Religion Then and Now: Judaism - Coursework Example

Religion “Then” and “Now” Judaism, one of the oldest religions still exist is more than a religious belief, based on the promised land, Israel. Historically, Judaism underwent evolution through ages and deeply influenced other religions like Christianity and Islam. The Jews, who believe in Judaism, is an ethno religious group because their nation Israel binds them together as a religious group. The modern Judaism vest less authority on a centralized unit and it believe in decentralization of religious authority through different interpretations of their sacred text by Rabbis or priests. Besides, more than half of the Jews are living around the world and this helped the Jews to reform their religion. Here is an attempt to investigate into the past and present conditions of Judaism, and comparison/contrast between the foretold conditions. Judaism-past The ancient Hebrew people were semi-nomadic race in Mesopotamia. Under the god’s command, Abraham decided to migrate to Canaan, their promised land, in Israel. But the migration was not easy and the people were destined to wander in the desert for long 40 years. From this information, it is evident that the history of Judaism and the Hebrew people is interwoven with that of the history of Israel. Earlier, the Hebrews had to fight with their neighboring societies to maintain supremacy over their homeland. But for a short period, they were able to maintain a unified state in Jerusalem, Israel. The Assyrian and Babylonian attack of Jerusalem in 722 BC and 586BC aimed the destruction of Jews and their religion. Besides, Antiochus IV Epiphanes -the Syrian king, tried to suppress Judaism and this created an atmosphere of rebellion under the leadership of Judas Maccabaeus. In 167 BC, the Jews established an independent Jewish nation. Today’s celebration of Hanukkah is to commemorate the victory in establishing the Jewish nation. But in 70 AD, the Roman Army conquered and destroyed Jerusalem and the Jews were forced to migrate to Europe and other remote regions of the world. This mass migration is known as Diaspora. In Europe, the Jews had to face poverty and discrimination and they were forced to migrate to the United States. Today, a good number of Jews live in the United States and regularly visit their homeland. In 1917, the Jews tries to re-establish their homeland, but failed. At the time of the World War II, the Jews were forced to face holocaust and that was the worst time in the History of Jews and their religion. In 1948, after the World War II, Israel became independent and Jews from other countries began to migrate to their homeland. Today, Israel shows keen interest to help Jews to migrate to their homeland/Promised Land. Judaism-present Judaism is undergoing a gradual but positive progress because the Jews are an international community living in almost all countries in the world except some Islamic countries. The early years of the 19th century witnessed some attempts to Reform Judaism and to accommodate innovative ideas to the religion. For instance, the reformatory movement by Abraham Geiger in Germany and another movement under Nachmal Krochmal named as Haskalah movement helped Judaism to accommodate different views to the core of the religion which was strictly based on the God, the Torah and the Israel/Promised Land. The Zionists, a special cult within Judaism believed in return to Israel but the traditionalists who strictly believed in religious doctrines opposed them because their (traditionalists’) idea was to live in exile-Diaspora. The present condition of Judaism and Jews originated from some innovative schools/movements like Historical school/Conservative movement, Reform Jews and Re-constructionist movement. Moreover, these movements/schools assisted the religion to create an atmosphere of human centered Judaism than Orthodox Judaism, which was strictly God centered. The contemporary Judaism is capable to accommodate different thoughts, cultural aspects and traditions from different corners of the world because of the international outlook of its followers. For instance, the Sephardic traditions of Judaism originated from the amalgam of different traditions from France, Canada, the U.S. and other countries. So, it is apparent that the Jews who live far away and those who live in the Promised Land helped much to create an innovative religion which accommodates varied thoughts and interpretations of the same religion. Moreover, the attempts to redefine Judaism through ages helped it to be an innovative religion. Judaism: past and present- Comparison/contrast From the facts evaluated above, it is evident that Judaism underwent changes and now it is capable to accommodate different interpretations of the same religion. In the work- ‘Judaism’ Israel Abrahams points out that: “But for many centuries, certainly up to the French Revolution as Law was the dominant conception in Judaism.”(Abrahams, 1907, p.9) The past years of Judaism prove that it was under the rigid Laws based on religious morality, spirituality and rituals. This over dependence on Laws hindered the progress of Judaism as a religion till French revolution. But the modern Judaism is entirely different because it is beyond the influence of religious laws and there are different schools of thought and religious movements within Judaism to undertake innovative steps related to tradition, customs and rituals. The rigidity and influence of religious Laws in Judaism is a history now. As Judaism is the base of Christianity and Islam, there is high chance to accept innovative ideas from these religions. Moreover, the Jews were scattered to different parts of the world and the theory of Diaspora or life in exile is an important part of their religious belief. But most of the Jews are so closely attached to their promised land, Israel. Another peculiarity of Judaism and its followers is that it is ready to accept different cultural straits from other religions and cultures. The fundamental core belief of Judaism is in the form of written and oral Torah and it does not have any centralized authority. Comparing and contrasting the past and present states of Judaism, it is clear that: 1. There are different formulations and interpretations of Judaism but the core ideology is common to all. 2. Earlier, the traditional Jewish Law accepted any individual as a Jew who is born of a Jewish mother or a person who is converted from another religion. 3. But the modern Reform Judaism & Liberal Judaism accepts a person as a Jew who is born to Jewish parents (either father or mother). But they evaluate whether the child is raised according to the Jewish tradition or not. 4. Earlier, Judaism discouraged conversion from other religions. 5. But now, the modern Judaism accepts converted Jews to their religion. 6. Earlier, the written & oral forms of Torah were considered as unchanging laws of religion. 7. But now, the modern Judaism demonstrates open-minded approach to modernity and secular life. 8. Earlier, less importance was given to women in religious matters. 9. But now, women are not considered inferior to men and Modern Orthodox Judaism shows liberal attitude towards women in religious matters. 10. Earlier, the Synagogues were the most important place for worship and the Rabbis (priests) acquired much importance in religious matters. 11. But now, Jews fulfill almost all requirements of their prayer by their own and the influence of priesthood is becoming less. 12. The Modern Judaism is not so rigid in religious matters and is ready to develop beyond the Rabbinic Judaism. The reason behind the changes occurred between the past and the present state of Judaism is that it is the mother religion to some other important religions. Besides, Jerusalem is the centre of Judaism and its Promised Land, Israel. It is interesting to note that religions like Christianity and Islam consider Jerusalem as sacred. The unique belief of Diaspora- or the life in exile helped the Jews to live far away from their homeland and to acquire traditional, social and cultural characteristics of other religions and societies as their own. So, it is evident that the Modern Judaism allows much freedom to its followers. The Jews seems to be highly developed religious group because they accept ideas from the US, Europe and other parts of the world. The Jews those who returned to Israel after the World War II influenced Judaism a lot and brought different types of cultural features to their religion. Moreover, their eagerness to visit Jerusalem and Israel from every part of the world proves that they are so attached to their religion and homeland. Before summing up, it is important to note that Judaism is a religion with several peculiarities. But this does not prove that Judaism is a popular religion. Except in Israel, Jews are minorities and the Jew population is decreasing day by day. Besides, the modern Jews are not much interested in traditional belief and are interested in inter-religious marriage. This tendency shows that the Jews who are living in Israel strictly believe in traditional Judaism and those who live in other countries are ready to accept modernity. So, it is evident that Jews and Judaism is the part of our rich history and religious tradition, but struggling for survival as an ethno religious group. Works cited Abrahams, I. (1907). Judaism. Forgotten Books. All resources that reviewed or used in preparing the assignment (other than the work used for in-text citation) Bloomberg, J. (2004). The Jewish world in the modern age. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. Geiger, A. (1886). Judaism & its history. Oxford University. Ratsabi, S. (2002). Between Zionism and Judaism: the radical circle in Brith Shalom, 1925-1933. BRILL. Waxman, C.I. (1983). Americas Jews in transition. Verlag fur die Deutsche Wirtschaft AG. Eisen, A.M. (1999). Rethinking Modern Judaism: Ritual, Commandment, Community. University of Chicago Press. Read More