Judaism:
Discovering Our Religious Roots



I) A People of the Promise

A) Like a Marriage Bond

B) God's Covenant: A Special Bond with a Whole People

C) Our People, Our Family, Our Roots

D) The Need for a Sense of the Past

E) More Than Just History

II) The Beginnings of a People

A) Abraham: Father of Biblical Faith

B) Abraham's Descendants, the Israelites

Box: Timeline of Biblical History

III) From Slavery to Freedom

A) Moses, the People's Greatest Leader

B) In the Desert

Box: The Ten Commandments

IV) The Promised Land

A) Taking Over the Land

B) A Kingdom for the Israelites

Box: Jeremiah, the Young Prophet

V) Crushing Defeat and Painful Exile

A) The Babylonian Exile

B) Renewal in the Midst of Exile

Box: Song of a Sorrowful People

VI) After the Exile

A) The Faithful Practice of Judaism

B) A Series of Oppressors

C) Jesus: Fulfillment of the Longing for a Messiah Box: Social Classes at the Time of Jesus

VII) A Reflection on Judaism

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