What Is JudaIsm Twice a day Jews around the world say a prayer called the Shema It starts Hear O Israel the Lord is our God the Lord is One This prayer is an important statement of faith in Judaism the religion of the Jewish people Like Christianity and Islam Judaism is monotheistic It teaches that there is only one The Shema prayer is an important prayer in Judaism It is recited every morning and evening by observant Jews 4
Vocabulary Monotheistic religions teach the belief that there is only one God rather than many gods or none at all God and that God created the world Jews believe that God chose them to have a special relationship with him They must devote themselves to God in all aspects of their lives because God selected them to bring knowledge of him to the rest of the world They believe that in return God has promised to make the Jews a great nation that will eventually draw other nations together in a worldwide community of justice and peace Today Judaism has more than fourteen million followers worldwide A group of Jewish men pray together in a Jewish house of worship 5
BelIefs and saCred texts The sacred book of Judaism is the Hebrew Bible which Christians call the Old Testament The first five books of the Hebrew Bible known as the Torah are especially important The Hebrew Bible also contains books of the prophets and collections of poetry stories and history The Torah tells the story of the creation of the world It also explains and interprets God’s laws including the Ten Commandments Jews believe that God gave these rules to the prophet Moses Copies of the Torah are written on special scrolls that are read aloud during prayer services 6
Moses holds up tablets with the Ten Commandments on them in this painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt The Ten Commandments are the most important laws in Judaism These rules say that there is one God and describe how to treat others For example they forbid stealing killing or lying The Ten Commandments also tell Jews to rest on the Sabbath to remember when God rested after creating the world Jews observe the Sabbath from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday On the Sabbath Jews pray and eat special meals Work is not allowed Think About It Judaism does not allow people to worship statues or images of God What are ways to show faith in God that do not involve statues or images of him 7
