Belief Systems: JudaismGlobal Studies 9

Mrs. Hart and Mrs. Bernier

Roots of Judaism: Origin and Founder

About 2000 B.C., a man named Abraham, moved to Canaan with his family. Canaan is in modern-day Palestine. He is considered to be the founder of Judaism.

Roots of Judaism A famine forced the people to move to

Egypt where they were enslaved. By 1000 B.C., the Jews escaped from Egypt and set up the kingdom of Israel.

Roots of Judaism: Diaspora Eventually the Jews were forced to leave

their homeland, scattering to many parts of the world. This was known as a Diaspora. They left because of persecution, or maltreatment and discrimination.

Beliefs of Judaism• Monotheism: the

honoring of only one God.• Covenant: a binding

agreement made between God and Abraham, stating that the Jews were God’s chosen people.

Beliefs of Judaism• Ten Commandments: God gave another

prophet, Moses, a body of laws that describe how people should behave towards God and each other.

• Sabbath: a day of rest and worship that must be kept holy.

Sacred Books

The holy book of the Jews is the Torah, which is included in the Old Testament. It sets out many other laws that set up the moral basis for Judaism. Other Jewish texts include the writings of spiritual leaders called prophets.