Search the catalog with subject terms:
Judaism <topic>
Judaism and <topic>
Judaism in <topic>
Terms for topics which are inherently Jewish
Jewish <topic>
This is a small sampling of subject headings in our catalog. As always, the OCC librarians are ready to help you find the best resources for your specific needs.
Books on Judaism can be found on the shelf in section: BM 1-990
HIstory: BM 150-449
Sacred texts:
There are about 14 million Jews world-wide with the majority in Israel (about 6.3 million) and in the United States (about 5.7 million.)
Adherents are called Jews. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, Judaism began around 1500 BCE in Mesopotamia in the city of Ur. There God spoke to Abraham and told him to go to Canaan (now Israel) to become a people. This was arguably the first instance of monotheism.
The Hebrew Scriptures is made up of 3 parts: the Torah (first 5 books), the Prophets, and the Writings. It is often called by the Hebrew acronym, TaNaKh. It is also referred to as the Written Law.
Tradition states that God also transmitted an Oral Law to the Jews. By the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, rabbis began to fear that the tradition would be lost so Judah ha-Nasi, redacted the teachings into a book called the Mishnah.
Over the years, commentaries were added to the Mishnah. These were called the "Gemarah" and together with the Mishnah, they made up the Talmud. Along with the Scriptures, this is the foundational text of most Jewish communities.
Other important collections are the Midrash, which are Biblical commentaries, Halakah, which are legal works, and Cabala which are mystical works.
On the left is the title page for the Sanhedrin section of the Talmud, publish in Lvov (called Lemberg at the time,) 1864.
Over the centuries, Jews have lived in many places around the world and developed different customs, languages, prayers, and food traditions.
Ashkenazi Jews are named after their German origins and lived in central and eastern Europe. They spoke Yiddish, a language based on middle German and Hebrew.
Sephardic Jews trace their ancestry to Spain and Portugal. They were exiled in 1492 and spread across north Africa, the Middle East, as well as parts of Europe. It is often used incorrectly as an umbrella term to mean "non-Ashkenazi" Jews. They often speak Ladino.
Mizrahi, (Eastern or Oriental) Jews lived in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Many trace their ancestry back to the Babylonian exile in 597 BCE.
Beta Israel Jews are from Ethiopia and lived for millennia without contact with other Jewish communities.
One of the oldest Jewish communities is the Romaniote Jews who lived in Ottoman Greece.
There are also distinct Jewish groups in India and China,
When different Jewish groups ended up in the same place, sometimes they integrated into each other and sometimes remained separate communities.
The image above is a fragment of a Roman bowl from 300-350 CE. It depicts a Menorah, Shofar, and Torah Ark. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Within each group, there are people who practice different levels of religiosity. In the Ashkenazi communities, these different groups became formalized and many developed their own institutions such as seminaries, synagogues, and rabbinical councils.
Orthodox Jews believe that the Torah came directly from God and that all the laws must be followed to the letter. Within Orthodoxy, there are many different groups. Modern Orthodox Jews believe that they can follow God's laws and be integrated into modern society. There are many other sects which believe that they need to be segregated from the greater society. They often dress in the clothing of the region their rabbi came from in the 19th century.
Conservative Jews believe that the Torah came directly from God and that the laws must be followed, but also acknowledge that the laws were given and developed at a particular time and place and that adjustments can be made to apply to contemporary life.
Reform Jews believe that the Torah may have been divinely inspired, but was written by human hands. The focus is on the intent of the laws rather than the letter of the laws.
Their are also Humanistic Jews, Reconstructionism Jews, and other groups.
It is tradition for Jews to wear a head covering. The style varies greatly in different times and places. The picture above shows a young Yemenite man. This lithography is from the Bezalel school of art.
Here is a small sample of e-books and physical book in our collection.
Understanding Judaism by 
My Jewish Year by 
Jews and Judaism in World History by