the religion of the Jews. It is the complex expression of a religious and ethnic community, a way of life as well as a set of basic beliefs and values, which is discerned in patterns of action, social order, and culture as well as in religious statements and concepts.
The first section of this article treats the history of Judaism in the broadest and most complete sense, from the early ancestral beginnings of the Jewish people down to contemporary times. In the second section the beliefs, practices, and culture of Judaism are discussed. Dates are listed throughout as BCE (Before the Common Era = BC) and CE (Common Era = AD).

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