Jerusalem, Hebrew Yerushalayim, Arabic Bayt al-Muqaddas or Al-Quds, ancient city of the Middle East that since 1967 has been wholly under the rule of the State of Israel. Long an object of veneration and conflict, the holy city of Jerusalem has been governed, both as a provincial town and a national capital, by an extended series of dynasties and states.

MOSES (c. thirteenth century BCE, but date uncertain), or, in Hebrew, Mosheh, was the leader of the Hebrews in the Exodus from Egypt and giver of the Law at Sinai. Tradition regards Moses as the founder of Israel's religion—the mediator of its covenant with God (Yahveh) and its cultic institutions.

synagogue, also spelled synagog , in Judaism, a community house of worship that serves as a place not only for liturgical services but also for assembly and study. Its traditional functions are reflected in three Hebrew synonyms for synagogue: bet ha-tefilla (“house of prayer”), bet ha-kneset (“house of assembly”), and bet ha-midrash (“house of study”).

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been called the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times, not only because they include biblical manuscripts 1,000 years older than any we had before but also because they offer a firsthand view of the life of an ancient Palestinian community. The earliest known copy of the Hebrew Scriptures before 1947 came from the tenth century CE, about 1,100 to 1,600 years after most of them were composed. Extrabiblical sources for the history of first-century Palestine were also copies from centuries later, and they tended to convey the limited perspective of groups that became dominant much later.

The Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible as it is also known) consists of a number of smaller works (usually called “books”) that were compiled well after 1000 BCE. Some of these books, however, were first written down in an earlier age.

"Torah, in Judaism, in the broadest sense, the substance of divine revelation to Israel, the Jewish people: God’s revealed teaching or guidance for humankind. The meaning of “Torah” is often restricted to signify the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), also called the Law (or the Pentateuch, in Christianity). These are the books traditionally ascribed to Moses, the recipient of the original revelation from God on Mount Sinai. Jewish, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant canons all agree on their order: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy." (Britannica Academic)

bar mitzvah, also spelled bar mitzva or mitzwa (Hebrew: “son of the commandment”), plural bar mitzvahs, bar mitzvot, or bar mitzwot, Jewish religious ritual and family celebration commemorating the religious adulthood of a boy on his 13th birthday. [...] In the 20th century, however, many Reform congregations restored bar mitzvah, delaying confirmation until the age of 15 or 16. Numerous Conservative and Reform congregations have instituted a separate ceremony to mark the adulthood of girls, called bat mitzvah.

Hanukkah, (Hebrew: “Dedication”) also spelled Ḥanukka, Chanukah, or Chanukkah, also called Feast of Dedication, Festival of Lights, or Feast of the Maccabees , Jewish festival that begins on Kislev 25 (in December, according to the Gregorian calendar) and is celebrated for eight days.

Passover, Hebrew Pesaḥ, or Pesach, in Judaism, holiday commemorating the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt and the “passing over” of the forces of destruction, or the sparing of the firstborn of the Israelites, when the Lord “smote the land of Egypt” on the eve of the Exodus.

Rosh Hashana, (Hebrew: “Beginning of the Year”) , Hashana also spelled Hashanah or Ha-shanah, also called Day of Judgment or Day of Remembrance, a major Jewish observance now accepted as inaugurating the religious New Year on Tishri 1 (September or October).

(Hebrew: “order”) religious meal served in Jewish homes on the 15th and 16th of the month of Nisan to commence the festival of Passover (Pesaḥ).

In Judaism, Shivah (the word for "seven" in Hebrew; unrelated to the Hindu god Shiva) is the seven-day intensive period of mourning following a funeral

Yom Kippur, Hebrew Yom Ha-Kippurim, English Day of Atonement, most solemn of Jewish religious holidays, observed on the 10th day of the lunar month of Tishri (in the course of September and October), when Jews seek to expiate their sins and achieve reconciliation with God.
Yom Kippur is an occasion for renewal of the Jewish covenant with God, when Jews recommit themselves to obedience to divine law." (Fieldhouse, Paul)

Reform Judaism, a religious movement that has modified or abandoned many traditional Jewish beliefs, laws, and practices in an effort to adapt Judaism to the changed social, political, and cultural conditions of the modern world. Reform Judaism sets itself at variance with Orthodox Judaism by challenging the binding force of ritual, laws, and customs set down in the Bible and in certain books of rabbinic origin (e.g., the Talmud).