Judaism

Introduction
The history of Judaism
- General observations
  - Nature and characteristics
  - Periodization
- Biblical Judaism (20th–4th century bce)
  - The ancient Middle Eastern setting
  - The pre-Mosaic period: the religion of the patriarchs
  - The Mosaic period: foundations of the Israelite religion
    - The Egyptian sojourn
    - Mosaic religion
  - The period of the conquest and settlement of Canaan
  - The period of the united monarchy
    - The religious and political problem
    - The Davidic monarchy
  - The period of the divided kingdom
  - The period of classical prophecy and cult reform
    - The emergence of the literary prophets
    - Prophecy in the southern kingdom
    - Reforms in the southern kingdom
  - The Babylonian Exile
  - The period of the restoration
- Hellenistic Judaism (4th century bce–2nd century ce)
  - The Greek period (332–63 bce)
    - Hellenism and Judaism
    - Social, political, and religious divisions
    - Religious rites and customs in Palestine: the Temple and the synagogues
    - Religious and cultural life in the Diaspora
      Egyptian Jewish literature
      Palestinian literature
  - The Roman period (63 bce–135 ce)
    - New parties and sects
    - Origin of Christianity: the early Christians and the Jewish community
    - Judaism under Roman rule
- Rabbinic Judaism (2nd–18th century)
  - The age of the tannaim (135–c. 200)
    - The role of the rabbis
    - The making of the Mishna
  - The age of the amoraim: the making of the Talmuds (3rd–6th century)
    - Palestine (c. 220–c. 400)
    - Babylonia (200–650)
  - The age of the geonim (c. 640–1038)
    - Triumph of the Babylonian rabbinate
    - Anti-rabbinic reactions
    - The gaonate of Saʿadia ben Joseph
  - Medieval European Judaism (950–1750)
    - The two major branches
    - Sephardic developments
    - Ashkenazic developments
    - Marginalization and expulsion
    - Conflicts and new movements
- Modern Judaism (c. 1750 to the present)
  - The new situation
  - The Haskala, or Enlightenment
    - In central Europe
    - In eastern Europe
  - Religious reform movements
  - Orthodox developments
    - In western and central Europe
    - In eastern Europe
  - Developments in scholarship
  - Jewish-Christian relations
  - Zionism
  - American Judaism
  - Judaism in other lands
  - Contemporary Judaism
The Judaic tradition
- The literature of Judaism
  - General considerations
  - Sources and scope of the Torah
    - Prophecy and religious experience
    - Modern views of Torah
- Basic beliefs and doctrines
  - God
    - Unity and uniqueness
    - Creativity
    - Activity in the world
    - Otherness and nearness
    - Modern views of God
  - Israel (the Jewish people)
    - Choice and covenant
    - Israel and the nations
    - The people and the land
    - Modern views of the people Israel
  - Humanity
    - The image of God
    - The earthly-spiritual creature
    - The ethically bound creature
    - Medieval and modern views of man
  - Ethics and society
    - The ethical emphasis of Judaism
    - Interpenetration of communal and individual ethics
    - The key moral virtues
    - The relation to non-Jewish communities and cultures
    - The formulation of Jewish ethical doctrines
  - The universe
    - Creation and Providence: God’s world
    - Humanity’s place in the universe
    - Intermediary beings: angels and demons
  - Eschatology
    - The future age of humankind and the world
    - The king-messiah and his reign
    - Secularization of messianism
- Basic practices and institutions
  - The hallowing of everyday existence
  - The traditional pattern of individual and familial practices
  - The traditional pattern of synagogue practices
  - Ceremonies marking the individual life cycles
  - Holy places: the land of Israel and Jerusalem
  - The sacred language: Hebrew and the vernacular tongues
  - The rabbinate
    - Legal, judicial, and congregational roles
    - Chief rabbinates
  - General councils or conferences
  - Modern variations
- The Jewish religious year
  - The cycle of the religious year
  - The Jewish calendar
    - Lunisolar structure
    - Months and notable days
    - Origin and development
  - The Sabbath
    - Importance
    - Observances
  - The Jewish holidays
    - Pilgrim Festivals
    - Ten Days of Penitence
    - Minor festivals: Hanukkah and Purim
    - The five fasts
    - The lesser holidays
  - The situation today
- Art and iconography
  - The anti-iconic principle and its modifications
  - Ceremonial objects and symbols
  - Architecture
  - Paintings and illustrations
  - Music
  - Literature
- Jewish philosophy
  - Pre-Hellenistic and Hellenistic thought
    - Bible and Apocrypha
    - Philo Judaeus
    - Other ancient sources
  - Medieval philosophy
    - Jewish kalām
      Saʿadia ben Joseph
      The Karaites
    - Jewish Neoplatonism
      Isaac Israeli
      Solomon ibn Gabirol
      Judah ha-Levi
      Other Jewish thinkers, c. 1050–c. 1150
    - Jewish Aristotelianism
      Abraham ibn Daud
      Maimonides
      Averroists
      Gersonides
      Ḥasdai Crescas
      Joseph Albo
  - Modern philosophy
    - The Iberian-Dutch philosophers
      Uriel Acosta
      Benedict de Spinoza
    - German philosophers
      Moses Mendelssohn
      Solomon Formstecher
      Samuel Hirsch
      Nachman Krochmal
      Solomon Steinheim
      Hermann Cohen
      Franz Rosenzweig
      Martin Buber
      Emmanuel Lévinas
- Jewish mysticism
  - Nature and characteristics
    - The Judaic context
    - Three types of Jewish mysticism
  - Main lines of development
    - Early stages to the 6th century ce
    - Sefer yetzira
    - The Arabic-Islamic influence (7th–13th century)
    - The making of Kabbala (c. 1150–1250)
      Sefer ha-bahir
      School of Isaac the Blind
    - The 10 sefirot
      School of Gerona (Catalonia)
      Sefer ha-temuna
    - Medieval German (Ashkenazic) Hasidism
    - The making of the Zohar (c. 1260–1492)
    - The Lurianic Kabbala
    - Shabbetaianism
    - Modern Hasidism
  - Modern Jewish mysticism
- Jewish myth and legend
  - Significance and characteristics
  - Sources and development
    - Myth and legend in the Bible
      Myths
      Legends and other tales
      Contemporary interpretations
    - Myth and legend in the Persian period
    - Myth and legend in the Hellenistic period
      Historiated Bibles and legendary histories
      Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
    - Myth and legend in the Talmud and Midrash
      Midrash and Haggada
      Fables and animal stories
      Contribution of Haggada to Christian and Islamic legends
    - Myth and legend in the medieval period
      Jewish contributions to diffusion of folktales
      Hebrew versions of medieval romances
      Jewish contributions to Christian and Islamic tales
      Major medieval Hebrew collections
      Medieval legendary histories and Haggadic compendiums
    - Myth and legend in the modern period
      Kabbalistic tales
      Judeo-German (Yiddish) tales
      Judeo-Persian and Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) tales
      Hasidic tales
      Droll stories
      Modern Israeli folktales
- Judaism in world perspective
  - Relation with non-Judaic religions
    - Exclusivist and universalist emphases
    - Relation to Christianity
    - Relation to Islam
    - Relations with other religions
  - The role of Judaism in Western culture and civilization
    - Its historic role
    - Its present role
    - Future prospects

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Jerusalem: Western Wall, Temple Mount

Sacrifice of Isaac

Guercino: Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael

Titian: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

15th-century German Bible illustration showing Moses leading a group of Israelites between parted green waves of the Red Sea, with Hebrew text above.

Rembrandt: Moses with the Tablets of the Law

Nicolas Poussin: Adoration of the Golden Calf

Map titled ‘Palestine and the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the time of David and Solomon,' with tan/orange land, yellow Philistia and Phoenicia, red borders, and blue seas.

Donatello: David

At a Glance

reading from the Torah

Judaism summary

Judaism

religion

Written by

Theodor H. GasterAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Apr. 8, 2026 •History

Judaism, monotheistic religion developed among the ancient Hebrews. Judaism is characterized by a belief in one transcendent God who revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious life in accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions. Judaism is the complex phenomenon of a total way of life for the Jewish people, comprising theology, law, and innumerable cultural traditions. The first section of this article treats the history of Judaism in the...

Discover the world with Britannica

Subscribe to Continue Reading

Free Trial | No Ads | Exclusive Content

Unsubscribe Anytime!

Explore Subscriptions

DNA

Right

Mobile