An Introduction to Judaism Who Are the Jews?. How Many Jews Are There? In terms of numbers, Judaism...
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Transcript of An Introduction to Judaism Who Are the Jews?. How Many Jews Are There? In terms of numbers, Judaism...
How Many Jews Are There?• In terms of numbers, Judaism is by far the smallest of all the
major faiths• It is estimated that there were approximately 13.75 million
Jews worldwide as of 2012• That breaks down to roughly 1 of every 500 people or .2% of
the world’s population
Why Look At The Numbers?• Knowing the exact
amount of Jews living in a given area doesn’t tell us what it means to be Jewish• However, as with any
religion, a look at the people who hold to that faith can help define the faith itself
Jewish Population by Nation• Israel – 5.7 million• U.S. – 5.2 million• France – 480,000• Canada – 375,000• U.K. – 290,000• Russia – 205,000• Argentina – 182,000• Germany – 119,000• Australia – 107,000
• Populations of 50-100,000 in Brazil, South Africa, and Ukraine• Jews tend to form
highly concentrated populations within very diverse societies
In America• Jewish populations tend to live in cities• Over half of all Jews live in New York and New England• Just under 20% live on the West Coast, especially in California• America has over 5 million Jews, but only 10 states have a
Jewish population of more than 100,000
In Canada• Patterns are similar –
the bulk of Canadian Jews live in Toronto and Montreal, though the community is also growing in Winnipeg
Why Study A Faith Of So Few?• Because, while
Judaism is the smallest faith in terms of the number of people who adhere to it, Judaism is probably the largest faith in terms of its influence on the world today
The Influence of Judaism• First of all, Judaism began a monotheistic revolution in the
Western World• “Monotheistic” – belief in one god
• Prior to Judaism, pretty much every known faith in Western Civilization was polytheistic• Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, Native America ALL were
polytheistic faiths
This Tradition of Monotheism• Will continue in both Christianity and Islam• So while Jews are .2% of the world’s population, their god is
worshipped by over 50% of the world’s population• About 30-33% of the world is Christian• About 22-25% of the world is Muslim
Its Stories Endure• Regardless of what religion one holds, almost everyone is
aware of Jewish stories• Adam and Eve• Noah and the Flood• Moses and the parting of the Red Sea• David vs. Goliath
Jews Also Prominent in Society• Particularly in the United States, Jews hold influence far
beyond their population• This is true, for instance, in the number of Jewish Supreme Court
Justices• This is also true for the number of CEO’s of Fortune 500
companies
Influence on Popular Culture• It is here, perhaps, that
Jews have made the deepest impression, at least in this country• Many of the things we
do or see in terms of art, science, and culture were made possible by Jews, even if most Americans have no idea that that is the case
For Instance• Almost every major
Hollywood film studio was founded by a Jew• So were television
networks NBC and CBS
On Broadway• Jews are responsible
for a large part of the songs of 20th century America, due to notable Jewish composers• George Gershwin• Irving Berlin• Stephen Sondheim
Celebrated in Literature• Some of the most
important authors in America and in the world are/were Jewish• Elie Wiesel• Philip Roth• Poet Allan Ginsberg• Playwright Arthur
Miller
And in Music• You could make a
strong case that American Folk Rock might never have happened had it not been for a Jew• Many people have no
idea that Bob Dylan is Jewish
Intellectual Influence as Well• Psychology was a
fairly new field when it came to international attention due to the work of Sigmund Freud
And Some Scientific Influence• Modern Physics
received a bit of a boost thanks to the Theory of Relativity, put together by that great Jewish thinker, Albert Einstein
In Comedy• It’s hard to even
think of American comedy without thinking of Jewish performers• Going old school, all
four of the Marx Brothers and all five of the Three Stooges were Jewish
Comedy Through the Ages• Milton Berle, Jack
Benny, George Burns, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart all continue the Jewish comedic tradition
This Immense Influence• Is not limited to Jews
in the United States• Of TIME magazine’s
100 Most Important People of the 20th century, 14 are/were Jews, including Einstein, Anne Frank, and Steven Spielberg
With the Nobel Prize• We see a similar
pattern• Since first being
award in 1901, Jews have received over a quarter of all Nobel Prizes in all categories
Not Bad for .2% of the Population!
• If you have ever:• Worn a pair of Levi’s jeans• Used a Dell computer• Had a cup of coffee at a Starbuck’s• Or performed a Google search
• You have used the product of a Jewish entrepreneurial effort
But That’s Not Why We’re Here• This class isn’t
“World Popular Culture,” it’s “World Religions”• Over the next several
days, we’re going to take a closer look at Jews and Judaism in that sense
So, Who Are the Jews?• The question is not so neatly answered as non-Jews tend to
think• Gentiles tends to see Jews as homogenous – that is, they all
share the same beliefs and practices; that’s just not the case• Even Jews disagree among themselves as to just what Judaism
is
Jews As a Religious Group• One way Jews often
describe themselves is as “God’s Chosen People”• This is defining
Judaism in a religious manner, and that certainly makes sense; Judaism is a religion
According to Jewish Tradition• The Torah was given
to Moses directly from God• In its basic law, then,
Judaism comes as directly as possible from the important deity within the religion
However. . .• A number of religions will be inspired by a deity (as with
Christianity) or delivered directly from the deity (as with Judaism and Islam)
• But the practice of the religion and the translation of its texts have to be done by people, and people can disagree, especially over time
So There Are Many Judaisms • In the United States
and Canada, and increasingly overseas as well, there are four organized forms of Judaism• This is often simply
referred to as having four Judaisms
The First Judaism -- Orthodox• This is the oldest of the four• They hold to the idea that the Torah was provided by God
Himself• Written Torah or Tanakh (Christians would call this the Old
Testament)• Oral Torah – Traditions written down after 70 C.E. and the
destruction of the Jewish Temple (when rabbis came to replace priests)
The Second Judaism -- Reform• Reform Judaism emphasizes change and the
need of Judaism to respond to new conditions• The Torah is not God-given• Instead, it is a statement of principles; those principles
can and should change based on new events
• Reform Jews often consider significant portions of the original Torah to be irrelevant
The Third Judaism -- Conservative
• Is somewhat of a blend between the first two• The Torah is God-
given• However, it is
important that Jews change to adapt to the world in which they live
The Fourth Judaism -- Reconstructionist• It sees the faith as the historical religious
civilization of the Jews• God fits into that civilization as a historical deity
which past Jews worshipped, but NOT as a supernatural divine being shaping the world today• As such, this group does not accept the Torah as
divinely inspired, but as something that past Jews THOUGHT was divinely inspired
Are Jews an Ethnic group?
• There is some sociological evidence that this might work• That is, in terms of
shared views on family, marriage, child-rearing, etc., Jews have different beliefs than others
Historically Accepted As Such• Certainly people like
Hitler and other hate-mongers have decided that the Jews are their own separate ethnic group, and perhaps even their own race
That Won’t Work Here• We’re not interested
in defining a Jew as an ethnic group, for a couple reasons• First, as the faith has
grown, there are Jews among most, if not all, of what are generally accepted as “races”
Secondly, You Can’t Quit Ethnicity
• A Jew who breaks with the faith is generally considered to have fallen out of the ethnic group identified as “Jewish”
• This doesn’t work in any other faith – a white man that decides not to be a Christian any more doesn’t stop being “Caucasian”
• Since the application is not universal, we will discard it as unacceptable
Are Jews a Nation?• Well, yes and no• Scripturally, Jews are
described as “the nation of Israel”• But that is not the
same thing as someone who lives in the modern-day nation of Israel
Modern Israel Is a Jewish Nation
• But this causes problems• For instance, modern
Israel does not have the same boundaries as scriptural Israel• We’re not entirely even
sure about scriptural Israel’s borders, but we know it was much larger than the current nation
The Waters Get Muddy• Because technically, all Jews are citizens of the modern nation
of Israel, even if they don’t live there• To help grow the nation, modern Israel has always had a
policy of accepting any and all Jews• All Jews have to do to become an official citizen is go to Israel
and ask to be one
We’ll Reject That, Too• In the religious sense,
such a view discounts three of the four Judaisms• Modern Israel only
allows Orthodox Judaism• However, there are
splits in Orthodox Judaism there
We Also Will Reject It• Because many Jews in
other nations don’t consider themselves a part of the modern nation, and have no wish to visit it• In a similar sense, many
of those we call “African-American” may have no desire to experience Africa
For Our Purposes . . .• We will define a
“Jew” as anyone who professes to be a Jew as a matter of religious faith• I will try to call those
living in Israel “Israelis”
How Does One Get To Be Jewish?
• Again, it varies• The easiest way that
a person becomes a Jew is by being born• If both your parents
are Jews, so are you
But What if Both Parents Aren’t?
• Then it depends upon which Judaism you practice• For Orthodox and Conservative Jews, the child of a Jewish
mother is Jewish, regardless of the faith of the father• For Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, a child is Jewish as long
as any one of its two parents is Jewish
This is how Judaism Spreads• Unlike Christians or
Muslim, Jews don’t actively seek converts to the faith• You can convert to
Judaism, but an Orthodox rabbi will refuse your request three times, just to make sure you mean it
As You Can Hopefully See. . .• Defining just what a Jew is, or what makes a Jew, or what a
Jew believes, is somewhat difficult• However, there is one area where we can begin, and that is in
the Jewish Scriptures• Some accept them as God-Given and some don’t, but all Jews
reference them in some way
The Tanakh and the Talmud• The two works form the
two major scriptures of Judaism• The Tanakh is sometimes
called the Jewish Bible• Christians and Muslims will
sometimes refer to this as the Old Testament, but Jews don’t
The Talmud• Is a sprawling work
of over two million words, designed to show teachings of Judaism through argument about given incidents or issues