Abrahamic — Judaism

Judaism is the world's oldest monotheistic religion, with three thousand years of recorded history. Its sacred geography centers on the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael): Jerusalem, site of the Temple where God's presence dwelled; the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, the burial place of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs; the Jordan River, where Joshua led the people into the Promised Land; Mount Sinai, where Torah was revealed to Moses; and countless locations hallowed by biblical narrative. The Temple's destruction (70 CE) transformed Judaism from a temple-based religion to a text-based one, with Torah and Talmud replacing sacrificial ritual. The Western Wall, the only surviving structure of the Second Temple, became Jewry's holiest site. Contemporary Judaism is deeply tied to the State of Israel and the return to ancestral lands — a fulfillment of millennia of diaspora. Judaism is a living tradition with diverse branches (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal), yet unified by the Torah and the covenant.