Judaism

Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion in the world, having originated in the Middle East more than 3,000 years ago with patriarch Abraham.

As the first Abrahamic religion, Judaism has played a major role in shaping the history of the world, having greatly influenced the development of Christianity and Islam, despite having always had a relatively small amount of adherents by comparison.

The religion itself is built off of the "written Torah" of the Bible, known in Judaism as the Tanach, and the "oral Torah" of the Mishna, Talmud and other great works of leading rabbis throughout history.

Judaism itself has no single leading figure, and is divided into multiple streams, such as the ultra-Orthodox (haredi), Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. Further differences also exist along the lines of historic Diasporic communities, such as Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewry.

Today, the largest concentration of adherents of Judaism can be found in Israel, with the US having the second-largest.

Jewish resilience eroding amid global antisemitism, study finds

Jewish resilience is being tested today more than ever before, according to the report.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2025|ByPESACH BENSON/TPS

A man holds a candle as he attends a demonstration in support of Palestinians and the Global Sumud Flotilla, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, outside the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, September 20, 2025.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's new Torah commentary is making waves in Israel five years after his death

Sacks, the chief rabbi of Great Britain, is the author of a posthumous volume that is challenging Israel’s top-selling Koren Tanakh.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2025|ByDEBORAH DANAN/JTA

Tears. Illustration.

Opening the gates of tears: Finding hope and strength in Jewish tradition - opinion

Prayer becomes more than words to God. It becomes the opening of our hearts so that we may feel the suffering of others.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2025|ByOFEK MEIR

Religious Jews gather on the eve of Tisha B'Av at a synagogue in Tel Aviv, August 12, 2024

Gaza war drives young Israelis toward deeper faith and spirituality, study finds

According to the study, roughly one in four university students became more religious, while one in three described themselves as more spiritual.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2025|ByPESACH BENSON/TPS

Rosh Hashanah 2025: Savoring the sweetness life can offer, even in the toughest of times - opinion

I look to the new year with an acute eye for hidden honey.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2025ByPATRICIA BUNIN/SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE/TNS

Honey

Rosh Hashanah candle-lighting times for Israel and the US

See Rosh Hashanah times for your area.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Shabbat candles

Rosh Hashanah 2025: Your guide to the Jewish new year holiday - explainer

Rosh Hashanah kicks off the Jewish calendar year and starts the High Holy Days and the Days of Repentance. Here is everything you need to know about it.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2025ByAARON REICH

A man blows the shofar in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem, ahead of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, September 17, 2025

HABAYTA Communities: How New Olim Are Changing Israel

A Significant Aliyah in Challenging Times.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2025ByROMAN GUREVICH

HABAYTA Communities

No. 28: Levi Shemtov, Elliot Cosgrove, Nitzan Reuven, Dov Landau: Shaping the Jewish world

Four of the Jewish world's most prominent rabbis have shaped the Jewish trajectory in the past year, at home and abroad.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2025ByAARON REICH

(L-R from top): Dov Landau, Elliot Cosgrove, Nitzan Reuven, Levi Shemtov

'Questioning Belief': Torah and tradition today - review

Understanding the Torah in ways that ‘make sense to the modern mind,’ to ‘facilitate a deeper connection with our traditions and our Creator.’

SEPTEMBER 20, 2025ByMARION FISCHEL

CHARLIE KIRK, Turning Point USA founder, greets the crowd at the start of AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix, last Dec. After his assassination, Kirk became a worldwide symbol for both those who agreed and disagreed with him, except the haters. He kept Shabbat ‘from Friday evening to Sunday morning.

'The daughter of kings and queens': A letter to my daughter on her bat mitzvah

'The ya’ara has an aroma I deeply associate with the Land of Israel, and I wanted you to carry that association with you.'

SEPTEMBER 20, 2025ByAHARON E. WEXLER

THE WRITER’S daughter Ya’ara Tehila, of whom he is very proud.

Rosh Hashanah: State of God in our world, 2025

On Rosh Hashanah, we pray that God will enter our world and make His presence unmistakable – for those who strive to push Him away, and for those who have yet to open their eyes to Him.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2025ByMOSHE TARAGIN

HOW WILL humanity regard its Creator when humans themselves become supreme creators?

Shabbat candle lighting times for Israel and US

See Shabbat times for your area.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Shabbat candles

'Is there a future for Jews in Belgium?' Belgium symposium asks

The symposium, organized by the Jewish Information and Documentation Center (JID), brought 300 participants to address concrete responses to rising hatred and discrimination.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2025ByMATHILDA HELLER

A person holds a placard reading "Don't touch my Jew" during a demonstration against antisemitism, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Brussels, Belgium December 10, 2023

Rabbi Nitzan Reuven establishes a visionary spiritual center for Jewish unity

‘A place unlike any other in the world’.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2025ByALAN ROSENBAUM

AHAVAT SHALOM CENTER, architectural rendering