Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It takes its place with Islam, Christianity, Taoism, The Hindu religion and Confucianism as having a large number of devout followers and those that identify as part of it. It has many customs and traditions, such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the Bar and Bat Mitzvah coming-of-age celebration. Each is commemorated in the traditional manner with the sending of Bar Mitzvah Cards, like those from https://cazenovejudaica.com/uk, for example. Where does the old religion come from?
Judaism begins in the Middle East, specifically around the region of Canaan. Many religions were around at the time, and most centred on a polytheistic belief. This is where you have several Gods that are responsible for different aspects of life, usually based around the Sun or Elements such as Earth and Fire etc. What made the Jewish people different was they followed the Monothetic approach, where there is just one God who has created everything, this God they called Yahweh.
This caused friction between the followers of Yahweh and the other religions. It meant that strict observance of the Monotheistic way became cemented into the religion. The belief then finds three anchors for itself. One is the Torah, essentially the bible of the faith and what the Christian faith calls “the Old Testament”. Second is the acknowledgement of Israel and the descendants of Abraham. Finally, there is the requirement to follow all the laws and traditions laid out.
