Judaism Vjti-ds-.i-zsm, 'jii-de-.i-zomX Religious beliefs and practices of the Jews. One of the three great monotheistic world religions, Judaism began as the faith of the ancient Hebrews, and its sacred text is the Hebrew Bible, particularly the Torah. Fundamental to Judaism is the belief that the people of Israel are God’s chosen people, who must serve as a light for other nations. God made a covenant first with Abraham and then renewed it with Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. The worship of Yahweh (God) was cen¬ tred in Jerusalem from the time of David. The destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 bce) and the subsequent exile of the Jews led to hopes for national restoration under the leadership of a Messiah. The Jews were later allowed to return by the Persians, but an unsuccessful rebellion against Roman rule led to the destruction of the
Second Temple in 70 ce and the Jews’ dispersal throughout the world in the Jewish Diaspora. Rabbinic Judaism emerged to replace the beliefs and practices associated with the Temple at Jerusalem, as the Jews carried on their culture and religion through a tradition of scholarship and strict observance. The great body of oral law and commentaries were commit¬ ted to writing in the Talmud and Mishna. The religion was maintained despite severe persecutions by many nations.
Two branches of Judaism emerged in the Middle Ages: the Sephardic, centred in Spain and culturally linked with the Babylonian Jews; and the Ashkenazic, centred in France and Germany and linked with the Jewish culture of Palestine and Rome. Elements of mysticism also appeared, nota¬ bly the esoteric writings of the Kabbala and, in the 18th century, the move¬ ment known as Hasidism. The 18th century was also the time of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala). Conservative and Reform Judaism emerged in 19th-century Germany as an effort to modify the strictness of Orthodox Judaism. By the end of the 19th century Zionism had appeared as an out¬ growth of reform. European Judaism suffered terribly during the Holo¬ caust, when millions were put to death by the Nazis, and the rising flow of Jewish emigrants to Palestine led to the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948. In the early 21st century there were nearly 15 million Jews worldwide.
Jewish Festivals
Tishri (Sept.-Oct.)
1-2
Rosh Hashanah (New Year)
3
Fast of Gedaliah
10
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
15-21
Sukkot (Tabernacles)
22
Shemini Atzereth (Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly)
23
Simhath Torah (Rejoicing of the Law)
Kislev (Nov.-Dee.)
25
Hanukkah (Festival of Lights) begins
Tebet (Dec-Jan.)
2 or 3
Hanukkah ends
10
Fast
Shebat (Jan.-Feb.)
15
New Year for Trees
Adar (Feb.-Mar.)
13
Fast of Esther
14-15
Purim (Feast of Lots)
Second Adar (Adar Sheni) or Veadar (intercalated month); Adar holidays fall in
Veadar during leap years.
Nisan (Mar.-Apr.)
15-22
Pesach (Passover)
lyar (Apr.-May)
5
Israel Independence Day
18
Lag b'Omer (33rd Day of the Omer Counting)
Sivan (May-June)
6-7
Shabuoth (Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost)
Tammuz (June-July)
17
Fast
Ab (July-Aug.)
9
Fast
Judas Iscariot (d. c. ad 30) Disciple who betrayed Jesus. He was one of the original 12 disciples. Judas made a deal with the Jewish authori¬ ties to betray Jesus into their custody; in return for 30 pieces of silver, he brought the armed guard to the Garden of Gethsemane and identified Jesus with a kiss. He later regretted his deed and committed suicide; according to Matthew 27, he returned the money to the priests before hanging him¬ self. His surname may mean “man of Kerioth,” or it may link him to the Sicarii, a band of radical Jewish terrorists.
Judas Maccabaeus V.ma-ko-'be-osV (d. 161/160 bc) Leader of a Jew¬ ish rebellion against the Syrians. The son of an aged priest who took to the mountains in rebellion when Antiochus IV Ephiphanes tried to impose the Greek religion on the Jews, Judas became leader of the rebels on his father’s death and won a series of victories over the Syrians in 166-164 bc. In 166 he purified the Temple of Jerusalem, an event celebrated at Hanukkah. On Antiochus’s death in 164, the Seleucids offered the Jews freedom of worship, but Judas continued the war, hoping to gain politi¬ cal freedom. He was killed soon thereafter, but his brothers carried on the struggle. The history of the dynasty is told in the two books of Macca¬ bees in the Apocrypha.
Judd, Donald (b. June 3, 1928, Excelsior Springs, Mo., U.S.—d. Feb. 12, 1994, New York, N.Y.) U.S. sculptor. He studied at Columbia Uni¬ versity and the Art Students League. He had his first one-man exhibition in 1957. In 1959 he began writing reviews for Art News and Arts Maga¬ zine. In 1960-62 he made the transition from painting to sculpture and became a leading exponent of Minimalism. Much of his work consists of simple cubes or other geometric units that stand on the floor or are can¬ tilevered from the wall, often in stacks or horizontal progressions. His
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Judea ► Julian I 1003
materials included painted steel, Plexiglas, iron, wood, and concrete. In the 1970s he began to fill the land around his studio in Marfa, Texas, with large-scale sculptures; this area is now a museum.
Judea See Judaea
judge Public official vested with the authority to hear, determine, and preside over legal matters brought in court. In jury cases, the judge pre¬ sides over the selection of the panel and instructs it concerning pertinent law. The judge may also rule on motions made before or during a trial. In the U.S., judges are elected or appointed. Most federal judges are appointed for life by the president with the advice and consent of the Sen¬ ate. The highest-ranking judge in the U.S. legal system is the chief justice of the Supreme Court. See also judgment, judiciary, magistrate's court, Mis¬ souri Plan.
judgment In law, a formal decision or determination on a matter or case by a court. Judgments are classified as in personam , in rem, and quasi in rem. A judgment in personam determines the rights and liabilities of a particular person. A judgment in rem affects the status of a particular thing (e.g., an item of property). The designation quasi in rem describes a judg¬ ment in which a person’s property is subject to court control to satisfy a claim against the person. The court has at its disposal the power to pun¬ ish for contempt any party that does not adhere to its orders. See also appeal; DECLARATORY JUDGMENT; DEMURRER.
Judgment, Day of In Christianity, the final judgment of God on all people at the end of history. It will occur at the second coming of Christ, when the dead are resurrected. It is especially important in millennialist denominations (see millennialism). In Islam, the Day of Judgment is described in the Quran and the Hadith. Religions that include reincarna¬ tion (e.g., Hinduism) lack a Day of Judgment; the determination of how an individual is to be reborn being a particular judgment on the merit of the life just lived (see karma).
judgment tale See dilemma tale
judicial review Examination by a country’s courts of the actions of the legislative, executive, and administrative branches of government to ensure that those actions conform to the provisions of the constitution. Actions that do not conform are unconstitutional and therefore null and void. The practice is usually considered to have begun with the ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States in Marbury v. Madison (1803). Sev¬ eral constitutions drafted in Europe and Asia after World War II incorpo¬ rated judicial review. Especially subject to scrutiny in the U.S. have been actions bearing on civil rights (or civil liberty), due process of law, equal protection under the law, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and rights of privacy. See also checks and balances.