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Judaism
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Judaism is one of the oldest religions on Earth. It was the first religion to believe in only one God (monotheism). There are about 13 million followers of Judaism worldwide, called Jews. There are Jewish laws, rules, and guidelines for all parts of life. These are taught in both written and oral traditions. Their holy book is called the Torah.
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Judaism is one of three Abrahamic religions -- faiths which recognize Abraham as a Patriarch. The others are Christianity and Islam. Judaism is about 3,500 years old and began in the Middle East. Judaism is the parent faith of Christianity and both religions share some common scriptures. Although Jews comprise only about 0.2% of the human race, Jewish influence on the world has been vast. Today there are about 12 million devout followers mostly in the United States and Israel
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Judaism has characteristic, but not unparalleled, customs concerning marriage and death and mourning. The importance attached to recital of the Kaddish prayer by mourners dates from the Middle Ages. The prayer itself is much older and was originally recited as the conclusion of a sermon; it is related in thought and language to the "Lord's Prayer" of Christians. After the disasters during the First Crusade, the Jews of central and later eastern Europe introduced a memorial service on Yom Kippur and on other holidays; they ... began to observe the anniversary of the death of parents.
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The main stream of Judaism has always had its competing or schismatic elements. Long before Christ there were Samaritans, the ancient "fundamentalists," worshipers of the letter of the Pentateuch, who still survive at Nabus in West Jordan. In the eighth century appeared the Karaites whose schism is indicated in their Hebrew name, "Sons of the text," and the motto of their leader Anan, "search the Scriptures." But these and like schismatic movements have practically died out, or been absorbed in the main body of Jewry. It was otherwise with the rise of Jewish mysticism, stabilized in the Cabalistic renascence of the thirteenth century.
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Judaism originated in the land of Israel (... known as Palestine) in the Middle East. Subsequently, Jewish communities have existed at one time or another in almost all parts of the world, a result of both voluntary migrations of Jews and forced exile or expulsions (see Diaspora). According to the American Jewish Yearbook, the total world Jewish population in the year 2000 was estimated at 13.2 million, of whom 5.7 million lived in the United States, 4.8 million in Israel, 530,000 in France, and 438,000 in the former Soviet Union. These are the four largest centers of Jewish settlement. Other significant Jewish communities are found in Canada (360,000), Great Britain (276,000), Argentina (200,000), and South Africa (80,000).
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Judaism holds no concept of original sin. According to Christian belief, all human beings are born into the world with a sinful nature because of the transgression of Adam (Romans 5:12-21). Judaism's emphasis is not on original sin but original virtue and righteousness. Although Judaism acknowledges that man does commit acts of sin, there is not a sense of man being totally depraved or unworthy as is found in Christian theology. Atonement for sin is achieved by works of righteousness, which include repentance, prayer and the performing of good deeds. There is no need for a savior, as is emphasized in Christianity.
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Judaism