Below we help you navigate your way through it by featuring a variety of ways in addition to using My Jewish Learning, of course that you can experience Jewish learning on your own, from the comfort of your home, in our digital world. All the resources below are, like My Jewish Learning, nondenominational and open to all. Please note that all prices are subject to change.
Find out how to learn Hebrew here — and find a Judaism class here. Get help finding a Jewish study partner here and check out our list of resources for studying the weekly Torah portion. Did we miss something? Email us at community myjewishlearning.
Many of its videos are embedded on My Jewish Learning, but the full collection, as well as supplementary materials, can be found on its site. Harvard can also help place Judaism in the context of world religions and the ways religion has contributed to both peace and conflict.
The rabbinic traditions are examined alongside other world religions, exploring the interplay of these philosophies in creating our modern world. You can also study early Christianity in the context of Judaism, understanding what Jews thought of the Messiah and how Christianity built on this original idea using the original sacred texts of Israel.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem offers a Hebrew perspective on the concepts of early Christianity, the influence of Roman tradition, and why the new religion may have spread to Jews and non-Jews alike.
The influence of Jewish beliefs on the modern world is all around us. The Jewish faith imprinted two of the modern world's most dominant religions. Orthodox Jews accept the Revelation to Moses at Sinai as described in the Bible and accept as binding the decisions of the Talmud and later codes of Jewish law.
Non-Orthodox Jews consider the traditional texts to be of great importance but are prepared to make changes that will help adjust Jewish life to the modern world. In spite of general agreement on basic religious ideas, some differences can still be found among the Orthodox, among whom are the Sephardim , descended from Jews who lived in Spain and Portugal until the end of the 's; Ashkenazim , Jews from Central and Eastern Europe; and Hasidim , a community that originated in Eastern Europe.
The Hasidim the word hasid means "pious" are descended from Jews of the 's in Poland and the Ukraine who led a mystic revival and spiritual revolution in Judaism. While Orthodox in their beliefs, they stressed the importance of joy and enthusiasm in performing their religious obligations. Political and social conditions led to the rapid spread of the Hasidic movement.
Numerous sects grew up around religious leaders, called Zaddikim "holy men" , who dominated the life of their communities and frequently created dynasties of religious rule. The Hasidic movement at first was rejected by the intellectuals who dominated Jewish life, but it attracted the masses who suffered from poverty and discouragement. While the followers of this movement held to the requirements of Jewish law Halakhah , they appeared to their opponents as giving too much attention to the mystical and the emotional elements in Judaism.
These opponents, called Mitnaggedim , were often violent in their denunciation of the Hasidim. Both groups felt threatened, however, by the Jewish Enlightenment at the end of the 's and the Reform movement that began to emerge. They are frequently recognized by their traditional clothing and their close community life.
As Jews moved into the modern world, some felt the need to find a way of life closer to that of their neighbors. In a group of Jews in Hamburg, Germany, built a synagogue, which they called a temple. They introduced German in their prayer, shortened the service, and allowed instrumental music in their worship.
A sermon was preached in German. They gave up a belief in a personal Messiah and the hope that all Jews would someday return to the land of Israel. They eliminated head covering and special dietary regulations and put great emphasis on ethical behavior. The Reform movement did not grow rapidly until it was transplanted to the United States. Those who shared much of the spirit of Reform but were unhappy with some of its extreme positions created a Conservative movement. Members of this movement were willing to accept change, but only at a slower pace and in greater adherence to the tradition.
Solomon Schechter, the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, was one of the foremost spokespersons of the movement.
Conservative congregations are joined in the United Synagogue, and the Rabbinical Assembly is the association of Conservative rabbis. As is the case in Reform Judaism, there is tension within the Conservative movement between those who seek a more traditional expression of the Conservative philosophy and those who strive for a more liberal adjustment to the needs of Jewish life today.
In , Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan published his Judaism as a Civilization , an attempt to apply modern thought to the Jewish religion. A movement grew out of this effort, and today there is a fellowship of Reconstructionist Congregations, and a Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia.
The Reconstructionist movement publishes its own prayer books, as do the Reform and Conservative movements. The diversity of Jewish thought frequently gives rise to sharp exchanges among the various groups of Jews, especially between those who hold to strict orthodoxy and those who take a more liberal position.
In Israel, the Orthodox enjoy government support and try to limit the development of any liberal form of Judaism. Of particular concern are such questions as "Who is a Jew? Foremost among the sacred writings of Judaism is the Bible, a collection of books composed over a period of a thousand years, from the 's to the 's B. It is what Christians called the Old Testament, although the arrangement of some of the books is dif ferent in the Hebrew Bible.
Since the Bible was understood to contain all the laws necessary for personal and community life, it was continually studied and explained to make it applicable to change. Originally these explanations and comments were handed down orally from one generation of rabbis to the next. In the second century of the Christian era, this "Oral law" was arranged into a code and written down in a work called the Mishnah. Once written down, this code required interpretation and development, which was called Gemara.
One Gemara was developed in Palestine and was joined to the Mishnah in the early 's to produce the Palestinian Talmud. Another Gemara was developed in Babylonia and was joined, at the end of the 's, to produce the Babylonian Talmud. These great collections of Jewish law and lore became the basis for all later development of the Jewish tradition. Another body of literature, the Midrash , developed through the interpretation of the biblical texts. Largely nonlegal in character, it contains imaginative elaboration of the stories and ideas of the Holy Books.
After the completion of the two Talmuds, Jewish law continued to develop as inquiries were directed to the academies in Babylonia from the many places in which Jews lived. These questions and answers, in the hundreds of thousands, represent the Responsa literature. It tells us much about Jewish law and a great deal about the social, economic, and political conditions of Jewish life. In the 's Moses Maimonides organized the vast body of Jewish law in a work called the Mishneh Torah.
Jewish mysticism, called Cabala , produced a work called the Zohar "Splendor". It was largely written by Moses De Leon, who died in The Zohar long was attributed to a rabbi of the 's, Simeon ben Johai, who still is considered its author by some.
The worship of God is an essential part of the Jewish faith. Originally, this worship was expressed in both prayer and sacrifice. Sacrifices were offered during the four centuries of its existence in the Temple of Jerusalem built by Solomon and after that, for another five centuries, in the Temple built after the return from Babylonian exile.
In addition to sacrifices, administered by the priests, psalms and prayers were sung by the Levites, a tribe that since earliest times had been charged with the supervision of Jewish worship. While the Temple was still in existence, a popular institution emerged that became a house of prayer, a place of study, and also a place for community gathering. This institution came to be known as the synagogue , and when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70, it became the leading institution in Jewish life.
It is found everywhere today and is the central institution of every Jewish community. I grew up in an interfaith family that practiced no religion. As an adult I have joined a synagogue and am trying to learn what I missed out on. I have so many questions. Is it proper to ask the rabbi or other members my questions? I feel like a pest. How can I learn without annoying my fellow shul members? I have enrolled my children in Hebrew school, but they are learning at a much younger level than I need.
One thing you may have learned, or will learn soon, is that Judaism is a tradition of questioning. The more questions you ask, the better Jew you are!
However, you seem to be saying that your questions feel awkward and possibly unsophisticated. You are never taking up too much time and attention when you are trying to learn. However, you are indeed at a more adult level of learning and no doubt want to go at a faster pace.
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