Judaism

Emergence of Judaism

To the question of where Judaism arose, both historians and theologians answer the same: in Palestine. But to another question, when monotheistic ideas arose among Jews, they answer in different ways.

According to historians, until the 7th century. BC. Jews had a different religion. It is called the Hebrew religion. It arose in the XI in BC along with the emergence of classes and a state among the Jewish people. The Hebrew religion, like all other national religions, was polytheistic. Historians believe that monotheistic ideas among Jews formed into religion only in the 7th century. BC during the reign in Judea (southern Palestine) of King Josiah. According to historians, not only the century is known from the sources, but also the year of the beginning of the transition of Jews from Hebrew religion to Judaism. It was the 621st year BC. In that year, King Josiah of Judea issued an edict prohibiting the veneration of all but one of the gods. The authorities began to decisively exterminate traces of polytheism: images of other gods were destroyed; the sanctuaries dedicated to them were destroyed; Jews who made sacrifices to other gods were severely punished, up to the death penalty Regional^[1].

Theologians believe that Judaism was already practiced by the first people: Adam and Eve. Therefore, the time of creation of the world and man was at the same time as the time of the emergence of Judaism.

According to historians, the Jews called this only God by the name of Yahweh ('Present', 'Existing'). Cult ministers believe that it is impossible to claim that God was called Yahweh, because if people of that distant time knew the name of God, then today's generation of people for a certain historical reason does not know His name.

Number of Jews

The international handbook Religions of the World indicates that there were 20 million Jews worldwide in 1993. However, this figure is apparently unreliable, because in a number of other sources it is indicated that in 1995-1996 no more than 14 million Jews lived in the world. Naturally, not all Jews were Jews. 70 percent of all Jews live in two countries of the world: in the USA 40 percent, in Israel 30. The third and fourth places in the number of Jews are occupied by France and Russia - 4.5 percent each, the fifth and sixth Britain and Canada - 2 percent each. In total, 83 percent of Jews live in these six countries of the world.

Denominations in Judaism

There are four denominations in Judaism.

Orthodox Judaism

The main denomination is Orthodox Judaism. It originates from the time of the emergence of Judaism as such.

Karaism

Karaism arose in Iraq in the VIII century CE. Karaim live in Israel, Poland, Lithuania, in Ukraine. The word 'karaim' means' reader ',' reading '. The main feature of Karaism is the refusal to recognize the sanctity of the Talmud.

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidism arose in Poland at the beginning of the 18th century (now the territory of Ukraine).

Hasidim are everywhere there are Jews. The word 'Hasid' means' pious', 'exemplary', 'exemplary'. Hasidim demand from their adherents "hot prayer," i.e. loud prayer with tears in their eyes.

The birth of Hasidism is associated with the activities of its founder Besht (1698-1760), a Kabbalist and healer who settled in the city of Medzhibozh (Podillia, now Ukraine) in 1740. A circle of students gathered around Besht, whose activities caused discontent from orthodox rabbis and, above all, the Vilna Gaon. His popularity was usually attributed to the crisis that gripped the Jewish community of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after the failure of the messianic movement of Shabtai Zvi and the Cossack pogroms under Bogdan Khmelnytsky. In part, Hasidism resembles similar processes in Protestantism (Pietism, Rivayvelism): an emphasis on the personal experience of God, on personal righteousness and the role of charismatic leaders (Tzadiks). However, the Hasidim did not refuse to strictly observe the Jewish rites, without, however, falling into asceticism.

After 1772, Hasidism broke up into a number of branches. Rabbi Elimelech spread Hasidism to the city of Lezhaisk (now Poland). Menachem Mendel founded a community in Vitebsk (Belarus), from which Schneur Zalman from Lyad came out - the ancestor of Chabad (Lubavich Hasidism). Levi Yitzhak in 1785 created a Hasidic center in Berdichev. Also, a significant center of Hasidism began to represent Chernobyl (now Ukraine), after the resettlement of Besht's student Menachem Nahum.

Reformed Judaism

Reformed Judaism arose at the beginning of the 19th century in Germany. There are supporters of reformed Judaism in all countries where there are Jews. The main thing in it is ritual reforms. If in Orthodox Judaism rabbis (as they call ministers of worship) wear special religious clothes during worship, then in reformed Judaism they conduct worship in a civilian dress. If in Orthodox Judaism rabbis say liturgical prayers in Hebrew (as the Jewish language is called), then in reformed Judaism in the language of those countries in which Jews live: in the USA - in English, in Germany - in German, in Russia - in Russian. If in Orthodox Judaism women pray separately from men (or behind a partition, or on a balcony), in Reformed Judaism women pray in the same room as men. If only men can be rabbis in Orthodox Judaism, women can also be rabbis in reformed Judaism.

Judaism in Russia

Main article: Judaism in Russia

Dogma

In the doctrine of Judaism, eight basic provisions can be distinguished. These are teachings:

• about the holy books,
• about supernatural beings,
• about Mashiach (Messiah),
• about the prophets,
• of the soul,
• about the afterlife,
• on food prohibitions,
• about Saturday.

Sacred Books

The holy books of Judaism can be divided into three groups. The first group includes one book-volume, which is called the word Torah (translated from Hebrew - 'Law').

The second group includes again only one book-volume: Tanakh. The third group includes a number of volume books (and each volume has a number of works). This collection of sacred books is called the word Talmud ('Study').

Torah

The Torah is the most important, most revered book in Judaism. All copies of the Torah from ancient times to the present day are written manually on the skin. The Torah is kept in synagogues in a special closet. Before the service begins, all rabbis in all countries of the world kiss the Torah. Theologians thank God and the prophet Moses for its creation. They believe that God gave the people the Torah through Moses. Some books write that Moses is considered the author of the Torah. As for historians, they think that the Torah was written only by people and it began to be created in the XIII century. BC. Torah is one book-volume, but it consists of five books-works. The Torah is written in Hebrew and in this language the Torah books bear the following names.

• First: Bereshit (translated as' In the beginning ').
• Second: Veelle Shemot ('And here are the names').
• Third: Vayikra ('And called').
• Fourth: Bemidbar ('In the Desert').
• Fifth: Elle Gadebarim ('And here are the words').

Tanakh

A tanah is a single book-volume that consists of twenty-four books-works. And these twenty-four books are divided into three parts, and each part has its own name. The first part of the Tanakh includes five books, and this part is called the Torah. The first holy book, which is called the Torah, is also an integral part of the second holy book, which is called the Tanakh. The second part - Neviim ('Prophets') - includes seven books, the third - Khtuvim ('Scriptures') - includes twelve books.

Talmud

The Talmud is a number of volume books. In the original (written partly in Hebrew, partly in Aramaic), reprinted in modern times, there are 19 volumes. All books-volumes of the Talmud are divided into three parts:

• Mishnu,
• the Palestinian Gemara,
• Babylonian Gemara.

According to the main idea of ​ ​ this doctrine, believers should honor the prophets. The prophets are the people to whom God has given the task and the opportunity to declare the truth to people. And the truth they proclaimed had two main parts: the truth about the right religion (how to believe in God) and the truth about the right life (how to live). In the truth about the right religion, a particularly important element (part of the part) was the story of what awaits people in the future.

78 prophets and 7 prophets are mentioned in the Tanakh. The veneration of the prophets in Judaism is expressed in the form of a respectful conversation about them in sermons and in everyday life. Among all the prophets, two great ones stand out: Ilya and Moses. These prophets are also revered in the form of special ritual actions during the religious festival of Passover.

Theologians believe that Ilya lived in the 9th century. BC. As a prophet, he proclaimed the truth, and in addition, performed a number of miracles. When Ilya lived in the house of a poor widow, he miraculously resumed supplies of flour and butter in her house. Ilya resurrected the son of this poor widow. Three times, according to his prayers, fire came from heaven to earth. He divided the waters of the Jordan River into two parts and, together with his companion and student Elisha, passed through the river in a dry place. All these miracles are told in the Tanakh. For special services to God, Ilya was taken alive to heaven.

In theology (both Jewish and Christian), there are two answers to the question when Moses lived: 1/in the 15th century BC and 2/in the 13th century BC. Supporters of Judaism believe that one of the great merits of Moses to the Jews and to all mankind is that through him God gave people the Torah. But Moses has a second great merit before the Jewish people. It is believed that God through Moses brought the Jewish people out of Egyptian captivity. God gave instructions to Moses, and Moses, following these instructions, brought the Jews to Palestine. It is in memory of this event that the Jewish Easter is celebrated.

Jewish Easter is celebrated for 8 days. The main day of the holiday is the first. And the main way to celebrate is a festive family dinner, which is called the word 'seder' ('order'). During the seder every year, the youngest of the children (of course, if he knows how to talk and understands the meaning of what is happening) asks the oldest family member about the meaning of the Passover holiday. And every year, the oldest member of the family tells those present about how God, through Moses, brought the Jews out of Egypt.

"Tania" or "Likutei Amarim"

Tania or Likutei Amarim is the seminal book of the Hasidic doctrine Chabad Lubavitch. It is considered the main creation of Rabbi Schneur-Zalman, the founder of this doctrine. Many Chabad teachers referred to Tania as the "Written Torah of Hasidism." The book "Taniya" is the main subject of teaching students of Chabad yeshivas, as well as children and adolescents in the system of Chabad schools "Or Avner" on a par with the Torah and Talmud. The Chabad community has existed officially in Russia since 1991. During this time, several generations of Jewish children got acquainted with the texts of Tania. The book has been reprinted many times in Russian with an almost absolutely identical text.

The doctrine of souls and the superiority of Jews over other people

The teachings of the soul have all the religions of class society. In Judaism, there are several main points of it. The soul is a supernatural part of man. This answer means that the soul, unlike the body, does not obey the laws of nature. The soul does not depend on the body, it can exist without the body. The soul exists as an integral formation or as a collection of minute particles. Also, the soul is immortal, and during sleep, God temporarily takes souls to heaven from all people. In the morning, God returns souls to some people, but not to others. People to whom He does not return his soul die in a dream. Therefore, the Jews, rising from sleep, in a special prayer thank God for returning their soul. All other religions believe that as long as a person is alive, the soul is in his body.

The key idea of ​ ​ Chabadism according to Tania is the division of people into two unequal parts: Jews and non-Jews, who are rigidly opposed to each other. According to Chabad teaching, God created the world exclusively for Jews. 'His kingdom is the only people of Israel' ('Taniya', chap. 41, p. 245) ^[2].

According to the teaching of Tania, there are two types of souls: Divine and animal. Only Jews possess a divine soul.

"The second soul that distinguishes each Jew is a particle of God's infinite essence from above. As it says, "And thou hast breathed into his nostrils his soul of life..." " ("Tania," ch. 2, p. 43).

This statement asserts the exclusivity of the Jews as the highest race in relation to all other peoples, in whose representatives God did not breathe the Divine soul.

Also, Jews according to Tania have an animal soul of the first category. It represents an invisible life force contained in the blood and supporting the life of the body. This last soul comes from some spiritual source called 'clipat leg' (radiant uncleanness), which partly has goodness. All kosher (allowed to eat) animals, as well as plants, receive vitality from the clipat leg. "In this world, called the world of Asia, the predominant part of it is evil, with which only a little good is mixed. (He derives good inclinations in the animal soul of a Jew, as mentioned.) And it ["clipat leg"] represents an intermediate link between three completely unclean "clipots" and the category and step of holiness... " ("Tania," chap. 7, pp. 66-67).

But there is another animal soul, of lower order, which is possessed exclusively by non-Jews.

'However, the souls of non-Jews come from the rest, completely unclean clips, in which there is no good at all... '(' Tania ', ch. 1, p. 45).

Rabbi Shneur-Zalman was convinced that non-Jews were deprived of the Divine soul, and therefore deprived of spiritual life. Their souls, in his opinion, come from a certain intangible entity called 'sitra ahra' (the other side), the role of which is identical to the role of the devil or the spirit of uncleanness in Christian theology. This triad according to the logic of Chabad doctrine is a clip of idolatry, a clip of murder and a clip of adultery.

'However, the clipots are subdivided into two steps and one of them is higher and the other below the first. The lower step is three completely bad and unclean clips in which there is no good at all... They are influenced and emanate from them the souls of all peoples of the world and their physical existence, the souls of all unclean and forbidden animals and their physical existence, as well as the existence and spirit of life of all types of prohibited plant food, like an eagle, a killey hakerem, etc. '(' Tania ', ch. 6, pp. 64-65).

Sometimes Jewish souls are included in the actions of these malicious clips of the lower stage, and then they begin to do evil. However, Rabbi Schneur-Zalman believes that there is a significant difference between Jewish and non-Jewish evil. In his opinion, a Jew by nature cannot want the forbidden, i.e. a Jew cannot want to idolize, kill, rob, etc. He can only strive to abuse what is allowed (drinking, eating, etc.). At the same time, non-Jews, due to the innate impurity of the soul, are attracted to evil and crave the forbidden, and the Jew is allowed, but with the wrong motivation.

Sources of evil are also divided into the categories of "Jewish" and "strangers." If a Jew violates the Torah, he does so through the fault of non-Jews, through whom the sitra ahra operates, but not by itself. So everything a Jew does is good, everything a Gentile does is evil. The actions of a Jew are always dictated by good motives, and the actions of a non-Jew are always dictated by evil ones. Therefore, any Jew turns out to be better than a non-Jew, and it should be argued that there are no bad Jews. Only Jews are recognized as carriers of good in the world.

"Therefore, attraction and power, thirsty for the forbidden, is an evil spirit from the category of" other people's spirits of evil, "that is, an attraction to evil, characteristic of non-Jews, whose souls are rooted in three unclean" clips. " Something quite different is an attraction and a force that yearns for what is allowed [only] for the sake of self-satisfaction - this is an evil spirit from the category of "Jewish spirits of evil," because [the life force of what is allowed] can return to the side of holiness called Kdusha, as already mentioned. " ("Tania," ch. 8, pp. 72-73).

According to Rabi Schneur-Zalman, the main desire of every Jewish soul is to connect with the Almighty.

'And in the supplement, the words should be explained more deeply: 'The candle of the Most High is the human soul'. This means that the souls of the Jews, called "man" (adam), are comparable to the light of a candle, constantly fluctuating (and stretching) upward in nature... '(' Taniya ', ch. 19, p. 117).

'Nature'is a concept that denotes everything that does not depend on justification and knowledge' (ibid.), the author explains. In other words, the desire for unity with the Almighty among Jews is due to their very nature, racial origin, and not to arguments of reason, upbringing, i.e. external factors. This aspiration R. Schneur-Zalman calls "koah ma" (holiness),

'and this is the exact opposite of the category of "clip" and "sitra ahra," from which the souls of the peoples of the world come, doing good for self-satisfaction and saying: 'give, give' and'fill me', in order to be independently existing and, as mentioned above, in contrast to the category of wisdom. And therefore they are called 'dead', for 'wisdom revives', and it is said: 'Will die, but not in wisdom' ('Tania', chap. 19, p. 119).

Note that here we are talking about non-Jews in general. Therefore, according to the theory set forth in 'Tania', all non-Jews may be considered spiritual dead. This idea is supported by many details as a matter of course. For example, the commandment "Love your neighbor as yourself" is available only to "every Jewish soul, both great and small." ("Tania," ch. 32, p. 189), only the souls of the Jews "are rooted in a single B-g and only the bodies are divided" (ibid.), only "the universal vital soul of all Jews will become the holy chariot of the Most High" ("Tania," chap. 37, p. 211), the noble intention of man to betray his soul to the Almighty "is perfectly and completely true in the soul of every Jew at any time and at any hour, (and it comes) from the natural love we inherited from our forefathers "(" Tania, "chap. 41, pp. 255-256), etc.

The book "Taniya" not only puts non-Jews below Jews spiritually and intellectually, but, moreover, records that they are worse than the Sitra Ahra and Klipot itself, that is, uncleanness.

'... for the "clip" is not clothed in a material body, and knows its Lord, and does not rebel against Him by action, and if she sends her bad messengers, let the Almighty preserve, then only by His will... And a man who thus violates the will of His blessed, much worse and paler than the side of the "sitra ahra" and the "clip" called idolatry and other gods, he is completely separate from the uniqueness and unity of the Almighty, more than this side, and as if he denies His unity more than it, let the Almighty preserve '(' Taniya ', chap. 24, pp. 139-141).

From the above, it is clear that this is solely about non-Jews, for the idolatry and disbelief of some Jews is explained by the author of Tania by the influence of non-Jews or Sitra ahra.

But Jews are able to repent and correct themselves if they find themselves before the test. Non-Jews, as is evident from the above reasoning of'Tania', have no such chance, with the exception of the few in which the'Jewish soul' lives. Therefore, the main revealing pathos of Tania is directed not at sinful Jews, but at non-Jews. Schneur-Zalman compares the Jew who was captured with the king, whose face was dipped in the restroom with bowel movements ('Tania', ch. 24, p. 145).

Similarly, the communication of a Jew with a non-Jew is perceived. In Tania, there is not a single positive example of a Jew's communication with a non-Jew, but there is one negative: in the situation simulated by Schneur-Zalman, a "non-Jew sinner" stands near a concentrated prayer Jew "and interferes and speaks to him to confuse him" (Tania, ch. 28, pp. 162-163).

But the above-described state of the world, according to Tania, will not last forever.... "" sitra ahara "and uncleanness -" disgusting for the Most High, what He hates "(" Taniya, "ch. 22, p. 130), i.e. God hates the peoples of the world, as well as all unclean animals supported by clips. In the future, when Mashiah (Messiah) comes, then all the "clips" are destroyed completely before the Most High, as if they were not, as it is said: "All nations, like nothing before Him, etc.," and also: "For these are your enemies, the Most High, for these are your enemies will perish, scatter, etc." ('Tania', ch. 19, p. 121).

Here Schneur-Zalman directly puts an equal sign between the sewage and the peoples of the world.

So, according to "Tania" 'clipot' (uncleanness) = vomiting and bowel movements = unclean animals = peoples of the world.

Jews are the only ones to whom, according to Schneur-Zalman, the concept of "man" can be applied. The author of Tania is convinced of the ultimate death of all the peoples of the world with the arrival of the Messiah.

'He set a limit to darkness' (this is said about the end of the days when (the Almighty) will destroy the spirit of uncleanness on Earth, and the glory of the Almighty will be revealed, and he will see all flesh together, as explained further), and especially in the lands of the peoples of the world, the air of which is unclean and full of "clips" and (reigns there) "sitra ahra..." ('Taniya', ch. 33, pp. 191-192).

According to Schneur-Zalman, the three clipots (therefore, the peoples of the world)... 'there is no ascension forever, except by turning them into nothing and complete destruction, as it is written:' And the spirit of impurity is estimated from the face of the Earth '(' Tania ', ch. 37, p. 211).

'And it means that all three unclean clips will be completely destroyed, turned into nothing '(' Tania ', ch. 37, p. 213).

If the material display of three unclean clips, according to 'Tania', are the peoples of the world, then by the earthly display of the clip leg, logically, one must understand Jews who are passionate about'non-Jewish wisdom' (sciences, art, sports, etc.). According to R. Schneur-Zalman, they thereby 'desecrate their intellect', for 'non-Jewish wisdom is more unclean than empty occupation' ('Tania', ch. 8, p. 74), 'they clothe and desecrate the forces of Chabad's intellect in his B-soul with the unclean' clipat leg 'contained in these wisdom' ('Tania', ch. 8, p. 75). They can be engaged exclusively "in order to have earnings," but not for their own sake ('Taniya', ch. 8, p. 75).

The historical process after the arrival of Mashiach, whom the Lubavian Hasidim see by all means as the Chabadnik and descendant of King David through Schneur-Zalman, according to the logic of'Tania' is as follows. God destroys three clips, and accordingly, all unclean animals and peoples of the world fed by them are destroyed. Then the clipat leg is transformed, which is a source of life for Jews and pure animals, and lost Jews return to the teaching of Chabad.

At the same time, the earth is not considered uncleanness by Schneur-Zalman, and, therefore, retains its existence, or is transformed into an ethereal body. The hydrosphere, the atmosphere maintained, according to the logic of "Tania," by the clipots, must be destroyed.

Millions of Jewish spark souls unite into the pristine 600,000. Thus, 600 thousand Jewish souls hovering over the desert (or ethereal) Earth are the true apotheosis of history according to 'Tania'.

As you know, racism has three main features:

1. Theory of superiority of one race over another. 2. The theory of the immutability of the spiritual and intellectual qualities of the'higher' and 'lower' races in time. 3. The desire for genocide of the'underserved' races, their enslavement, isolation and/or self-isolation from them (apartheid and auto-apartheid).

All this is fully present in the work of R. Schneur-Zalman 'Taniya' in the form of the following main ideas (in the corresponding numbering):

1. Jewish souls are particles of God himself. Non-Jews are deprived of the Divine soul. Non-Jews have only an animal soul, 'in which there is absolutely no good'. Jewish wisdom - the wisdom of the highest order, non-Jewish wisdom - is' worse than empty activities'.

2. Klipotam (and therefore the peoples of the world fed by them), 'there is no ascension forever' as morally imperfect. Jewish souls, by their nature, cannot desire the forbidden.

3. According to Tania, in the future 'clips are destroyed completely before the Most High, as if they were not, as it is said:' All nations are like nothing before Him... '.

The analysis of the book "Tania" makes it possible to conclude about the racist nature of its doctrine, about the book's propaganda of the ideas of racial inferiority of non-Jews, about inciting hatred of non-Jews and humiliation of the dignity of a group of people, namely non-Jews, on the grounds of race and nationality.

The Doctrine of the Afterlife

The doctrine of the afterlife in Judaism changed over time. We can talk about three options for the doctrine of the afterlife, which consistently replaced each other.

The first version took place from the time of the emergence of Judaism to the time of the appearance of the first books of the Talmud. At this time, the Jews thought that the souls of all people - both righteous and sinners - were going to the same afterland, which they called the word 'sheol' (the translation of the word is unknown). Sheol is a place where there was neither bliss nor torment. Being in Sheol, the souls of all dead people expected the arrival of the messiah and the decision of their fate. After the arrival of the messiah of the righteous, a reward was expected in the form of a happy life on a renewed earth.

The second version of the doctrine of the afterlife existed from the time of the appearance of the Talmud until the second half of our century. In this variant, the contents of the books of the Talmud were interpreted as follows. To receive a reward, you do not need to wait for the messiah: the souls of the righteous immediately after parting with the body were sent by God to heaven ('gan eden'). And sinners were sent to hell, to the place of torment. The words' sheol'and' gehenna 'were used to refer to hell. ('Geennoy' was called the valley in the vicinity of Jerusalem, where garbage was burned. This word was also transferred to the name of the place of torment of the soul after the death of her body.) At the same time, it was believed that Jewish Jews go to hell only for a while, and wicked Jews and people of other nationalities (they were called 'goyas') forever.

The third version is set out in a number of works of modern theologians. Compared to the second option, the third has only one change in the understanding of the picture of the afterlife. But this change is very significant. The heavenly reward, according to a number of theologians, can be received not only by Jewish Jews, but also by people of other nationalities and with a different worldview. Moreover, Jews find it harder to earn a heavenly reward than non-Jews. It is enough for people of other nationalities to lead a moral lifestyle, and they will deserve life in paradise. Jews must not only behave morally, but also comply with all the purely religious requirements that Judaism places on Jewish believers.

Food bans

Jews must observe certain food prohibitions. The largest of them are three. First, they should not eat the meat of those animals that are called unclean in the Torah. The list of unclean animals based on the study of the Torah is compiled by rabbis. In particular, it includes pigs, hares, horses, camels, crabs, lobsters, oysters, shrimp, etc. Secondly, they are forbidden to eat blood. Therefore, you can eat only bloodless meat. Such meat is called 'musher' ('musher' from Hebrew translates as' suitable ',' correct '). Thirdly, it is forbidden to simultaneously take meat and milk food (for example, dumplings with sour cream). If at first the Jews ate dairy food, then before taking meat, they must either rinse their mouths or eat something neutral (for example, a piece of bread). If at first they ate meat food, then before taking milk, they must withstand a break of at least three hours. In Israel, canteens have two windows for distributing food: separately for meat and separately for dairy food.

Judaism is the religion of a small but talented people who have made a significant contribution to historical progress.

Judaism was an important ideological source for the world's two largest religions - Christianity and Islam. The two main holy books of Judaism - Torah and Tanah - have also become sacred to Christians. Many of the ideas of these books were repeated in the holy book of Muslims - the Quran. Torah and Tanah gave impetus to the development of world art culture, so a cultural person should know what Judaism is.

Notes