Portal:Judaism
The Judaism Portal 26 Tishrei 5787Judaism (Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת, romanized: Yahăḏūṯ) is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant, which they believe was established between God and the Jewish people. The religion is considered one of the earliest monotheistic religions. Judaism as a religion and culture is founded upon a diverse body of texts, traditions, theologies, and worldviews. Among Judaism's core texts are the Torah (Biblical Hebrew: תּוֹרָה, lit. 'Teaching'), the Nevi'im (נְבִיאִים, 'Prophets'), and the Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים, 'Writings'), which together compose the Hebrew Bible. In Modern Hebrew, the Hebrew Bible is often referred to as the Tanakh (תַּנַ׳׳ךּ, Tanaḵ)—an acronym of its constituent divisions—or the Miqra (מִקְרָא, Miqrāʾ, '[that which is] called out'). In addition to scripture, Jewish religious texts include the Oral Torah (תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל־פֶּה, Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe, 'Torah by the mouth'), comprising the Mishnah, Talmud, Tosefta, and Jewish legal Midrashim (מִדְרָשִׁים, 'Studies' or 'Expositions'); Halakha (הֲלָכָה, 'the Way'), or Jewish law; Aggadah (אָגָּדָה, 'Narrative'); and responsa. The Hebrew word Torah specifically refers to the Five Books of Moses, but it can also be used as a general term for the entire body of rabbinic literature and any teachings based on those texts, and encompasses a variety of interpretations. (Full article...) Selected Article The Western Wall is located in the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of the western side of the Temple Mount. It is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple's courtyard, and is perhaps the most sacred site recognized by the Jewish faith outside of the Temple Mount itself. Just over half the wall, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates from the end of the Second Temple period. Constructed around 19 BCE by Herod the Great, the works were probably not finished during his lifetime. The remaining layers were added from the 7th century onwards. The Western Wall refers not only to the exposed section facing a large plaza in the Jewish Quarter, but also to the sections concealed behind structures running along the whole length of the Temple Mount, such as the Little Western Wall–a 25 ft (8 m) section in the Muslim Quarter. It has been a site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries; the earliest source mentioning Jewish attachment to the site dates back to the 4th century. From the mid-19th century onwards, various Jews tried, without success, to purchase rights to the wall. In the early 20th century, the wall became a source of friction between the Jewish community and the Muslim religious leadership, and outbreaks of violence at the foot of the wall became commonplace. After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War the wall came under Jordanian control and Jews were barred from the site for 19 years until Israel recaptured the Old City Six-Day War in 1967. (Read more...) Did You Know?Did you know...
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Related PortalsHistory Article Bethlehem is a Palestinian city located in the West Bank, neighboring Jerusalem, with a population of 25,000 people. The capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of Palestinian Authority, its economy is primarily tourist-driven. Bethlehem, which may be the same as the Biblical Ephrath, is first mentioned in the Tanakh as the place where the matriarch Rachel died, and her tomb stands at the entrance to Bethlehem. The valley to the east is where Ruth gleaned the fields and returned to town with Naomi. It was the home of Jesse, father of King David of Israel, and the site of David's anointment by the prophet Samuel. It was from the well of Bethlehem that they brought him water when he was hiding in the cave of Adullam. Between 132 and 135 the city was reoccupied by the Romans after its capture during the Bar Kokhba revolt. Its Jewish residents were expelled by Hadrian. Bethlehem was sacked by the Samaritans in 529, but rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. It was conquered by the Arab Caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb in 637. In 1099, Crusaders captured Bethlehem and replaced its Greek Orthodox clergy with a Latin one. This was expelled after the city was captured by Saladin. With the coming of the Mamluks in 1250, the city's walls were demolished, and were subsequently rebuilt during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The British wrested control of the city from the Ottomans during World War I and it was to be included in an international zone under the 1947 Partition Plan. The city was annexed by Jordan in 1948, and occupied by Israel in 1967. Since 1995, Bethlehem has been governed by the Palestinian National Authority. (Read more...) Picture of the WeekIn the NewsFeatured Quote
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Weekly Torah PortionBereshit (בראשית)
When God began creation, the earth was unformed and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and God's wind swept over the water. Genesis 1:1–6:8 
 Before any shrub or grass had yet sprouted on earth, and before God had sent rain for the earth, a flow would well up from the ground to water the earth. God formed man from the dust, blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and made him a living being. God planted a garden in the east in Eden, caused to grow there every good and pleasing tree, and placed the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and bad in the middle of the garden. A river issued from Eden to water the garden, and then divided into four branches: the Pishon, which winds through Havilah, where the gold is; the Gihon, which winds through Cush; the Tigris, which flows east of Asshur; and the Euphrates. God placed the man in the garden of Eden to till and tend it, and freed him to eat from every tree of the garden, except for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, warning that if the man ate of it, he would die. Announcing that it was not good for man to be alone and that God would make for him a fitting helper, God formed out of the earth all the beasts and birds and brought them to the man to name. The man Adam named all the animals, but found no fitting helper. So God cast a deep sleep upon the man and took one of his ribs and fashioned it into a woman and brought her to the man. The man declared her bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, and called her woman. Thus a man leaves his parents and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh. The man and the woman were naked, but felt no shame.  The serpent, the shrewdest of the beasts, asked the woman whether God had really forbidden her to eat any of the fruit in the garden. The woman replied that they could eat any fruit other than that of the tree in the middle of the garden, which God had warned them neither to eat nor to touch, on pain of death. The serpent told the woman that she would not die, but that as soon as she ate the fruit, her eyes would be opened and she would be like divine beings who knew good and bad. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing in appearance, and desirable as a source of wisdom, she ate some of its fruit and gave some to her husband to eat. Then their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked; and they sewed themselves loincloths out of fig leaves.  Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother to all. And God made skin garments to clothe Adam and Eve. Remarking that the man had become like God, knowing good and bad, God became concerned that he should also eat from the tree of life and live forever, so God banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil. God drove the man out, and stationed cherubim and a fiery ever-turning sword east of the garden to guard the tree of life.  Eve bore Cain and Abel, who became a farmer and a shepherd. Cain brought God an offering from the fruit of the soil, and Abel brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. God paid heed to Abel and his offering, but not to Cain and his, distressing Cain. God asked Cain why he was distressed, for if he did right there would be uplift, but if he did not, sin couched at the door, yet he could be master it. Cain spoke to Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain killed Abel. When God asked Cain where his brother was, Cain replied that he did not know, asking he was his brother's keeper. God asked Cain what he had done, as his brother's blood cried out to God from the ground. God cursed Cain to fail at farming and to become a ceaseless wanderer. Cain complained to God that his punishment was too great to bear, as anyone who met him might kill him. So God put a mark on Cain and promised to take sevenfold vengeance on anyone who would kill him. Cain left God's presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain had a son Enoch, founded a city, and named it after Enoch. Enoch's great-great-grandson Lamech took two wives: Adah and Zillah. Adah bore Jabal, the ancestor of those who dwell in tents and amidst herds, and Jubal, the ancestor of all who play the lyre and the pipe. And Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who forged implements of copper and iron. Lamech told his wives that he had slain a lad for bruising him, and that if Cain was avenged sevenfold, then Lamech should be avenged seventy-sevenfold. Adam and Eve had a third son and named him Seth, meaning "God has provided me with another offspring in place of Abel." Seth had a son named Enosh, and then men began to invoke the Lord by name. After the birth of Seth, Adam had more sons and daughters, and lived a total of 930 years before he died. Adam's descendants and their liefspans were: Seth, 912 years; Enosh, 905 years; Kenan, 910 years; Mahalalel, 895 years; and Jared, 962 years. Jared's son Enoch walked with God 300 years, and when he reached age 365, God took him. Enoch's son Methuselah lived 969 years and his son Lamech lived 777 years. Lamech had a son Noah, saying that Noah would provide relief from their work and toil on the soil that God had cursed. When Noah had lived 500 years, he had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Divine beings admired and took wives from among the daughters of men, who bore the Nephilim, heroes of old, men of renown. God set the days allowed to man at 120 years. God saw how great man's wickedness was and how man's every plan was evil, and God regretted making man and became saddened. God expressed an intention to blot men and animals from the earth, but Noah found God's favor. Hebrew and English Text
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