Can Moses be considered the founder of Judaism?

Answer 1

No. Moses cannot be considered the founder of Judaism. Moses was chosen by G-d to take the Jews out of Egyptian slavery. By Moses' time there were already over 2 million Jews around. Abraham can be considered the founder of Judaism, as he is referred to the the forefather of all Jews.

Answer 2

Answer 1Abraham is the father of Isaac from whom the Jewish people descended. Neither Avraham or Moses founded Judaism as Judaism is based on national revelation and therefore does not have a single founder.

That being said, Avraham was the first person to accept and worship One God and intuitively followed the Torah. It was through Moses that God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments and the Torah

Answer 2

Both. According to tradition, Abraham founded Judaism, and Moses later received the Torah from God.

Abraham, tenth generation descendant of Noah, of Hebrew lineage, was the son of Terah, uncle of Lot, father of Isaac, grandfather of Jacob, and ancestor of the Israelites. His story is in Genesis ch.11 (end), through ch.25. Jewish tradition states that he was the first to teach belief in One God; and it is in his merit that Jews continue to exist (Genesis 18:19, and ch.17).

Abraham (18th century BCE) came from ancestry that had been God-fearing a couple of centuries earlier but had afterwards slipped into idolatry (Joshua 24:2). Nimrod, the idolatrous tyrant, had brought Abraham's father (Terah) from the Semitic ancestral seat near the conjunction of the Balikh and the Euphrates, and instated him in a position of power in his army in the royal Babylonian city of Ur, where Abraham was born. Nimrod persecuted any who would question his idolatrous cult.

The Kuzari (Rabbi Judah HaLevi, 1075-1141) states that Abraham was gifted with high intelligence; and, as Maimonides (1135-1204) describes, Abraham didn't blindly accept the ubiquitous idolatry. The whole populace had been duped, but the young Abraham contemplated the matter relentlessly, finally arriving at the conclusion that there is One God and that this should be taught to others as well. This is what is meant by his "calling out in the name of the Lord" (Genesis ch.12). As a young man, he remonstrated with passersby in public, demonstrating to them the falsehood of their idols; and our tradition tells how he was threatened and endangered by Nimrod.

Subsequently, Terah relocated to Harran; and it is here that Abraham began to develop a circle of disciples (Rashi commentary, on Genesis 12:5).

Later, God told Abraham in prophecy to move to the Holy Land, which is where Abraham raised his family.

He continued his contemplations, eventually arriving at the attitudes and forms of behavior which God later incorporated into the Torah given to Moses. Abraham taught disciples (Talmud, Yoma 28b), gave tithes (Genesis ch.14), strove to raise a family (Genesis ch.15, 17, and 24) which would serve God (Genesis 18:19), made a covenant with God (Genesis ch.15 and 17), welcomed guests into his home (Genesis ch.18) unlike the inhospitable Sodomites (Genesis ch.19), prayed for people (Genesis ch.18), rebuked others when necessary (Genesis ch.20), eulogized and buried the deceased (Genesis ch.23), and fulfilled God's will unquestioningly (Genesis ch.22). He became renowned as a prince of God (Genesis 23:6).

All of these forms of behavior were based upon the ways of God, which Abraham comprehended through his contemplations. These, and similar personality traits, were the teachings of Abraham and his descendants.

It is therefore clear why God expresses His love for Abraham (Isaiah 41:8) and calls Himself the God of Abraham (Genesis 26:24), and says that Abraham obeyed Him fully (Genesis 26:5). And this is why, according to our tradition, Abraham is credited with having begun the religion which became known as Judaism. However, Abraham and his descendants observed their traditions voluntarily, until the Giving of the Torah to Moses 3325 years ago, when God made it obligatory.

Moses was born 245 years after the death of Abraham. Pharaoh had decreed that Israelite boys be killed (Exodus ch.1), but the daughter of Pharaoh took pity on the infant Moses (Exodus ch.2) and raised him as her own son. He was forced to flee after killing a cruel Egyptian taskmaster, and went to Midian, where he wedded the daughter of Jethro. He eventually achieved the highest level of prophecy (Deuteronomy ch.34) and was called upon by God (Exodus ch.3). He brought the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus ch.12). He received the Torah from God (Exodus 24:12) and later recorded it in writing (Deuteronomy 31:24). He went up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights (Deuteronomy ch.9-10) and brought down the Two Stone Tablets with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18). He brought the Israelites into the covenant with God (Exodus ch.19 and ch.24), and he oversaw the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus ch.35-40). He was the humblest of men and the greatest of prophets (Numbers ch.12).

Answer 3According to Islam, Allah (or God and same God worshiped in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) is the founder of Judaism religion. The same God also founded the religions of Christianity and Islam. It is known that the Torah, the Jewish holy book that on which the Judaism religion is based on, and the ten commandments were revealed by God to prophet Moses some long time after Abraham. Although Abraham is considered father of the prophets but he is neither Jewish nor founder of Jewish religion. Refer to related question below.

Answer 4

There are four general answers about who founded Judaism. Some credit Abraham, some credit Moses, some credit God, and some are based in Historical Authorities. See the answers below for more information.

Abraham:

Judaism began with the covenant God made with Abraham, which is talked about in the book of Genesis in The Bible, starting in chapter 17. The different branches of Judaism were founded later by different people, but the religion itself was started with the covenant between God and Abraham.

Moses

Judaism is largely defined by the first five books of the Bible, which Moses is credited with having written (Deuteronomy 31:24), with Divine guidance (Exodus 24:12).

Hint

God

Judaism is based on national revelation (all of the Israelites accepting the Torah at Mount Sinai), not a single founder.

Historical Analysis

What we now know is that the first five books are composed from input from several sources, usually known as J, E, D and P. The sources known as J and E seem to date back to early in the first millennium BCE. D dates from before 600 BCE and P probably lived during the Babylonian exile. We use designations such as J, E, D and P because we do not know their real name. In fact one or more of these sources may have been several people.

Answer 5 (Islamic view)Muslims believe that Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) didn't call his people to Judaism. He called his people to full submission to God as the one and only one God (that means Islam in arabic). He called his people to abandon worshiping idols.

Moses was talked by God; the Creator; to call his people to worship God as the one and only one God. Accordingly, he received God revelations of the ten commandments and the Torah. So, it is logic that God founded Judaism religion and not Moses. It is fully agreed upon the saying above that God is the founder of Judaism per God Torah revelation to prophet Moses.

No God religion is based on books of different human sources as founders of the religion. The different human sources should remain on the status to be detailed explanations of Torah, the basic holy book revealed by God. God never accepts partners to him in establishing a religion but only means for Him (God) to interpret His religion rules and teachings.

Accordingly, it is the only credible belief that a God religion is of course founded by God with no partner; neither Abraham nor Moses nor historical human sources.