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World Religions of Southwest Asia

Lesson 1

MAIN IDEAS
1. The Jews' early history began in Canaan and ended when the Romans
forced them out of Israel.

2. Jewish beliefs in God, justice, and law anchor their society.

3. Jewish sacred texts describe the laws and principles of Judaism.

4. Traditions and holy days celebrate the history and religion of the Jewish
people,

Key Terms and Places

Judaism Hebrews' religion

Canaan land where Abraham settled by the Mediterranean Sea

Exodus journey of the Hebrews out of Egypt, led by Moses

rabbis religious teachers of Judaism

monotheism belief in one and only one God
Torah most sacred text of Judaism

Lesson Summary
EARLY HISTORY
The Hebrews appeared in Southwest Asia
sometime between 2000 and 1500 BC. Their
religion was Judaism. Some of their early history
was written by Hebrew scribes. These accounts
became the Hebrew Bible. The Bible says that the
Hebrews started with a man named Abraham.
Circle the name of the man
According to the Bible, God told Abraham to leave who the Bible says is the

Mesopotamia and go to the land of Canaan on the first Hebrew.

Mediterranean Sea. God promised that Abraham's

déscendants would become a mighty nation.
Some of Abraham's descendants, the Israelites,
lived in Canaan fov many years. Later, a famine
Why did some Israelites
caused some to move to Egypt. They prospered move to Egypt?
there. Egypt's pharaoh feared that the Israelites
Abraham led his followers (the Israelites) to Canaan to
would become too powerful, so he made them
slaves. According to the Bible, a leader named
start a settlement to worship monotheism on their
Moses freed the Israelites and led them out of "promised land".
Egypt. During this long journey, called the

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Lesson

Exodus, God is said to have given Moses two

stone tablets on a mountain called Sinai. A code
of moral laws called the Ten Commandments
was written on the tablets.

The Israelites reached Canaan, or Israel, but in

Who were the kings who
the mid-1000s BC, invaders swept through the saved Israel and made it

rich?
land. Strong kings like David and Solomon kept
golden calves
the country together and expanded its territory.
It grew rich through trade, and Solomon built a
great temple in Jerusalem.
Eventually, conflict split Israel into two
kingdoms—Israel and Judah. The people of
Judah became known as Jews, The two kingdoms
lasted for a few centuries until they fell to

invaders.When Judah fell in 586 BC, the Jews What is the Diaspora?
were sent from Jerusalem as slaves. When the the dispersion of the
invaders were conquered, some Jews returned Jewish people beyond
home. Some moved to other places. This Israel.
scattering of Jews outside of Israel and Judah is
called thé Diaspora.
The Jews ruled themselves for about 100 years,
but then the Romans conquered them. The Jews
rebelled and the Romans punished them. The

great temple was destroyed. Many people were

killed or enslaved, and thousands fled Jerusalem.
Over the next centuries, Jews moved around the
world, where they often faced discrimination
from other religious groups.
After the temple was destroyed, roles in society
changed. The role of a priest was no longer as
Underline the sentence
important for religious practices. Instead, rabbis, that explainswhy rabbis
replaced priests as the
or religious teachers, became more important as
most important religious
the Jews spread across the world. Even before figures.
the templewas destroyed, women could not
become priests or rabbis. Men made most
decisions. Women's husbands were chosen by the
woman's father, and family property went to the
eldest son.

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Lesson 1, continued

JEWISH BELIEFS
No matter where they live, Jews base their society
on Jewish beliefs, Their most important belief is
that there is one, and only one, God. This is
Underline the definition of
known as monotheism. Most ancient cultures monotheism.
worshipped many gods, so the Jews' belief set

them apart. Also central to Jewish religion are

the ideas of justice and righteousness. Justice
means kindness and fairness toward all: to the
poor, sick, and even strangers and criminals.
Righteousness means doing what is right, even if

others do not. Jews value righteousness over

rituals.

Jews believe their religious laws were given to

them by God. The most important laws are the

Ten Commandments, which are still followed by

What are the most
many people today, The Jews also follow laws, important laws for the

called Mosaic laws, that guide their daily lives. Jewish people?
Animals must be killed in a certain way
These rules explain how people worship and even
what foods they eat. Foods that are allowed and
prepared according to these laws are called
kosher.

JEWISH TEXTS
Judaism has several sacred texts. These contain
the religion's basic laws and principles. The
Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, is
What are the three parts of
the most sacred text. It is central to Jewish the Hebrew Bible?

The Hebrew Bible has two

religious services.
Genesis Exodus
other parts besides the Torah. The second is the
Leviticus Numbers
writing of Hebrew prophets, people who were
Deuteronomy
believed to receive messages from God. The final
part has poetry, songs, stories, lessons, and
history. Many of these stories show the power
of faith.
The Talmud is a collection of commentaries
written by rabbis and scholars over the centuries.
The commentaries explain the Torah and Jewish
law. Most were written between AD 200 and 600.

ifl

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Lesson If continued

They are second only to the Hebrew Bible in

importance.

TRADITIONS AND HOLY DAYS

The Jewish holiday Hanukkah falls in December.
It honors a historical event. The Jews wanted to

celebrate a victory that had convinced their rulers

to let them keep their religion. According to
legend, the Jews did not have enough lamp oil to

celebrate at the temple. But somehow the oil they

had, enough for one day, burned for eight days.
So Jews today celebrate by lighting candles for
eight days. More important is the holiday of
Passover, celebrated in March or April. It honors
Circle the type of bread
the Exodus from Egypt. During this holiday,
eaten during Passover.
Jews eat a flat, unrisen bread called matzo.
The two most sacred Jewish holidays are called
the HighHoly Days. These take place in
September or October. The first two days
of celebratiop are Rosh Hashanah, which is

the start of the new year in the Jewish calendar.

Yom Kippur comes shortly after. It is the holiest
What is the holiest dayof
day of the year for Jews. On this day, Jews ask the year for Jews?
God to forgive their sins. They pray and do not Yom Kippur
eat or drink. They reflect on the past year and
resolve to improve.

CHALLENGE ACTIVITY
Critical Thinking: Draw Conclusions Imagine you
are helping to plan a museum of ancient Jewish
history Write a brief recommendation for three
exhibits you would like to include.

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DIRECTIONS Read each sentence and fill in the blank with the
word in the word pair that best completes the sentence.

1. The Bible says Abraham'moved from his home in Mesopotamia to the land
of Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea. (Egypt/Canaan)

2. The Hebrews' belief in one God is a type of religion known as Judaism

(monotheism/Judaism)

3. The long journey of the Israelitesaway from slavery in Egypt is known as the
Torah (Exodus/Torah)

4. The most sacred text of the Hebrews, the Judah is made up of five
books of the Bible. (Judah/Torah)

Yom Kippur is celébrated during the High Holy Days. (Passover/Yom Kippur)

DIRECTIONS Write a sentence or phrase that has the same meaning

as the term given.

6. Israel

7. Passover

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