Judaism was a parent of Christianity, and we probably know more about it than any other religion, excluding our own, right off the top of our The ancestors of the Jews, called the Israelites, established akingdom in Canaan-the land of Milk and Honey. The Israelites first beganto see themselves in a special relationship with their God at about 1000B.C.E. God had selected them to be a Chosen People. God had offered theChosen People a covenant, or special agreement. In this covenant, theIsraelites promised to worship only God, and in return God promised thempreservation throughout history and the land of Canaan. Canaan was latercalled Judah, Israel, and Palestine.Central to the understanding of the Jewish convenant is theprosperous herdsman who heard and followed Gods call, Abraham. Abraham answered Gods call and led his family from Ur of the Chaldees toCanaan. Abraham mad a son, Isaac, and a grandson Jacob who alsoinherited the convenant. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were called thepatriarchs, or the founders of Judiasm.Moses, being one of the great religious leaders in history, Godrevealed his name Yahweh to him. Yahweh means to be in Hebrew. Theevents recorded in Exodus indicate that through Moses a new and deeperunderstanding of God was revealed. The worship of Yahweh was unknownbefore Moses. The Israelites as a whole began to realize that the God ofMoses was a very jealous God, who would not tolerate worship of anyother god.As the book of Exodus opens, we find that the Israelites are slaves inthe land of Egypt. Exodus became the heart and soul of Judaism. Mosesis the key character in Exodus and one of great religious leaders in history. The Exodus story is one that is very touching.The persecution of the Jews in the 1930s was horrible and will beremembered forever. After being crushed in the economic disaster in theGreat Depression and being totally defeated in WWI, the time was perfectfor Hitler to take anti-Semitism, o...
