What are facts about ancient Judaism?

Answer 1

Judaism is the Jewish religion and is still going strong.

Answer 2

Judaism was (is) the religion founded by Abraham and codified in the Torah of Moses. It was the religion practiced by the Israelites; the religion of the Holy Land (until the Exile). For details on Judaism, see the attached Related Link.

Some examples of the commands:
Belief in God
Putting on Tefillin (phylacteries) in the morning
The sukkah-booth during Sukkot
Avoiding leavened products in Passover
Keeping kosher
Not eating on Yom Kippur
Not working on the Shabbat
Paying workers on time
Marital rights for one's wife
The Ten Commandments
Helping someone who is in danger
Counting the days of the Omer
Returning lost objects when feasible
Wearing the tzitzith-garment
Affixing a mezuzah to the door
Learning Torah
Marrying and having children
Educating one's children in Judaism
Giving tzedakah (charity)
Honoring one's parents
And many more.
The laws have various reasons. Some (such as the Passover) serve to reenact or remember events of our history.
Some (such as saying the Shema-prayer) serve to reiterate our belief in God.
Some of the laws (such as those of ritual purity and kosher food) serve to sanctify us.
Some (such as the laws of torts) serve to maintain an orderly and just society.
Some (such as the law against breaking a vow) serve to prevent bad character traits.
Some (such as the command to offer help) serve to engender good character traits.
And all of the commands serve to subjugate us to God's will (especially those commands for which no explanation is easily apparent).
Note that the Torah "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, It's the Torah together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down together with the laws of Moses. Otherwise, the verses of the Torah often lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.

Answer 2

A: It is not really historically correct to speak of Judaism in the period prior to the seventh-century-BCE reign of Josiah, king of Judah, since Judaism is normally considered to be a monotheistic religion. Contrary to common belief, the people of Judah were polytheistic prior to the time of Josiah, although Yahweh was the national God in their pantheon. The people of Israel were at all times polytheistic until its destruction by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.

Josiah introduced religious reforms, known to us as the Deuteronomistic reforms, making monotheism the official religion of Judah. However, it is clear that the day to day worship of the people remained polytheistic until the Babylonian Exile. During the Babylonian Exile, Judaism absorbed a number of concepts that had hitherto been associated with the Persian religion, Zoroastrianism. The Persians encouraged the Jews to return to Jerusalem and funded the reconstruction of the Jerusalem Temple.

Jewish answer:

1) It was the only religion in which God spoke to the entire assembled nation (Exodus ch.19) of over two million people.

2) It made a complete break from the surrounding idolatry. Their monotheism (belief in One God) set the Jews apart because other ancient nations did not share it.

Answer 3

t the time of Abraham the Hebrew, the area where he lived was full of pagan cults; they were polytheistic, worshiping multiple deities. Abraham was the first to advance the idea of ethical monotheism: the worship of One God, and the appropriate ethical code of conduct.
The Israelites differed from other ancient peoples in the following ways:
1) It was the only religion in which God spoke to the entire assembled nation (Exodus ch.19) of over two million people.

2) It made a complete break from the surrounding idolatry. Their monotheism (belief in One God) set the Jews apart because other ancient nations did not share it. We've heard (for example) of Greek mythology and Roman mythology. What not everyone is aware of is that idolatry tended to go hand in hand with cruel, licentious and excessive behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the pagan gods were adopted as an excuse to imitate those types of behavior.

Compare that to God, who reveals His attributes in the Torah as wise, kind, holy, and pure. God is One, so the command to imitate His attributes (Deuteronomy 8:6) was (and is) a straightforward matter once one is even minimally familiar with the Torah.

(See: What do Jews believe God is like?)

Accordingly, Judaism was:

3) The only ancient religion in which a large percentage of its adherents were literate and scholars.

4) It was the only religion in which the people were ruled by God, with no need for a king, for several centuries (see Judges 8:23 and 1 Samuel 8:4-7).

5) The concept of morality was also the work of the Hebrews' religion, including the dignity and value of a person. It is the responsibility of the community to support the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger passing through.

6) Under the law of Judaism, everyone had recourse to the courts. A child, widow, wife, poor person, etc., could initiate legal action against any citizen to redress perpetrated harm. Compare this to those societies in which only mature, land-owning males had rights.

7) Government is accountable to a higher authority. In other ancient societies, the monarch was all-powerful. Among the Israelites, however, the king was under the constant scrutiny of the Divinely-informed prophets, who didn't hesitate to castigate him publicly for any misstep in the sight of God.

And, other than for the crime of rebellion, the king couldn't punish any citizen by his own decision. He was obligated by the Torah-procedures like everyone else (Talmud, Sanhedrin 19a).

8) A robber repays double to his victim, or works it off. Unlike in many other ancient societies, in Judaism debtors are not imprisoned or harmed. They are made to sell property and/or work to repay what they owe. Compare this to the Roman practice by which anyone could accuse a man of owing them money and the debtor could be killed (Roman Twelve Tables of Law, 3:10).

It is important to note that every one of the above existed in Judaism thousands of years earlier than in other nations. Here's just one example: Infanticide was practiced in classical European nations until Judaism and its daughter-religions put a stop to it.

See also:

Were the Israelites monotheistic?

Did Josiah add or change anything?

Reliability of Deuteronomist hypotheses

Answer 4

It is not really historically correct to speak of Judaism in the period prior to the seventh-century-BCE reign of Josiah, king of Judah, since Judaism is normally considered to be a monotheistic religion. Contrary to common belief, the people of Judah were polytheistic prior to the time of Josiah, although Yahweh was the national God in their pantheon. The people of Israel were at all times polytheistic until its destruction by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.

Josiah introduced religious reforms, known to us as the Deuteronomistic reforms, making monotheism the official religion of Judah. However, it is clear that the day to day worship of the people remained polytheistic until the Babylonian Exile. During the Babylonian Exile, Judaism absorbed a number of concepts that had hitherto been associated with the Persian religion, Zoroastrianism. The Persians encouraged the Jews to return to Jerusalem and funded the reconstruction of the Jerusalem Temple.

Answer 5

Judaism was and is the religion of the Jewish people and the Torah, including all the hundreds of mitzvoth (commands), principles and beliefs of the Torah.

Though it may have an associated culture and one or more associated languages, the traditional definition of Judaism is the observance of the Torah, which is why dictionaries define Judaism as "the religion of Moses." In this sense, the word "Torah" is meant in its wider meaning, which includes the Tanakh, the Talmud, and other classical Jewish texts.
The philosophy of Judaism is that this world is a purposeful creation by God, in which all people are tested concerning their use of free-will. We possess a soul which lives on after the body dies and is held responsible for the person's actions. Anyone who is worthy, Jewish or not, can merit reward in the afterlife.
For fuller detail, see the Related Links.Link: The basic beliefs of Judaism

Link: The practices of Judaism

Link: The principles of Judaism

Link: The ethics of Judaism

Link: How Judaism began

Link: The texts of Judaism

Answer 6

Judaism centers around Torah-observance. This has never changed. The Torah contains many hundreds of commands, hundreds of which are applicable today too. Ancient Judaism was (and is) based upon the covenant with God, as set forth in the Torah (Exodus ch.19, Deuteronomy 26:16-19).

See: Were the Israelites always monotheistic

There was always a learned class among the Israelites, and virtually all men and boys (and a good percentage of women) could read and write. A portion of each day was spent praying; and a larger part of the day was spent studying Torah (by a good part of the populace). Religious questions (and torts) were brought to one of the many Rabbis or Jewish courts. Having a large family was an ideal, as was welcoming guests into the home, giving charity, and many other forms of kindness. A portion of crops was given to the poor. The calendar year was replete with the Sabbaths and festivals; and blessings were said before and after eating and on many other occasions.
In brief, there was no such thing as a secular part of life, since the Torah's laws cover every form of activity, including business. (See: some examples of the Torah's laws)

Has Judaism changed?
While the Torah, its commands and the principles and beliefs of Judaism remain unchanged, Judaism has evolved as circumstances have necessitated.
1) After the end of prophecy (some 2350 years ago), the canon of the Tanakh was sealed by a special Sanhedrin (Rabbinical court). It was the same Sanhedrin which placed our prayers in their permanent form (Talmud, Berakhot 33a).
2) Purim and Hanukkah were instituted after the relevant events.
3) Certain fasts were instituted in connection with the Destruction of the Temple.
4) After the Destruction, the laws of sacrifices were suspended.
5) When circumstances made it impossible, the New Moon was no longer proclaimed by testimony; rather, the fixed calendar was instituted (around 360 CE).
6) The Talmud was put in writing (around 500 CE) when it became too hard to be learned by heart.
7) There are seven formal Rabbinical commands. These are:
Saying the blessings over food (and on various occasions)
Washing one's hands before eating bread
Lighting the Hanukkah-menorah
The Eruv
Saying the Hallel prayer on certain occasions
Lighting the Sabbath candles
Reading the Megillat Esther on Purim.
In addition, there are many Rabbinical decrees, mostly from the Men of the Great Assembly (4th century BCE), as well as later enactments.
The purpose of every one of these is to provide a "fence around the Torah," meaning to shore up something that can benefit from strengthening. An example: not handling electric appliances on the Sabbath, even if they are not connected to any electric socket.

See also:

Was Judaism altered after the destruction of the Temple?

Answer 7

Scholars now know that the Torah was written over a period of hundreds of years during much of the first millennium BCE. They also know that Judaism arose out of polytheism inherited from the Canaanite ancestors of the early Israelites. Keel and Uehlinger (Gods, Goddesses and Images of God in Ancient Israel) say there were no strict boundaries between the Israelite/Judahite religion and that of its neighbours, at the end of the ninth and eighth centuries BCE. They say the god Yahweh originally came from southeast Palestine or northwest Arabia, and is evident earlier in Judah than in Israel.

During the late monarchy, Judaism became monolatrous, centred around the national deity, YHWH (or YHVH). Scholars are divided on just when Judaism became monotheistic, but the religion was certainly monotheistic by the end of the Babylonian Exile. Judaism continued to evolve during the Second Temple period, during which time many of the scriptures were written or redacted.

The Judaism we know today is the end product of Rabbinic Judaism that developed after the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 CE and the disbandment of the Jewish priesthood.