XI Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2019

Judaism-one of the oldest religions in the world and the oldest of the so-called Abrahamic religions, which, in addition to it, includes Christianity and Islam. The history of Judaism is inextricably linked with the Jewish people and extends back centuries, at least three thousand years. Also this religion is considered the oldest of all those that proclaimed the worship of one God – the monotheistic worship instead of worship of the different pantheons of gods.

The exact time when Judaism arose is not established. Themselves adherents of this religion include its appearance around the 12-13th centuries BC, when on mount Sinai the leader of the Jews Moses led the Hebrew tribes out of slavery in Egypt, received a Revelation from the Almighty, and between people and God, a Covenant was made. Thus appeared the Torah-in the broad sense of the word written and oral instruction in the laws, commandments and requirements of the Lord in relation to his fans. A detailed description of these events is reflected in the book "Genesis", the authorship of which the faithful Jews also attributed to Moses and which is part of the written Torah.

God Yahweh, the national God of the Jews. All their culture and religious traditions are built around it. . According to the Jewish creed, Yahweh is the only true God who created the whole world, including the solar system, the earth, all its flora, fauna, and finally the first pair of people – Adam and eve. At the same time, the first commandment for man was given – not to touch the fruits of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But the people broke the divine command and were expelled from Paradise for it. Further history is characterized by the oblivion of the descendants of Adam and eve of the true God and the appearance of paganism – rough idolatry, according to the Jews.

As already mentioned, the Jewish faith recognizes only one God – Yahweh. In fact, the original sound of his name was lost after the destruction of the temple by Titus, so "Yahweh" is just an attempt at reconstruction. An important feature is that Judaism is the religion of a single Jewish nation. Therefore, it is a rather closed religious system, where it is not so easy to get. Of course, in history there are examples of acceptance of Judaism by representatives of other Nations and even entire tribes and States, but in General Jews are skeptical about such practices, insisting that the Sinai Covenant applies only to the descendants of Abraham. In world culture, the commandments of Judaism are widely known. They are closely related to the name of Moses. This is truly an ethical treasure that Judaism has brought to the world. The main ideas of these commandments are reduced to religious purity-worship of the one God and love for him and to socially righteous life-honoring parents, public, fairness and integrity

The centuries-old development of this religion formed the traditions of Judaism, which are strictly observed. First, it concerns the holidays. They confined the Jews to certain days of the calendar or lunar cycle, and is intended to preserve the memory of the people about any events. The most important of all is the feast of Passover. The command to keep it was given, according to the Torah, by God himself during the Exodus from Egypt. That is why Passover is timed to the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian captivity and the transition through the Red sea into the desert, where the people were then able to reach the promised land. Also known holiday Sukkot-another important event that celebrates Judaism. Briefly this holiday can be described as a memory of the journey of the Jews in the desert after the Exodus. The journey lasted 40 years instead of the promised first 40 days-in punishment for the sin of the Golden calf. Sukkot lasts seven days. At this time, the Jews are obliged to leave home and live in huts, which means the word "Sukkot". Jews also have many other important dates marked by celebrations, special prayers and rituals. Besides public holidays there are in Judaism, fasts and days of affliction. An example of such a day is Yom Kippur-the day of redemption, which forms the last judgment. Holds a huge variety of other traditions in Judaism: the circumcision of male children on the eighth day from birth, a special kind of marriage, etc. For believers it is important customs that require them to Judaism. The main ideas of these traditions are consistent either directly with the Torah, or with the Talmud – the second most authoritative book after the Torah. Often it is quite difficult for non-Jews to understand and comprehend them in the conditions of the modern world. However, it is they who form the culture of Judaism of our days, based not on the temple worship, but on the synagogue principle. Synagogue, by the way-a meeting of the Jewish community on a Saturday or a holiday for prayer and reading the Torah. The same word is called the building where believers gather.

For synagogue service in a week one day – Saturday is allocated. This day in General is a sacred time for Jews, and believers are particularly zealous to comply with its statutes. Keep and honor this day prescribes one of the ten basic commandments of Judaism. The disturbance of the Sabbath day's rest is considered a serious offense and requires atonement. Therefore any devout Jew will not begin to work and in General to do that it is forbidden to do this day. The sanctity of this day is associated with the fact that, having created the world in six days, on the seventh God rested and ordered it to all his admirers. The seventh day is Saturday.

Modern Judaism is a fairly large (about 15 million) religion. It is characteristic that at its head there is no single leader or institution that would have sufficient authority for all Jews. Judaism in the world is widespread almost everywhere and is a few denominations that differ from each other by the degree of religious conservatism and the characteristics of the creed. The strongest core is represented by representatives of Orthodox Jewry. Hasidim are quite close to them-very conservative Jews with an emphasis on the mystical doctrine. This is followed by several reformist and progressive Jewish organizations. And on the periphery there are communities of Messianic Jews who recognize after Christians the authenticity of the Messianic calling of Jesus Christ. They consider themselves to be Jews and to some extent follow the main Hebrew tradition. However, traditional communities deny them the right to be called Jews. Therefore, Judaism and Christianity are forced to divide these groups in half.