WHEN & HOW DID Judaism START?

0:06When and how did Judaism start? So, the Chachamim debate whether Judaism started with Avraham Avinu or Moshe Rabbeinu. We only became Jews officially at Mount Sinai. Why? What happened at Mount Sinai? We received the Torah. We received the Torah; we accepted the Torah. That's what makes you Jewish. And one of our proofs, aside from what I just mentioned, is that anyone can become Jewish.

1:23their observance of the Torah. Like, you can be born a Christian or a Muslim, but if you want to comply with the entire Torah, it means that you'll go through a formal conversion with a recognized beit din, and live a life in accordance with the Torah. You can become a full-fledged Jew. Say, oh yeah, but that's probably like a convert, it's probably like a defective Jew, right? It's like a deformed Jew, it's like a lesser Jew. Wrong, opposite. According to the Torah, a convert is considered, a real convert, a righteous convert, whether male or female, a righteous convert is considered higher, higher than a natural-born Jew. You can see the Rambam writes a letter to one of his students, and it's a very famous letter, where he tells him that Obadiah, the convert, is truly elevated. to one of his students, and it's a very famous letter, where he tells him how the Obadiah, I think his name was, Avadiah, Avadiah, I don't know how you say it, but anyway, he writes the letter, and he tells him that the Rambam is jealous of him, of this convert. He's jealous of him. Why? Because it's a great...

2:35I didn't choose to be Jewish. You know, I was born this way. You chose to be Jewish. Me, I have my father. Rambam's father was Gedol HaDor, a Tzaddik. He says, "You know who your father is? Avraham Avinu. Avraham Avinu is your father." Who was the Yichus of having Avraham Avinu? You can say, "Yeah, but my grandfather is also Avraham Avinu." Yes, it's your grandfather. The famous forefather is Avraham Avinu. That's his father. The convert's father is Avraham Avinu. So Rambam says, you're praiseworthy. So now, a person that accepts the Torah, accepts the mitzvot, becomes a Jew. So we, as a nation, accepted the Torah and the mitzvot at Mount Sinai, thereby beginning Judaism at Mount Sinai. So why is there a debate about Judaism possibly starting beforehand? Because even though Judaism began at the time of Moshe Rabbeinu at Har Sinai, we still say that our forefathers are Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. And the Gemara in Masechet Avodah Zarah says that Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov had the entire Torah. They had the oral Torah, and while the written Torah was given later on, they were fulfilling it. In fact, they had a more extensive version of the Torah than ours. Avraham Avinu's tractate of Avodah Zarah had 400 sections. Our tractate of Avodah Zarah has five sections. This difference suggests the depth of their spiritual and Torah observance.

3:59More extensive Torah than us. Our tractate of Gemara, Avodah Zarah, has five sections. Avraham Avinu's tractate of Avodah Zarah had 400 sections, and we talked about the different opinions of why it's 400 versus 5. But the point being is that he had the Torah, and he fulfilled the Torah. So, Chachamim say, if he fulfilled the Torah... He was the first Jew, and some of the Chachamim say yes, Avraham was 100% a Jew even though he was by himself. But some say no, it cannot be, because technically he was a Noahide, fulfilled in the Torah 99%. He knew that he was not allowed to keep Shabbat, so he would violate it by creating a cow every Shabbat. That's how he did it—there was no electricity back then, so he would create a cow instead, using Sefer Yetzirah to create a cow. And I'll have to create on Shabbat. And that's also the reason why Yaakov was able to marry two sisters. He was able to marry two sisters. A Jew is not allowed to marry two sisters, but Yaakov, you know, married two sisters. Why? Because he was, again, he was a Noachide. Noachide allowed.

5:11The point being is that I said, "Yeah, but maybe it's because he was a Jew. But he wasn't allowed to do it near Israel." And that's why, before they returned, she died. That's why she died, because it's not allowed. Yes, he said, "Well, it's allowed outside," and there is a debate with many, many pages. Many, many pages. The point being is Judaism for sure started no later than Mount Sinai; some even say it started with Yaakov, needless to say. All of them are Kodesh Kodashim. All of us are descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. And Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov are beyond our comprehension. The Avot and their children are beyond our comprehension. As far as where... Where Judaism's starting point is officially, like I said, the most common answer that I know of is Mount Sinai. However, that doesn't lessen, chas v'shalom, the status and significance of the Avot. It doesn't lessen it, just again, there's a debate among the Chachamim about who, what, when, and how of certain specific points.

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