Modern Day Judaism Research Paper

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The roots of modern day Judaism can be traced back over 4000 years to Abraham (born around 2000 BC). Jews believe that Abraham was the first person to accept that there is a single God. God made a covenant with Abraham that if he was to leave his home in Ur (modern day Iraq) he, and his many descendants, would be granted the promised land of Canaan (modern day Israel).

The rituals and beliefs of Judaism are chronicled in several sacred texts. The most important of these texts is the Torah, which was supposedly given to Moses at Mount Sinai, however scholars believe it was actually written by a series of people between 600 - 400 BC. Another book, the Tanakh, consists of 24 books, including five books of the Torah. The Torah describes the story …show more content…
The Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, collectively known as the high holy days, are considered the two holiest days on the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the religious new year, and encourages people to renew themselves and strive to make the next year a good one. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, where Jews asks forgiveness from God for their sins against Him. In the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, people are expected to ask forgiveness from others they have wrong, as it is believed that God cannot forgive a sin committed against another person. Another important Jewish holiday is Pesach (or Passover), an eight-day holiday which commemorates the Moses leading the Jews out of slavery in Egypt. It involves different rituals symbolizing the escape from Egypt, including eating unleavened matzah instead of leavened bread as the Jews fleeing Egypt had no time to let their bread rise. The rest of the Jewish holidays are of relatively minor religious importance, including the most well known Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Hanukkah is called the festival of lights, and celebrates the Maccabee victory over King Antiochus IV, granting the Jews freedom to practice their culture and religion. Due to the fact that Hanukkah is near Christmas, Jews, especially in America, have tried to make …show more content…
There are many Jews who identify as culturally Jewish, but do not believe in God. As well, there are different movements within Judaism, varying in their level of religious practice and belief. The major movements are Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. The Orthodox follow the Jewish laws very strictly, observing many, if not all, of the practices detailed in the Talmud. The Conservative Jews follow many of the rules but are less strict and may not pray every day, however they may still keep kosher or observe the Sabbath. Reform Jews are more liberal and are more willing to adapt or disregard the laws in the Talmud than the others. Many Reform Jews are also open to adopting ideas from other religions. For example, there are people who identify as Jews but also practice aspects of Buddhism, sometimes called JewBus. There are also Jews who believe in Jesus as God’s son and belong to a movement called Jews for
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