Religion Judaism or Judaisms Essay Example For Students

Religion: Judaism or Judaisms? Essay Religion: Judaism or Judaisms?It has been argued that Judaism can be seen not only as a single religion, butas a group of similar religions. It has also been pointed-out that through allthe trials and tribulations that Judaism has suffered through, that there havebeen common themes that have proven omni-pervasive. Any institution with rootsas ancient and varied as the religion of the Jews is bound to have a fewvariations, especially when most of its history takes place in the political andtheological hot spot of the Middle East. In this discussion, many facets of Judaism will be examined, primarily in thethree temporal subdivisions labeled the Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Period, theDivided Monarchy, and the Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era. Among all thetime periods where the religion has been split, these three seem to be the mostrepresentative of the forces responsible. As for a common thread seen throughout all Judiasms, the area of focus here isthe place associated with the religion : Jerusalem. This topic will be coveredin detail first, and then the multiple Judaism arguments will be presented. Inthis way, it is possible to keep a common focus in mind when reading about allthe other situations in which the religion has found itself. A brief conclusionfollows the discussion. A Place to Call HomeNo other religion has ever been so attached to its birthplace as Judaism. Perhaps this is because Jews have been exiled and restricted from this place formost of their history. Jerusalem is not only home to Judaism, but to the Muslimand Christian religions as well. Historically this has made it quite a busyplace for the various groups. Jerusalem is where the temple of the Jews once stood; the only place on thewhole Earth where one could leave the confines of day to day life and get closerto God. In 586 BCE when the temple was destroyed, no Jew would have deniedJerusalem as being the geographic center of the religion. From that point on,the Jewish people have migrated around the world, but not one of them forgetsthe fact that Jerusalem is where it all began. It is truly a sacred place, andhelps to define what Judaism means to many people; a common thread to runthrough all the various splinters of the religion and help hold them together. Even today, as the Jewish people have their precious Jerusalem back (through thehelp of other nations and their politics) there is great conflict and emotionsurrounding it. Other nations and people in the area feel that they should bein control of the renowned city, and the Jews deny fervently any attempt towrestle it from their occupation. It is true that there is no temple inJeruslaem today, nor are all the Jews in the world rushing to get back there. But it is apparent that the city represents more to the religion of Judaism thana mere place to live and work. The city of Jerusalem is a spiritual epicenter,and throughout Judaisms long and varied history, this single fact has neverchanged. Tribal / Pre-MonarchyJudaisms roots lie far back in the beginnings of recorded history. Thereligion did not spring into existence exactly as it is known today, rather itwas pushed and prodded by various environmental factors along the way. One ofthe first major influences on the religion was the Canaanite nation. Varioustheories exist as to how and when the people that would later be called Jewsentered into this civilization. But regardless of how they ultimately got there,these pioneers of the new faith were subjected to many of the ideas andprejudices of the time. Any new society that finds itself in an existing socialsituation, can do no more than to try and integrate into that framework. Andthis is exactly what the Jews did. International Business EssayHasmonean / Maccabean and Roman EraThis time period in Jewish history is politically tumultuous, leading to highlevels of splits and variations in the religion itself. One of the mostdisruptive types of all wars is a civil war. And this is exactly what occurs atthe outset in the Jewish homeland of Jerusalem. The Jewish civil war wasagainst the extreme Hellenizers (people who tended toward utter reason in theirbeliefs) and the moderate Hellenizers (people who can see things rationally, butbelieve there are more items to consider than this ex. the Maccabean family,who became the Hasmonean kings). So right away, it is apparent that the ideasthat the Greeks introduced into Jewish culture have acted as time-bombs ofsocial memes, and have created a major split in the religion. When the violence of the war has subsided, the moderate Hellenizers have won (everything in moderation!) and rule for a short time, until the Roman empireattacks and throws even more kinks into the Jewish society. When the Romanstake over, the Hasmonean kings are left in place as puppet kings, whichultimately forces the general population to question their governing body. When the Romans destroy the temple in Jerusalem, it is made painfully clear thatsome changes are going to be made. Most obvious, the priests suddenly have nomajor role in the religion. Their primary purpose had been to tend to thesacrificing of animals, and since it is illegal to sacrifice an animal outsidethe temple, the priests were in an unsettling position. As can be seen in countless other examples, politics and religion are invariablytied, and people began practicing their own flavors of Judaism after theircivilization had been so radically altered. At this point in history, there isreally no solid rule to prevent such splits, and for a time a mixed form ofJudaism with many varieties flourishes. No one was sure what to do once the heart of Judaism (the temple) had beendestroyed, but it soon became apparent that an appealing option was arising. Two major social groups of the time period were vying for power. The firstgroup, the Saducees were associated with the displaced Hasmonean kings. Thesecond group, the Pharisees, had an idea that would help work around the tragicdestruction of the temple. People were split, once again. They could stay withthe traditional Saducees (who had the political power, believed in only writtenTorah, and did not subscribe to resurrection basically a conservative view),or they could side with the newcomers, the Pharisees (who had religious power,believed in both the written and the oral Torah, and believed in resurrection)and hope to preserve their Jewish heritage by worshiping outside of the temple,in their everyday life. It was not a hard decision, and the Pharisees eventually gained power, leadingthe Jewish religion into its next phase of Rabbinic Judaism. It is apparent that in each of the three time periods discussed above that manyfactions of the same religion were active. Competing philosophies, outsidepolitical forces, and geographic isolation are among the most obvious of thedividing forces. However many other influences pound each and every day on agiven social institution, subtly forming it and changing it into something itwas not. For this reason, the answer to the debate whether Judaism is a single,or multiple religion(s) is an obvious one, depending upon how you choose to lookat it. Every religion has many pieces, but as long as there are a few constants(such as the birthplace, the language, literature, etc) it is possible to viewthe whole as a single force, and still acknowledge various religionsReligion