To gain a better perspective of Judaism, and how it has evolved over
the centuries, it would serve us best if we start at the very beginning,
approximately 4,000 years ago.
Genesis
The patriarch, father figure and the progenitor of the Judaism, Christianity
and Islam, Abram son of Terach, was born in the city of Ur in ancient
Mesopotamia in approximately 1800BCE. He defiantly went against tradition
and refused to worship the deities of the land, which to him, are simply
inanimate objects. Castigated and threatened by the townspeople, in his
greatest moment of despair, he was blessed with a visit from the Creator;
the God he had always knew existed. The God of Abraham then commanded
him to leave his city and his family, to spread His Word and in return,
he promised Abraham that his children, numbering like the stars in the
skies would inherit His Kingdom in Heaven. Thus the pact was made, and
the covenant begun.
So Abram and his beloved wife Sarai, embarked on their journey across
the promise land, the land of the Canaan, with the maidservant, Hagar,
who later became Abram’s second wife, in tow. From his union with
Sarai, he was blessed with a son, Isaac (the mirthful), the progenitor
of the Jewish people. Their Lord commanded then that henceforth, the
both of them would be known as Abraham (Father of Many) and Sarah (Princess).
Hagar meanwhile, gave birth to Ishmael, the progenitor of the Arabs.
The Stars In The Skies
Isaac, through a marriage with Rebecca, produced a pair of twin sons,
Esau and Jacob, who will be later known as Israel (The Champion of God).
The common phrase, Children of Israel, is actually a direct reference
to Jacob. Jacob sired twelve sons, each the direct ancestors of the twelve
tribes of Israel, namely, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, Levi, Judah,
Zebulon, Issachar, Simeon, Dan, Reuven and Benyamin.
The tribes dispersed and propagated over the Niles, Tigris and Euphrates
region, with eventually the bulk of the tribes settling in Goshen, Egypt.
However, after centuries have gone by, the children of Israel had become
slaves in the Pharaoh led Egypt. The most renowned son of Israel and
the greatest Prophet of the Lord, Moses Rabbeinu of the Levi clan, arrived
to lead them to salvation, in what is biblically referred to as the Exodus.
Instructed by the Lord Himself, Moses led his people through the wasteland
to Mt. Sinai. Their Lord reaffirmed their covenant, and provided Moses
with the Torah to light their path into the future. They subsequently
founded the nation of Israel there in Canaan fourteen century from the
arrival of Christ.
The subsequent civil war, the conquest by the Assyrians, the Babylonian
period of captivity, the banishment from Jerusalem by the Romans - each
cut a swath through the Jewish population and their ever-burgeoning diasporas
in the region.
The Jews faced continued challenges over the centuries from the Byzantanium
Romans, Islamic Arab and even the legion Crusaders that led them to seek
sanctuary even further away from their beloved Israel. The arrival of
the Mamluk Empire, effectively shut the door on any further attempts
by the Jews of to regain their homeland. The arrival of the Ottoman Empire
in the 13th century consigned the Children of Israel to the fate of second-class
citizens in their own homeland. And the status quo stayed for the next
600 years.
Matters began to turn around after the British conquered Palestine from
the Ottoman Empire following the First World War and mandated the formation
of a Jewish national home in the form of the 1917 Balfour Declaration,
following years of heavy lobbying from Jewish groups the world over.
However, events took a dramatic turn during the lead up to the Second
World War. The horrific scale of the Nazi led Holocaust during the war
- where a reported 9 million Jews were killed - lead to the eventual
declaration of nationhood by David Ben Gurion in 1948.
Since then, this descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Israel (Jacob) himself,
has been involved in a number of wars (the Suez War in 1956, the 6-Day
War in 1967, Yom Kippur in 1973 and the 1982 Lebanese War are some of
the major ones), all in the defense of their homeland, their birthright.
Even today, they are still involved in a daily battle of survival against
their ancient foes, and cousins.
Considering their tumultuous history, the blood they have spilled for
their homeland, and the continuing struggle for existence they face daily,
do you finally understand the strength that their b’rit (covenant
) has gave them?
Thus is the journey and tale of the Children of Israel.
Scriptures of Judaism
Torah (The Law):
Nevi’im (The Prophets):
Kethuvim (The Writings):
Chumash (Pentateuch, The Five Books Of Moses)
Oral Torah: The Talmud
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