Judaism - Art, Iconography, Rituals | Britannica

Judaism

Table of Contents

Introduction
The history of Judaism
- General observations
  - Nature and characteristics
  - Periodization
- Biblical Judaism (20th–4th century bce)
  - The ancient Middle Eastern setting
  - The pre-Mosaic period: the religion of the patriarchs
  - The Mosaic period: foundations of the Israelite religion
    - The Egyptian sojourn
    - Mosaic religion
  - The period of the conquest and settlement of Canaan
  - The period of the united monarchy
    - The religious and political problem
    - The Davidic monarchy
  - The period of the divided kingdom
  - The period of classical prophecy and cult reform
    - The emergence of the literary prophets
    - Prophecy in the southern kingdom
    - Reforms in the southern kingdom
  - The Babylonian Exile
  - The period of the restoration
- Hellenistic Judaism (4th century bce–2nd century ce)
  - The Greek period (332–63 bce)
    - Hellenism and Judaism
    - Social, political, and religious divisions
    - Religious rites and customs in Palestine: the Temple and the synagogues
    - Religious and cultural life in the Diaspora
      Egyptian Jewish literature
      Palestinian literature
  - The Roman period (63 bce–135 ce)
    - New parties and sects
    - Origin of Christianity: the early Christians and the Jewish community
    - Judaism under Roman rule
- Rabbinic Judaism (2nd–18th century)
  - The age of the tannaim (135–c. 200)
    - The role of the rabbis
    - The making of the Mishna
  - The age of the amoraim: the making of the Talmuds (3rd–6th century)
    - Palestine (c. 220–c. 400)
    - Babylonia (200–650)
  - The age of the geonim (c. 640–1038)
    - Triumph of the Babylonian rabbinate
    - Anti-rabbinic reactions
    - The gaonate of Saʿadia ben Joseph
  - Medieval European Judaism (950–1750)
    - The two major branches
    - Sephardic developments
    - Ashkenazic developments
    - Marginalization and expulsion
    - Conflicts and new movements
- Modern Judaism (c. 1750 to the present)
  - The new situation
  - The Haskala, or Enlightenment
    - In central Europe
    - In eastern Europe
  - Religious reform movements
  - Orthodox developments
    - In western and central Europe
    - In eastern Europe
  - Developments in scholarship
  - Jewish-Christian relations
  - Zionism
  - American Judaism
  - Judaism in other lands
  - Contemporary Judaism
The Judaic tradition
- The literature of Judaism
  - General considerations
  - Sources and scope of the Torah
    - Prophecy and religious experience
    - Modern views of Torah
- Basic beliefs and doctrines
  - God
    - Unity and uniqueness
    - Creativity
    - Activity in the world
    - Otherness and nearness
    - Modern views of God
  - Israel (the Jewish people)
    - Choice and covenant
    - Israel and the nations
    - The people and the land
    - Modern views of the people Israel
  - Humanity
    - The image of God
    - The earthly-spiritual creature
    - The ethically bound creature
    - Medieval and modern views of man
  - Ethics and society
    - The ethical emphasis of Judaism
    - Interpenetration of communal and individual ethics
    - The key moral virtues
    - The relation to non-Jewish communities and cultures
    - The formulation of Jewish ethical doctrines
  - The universe
    - Creation and Providence: God’s world
    - Humanity’s place in the universe
    - Intermediary beings: angels and demons
  - Eschatology
    - The future age of humankind and the world
    - The king-messiah and his reign
    - Secularization of messianism
- Basic practices and institutions
  - The hallowing of everyday existence
  - The traditional pattern of individual and familial practices
  - The traditional pattern of synagogue practices
  - Ceremonies marking the individual life cycles
  - Holy places: the land of Israel and Jerusalem
  - The sacred language: Hebrew and the vernacular tongues
  - The rabbinate
    - Legal, judicial, and congregational roles
    - Chief rabbinates
  - General councils or conferences
  - Modern variations
- The Jewish religious year
  - The cycle of the religious year
  - The Jewish calendar
    - Lunisolar structure
    - Months and notable days
    - Origin and development
  - The Sabbath
    - Importance
    - Observances
  - The Jewish holidays
    - Pilgrim Festivals
    - Ten Days of Penitence
    - Minor festivals: Hanukkah and Purim
    - The five fasts
    - The lesser holidays
  - The situation today
- Art and iconography
  - The anti-iconic principle and its modifications
  - Ceremonial objects and symbols
  - Architecture
  - Paintings and illustrations
  - Music
  - Literature
- Jewish philosophy
  - Pre-Hellenistic and Hellenistic thought
    - Bible and Apocrypha
    - Philo Judaeus
    - Other ancient sources
  - Medieval philosophy
    - Jewish kalām
      Saʿadia ben Joseph
      The Karaites
    - Jewish Neoplatonism
      Isaac Israeli
      Solomon ibn Gabirol
      Judah ha-Levi
      Other Jewish thinkers, c. 1050–c. 1150
    - Jewish Aristotelianism
      Abraham ibn Daud
      Maimonides
      Averroists
      Gersonides
      Ḥasdai Crescas
      Joseph Albo
  - Modern philosophy
    - The Iberian-Dutch philosophers
      Uriel Acosta
      Benedict de Spinoza
    - German philosophers
      Moses Mendelssohn
      Solomon Formstecher
      Samuel Hirsch
      Nachman Krochmal
      Solomon Steinheim
      Hermann Cohen
      Franz Rosenzweig
      Martin Buber
      Emmanuel Lévinas
- Jewish mysticism
  - Nature and characteristics
    - The Judaic context
    - Three types of Jewish mysticism
  - Main lines of development
    - Early stages to the 6th century ce
    - Sefer yetzira
    - The Arabic-Islamic influence (7th–13th century)
    - The making of Kabbala (c. 1150–1250)
      Sefer ha-bahir
      School of Isaac the Blind
    - The 10 sefirot
      School of Gerona (Catalonia)
      Sefer ha-temuna
    - Medieval German (Ashkenazic) Hasidism
    - The making of the Zohar (c. 1260–1492)
    - The Lurianic Kabbala
    - Shabbetaianism
    - Modern Hasidism
  - Modern Jewish mysticism
- Jewish myth and legend
  - Significance and characteristics
  - Sources and development
    - Myth and legend in the Bible
      Myths
      Legends and other tales
      Contemporary interpretations
    - Myth and legend in the Persian period
    - Myth and legend in the Hellenistic period
      Historiated Bibles and legendary histories
      Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
    - Myth and legend in the Talmud and Midrash
      Midrash and Haggada
      Fables and animal stories
      Contribution of Haggada to Christian and Islamic legends
    - Myth and legend in the medieval period
      Jewish contributions to diffusion of folktales
      Hebrew versions of medieval romances
      Jewish contributions to Christian and Islamic tales
      Major medieval Hebrew collections
      Medieval legendary histories and Haggadic compendiums
    - Myth and legend in the modern period
      Kabbalistic tales
      Judeo-German (Yiddish) tales
      Judeo-Persian and Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) tales
      Hasidic tales
      Droll stories
      Modern Israeli folktales
- Judaism in world perspective
  - Relation with non-Judaic religions
    - Exclusivist and universalist emphases
    - Relation to Christianity
    - Relation to Islam
    - Relations with other religions
  - The role of Judaism in Western culture and civilization
    - Its historic role
    - Its present role
    - Future prospects

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Jerusalem: Western Wall, Temple Mount

Sacrifice of Isaac

Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael

Titian: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

Moses and the Israelites

Rembrandt: Moses with the Tablets of the Law

Nicolas Poussin: Adoration of the Golden Calf

Palestine during the time of David and Solomon

Donatello: David

For Students

reading from the Torah

Judaism summary

Read Next

Shofar, Thalit, Torah, Judaism, yom kippur

A Jewish man blowing the shofar at the Western Wall (Jerusalem, Israel)during Rosh Hashanah Jewish Holiday on September 18, 2009. (holidays, Judaism, new year)

Candles Burning On Table In Church

What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World?

Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism,

Which Religion Is the Oldest?

Four year old boy with grandfather and father lighting Hanukkah menorah. Photo taken on: December 21st, 2009

Which Is Correct: Hanukkah or Chanukah?

Discover

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.

The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950

Still from the film Deliverance, 1919. The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. View shows Keller in the cockpit/front seat of an airplane.

How Did Helen Keller Fly a Plane?

Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).

What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?

VAN, TURKEY - OCTOBER 25: A building and car ruined during the earthquake of Van-Ercis on October 25, 2011 in Van, Turkey. It is 604 killed and 4152 injured in Van-Ercis Earthquake.

What Is an Aftershock?

Solar Eclipse, Eclipse, Solar Flare, Outer Space, Astronomy

What Causes Lunar and Solar Eclipses?

United States Electoral College votes by state

How Many Electoral College Votes Does Each U.S. State Have?

Although the Second Commandment (Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 5:8), “You shall not make yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,” has been understood as absolutely prohibiting any and all artistic representation, this is not the only possible interpretation of these words. What is intended is a prohibition against the construction of idols, which were objects of worship in the cultural area in which the Israelites dwelt. Even in the Bible there are reports of artistic activity in the ...(100 of 82633 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.