The ancient Hebrew Bible began with the "Torah," that is, "The Law," which was given through the leader of Israel, Moses. Most of us are familiar with the Ten Commandments as given to Israel through Moses. (Maybe you've even seen the classic 1956 movie, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston.) Those famous "Ten Commandments" are essentially a concise summary of God's moral law for his people. The religion of Judaism was built on moral commands and human beings' ethical obligation to obey them. In fact, beyond those major summaries of God's law in the Ten Commandments, the Jewish rabbis counted a total of 613 commands given in the Torah (the books of Moses). The basic ethical foundation of Judaism is still respected as a primary reason to view the religion of Judaism as important and influential.
