Judaism is all over the world. You can find Jewish people in manycountries. They speak differentlanguages and may be of any color. Anybodywhose mother is a Jew is considered to be Jewish. Jewish history began over four thousand years ago in the MiddleEast. This religion is the oldest typeof monotheism. The founder, Abraham,lived near Ur. He heard a message fromgod to move his people to Canaan, which was the Promised Land. People thatmoved there became known as the Hebrews. Jews have both a Hebrew name and an ordinary name. The Hebrew name is used in the Synagogue andreligious documents. The Synagogue is ahouse of prayer, study, and a community center. The Hebrew word for Synagogue is Beth Ha Knesset meaning house ofmeeting or assembly. The centralfeature of the Synagogue is the Ark, which houses the scrolls of the Torah. A baby boy is given his name when heis eight days old. When boys turnthirteen, they are considered to be adults, and become responsible for theirreligious duties. This is marked with aceremony called, Bar Mitzvah, meaning €œ son of the commandment€. There are three daily prayer sessionsevening, morning, and afternoon. Whenever possible the prayers should be saidat public services but praying at home or somewhere else is just as good. One tradition says that everyone should saya hundred blessings each day and some prayers must be said three times a daywhile others must be said twice. Jewishpeople believe in Sabbath, Sabbath is a day for rest for them. Sabbath begins shortly after sunset onFriday evening and ends late on Saturday night. They do not drive on Fridays or Saturdays because of the Sabbath. Many Jewish holidays commemorateevents invested with historical and religious meaning. Hanukkah means €œdedication€, and itcommemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after its desecrationby foreign forces. The celebration alsoreaffirms the...
