Judaism is the religion of the Jews. There are an estimated 14 million followers of the Jewish religion around the world. Most of the world's Jews are concentrated in three countries: the United States (six million), Israel (3.7 million), and the Soviet Union (2.5 million). Other nations with significant Jewish populations are France (650 thousand), Great Britain (400 thousand), Canada (300 thousand), Argentina (300 thousand), and Brazil (150 thousand).
Judaism was the first religion based on monotheism, the belief in one God. All of the major Western religions found their roots in Judaism.
A central tenet of Judaism is that God, the Creator of the World, made a special agreement called a covenant (berit in Hebrew) with Abraham, from whom the Jewish people descended. The covenant provided that the Jews would be blessed with God's love and protection if they remained true to God's law and faithfully worshipped Him, and be accountable for sins and transgression against God and His laws. The Jewish People have often been referred to throughout history as the "Chosen People" because of the belief that the Jews were singled out among all of the ancient peoples to receive God's laws and His blessings. According to Judaism, the Jews were chosen to be His servants although God is the universal Creator of all humanity.
No comments:
Post a Comment