Judaism by Ben Kinglsey Narrated

¶ … Judaism by Ben Kinglsey

Narrated by Ben Kingsley, the film begins with a brief overview of Judaism today and the main values and beliefs of the Jewish people. The film then dives into the first part which represents the historical backgrounds of Judaism as it appears in the first testament of the Bible. Kingsley focuses on the role of Abraham and his realization of their being one God and that this believe eventually spread to all Jewish people: it was the world-changing belief of mono-theism and the necessity of mankind to be good. The bulk of this portion of the film focuses upon the role of Abraham and the pact that he makes with God and the notion of the Jews being the chosen people. This section later touches upon clear aspects of Jewish history as presented in the Bible: the Israelites being persecuted by the Pharaoh, their escape to the wilderness with Moses, and the leadership of Moses. Moses has been credited in the film as the person responsible for laying the framework of the legal system. Scholars in Judaism are quick to distinguish how the Jews, via this legal system, and their moral code, and their belief in one god, were distinct from neighboring collectives of people.

The subsequent part of the film discusses the rebuilding of the temples and the influential work of various prophets in creating religious text which would some of the most influential in tall of human civilization. Another scholar discusses the entrance of the Maccabeus and their attempts to establish Hellenistic principles among the Jews. The Jews resisted and this friction between them lasted until the Romans conquered. This period, as Kingsley explains was characterized by a tremendous amount of unrest as the Jews awaited a messiah, and eventually revolted, being forced out in to exile. Later, this section of the film explains the emergence of the synagogue, a place of worship, study and fellowship, and the further instructions Moses had received from God as well as the development of the Talmud a focal text of Judaism.

The middles section discusses the overwhelming sense of optimism which has perhaps characterized Jewish behavior throughout history and discusses the debut of the Torah and how in the early 19th century, it was decided that the Torah was not god-given, but God-inspired. The term "orthodox" was also put into the vernacular, to distinguish these Jews from those that had been reformed. The essence of Judaism is also discussed, with one scholar explaining how humans are made in God's image via the fact that no one compels humans to act morally or to do good, it is completely up to them and that God is exactly the same way.