Founded by Abraham and Moses in the middle east before 4000 years. Today there are 18 mio followers worldwide, among them 12mio in Israel and USA .Judaism is the first recorded monotheistic faith in the world.

Who is a Jew?
Jew is someone who is the child of a Jewish mother not the child of a Jewish father (looks there was earlier a strong matriarchat) and who has not adopted another faith.
Someone who isn’t born a Jew can convert to Judaism, but it is not easy to do so.

What is Judaism:
God is regarded as a personal god, who is the creator of the universe and who leads "His" people, the Jews, by speaking through prophets. Judaism is in essence what the prophet Moses transferred to his people at his time said to be the "Law of God" .
According to Judaism the people of Israel are God's chosen people, who must serve as a light for other nations. Following the teaching of Judaism God made a covenant first with Abraham around 2000 BC, and then renewed it with Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. This means that Judaism is a religion that focuses on the group and the group's needs, rather than on individuals. Individuals are important only as their actions affect the group.
Judaism expects a Messiah, who will bring universal peace and whose main seat will be Jerusalem.
For Judaism human condition can be improved if letter and spirit of the Torah are followed, and a Messiah will eventually bring the world to a state of paradise.
For them the word of God is revealed in the Hebrew Bible, especially in the Torah. The Torah contains 613 commandments, including the "Ten Commandments" explained in depth in the Talmud. The main scriptures of Judaism are Tanakh, Torah, Talmud and Mishna

Main group of the Judaism
There are three main groups

The Orthodox community :
views the Torah as derived from God, and therefore absolutely binding. It is the oldest, most conservative but actually the most diverse form of Judaism. Modern Orthodox like Chasidim and Ultra Orthodox share a basic belief in the origin of Jewish law, even as they follow very different approaches to life. They ask their followers to follow the original form of Judaism and look upon every word in their sacred texts as being divinely inspired. The orthodox regard only male as able to become rabbis.

The Reform movement:
a liberal group, followed by many Jews living in the US. This movement started end 18th century in Germany. While they regard the ethical laws of Judaism as a must, they leave it to the decision of the individual to follow or ignore most of the other laws. They use modern forms of worship. Genders are regarded as equal and many females are rabbis in the reform congregations.

The Conservative Jews :
follow most of the rules of the Torah, but give room for change in the face of modern life. This movement started mid-nineteenth century as reaction to the Reform movement. The conservative Jews movement can be seen as something in the middle between Reform and Orthodox Judaism.. It was another German who brought it originally to America and it is now called the United Synagogue of America.

Essential data in Judaism History
The Biblical Period (2000 BCE to 538 BCE)
Abraham Isaac & Jacob (2000-1700 BCE.)
Israelites Exile in Egypt(1700-1300 BCE.)
Exodus from Egypt and Conquest of Canaan( 1250 BCE)
Rule of the Great Monarchs Saul, David, Solomon (1025-928 BCE )
Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (928-726 BCE )
Israel Falls (726 BCE )
Judah Falls (586 BCE)
Babylonian Exile; Ends with Cyrus' Edict(586-538 BCE)
.
The Second Temple Period(515 BCE to 70 CE)
Alexander the great conquers Israel.(330BCE)
Hasmonean Uprising (167 BCE)
Roman victory over Maccabees(80 BCE)
Harod the great (37-4BCE)
the great revolt (66-72CE)
the destruction of the Second temple (70CE)

The Talmudic Period(135 to 550)
Bar kokhab revolt (135)
Mishnah compiled (200),
Palestinian Talmud completed, Babylonina Talmud

The Medieval Period (638 to 1665)
Paris disputation and burning of Talmud,
Jews expelled from England, Spain and Inquisition
First Ghetto in Venice (1516)
Rabbi Joseph Caro's shulkhan arukh (1567)
Apostasy of Shabbetai Zevi (1665)

Modern Period(1730 till now)
First Synagogue in New York (1730)
Baal Shem Tov(1760)
Haskalah Movement(1770-1880)
Jews Granted French Citizenship (1791)
Reform Judaism begins in Germany(1820)
Petah Tikvah(1878)
European Migration to North America(1881-1924)
Conservative Judaism created(1886)
First Zionist Congress(1897)
Balfour Declaration(1917)
Holocaust(1933-1945)
Creation of the State of Israel (1948)

Basic believe of Judaism:
Human beings are created in the image of God.

Humans are driven by two impulses called yetzer tov and yetzer ra.
Yetzer Tov is the moral conscience that reminds a person of God's law when one considers a specific action or choice.
Yetzer Ra is the impulse to follow one's needs and desires. While it was created by God to help humans to survive, it can lead to sin, when not kept in check by Yetzer Tov.

The idea of human free will is fundamental to Judaism. The concept of original sin is rejected, and every person has the ability to choose good or evil.

God exists, and there is only one God, who can't be subdivided into different entities (unlike most Christianity oriented religions) God is transcendent and above and beyond all earthly things. God is neither female nor male. God has created the universe and is omnipresent as well as omni potent. God is beyond time. God is justice. God is personal and accessible, He is interested in each individual to whom he listens and sometimes speaks, but often in unexpected ways.

Following God's law means bringing holiness into every aspect of live and is necessary to keep up the special relationship with God since the time of Abraham.

Judaism believes in the need of a community (very practical to survive) out of which follows that many activities must be done in the context of a community. Thus many religious customs revolve also around the home.

Worshipping plays a big role. Jews are supposed to obey the letter of the law, but even more the spirit of it.

Judaism is a faith of action. People should be judged not so much by their verbal expressions of believe but by the way they live their faith.

Holy days of Judaism
The high holidays observed in September or October, center on atonement from sin. They consist of Rosh ha-Shanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Yom Kippur, 10 days later, is characterized by fasting and praying to God for the forgiveness of sins. After five more days comes Sukkot (Tabernacles), a joyful holiday marked by the construction of a sukkah (tent) decorated with festive fruit and plants. Yom Kippur and Sukkot go back to the Old Testament, the latter as a reminder that the people lived in tents as they journeyed to the Promised Land.
In November or December falls Hanukkah , a holiday that commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the pagan desecrators of the Temple in 165 BCE. During the week of Hanukkah, the menorah (candelabrum) is lit each night and potato pancakes are eaten.
In February or March, a carnival-like holiday called Purim is observed, recounting the events of the Book of Esther. Passover, the most popular of all the Jewish holidays, falls in March or April and commemorates the Israelites' deliverance from slavery in Egypt as narrated in the Book of Exodus. This holiday is characterized by the eating of matzoh (unleavened bread) during the entire week and the observance of the Seder, or Passover meal, at the beginning of the week.
Finally, the holiday of Shavuot falls in May or June, with themes of springtime and harvest. Traditionally, this holiday was the day when God gave the Law to Israel at Mount Sinai.

Important ceremonies of Judaism
== Circumcision of sons takes place on the eighth day after birth.
== Bar mitzvah(boys) and bat mitzvah (girls) the coming of age ceremony at age 13
== Jewish weddings take place under a chuppah (canopy). One high point is the smashing of a glass wrapped in a cloth to symbolize the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
== Every week religious Jews observe the Sabbath, the Jewish holy day, and keep its laws and customs. Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until sunset on Saturday. It is commanded by God, who commanded the Jewish People to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy as the fourth of the Ten Commandments. The idea of a day of rest comes from the Bible story of the Creation: when God rested on the seventh day after he had created the universe.