real. The world is not to be treated as a place of scorn and lamentation; rather it is to be taken as a working ground for righteousness, justice, etc. In the form of his existence on earth, man has got an opportunity to lead a life of righteousness and serve the purpose of God.

6. Judaism believes in many prophets of God of whom Moses is treated as the most favoured messenger of God.

7. Judaism believes in angels and spirits, both good and bad. Satan is taken to be the chief evil spirit, the Devil, who contributes to the spread of evil in the world. However Satan is not taken as beyond God"s control.

8. Judaism believes in the immortality of soul and consequently in a life after death.

9. In spite of its emphasis on the primary value of the moral conduct of man, Judaism abounds in ceremonies, religious festivals, ritualistic ways of prayer and worship, etc.

10. Although Judaism is very much an ethical religion and a way of life, it lays much stress on service and prayer as well. It is said that the purpose of the creation of man is the service of God. And this service essentially consists in praying God with inner heart without any outside thought or preoccupation. God hears ones prayers and answers to them.

11. A Jew is obliged to pray three times a day - in the morning, in the noon and in the evening. In spite of these, there were also their congregational prayers, which were done in their synagogues in the form of hearing the study of passages from the Torah, especially on the Sabbath day and on festivals.

12. The festivals and ceremonies of the Jews, the observance of Sabbath Passover, the New Moon and Harvest festivals are important.

13. Like the Dasturs in Parsiism and Brahmins in Hinduism, there are the Levites who have to serve as priests of Yahweh for His people. Hence priesthood is hereditary.

Sacred Scriptures of Judaism

The Sacred text of Judaism is the Old Testament of the Bible, which is also called the "Torah". In the Old Testament of the Bible, God has revealed his ways to his chosen people. This book has been divided into Prophets and Writings. It is referred to as the "Hebrew Bible" and has 39 books.

The Law or Torah comprises the first 5 books of the Bible, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and together they are called the "Pentateuch". They are also called as "5 Books of Moses" or "5 Sefar Torah". Torah is the divine revelation to His people through His servant Moses, at Mount Sinai. It is a complete religious and civil law for the whole nation. In Torah there are 613 precepts (do"s or don"ts) covering the whole life of man from his cradle to the grave. The Jews are required to obey Torah, which comprises the "Ten Commandments of God" for their own welfare. The study of Torah was considered to be more important than the building of the temple.

Sects in Judaism

In the process of growth of Judaism after 1000 A.D., new centers of Jewish culture emerged in North Africa and in Muslim Spain. The Spanish Jews together with the oriental communities came to be known as "Sephardims" and those of Christian Europe as "Ashkenazims".

Judaism in South India

Judaism is a very ancient religion that originated in Palestine in West Asia. The prsons who follow the religion Judaism are called `Jews` or `Hebrews`. A small group of the Jews people can be found in the South Indian state of Kerala. The exact origin of the Jews in India is not known. There is a group of Jews in Kerala, who claimed that they migrated here over two thousand years ago. But now, the Jews and Judaism is decreasing in India due to various reasons, which includes the migration of them to the foreign lands.

The place where the Jews people go for praying is known as a `Synagogue`. The Jewish synagogue in Kochi or Cochin of Kerala is an architectural wonder. It is said to be constructed in 1568 AD and was renovated in later period. This Jewish synagogue has very beautiful hand-painted Chinese floor tiles and Belgian chandeliers. It is situated near the Dutch Palace of the Rajas or kings of Kochi. These Hindu kings offered their liberal patronage to the Jews and the synagogue. The area surrounding the synagogue in Kochi is called Jewtown. There are many spice shops selling pepper, cardamom, nutmegs and cloves near this crowded and congested area of the synagogue.