According to Jewish beliefs, God made a promise through Abraham, and later Moses, that he would be their God and they would be his chosen people. Jewish people believe this promise gives them a particular responsibility to follow God’s laws. The three principal elements of their religion are:

God
God exists and God is one, but he does not exist in physical form. God is the creator of everything, is eternal and knows human deeds. He is just and merciful. God will send a Messiah and he will resurrect the dead.

Torah
The Torah (Jewish law and teachings) has a divine origin and is eternally valid. The Torah contains 613 commandments or mitzvot. Jews believe these commandments are the revelation of God and the basis of the relationship between God and the Jewish people.

Israel
Jews must worship God alone. God has communicated through the prophets and Moses is the greatest of all the prophets.

Jewish people interpret and apply their beliefs through the Talmud (the Oral Torah), which is divided into two parts: the Mishnah and the Gemara. The Mishnah is a compilation of the oral laws and the Gemara is a commentary on them.

Legal material in the Talmud is known as Halakhah; non-legal material is known as the Aggadah. Jewish community life revolves around the interpretation and practice of the Halakhah.

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Orthodox
Judaism’s Orthodox tradition believes that the Torah and the laws in the Talmud are based on God’s unchanging words. When it comes to law, life and religious practice, Orthodox Jews believe that the Hebrew Bible – as interpreted by rabbis – is the definitive authority.

Hasidic
The Hasidic movement is rooted in the Orthodox tradition. Its supporters originated in central and eastern Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They follow the mystical approach to Judaism developed by Israel ben Eliezer. Also known as Baal Shem Tov, he lived in Poland during the eighteenth century.

Haredim
Sometimes called Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Haredim exclude certain aspects of modern culture from their lives and often attempt to recreate traditional lifestyles down to the smallest details.

Progressive
The Progressive tradition includes the Reform movement and its offshoot, the Liberal movement. Both movements believe that although the Torah was inspired by God, it was written down by humans. This means it can be progressively questioned, revised and reinterpreted.

The Reform movement began in the nineteenth century as an attempt to make Judaism relevant to the modern world. The Liberal movement – established in the USA and Germany – placed more emphasis on sincerity of belief than rituals; and reformed synagogue services to be led in the native language, not Hebrew.

Masorti
Known as Conservative Judaism in the USA, this tradition is often described as lying halfway between the Orthodox and Progressive traditions. Its followers strive to remain faithful to traditional Jewish principles while applying them pragmatically. For example, many Masorti Jews accept that driving to synagogue is becoming a fact of modern life.

Orthodox Jewish communities can be found in almost all major cities across the UK. Reform and Liberal Jews are also quite dispersed but Hasidic Jews tend to be concentrated in London, Manchester and Gateshead.

Two-thirds of Jews are affiliated to a synagogue, with about 80% belonging to Orthodox synagogues and 20% to Reform and Liberal synagogues.

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According to Jewish beliefs, God made a promise through Abraham that he would be their God and they would be his chosen people. When Abraham died, leadership of the community that he founded passed to his son Isaac, who then passed it on to his son Jacob. The terms Jew and Judaism come from the name Judah, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. The term Israel (literally meaning ‘the one who wrestled with God’) comes from Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God after being blessed by him. The Jewish people are often referred to as the Children of Israel, signifying our descent from Jacob.

Around 1300 BCE, God made fundamental revelations at Mount Sinai to Moses, after he had led the Jewish people out of their enslavement from the pharaohs in Egypt. Following Moses’s death, his successor Joshua led the conquest of the land of Canaan, which was then divided among the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob).

Throughout history, generations of Jewish people have enriched their laws and scriptures with fresh interpretations. This has helped to produce a rich and diverse religious, artistic and social culture that continues to thrive worldwide.

Jews arrived in this country shortly after the Norman Conquest. They were expelled from England in 1290, but under Oliver Cromwell were allowed to return in 1655. Today, the UK’s Jewish population is around 300,000 and includes Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jewish communities. Sephardi Jews originate from Spain, Portugal and North Africa. Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia. Each group has its own traditions and customs.

The highest concentration of Jews is in the Greater London area, with large provincial populations in Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow.

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Practices

Prayers
The synagogue is the principle place of worship in Judaism. It also acts as a focal point for the local Jewish community’s social activities and educational programmes.

Jewish worshippers pray three times a day: in the morning (Shaharit), afternoon (Minhah) and evening (Ma’ariv). Generally, communal prayer can take place anywhere but in Orthodox Judaism requires a congreation of ten men (Minyan). But there is no need for a rabbi to officiate.

Shabbat
The Shabbat begins around half an hour before sunset on Friday evening and ends at nightfall on Saturday night. Strictly speaking, Jews are not allowed to do anything definable as work during Shabbat. However, different Jewish traditions interpret this law in different ways. For example, Orthodox Jews do not drive their cars on Shabbat because it involves creating a spark in the engine. This is associated with the work of lighting fires and means driving is forbidden.

Dress
Jewish Orthodox boys over 13 years old wear tefillin (phylacteries) for morning prayers. Worn on the left arm if right-handed, the right arm if left-handed and the forehead, these strap-on leather boxes contain sections of the Torah, hand-written on parchment.

Tallitot (traditional prayer shawls) may also be worn. Usually made from wool, their fringes contain 613 knots, a reminder of the 613 commandments.

Diet
Jewish food regulations – known as kashrut – define food as kosher (permitted) or treif (forbidden). The extent to which Jews observe these regulations varies from person to person.

Kosher foods include meat from animals that have split hooves and chew the cud. Examples include sheep, cows and deer. But meat from pigs (such as ham, bacon or pork) is forbidden. All birds, except birds of prey, are permitted and eggs are kosher provided they come from kosher fowl. Fish with both fins and scales are also kosher. Prawns, for example, are not permitted. All fruit and vegetables are acceptable as long as they are free of insects.

Foods are marked with a seal (hechsher) to show they are kosher. To qualify, meat must be humanely slaughtered by a shochet (a qualified slaughterer) working under the supervision of the Beth Din (religious court).

Jewish law prohibits mixing milk foods with meat foods. There are also special food requirements during the festival of Pesach/Passover, which prescribe that no food with chametz (leavened grains – such as wheat, oats, barley) can be consumed.