Judaism in Ancient times
Judaism is one of the monotheistic religions in the world that is considered a religion of the Jewish people. Most of the followers of Judaism are from Israel. The religion has over fourteen million followers’ worldwide with most of these followers in Israel which accounts for 42% percent while the United States and Canada account for another 42% while the rest of the followers are in other continents around the world. The religion traces back its roots in 2000 BCE in Canaan in the Middle East. The religion is one of the monotheistic religions in the world that hold faith to one Supreme Being by name God. The religion has its origin in Israel and Palestine in what is called the Israel beliefs. The religion traces back its roots from the covenant God made with Abraham and his family as it is contained in the bible where God made Abraham and his lineage the holy people and gave them the holy land.
The religion has distinctive characters of Abraham, his son Isaac and Jacob the son of Isaac and the prophet Moses. The religion did not emerge until the firs century and it hold the beliefs of rabbinic practices as it is evident even today. Moses received the commandments at Mt. Sinai that are regarded today as the Mosaic Law and are the main teaching of Judaism. This research paper seeks to find the characteristics of Judaism religion and the sectarian divisions during the first century B.C.E and into the first century C.E.
Common traits of these sects
Judaism is a religion which is based on the teaching of the Torah books in the Hebrew bible which include Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The followers of Judaism are referred to as Jews and they refer to the bible as the Tanakh. Judaism bases their practices on the Torah books in the Hebrew Bible that are influenced by writings in rabbinic, legal and other interpretations of the Torah. The religion in recent times has four main branches that can be recognized by their practice and belief and have different movements. This four main branches can be categorized as Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist and /reform movements. The followers of this religion are guided by one principle of God that they claim they are the holy people and their practice is a guideline from the Torah books in the Hebrew Bible.
A rabbi is a name given to the Jewish religious leaders and who in the past used to worship in the synagogue. The synagogue has in recent times been replaced by the second temple after the destruction of the synagogue in the 70 C.E. the religion tends to emphasize more on the practice than belief as they refer to them as the holy people of God. A rabbi has a duty in the Jewish culture to be an overseer of rituals and ceremonies that are common with Judaism as he or she provides guidelines through the interpretation of the Torah books in the Holy Bible. The rabbi makes interpretation and commentaries that are referred to as the Talmud or the oral Torah (Cohen, 56).
Discussion
Judaism has been referred by any sectarian as a religion that has more than four movements or beliefs that makes it attach different beliefs and practices. These four movements in Judaism include Reconstructionist, Orthodox, Reformist and Conservatives. Judaism has more than four different movements that differ on some interpretation and practice of the Torah books and these differences give rise to sectarian referring to the religion as sect. sectarianism arises out of hatred arising from difference in beliefs among two or more religions in the world. The origin of sectarianism in Judaism can be attributed by the difference in beliefs and practice as evident among Christians and Jewish which both hold faith in God and follow the teachings of the Hebrew Bible.
During the first century most religions had similar belief but after numerous interpretations and commentaries these religious views have been summed up to drive religions apart and hatred or bigotry has arose. Christians and Jewish belief in the one Supreme Being by the name the True God and their faith and belief are contained in the Hebrew Bible which is their common holy book. They both base their origin in Canaan but have spread to other part of the world as times have changed and brought about these differences in practice and belief. Internal conflicts led to the split of many religions in the world and it continues to be a major cause of division and bigotry in recent times. People who hold different denomination try to prove that their practice and belief is the only true and visible faith in the world. This in turn brings hatred towards an individual choice of belief and practice and in most cases has resulted in divisions among close religions and denominations (Freidenreich, 39).
Sectarian divisions
A Jew is a person who is born of a Jewish mother or who confesses the Jewish faith according to the Jewish Law as stipulated in the Torah. The Jewish religion as is normally referred to as Judaism is a close reference to the other Abraham religion like Christianity and Islam. The teaching of the Bible have been widely used by these three groups of religion but in most cases they have brought about controversies that have escalated to violence and hatred against each other. Each religion believes in one True God who has a different name in the three religions and thus they seek to prove that their belief and practice is the divine one from God. This division has in most cases brought about divisions and farther divisions in the church which has resulted in hatred towards another religion belief in the world (Cohen, 56).
The sectarian divisions in the first century BCE and the first Century C.E were characterized by different interpretations and beliefs among the Abrahamic religion which led to division and subsequent emergence of other religions in the world. Different religious leaders sought to interpret the bible differently as they taught different views about faith and belief among their followers. During the century of the Common Era, there was split between different religions in the world. Judaism division with Christianity can be attributed to one of those major divisions which were as a result of the destruction of the second temple and the crucifixion of Jesus. All these facts led to sectarian division in the Abrahamic religion which has in most scenarios brought a lot of hatred between two related religions in the world as one tries to dominate the other in a show of the true living God. Their practice and belief are closely related as they have the same Torah books which define their faith in the True God (Freidenreich, 39).
Differences between Judaism in Judea and Alexandria
Following the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, the kingdom of Judea emerged and ancient Hebrew scholars have always referred to this age as the Common Era when Christianity and Judaism religion were spreading to other parts of the world. In Judea most people here practiced Judaism religion and follow the Torah books in practice and belief. By the Year 332 BCE Alexander the Great conquered most regions in the world and Alexandria city in Egypt was among them and introduction of Judaism in most of these cities in the Middle East and parts of Northern Africa and south Europe. After the fall of Alexander the Great, some of his Generals divided the cities among themselves as they sought to establish their own rule and this led to farther division among the Judaism religion as each leader had a different approach to interpretation and practices of the Abraham law among his followers.
Judaism in Judea followed the teachings and practice of ancient beliefs as laid out in the Torah books in the Hebrew Bible while the Jews in Alexandria is a mixture of ancient tradition and Judaism as introduced by Alexander the Great during his rule over Egypt. During the first century B.C.E and into the first Century C.E the Jews religion spread to other areas in Canaan which today forms a large part of Israel and Palestine. Judaism in Alexandria was a mixture of ancient Greek traditions and Judaism beliefs as the residents in this town were not formally origin of Judea. These different beliefs brought about the division among Judaism religion around the world. This division has in most cases brought about hated as one group tends to believe that their religion is the true religion and they worship the one and true god (Goldwurm & Eliezer, 52).
Work cited
Cohen, Shaye J. D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1989. Print.
Freidenreich, David M. Foreigners and Their Food: Constructing Otherness in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Law. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. Internet resource.
Goldwurm, Hersh, and Eliezer Ebner. History of the Jewish People: The Second Temple Era. New York: Mesorah Publications, 1983. Print.
