The distinctive collection of rites and rituals of Judaism, developed over 3,500 years, continues to give shape to the lives of Jews. Its origins are found, as with everything else in the faith, in the Hebrew Bible and the covenant it describes between God and his chosen people. The endurance of these rituals owes much to the desire of the Jewish people to maintain their identity during long periods of exile and persecution. They have become part of what it is to be Jewish today, though the extent to which they are observed often depends on the type of Judaism embraced by each individual.
The very first obligation—or mitzvah—that the Torah places on Jews comes in Chapter 1 of the Book of Genesis, namely to “be fruitful and multiply.” Having children is a religious requirement for Jews, bringing new life to that central relationship with God and thus strengthening his rule on Earth. It has also served the practical purpose of keeping up the numbers in what is by far the smallest of the three monotheistic religions. Hasidic Jews, in particular, take the duty seriously.
Judaism upholds the sanctity of human life and objects to contraceptives, though it grades them on a scale from the least objectionable (oral devices such as pills, whose earliest forms are described in rabbinic literature) to the most (condoms or withdrawal). These judgments are made by comparing the various methods with the injunction in the Book of Genesis against “spilling the seed.” Abortion does not carry in Judaism the same prohibition as found in Catholicism, and is encouraged if the mother’s life is in danger.
Ceremonies In accordance with God’s wishes, as set out in the Torah, all male Jewish children make a covenant “in the flesh” when they are eight days old by undergoing circumcision—having their foreskin removed. It is, Jews believe, a physical mark of their commitment to God. According to the Torah, the operation should be carried out by the father of the infant, but most appoint a mohel—usually a specially trained rabbi and/or doctor—to do the procedure for them. It used to take place in the synagogue but is now more usually performed in the family home. Both newborn male and female children are named and blessed in synagogue rituals. Circumcision is also demanded of male converts to Judaism.
“God said to Abraham … ‘All your males must be circumcised. You shall circumcise your foreskin and this shall be the sign of the Covenant between myself and you.’”
Genesis 17:11–12
According to the Talmud, coming of age happens at the age of 13. This is when young Jews are regarded as able to fulfill the commandments. A Jewish boy becomes Bar Mitzvah and a Jewish girl Bat Mitzvah—“sons and daughters of the commandment.” The Reform tradition marks both occasions with ceremonies, regarding male and female as equal before God.
Although the traditional injunction in Judaism against “marrying out”—in other words, marrying a non-Jew—goes against modern ideas of individual liberty and religious toleration, it is understandable, in historical terms, as part of a determination in exile and under persecution to maintain a homogeneous community. The injunction is still widely followed in Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox circles—where strict adherence in the home to dietary and ritual purity laws would make it difficult to maintain a “mixed” household. In Reform and Liberal branches, marrying out is tolerated but remains a cause of anguish for many parents. Though they welcome the integration of their Jewish children into broader society, and appreciate that mixed marriages reduce anti-Semitism, they cannot help but regret the dilution of Jewish identity. In the United States, over 50 percent of Jews marry out.
Unlike Christianity, Judaism is not a missionary religion. It does not actively go out to seek converts. If they present themselves, it carefully scrutinizes their wish to convert, and can and does say no.
What is kosher?
Jewish dietary laws have their origin in the Hebrew Bible and are known as kashrut, from which derives the word kosher to describe what can be eaten. Sometimes thought of as relating to health and hygiene, these rules are more fundamentally to do with holiness and doing what the Bible says, however irrational it may seem to contemporary minds. Maimonides described the dietary laws as “training us to master our appetites, accustom us to restrain our desires, and avoid considering the pleasure of eating and drinking as the goal of man’s existence.” Orthodox Jews follow the exacting laws carefully—including separating meat and milk, declining fish if it doesn’t have fins and scales, and slaughtering meat in a prescribed way. Some even follow the decree in Leviticus that fruit should not be eaten from a tree that is less than three years old. This strict observance is another factor in setting Orthodox Jews apart from the world. Reform Jews in the nineteenth century argued that kashrut had become an end in itself and served only to distance Jews from non-Jews. Today, many Reform and Liberal Jews keep or discard the rules according to their own personal preference.
Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar is a complex and crowded one. An ancient faith such as Judaism has a strong sense of the passage of time, and this is seen in the daily pattern of prayer and the separation of Shabbat (the Sabbath, marked on a Saturday) from the rest of the week. With the exception of the Day of Atonement, all the special days in the calendar recall God’s presence in nature and history—especially the history of the Jewish people.
Passover, in the spring, is a period of 49 days marking the exodus of the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt. It culminates in the festival of Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Balancing this in the autumn is Rosh Hashanah, the “New Year,” followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur—“the Day of Atonement”—and the Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, which recalls the journey through the wilderness to the promised land under God’s protection.
Zionism
The connection between Judaism and Zionism is a close one, but the two should not be seen as the same thing. Zionism, in modern terms at least, is a political and nationalistic movement that from the 1880s onward promoted the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own in Palestine, site of God’s original covenant with their ancestors. In 1917, pressure from Zionists led to the Balfour Declaration, in which the British, who then governed Palestine, endorsed the idea of a Jewish homeland. Concern about the fate of those non-Jews already living in Palestine grew as the area subsequently became a focus for Jewish immigration from all around the world. Following the Nazi Holocaust, and a terrorist campaign against the British forces in Palestine, the state of Israel was established in 1948. Forty percent of the world’s Jews now live there, but many people from all strands of Judaism question the achievements of Zionism. The Ultra-Orthodox Jews, for example, see modern Israel as too secular—not Jewish enough—while many Liberal Jews disown the actions of the Israeli government and the settlers in occupied areas.
the condensed idea
There’s a distinct Jewish way of life
| timeline | |
|---|---|
| 1200 BCE | Rules of Jewish life laid down in Torah |
| 1800s | Reform questions kosher rules |
| c.1900 | Marrying out gathers pace |
| 1917 | Balfour Declaration |
| 1948 | Establishment of the state of Israel |