Judaism

From Bahaikipedia

Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion and has been practiced in Israel for thousands of years. It originated from the teachings of Adam, Abraham, Noah, Isaiah, Moses and other prophets. One central belief of Judaism is the Covenant between God and Abraham.

Judaism has always promoted the study of the Torah and other religious texts (although women were prohibited from study). This emphasis on scholarship produced a wealth of theological and legal texts. Contributions of Jewish scholars have significantly advanced every field of study.

Jews consider themselves to be the Chosen People of God. Practice of Judaism by non-Jews is controversial. Jews are unique among the world's religions in that they do not encourage others to accept their teachings.

The history of the Jewish people is characterized by long periods of brutal persecution. Jewish communities have been subjected to every imaginable form of violent attack. Synagogues and Jewish writings have been destroyed, Jews have been driven from one region to another and their property plundered or confiscated. The Holocaust or Shoah, the genocide carried out by Germany's National Socialist dictatorship from 1939 - 1945, nearly succeeded in annihilating Europe's Jewish population, murdering six million Jews within six years. Six million is 78% of the 7.3 million Jews who previously lived in the territory conquered by Germany during World War II.

The world's reaction to the Holocaust was to form the League of Nations, which later became the United Nations, and to aid the formation of the Jewish state of Israel.

Today there are an estimated 14 million Jews. An estimated 9.5 million practice some form of Judaism.