Transcript: Judaism is the 12th largest religion in the world. It has 14 million adherents, or 0.22% of the world's population. The highest percentage of Jews currently reside in the US of A. And to be even more specific, most of those Jews live in the state of New York. With an estimated 1,750,000 living in New York City. Judaism was founded in Mesopotamia in 1300BC by Abraham, the father of Isaac. In Judaism, ultimate reality is a single, all-powerful God. This idea of a single being watching over the universe has been echoed in countless religions since Judaism's founding. It can be said that Judaism is the father to most major world religions. The purpose of a Jewish life is a complete obedience to God. Afterlife beliefs for Judaism are vague at best. The Torah and Talmud alike focus on fulfilling one's duties to God and one's fellow man. Succeeding at this brings reward, failing at it brings punishment. What happens after that is open to interpretation. One of the daily practices for Jewish people is to abide by all of the 613 commandments. A link to a list of these commandments can be found: Here. Another daily practice is to only eat foods that have been deemed Kosher. A summarized list of the allowed foods is as follows:
Ritually slaughtered beef, sheep, goats and deer with no flaws or diseases.
Chicken, turkey, quail, geese.
Salmon, tuna, carp, herring, cod.
Meat eaten separately from dairy.
Wine or grape juice made under Jewish supervision.
Soft cheese and kosher hard cheese.
The Jewish sacred books are the "Tanakh" and the "Talmud". The Tanakh is more commonly known as the Jewish Bible. It contains the same books as the Christian Old Testament, although in a slightly different order and with other minor differences. It is referred to as the "Oral Torah". The Talmud is a collection of rabbinical writings that interpret, explain and apply the Torah scriptures. It is referred to as the "Written Torah". Both were originally written in Hebrew.
