Research Paper on Judaism and its Impact on the Modern Middle East Culture

Introduction

Judaism is a monotheistic religion practiced among the ancient Hebrews. That is, having faith in the superior God who appeared to the Hebrews, Moses, Abraham, and through a spiritual life by the rabbinic traditions and the scriptures (Reed 237). Judaism is thus a complex phenomenon of a whole culture for the Jewish individuals, consisting of the several cultural practices, law, and theology. This religion holds its belief that God is not physical and that with the right faith, the creator is free of all properties of matter. It is also to their idea that God punishes the wicked and rewards the good. For those who commit to Judaism as a religion, the primary scripture is the Oral Rabbinic law or the Torah - the five books of Moses. This essay discusses the history of the Jews, Judaism and its impacts on the modern Middle East.

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History of Judaism

The history of Judaism is a religion created for humans. History is of great significance to Judaism. The Jewish historical roots started with the Hebrews and Abraham. Under God's authority, Abraham went to the land of Canaan, which is the same as the modern Lebanon and Israel. Historians chose the era of Jewish history as "Biblical Judaism" that is, the years covered by the Tanakh tales (Reed 271). History gives the leeway to understanding Judaism since its original assertions appear in early historical accounts. Hence, the Bible narrates contemporary activities an event for important religious reasons. The authors of the scriptures believe that the divine presence of Judaism is mainly felt in history. Even though other ancient societies perceive a divine prescience in history as well, understanding of the ancient Israelites proves to be the most influential and enduring through this particular claim of experiencing God's existence in human events, and the subsequent development that we see a distinct influence in Jewish thought (Schwedler and Deborah 37).

The Jews or Judeans were exiled from Israel as prisoners by the Babylonians (Schwedlerand Deborah 87). Years later, the Persian Empire defeated the Babylonians and permitted the Jews to go back to Israel. Although with the freedom offered by the Persian rule, the majority of the Jews stayed back in Babylon (Schurer et al. 14). Over the years, more Jews have settled in Iran and Iraq while others moved to the neighboring nations such as Egypt, Yemen, and Syria.

Sephardim are among the Jews descendants who decided to go back and restructure Israel. But years later, the Roman empire took over ancient Israel yet for the second time, killing most of its inhabitants and taking others as into bondage (Owen 6). When the Roman Empire fell, the slave's generations migrated throughout Europe with most of them settling in Portugal and Spain. During this era, the Jews residing in Christian nations faced hardships and discrimination - the Sephardim ran away to the Ottoman Middle Eastern countries together with Mizrahi families (Schwedler and Deborah 380).

Upon analyzing the heritage and history of the Jewish individuals, we discover that Judaism holds deep connections to North Africa and the Middle East: Abraham and Sarah were from Mesopotamia, current Iraq - the region of the Babylonian Talmud and the first yeshivas were created. The Purim holiday reveals the old Iranian Jews Passover, and liberation narrates the tale of olden Egyptian Jews (Schurer et al. 450). Hebrew progressed together with other Semitic dialects in the mid-east and Jewish holiday cycles and prayers represent the religion's weather patterns. Irrespective of where the Jews reside, they all have roots in the MiddleEast.

Impact of Judaism on the Middle East Culture

Throughout antiquity, the influence of religion on politics has been of fundamental significance. For a long time, politics under religious control is necessarily a defining aspect. It could be contended that the Middle East is perhaps the only topographical area experiencing religious-political conflicts (Owen 73). Although the regions such as Pax-Ottoman and Pax-Romana, had an impact on the part for several years by advocating for harmony, regional wars are still present in the Middle East (Owen 40). These conflicts arise from the differences between the three main religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Apart from the Arab nations, Israel's identity and existence remain linked to Judaism. Moreover, Judaism allows most of the authoritarian regimes to maintain power even in postcolonial times. For instance, in Saudi Arabia's monarch, King Fahad Aziz, is usually known as the supervisor of the two sanctified mosques.

The notion of God as a supreme being was the basis for Islamic and Christian religions that also originated from the Middle East. These doctrines later revered the ancient Hebrew's Old Testament. Additionally, the concepts of nudity, dress codes, sex, death, and sin are also an influence of Judaism. For instance, in certain towns like Dubai, Tel Aviv, and Beirut, one would likely see tourists and locals wearing a T-shirt and shorts on a warm summer day. But when visiting any religious sites, the people know they need to dress appropriately by covering their shoulders. Women need to wear a skirt or pants which fall below their knees and wrap their hairs as a way of hiding their nudity. Moreover, married women and men in certain Middle Eastern religions need not touch the opposite sex.

Sephardim and Mizrahi jews hold different cultural traditions. Although their prayer books are similar in content and type, Sephardic prayers carry a more Southern European feel while the Mizrahi prayers are typically harmonic in quarter tones. Additionally, culturally a Westernized choir in the synagogue often accompanies the Sephardic prayers. There are cultural variations from nation to nation. For instance, Iraqi Jews have walking musicians moving from one house to another to entertain families during Purim, while the Egyptian Jews close off the Jewish Quarter for a full-day celebration.

The western civilization has its roots in the Middle East. With the whole universe directing its focus on the Middle East, Israel happens to be the center of attention. It is Israel, the land of Judaism that provides the US and its associates the cushion to participate in fundamentalism which rises from the part of the world. Hence, the Judaic perspective of authority holds its grounds on the interrelated code of rational argument as well as the prerequisite for ethical validation of power. Jews believe that nature's reality, the metaphysical and philosophical foundations, are provided in God's notion. Even as this notion appears to be fading with time, there is still hope in the name of Israel. The primary religions are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. But then it is majorly Judaism's interpretation of Torah that motivates Israeli's to pray and observe the Sabbath (Reed 158)In Israel, from Friday evening through Saturday, it is hard to find public transportation since it is the Sabbath. In their cuisine culture, Arab food is slightly different from the Jewish meal. Some dishes that one can get in the Middle Eastern nations include salads, fresh juices, cheese, olives, eggs, and pita among others.

Israelite culture initially resembled that of its surroundings; neither was it wholly primitive nor wholly original. The Hebrew were occasionally farmers and seminomadic herdsmen. Their tribal structure was similar to that of the West Semitic inhabitants and their law and family customs are similar to the Hurro-Semitic and Old Babylonian law of the middle and early second millennium. The Canaanite feature of the Israelite culture comprised of the Hebrew dialect together with a rich legendary heritage-whose Ugaritic form lightens the Bible's mythical allusions, style, poetry, and cultic or religious terms (Leo 187). Egypt gives several similarities for Hebrew wisdom and hymnody literature. Every culture of the patriarchs had planetary gods that shaped the universe and conserved its order, and they also had an advanced ethical structure articulated in moral and law reprimands which had explained sacred myths and rites.

In its community, Jewry faces the rising secularization of Jewish identity. In Israel, a secular nationalism has taken root, posing questions concerning the role played by Judaism in the integrity of the average Israeli. Nevertheless, beneath the external secularization, there are signs of a persisting, deep religious fervor, whereby the Israeli state influences the sense of personal, community, and historical authenticity figure (Leo 497). Most of the Jewish tradition rituals, particularly the rites of passage at the critical phases of individual existence, are observed almost by the whole world. Among the Jewish youth, there is, in certain circles, a quest for tradition. For instance, in Israel, the Menashe Derekh group (seekers of the way), try to bridge Jewish tradition and secular Israeli culture to uphold traditional Jewish moral principles even during conflicts; in Russia, most youths meet on certain annual occasions to sing and dance, with the aim of expressing solidarity before the Moscow and St. Petersburg synagogues.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as a result of the Holocaust, Judaism has turned out to be a non-European religion. Jews constitute a majority of the Middle East population thus shaping the nation's culture, and is one of their main faiths. Additionally, Judaism is a partner in dealing with other main religions as equal to issues like world peace, human rights, and anti-Semitism. Judaism in the Middle East enjoys a heightened dignity in the eyes of the world, due to Israel's state as well as Judaism's close links with other religions of the world. Together with several other main religions, Judaism's main troubling issue was how to get through the rise of secularism and secular ideologies in its defenses. Hence, at the start of the twenty-first century, it seemed that Judaism would have to deal with several challenges just like other religions.

Hence, we find that Judaism is the way of life and the tradition of the Jewish people. It is the oldest monotheistic faiths in the Abrahamic tradition which comprises of Islam and Christianity. The central philosophy of the monotheistic religion is the belief in one God. The history of the Jews is inseparable from the history of Judaism. For years, the Jewish individuals have been dispersed all over the universe with a majority residing in the middle east particularly Israel as they continue to influence civilization and humanity. Jews in the Middle East who identify culturally might be traditional, humanistic, agnostic, secular, and could select any cultural practices as their focus including music, history, language, and modern cultural experiences of their community.

Works Cited

Owen, Roger. State, power, and politics in the making of the modern Middle East. Routledge, 2013.

Reed, Annette Yoshiko. Fallen angels and the history of Judaism and Christianity: The reception of Enochic literature. Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Schurer, Emil, Geza Vermes, and Fergus Millar. The history of the Jewish people in the age of Jesus Christ. Vol. 2. A&C Black, 2014.

Schwedler, Jillian, and Deborah J. Gerner, eds. Understanding the Contemporary Middle East. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008.

Trepp, Leo. A History of the Jewish Experience. Behrman House, Inc, 2001.