MEPX
Chapter 2 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Studying religion
  2. 2Judaism
  3. 3Christianity
  4. 4Islam
  5. 5Hinduism
  6. 6Buddhism
  7. 7Sikhism and Jainism
  8. 8East Asian traditions
  9. 9Indigenous and other traditions
  10. 10Religion today

Chapter 2 of 10

Judaism

Covenant and law.

Core

Belief in one God in covenant with the Jewish people, expressed through Torah and its interpretation. Practice centres on study, festivals, Shabbat and ethical obligation.

  • The Talmud records centuries of rabbinic debate, often unresolved.
  • Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and other movements differ on law and authority.

History

Temple destruction, diaspora, sustained persecution culminating in the Holocaust, and the founding of modern Israel all shape contemporary Jewish life and identity.