[5] The Abrahamic religions - a brief introduction. Part One: Judaism(s)

Judaism(s)

The oldest and ancestral to other Abrahamic traditions is Ancient Judaism, also referred to as Mosaism by some scholars. Contrary to a popular belief, the religion that we know from the Old Testament is no longer in existence. It disappeared after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, although various minor sects have more or less justified claims to call themselves its true heirs.

Today's mainstream Judaism is also called the Rabbinic Judaism or Talmudism, and it is directly descended from Pharisees that were regarded as heretics in the ancient times. The Rabbinic Judaism rejected priesthood and was based more on the Talmud than on the Bible. The Talmud was written and added to the tradition of Judaism after the birth of Christ, so. Thus we can assume that it is quite distinct from Ancient Judaism. The Rabbinic Judaism is divided into several denominations (or schools) such as the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Judaism and into numerous Jewish ethnic subdivisions, having distinct liturgical traditions such as the Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews. These categories also include various groups of converts, some of whom can appear as strange to us such as the Inca Jews or the Amazonian Jews, who have Amerindian racial descent. Furthermore, the Orthodox Judaism should not be confused with the Orthodox Christianity, which is another example of the use of the term „orthodox” in English.

However, (as I have said), there are also other groups that are non-Talmudic, but they are relatively small. The oldest, and mentioned in the Bible, is the Samaritans. They assert that their faith is the true religion of the ancient Israelites (prior to the Babylonian Exile), preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel after the Babylonian Exile, as opposed to the mainstream Judaism, which they claim is a related, but altered and amended religion, brought back by those returning from the Babylonian Exile. Nevertheless, the truth is that the Samaritans are descended from both the Jews that were not exiled by the Assyrians and from the various groups of colonists that were by force settled in the Land of Israel during the Assyrian occupation. Additionally, the Samaritans maintain priesthood.

Next, there is Karaism, which is as well present in Poland. The Karaites are descended from the group of Jews that rejected the Talmud and Rabbinic teachings, but maintained priesthood. They also claim to be the heirs of the original Judaism, going back to the destruction of the Temple. However, they have adopted various non-Jewish customs in their liturgy such as the Lord's Prayer, which may prove Christian influences.

There are also various Jewish groups claiming to be the descendants of the so-called Lost Tribes of Israel. They live in the South Africa and in the Far East. They did not know the Talmud because of the geographical isolation. Some of them recognise Jesus as the Messiah or as a prophet, and they maintain priesthood. The most important group is the Ethiopian Jews, but the Igbo Jews of Nigeria, the Lemba people from South Africa, the reviving Kaifeng Jews of China and others also exist to the present.

We can also add to our tree some modern and quite new Jewish denominations that have origins in the Rabbinic Judaism, but have seceded from it. Today, there exist the Messianic Jews, who recognise Jesus as the Messiah or even as God. There is still another group, the Sabbateans, who believe that Rabbi Sabbatai Zevi was the true long-awaited Jewish Messiah.