Judaism is the religious culture of the Jews, which can also be named the "people of Israel". Judaism can be traced as one of the oldest religious traditions. Judaism's origins lie in the holy land of Israel. The main concept of Judaism can be found in the Torah, which is God's revealed instruction. The history of Judaism begins with Moses. God spoke to Moses at Mt. Sinai asking if the Israelites would keep the Covenant he had made with them by obeying the Torah. In exchange for this obedience, God promised his treasures. There are different periods of Judaism, Classical Judaism began in A.D 66 and ended in the seventh century. During this period, there was a Diaspora, of a dispersing of the Jews. The Medieval period continues from the eight century to the middle of the eighteenth century. Modern Judaism spans from the eighteenth century until today. The period of the Enlightenment was a positive time for the Jews because it stressed equality of all, so their persecution was lifted. .
There are three forms of Judaism, Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. These forms are a result of the adaptation of the Jewish immigrant groups to American life. Reform Judaism, the first to be defined, puts more emphasis on the Jewish people hood and traditional religious culture. Its basis remains liberal and nonauthoritarian. The second form is Conservative Judaism. This embodies the sense of community and folk piety of modernizing eastern European Jews. It respects traditional Jewish law and practice while advocating a flexible approach to Halakhah, the Jewish way of life. Orthodoxy Jews try to integrate traditional observance with modern life.
For the religious Jew, life is constantly about religion. Traditionally, Jews pray three times a day. In the morning they pray the shaharith, the afternoon the minhah, and in the evening they pray the maarib. The shema, another prayer, should be said in the morning and in the evening along with these other three.
