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Judaism

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A Short Introduction to Judaism

Origins of Judaism

The historical roots of Judaism are traced by Jews to a Brit, or covenant, through which God is believed to have formed a permanent relationship with the community.

This was first of all through Abraham, who is seen as the patriarch of the Jewish people, and then through the giving at Mount Sinai of the Torah, or law, to Moses.

The Exodus of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt is seen as constituitive of the Jewish people who, following this and the receipt of the Torah, conquered the land of Canaan which they believed was a land promised to them by God.

Following their establishment in the Promised Land and the building of a Temple as a focus of worship in Jerusalem, the Jewish experience became one of exile.

Initially, there was the 586BCE Babylonian conquest and exile and later, after the restoration of a Jewish kingdom and the rebuilding of the Temple, the destruction of the Temple by the Roman Empire in 70 CE, leading to a further diaspora or dispersion of the people.

By the twentieth century there were Jewish communities in many countries throughout the world. But in 1948, following the Holocaust of European Jewry, the modern State of Israel was founded and once more became a central focus of Jewish life.

Central Aspects of Judaism

Torah and Halakah

Judaism is rooted in the Torah which contains 613 commandments or mitzvot which are seen as the revelation of God and the basis of the covenantal relationship between God and the people, leading to a community life centred upon the interpretation and practice of the Halakhah (Jewish law).

For male Jewish babies, this covenantal relationship is initially signified by the rite of circumcision. At the age of thirteen there is the Barmitzvah (son of commandment) ceremony in which a young adult becomes a fully responsible member of the community.

In Progressive Judaism this has been paralleled by the introduction of Batmitzvah (daughter of commandment ceremony) ceremony for females.

To remind Jews of the centrality of the Torah, Jewish homes have on their doorframes a mezuzah or parchment scroll in a small hollow box, which contains the first paragraphs of the Shema, or basic prayer of Jewish belief.

Scriptures

The Torah consists of the five books of Moses:

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

The Jewish scriptures also include the books, known as the Nevi’im, of the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others; historical books such as Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; other texts like Ruth and Esther, known as the Ketuvim; and also the Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Songs.

Talmud

The tradition is seen as a living one, the interpretation and application of which is collected in the Talmud, which is organised into two parts, the Mishnah and the Gemara and Orthodox Jews believe this tradition which includes oral material originally also revealed at Sinai.

The Mishnah comprises six sedarim, or orders:

zera’im, which contains prayers and agricultural laws
mo’ed, which treats matters concerned with the Shabbat and festivals
nashim, which covers marital and divorce laws
nezikin, which is a book of civil and criminal law
kodashim, which contains the laws of sacrifice and Temple ritual
tohorot, which contains laws on personal and religious purity.

The Gemara comments on, and discusses, the Mishnah. The legal material in the Talmud is known as Halakhah, whilst the non-legal materials are known as the Aggadah.

Midrash

Following the destruction of the Temple in 70CE, a rabbinic form of Judaim developed. Midrash is rabbinic teaching on the Bible, some of which may date from 400-500CE, but which in later collections reflects considerable development of the tradition.

Ethical Monotheism

Judaism is a monotheistic religion in which the oneness and righteousness of God is proclaimed.

As a consequence, the tradition has a strong emphasis on peace and justice and Jews have looked forwards to the promise of God’s kingdom being established on earth, a conviction that has traditionally been conneced with belief in a coming Mashiach or Messiah.

The Land

There has always been a strong connection between Judaism and the Land of Israel. Even when much of the physicality of that connection was broken by exile, it remained a focus of hope and longing.

For many Jewish people this is expressed today in some form of Zionism, which is understood within the Jewish community as a movement to end centuries of exile.

However, some Haredim (or Ultra-Orthodox) distinguish between the state of Israel and the Land on the basis that a secular state cannot be religiously significant.

Shabbat and Kashrut

The weekly Shabbat, or Sabbath, is at the heart of Jewish individual and corporate life. In its abstainance from work, it reflects the seventh day of creation in which God is said to have rested from creating the world.

The interpretation of what work entails varies within Judaism, but among all it is intended to be a time of shared joy.

Another permeative dimension of Jewish life is its food regulations, in terms of what is kosher (permitted) or treif (forbidden).

Diversity within Judaism

Communal belonging is an important part of Jewish identity and anyone born of a Jewsh mother, or anyone who has converted to Judaism, is traditionally understood to be Jewish. Nevertheless, there are diversities within the religious traditions of the Jewish community.

Orthodox Judaism

The Orthodox see the Torah and the Talmud as containing God’s literal words which must be applied equally in all times and place. Orthodoxy includes:

Hasidim, who originated with followers of the teachings of Israel ben Eliezer
Haredim, sometimes refered to by others as Ultra-Orthodox

Progressive

Progressive Jews believe in the divine inspiration of the Torah but also, since it was recorded by human beings in a particular time and space, that it is necessary to reinterpret it in changing times and conditions.

Progressive Judaism includes

Reform Judaism, established in early nineteenth century.
Liberal Judaism, originally an historical offshoot of the Reform movement

Conservative

Conservative Jews wish to remain strongly committed to the Halakhah whilst accepting the inevitability of its contextualised application.

Written by Professor Paul Weller

Jewish Origins

Jews have had historical roots in England that go back for many centuries. However, they were expelled from England by King Edward I in 1290. During the period of the Commonwealth, following the English Civil War, Menasseh ben Israel of Amsterdam successfully campaigned for their readmission to England.

Initially, the majority of Jews were Sephardi (referring to those with ancestry in Spain and Portugal. Today, the majority are descendents of the Ashkenazi stream of the community. Their origins can be traced to economic migrations from Central and Eastern Europe between 1881-1914 and escape from Nazi persecution from 1933 onwards.

Religiously, there are Orthodox and Progressive Jews. In the UK, the Progressive traditions are the Reform and the Liberal, represented by the Movement for Reform Judaism, and Liberal Judaism.

Among the Orthodox, the oldest synagogue in current use in the UK is Bevis Marks synagogue in London, built in 1701. The spiritual leader of many Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. The principal Orthodox organisation is the United Synagogue.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews is the representative communal organisation. Details of Jewish organisations can be found in The Jewish Yearbook, published annually by Valentine Mitchell publishers.

Written by Professor Paul Weller

Jews in the UK

Jewish Populations

Global	c. 14,761,000
UK	269,568
England	261,282
Wales	2,064
Scotland	5,887
Northern Ireland	335

As a proportion of the population in local authority areas, the 2011 Census shows that, in England, the greatest concentration of respondents identifying themselves as Jews is to be found in:

	% of Population	Total Numbers
Barnet	15.2%	54,084
Hertsmere	14.3%	14,293
Hackney	6.3%	15,477
Bury	5.6%	10,302
Camden	4.5%	9,823

Jewish Organisations

	UK	England	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Local	333	327	2	4	0
Regional	8	6	0	1	1
National	174	0	1	6	0

Jewish Places of Worship

UK	382
England	371
Wales	6
Scotland	3
Northern Ireland	2

These represent fewer Jewish organisations and synagogues than actually exist. The Jewish Yearbook gives more comprehensive details of Jewish organisations.

Acknowledgement of Sources

UK Jewish population data is sourced from the Office for National Statistics’ Table QS210EW (Census 2011: Religion [Detailed], Local Authorities in England & Wales, Crown Copyright 2012), the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency‘s Table QS218NI (Census 2011: Religion – Full Detail), and the National Records of Scotland‘s Table AT_001_2011 (Census 2011: Religion [Detailed], Crown Copyright 2013). Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO.

Estimates for the global Jewish population are taken from Todd M. Johnson and Brian J. Grim (eds.), World Religion Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, accessed January 2012).

Data on the number of Jewish places of worship in England & Wales is taken from ‘Marriages in England & Wales (Provisional), 2012 Release’ (Office for National Statistics, Crown Copyright 2014) and reproduced here under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

Estimates for the numbers of Jewish organisations in the UK and places of worship in Scotland and Northern Ireland are taken from P. Weller (ed.), Religions in the UK: A Directory, 2007-10 (Derby: Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Derby, 2007). The section on ‘A Short Introduction to Judaism’ summarises and abstracts from the same publication’s chapter on ‘Introducing Jews in the UK’ (pp. 203-222), which was developed with input from a range of consultants (pp. 329-338).

Materials in the sections on ‘Jewish Origins’ and ‘Jews in the UK’ were originally developed by the author for the British Council and used here by kind permission.