God
Jews believe in one eternal God.
Torah
The Jewish bible or Tanakh (referred to by Christians as the ‘Old Testament’). Refers especially to the first Five Books of Moses.
Origins
Founded by Abraham and Moses, Judaism is around 3500 years old and began in the Middle East. It is the parent religion to Christianity.
According to Jewish beliefs, God made a covenant with Abraham that he would be their God and they would be his chosen people.
Diversity
There are various schools of thought within Judaism. The principal ones include:
- Haredim
- Hasidic
- Orthodox
- Masorti
- Progressive
Statistics
There are around 13 million Jews worldwide, the majority in Israel and the USA. There are around 267,000 Jews living in the UK, 1,831 of them in Tower Hamlets.
Worship
Prayers
Jewish worshippers pray three times a day: in the morning (Shaharit), afternoon (Minhah) and evening (Ma’ariv).
Shabbat
The Shabbat begins around half an hour before sunset on Friday evening and ends at nightfall on Saturday night.
Diet
Jewish food regulations – known as kashrut – define food as kosher (permitted) or treif (forbidden).
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