Good Essay About Judaism
Judaism is one of the oldest religions and was founded in the Middle East more than 3500 years ago. Jews believe that they were chosen by God to set an example of holiness and ethics for other nations. The interesting fact is that the Jewish people have no written dogma or particular set of beliefs; they consider that actions are more significant than any beliefs.
It is a monotheistic religion that means that the Jewish recognize and worship only one God. They have a covenant with Him. The true believer will try to keep all God’s laws and bring holiness in every act he or she commits because they are thankful for what God did to them. The central text Torah must remain sacred and most hallowed. Jews worship in Synagogues and their spiritual leaders are called Rabbis. True Jew knows his or her people’s history and lives according to God’s injunctions.
However, Judaism is more like nationality or race than religion. The unity of the faithful is enormous. If a person observes every tradition of Judaism but has not undergone the formal process of conversion, even the most liberal movements in Judaism will consider him or her to be a non-Jew. Despite this, a complete atheist whose mother is a Jew is considered to be a true Jew.
Judaism is very interesting and very conservative religion that has its representatives all over the world. Despite some inner conflicts, it reminds to be one of the most cohesive and united religions in the world that values and observes its community. The modern Judaism has been influenced by many factors. There are many people who claim to have Jewish identity but fail to believe or observe any Jewish law. There are liberal or modern and traditional movements in Judaism. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism are the most recent and modern ones. The recent trends show that they need strong leadership and organization in order to survive. Moreover, the key idea now is to keep the doors of the synagogues open for new members because only such attitude can lead to the increase in congregation.
References
Rich, T. (2011). Movements of Judaism. Judaism 101. Retrieved from: http://www.jewfaq.org/movement.htm
- APA
- MLA
- Harvard
- Vancouver
- Chicago
- ASA
- IEEE
- AMA