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 History and Diversity
The scriptural tradition of Judaism begins its narrative with the very
creation of the world, and describes the relationship between God and the first
human beings, Adam and Eve (whose Hebrew names are related to the words for
"humanity" and "life" respectively). That tradition traces the particular
relationship between God and Jews, however, to a man named Abraham (originally,
Abram). God "chose" Abraham and his descendants to be in a special relationship
with God (a "covenant"). Something of the epitome of that relationship was
reached generations later when Abraham's descendants were led by Moses out of
slavery in Egypt and into the Sinai peninsula where they received instruction
(Heb., "torah") on how to live in relationship with God.
Scholars of religion make a distinction between the religion of the Hebrews
(Abraham's and Moses' contemporaries) and ancient Israelites (the people under
the kingdoms of the Davidic dynasty and the sequence of ruling families in the
northern tribal areas) and the religion of Judaism, per se. The distinctions in
terminology are meant to represent the development and changes of religious
understanding and practice over these many centuries. Early Judaism is usually
dated to sometime in the period of the 4th-1st centuries before the Common Era.
For example, there were some significant developments in the areas of how to
maintain the instructions of ritual practice regarding sacrifice when the temple
where sacrifices could be offered was either too distant or simply
unavailable due to the ravages of war. This issue became critical to the
development of Judaism by rabbis (the scholars and teachers of the religion)
after the Jerusalem temple was again destroyed by the Romans in 70
CE and subsequently never rebuilt.
The diversity within Judaism today can be traced along several different
lines theologically and culturally. The older divisions tend to be cultural, and
distinguish between the practices of Jews whose ancestors were expelled from
Spain in 1492 and settled in the Mediterranean regions, who are called
Sephardim, and those who were settled throughout Europe and ultimately scattered
around the world by anti-Semitic pogroms, who are called Ashkenazim. Theological
diversity (in terms of both religious understanding and ritual practices) can be
identified as Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Progressive, Reconstructionist,
and Liberal Judaism (along a rough continuum from more conservative to more
liberal). It is also true that some who are of Jewish ancestry now divide
themselves between "religious Jews" who follow the beliefs and practices of
"Torah observance" (in accord with the teachings of one of the theological
divisions) and those who do not practice the Jewish religion and are thus
"secular" or "cultural" Jews (still claiming for themselves Jewish history and
values).
Jewish Scriptures
The core of the Jewish scriptures is the "Torah" ("instruction"), the fives
books traditionally associated with Moses and generally known in English by the
titles Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Along with these
books, what might be called the Jewish Bible also includes two other divisions,
namely the "Prophets" (Heb., "Nebi'im") and "Writings" (Heb., "Kethubim"). The
first letters of each of the Hebrew titles for these divisions are combined into
the acronym "Tanakh" as a reference to their full scriptures. In total, this
scriptural collection includes 22 books ordered and arranged differently but corresponding to the
Protestant Christian "Old Testament" (it is historically more correct to say the
Protestant "Old Testament" corresponds to the limits of the Jewish scriptures,
which is centuries earlier than Protestantism).
There are a number of other Jewish writings stretching back centuries that
aid in the interpretation and application of Tanakh and Torah more specifically.
These writings include the "Mishnah" and the "Talmuds." Generally speaking,
Jewish interpretation follows one of two emphases. The first, called "halakhah"
(from the Hebrew word for "walk"), deals with the application of scripture to
the practical issues of life. The other, called "haggadah," interprets and uses
stories to teach the values and beliefs of Judaism.
Jewish Practice
The core of Jewish religion is what is termed "Torah observance." The story
is told that one day a man approached one of the great teachers of Judaism,
Rabbi Hillel, and said he would become a Jew if the rabbi could teach him all of
the Torah will standing on one foot. Hillel is said to have responded, "That
which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor; all the rest is commentary"
(B.Shab. 31a).
It is a wonderful story providing insight into Judaism, as long as it is not
heard in such a way as conform to one of the most common misunderstandings about
the religion. Many people have the view that Judaism is a "legalistic" religion
(perhaps aided by the translation of "Torah" as "law" rather than
"instruction"). They believe that Jews are trying to earn acceptance from God
(or even "salvation," if that Christian notion is imported into or imposed upon
one's understanding of Judaism) by keeping all the instructions of Torah. But
within Judaism, this approach would completely reverse the relationships. It is
because Jews are in relationship with God (having been "chosen" through the
"covenant" with Abraham) that God has given them the "instruction" of Torah as a
gracious gift and guide to life. To expand only briefly on Hillel's statement,
it is because Jews are in relationship with both God and others (their
"neighbors") God has given them Torah as "commentary" on how not to act
hatefully toward themselves or these neighbors.
Most people with even a passing familiarity with Judaism are aware that
historically this religion has maintained certain dietary restrictions (such as
refraining from eating pork). The precise nature of these restrictions, known as
"Kosher dietary laws," relate both to what is eaten and to how it is prepared,
and vary between different divisions within Judaism and even at different times
of the year (such as the avoidance of yeast products during Passover). The
strictest interpretations of a Kosher diet would likely result in a Scout
joining a unit made up exclusively of other Scouts who followed the same
practices, but units with Jewish Scouts with broader understandings of Kosher
requirements should nevertheless be sure that menus at all events include
options that are in keeping with their practice. That need not mean that no one
can have bacon for breakfast or cheese on their hamburger, but there should be
plenty of foods served that make possible a balanced and nutritional meal within
these dietary guidelines.
One particular practice found among most religious Jews that calls for
mention is the avoidance of saying God's name, that may extend even to the use
of the more generic word "God" itself. In Jewish scriptures, God revealed the
divine name to Moses (see Exodus 3:13-15). However, since Hebrew was originally
written without vowels, only the consonants of the name are preserved.
Transliterated from Hebrew, those consonants are "Yhwh." Both because of
uncertainty about how to pronounce the name not knowing the proper vowels, and
more importantly because of the prohibition of not using God's name in an
"empty" way (one of the "ten words" [in Jewish tradition, "Ten Commandments" in
Christian tradition] often rendered into English as, "Do not take the name of
the Lord your God in vain"), Jews do not call God by name even in prayer or when
reading scripture. Customs vary on appropriate substitutes, with some saying
some form of the title "Lord" and others saying simply, "the Name" (Heb.,
ha-Shem). Although particularly Christian groups interpret this
"word/commandment" differently, respect and reverence for the beliefs of Jews
would call for avoiding vocalizations of God's name (such as "Jehovah" or
"Yahweh") when Jews are present.
Another sensitive issue when both Jews and Christians are together is how to
refer to scriptural books that both share. Understandably Jews may be offended
by the Christian designation "Old Testament" in that it implies that Tanakh may
now be obsolete, or even that their "covenant" (the meaning of "testament") has
been replaced by something new. How would Christians respond to their particular
scriptures, the "New Testament," referred to by Muslims as "the Former Covenant"
(since Muslims believe the Quran is God's final revelation)? Although none are
without some difficulties of their own, religious studies scholars have begun
referring to these "shared scriptures" by such titles like "the Hebrew Bible" and
"the First Testament."
Finally, a note on the observance of Jewish holy days. Because the Jewish
scriptures describe the creation of "day" by God calling forth light in the
midst of darkness ("and there was evening and there was morning, the first
day"), the Jewish calendar marks the beginning of the day as sunset.
Thus, for example, the Jewish Sabbath runs from sunset on Friday to sunset on
Saturday rather than in terms of clock times from midnight to midnight. Most
commercial calendars label Jewish holy days with reference to the daylight hours
of the holy day. Consequently, if Yom Kippur (a very important Jewish
holy day) appears on a calendar in the Wednesday block, the observance actually
begins on Tuesday evening. Some calendars will try to avoid this confusion by
placing the notation in the Tuesday block with a parenthetical reference,
"(begins at sunset)." Troops with Jewish members should keep this in mind in
planning activities around the most import holy days, such as Rosh Hashanah,
Yom Kippur, and the first nights of Hanukah and Pesach
("Passover").
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