Judaism

Judaism is both a religion and ethnicity whose followers, Jews, trace their origins back to a covenant made by God over 2,000 years ago. In 2005 there were 14 million followers. Jews believe God first made this covenant with Abraham, who is seen as the patriarch of all Jewish people, and then strengthened it by giving the Torah (law) to Moses at Mount Sinai.

Jewish holy days tend to cover either major events in Jewish history or special times of the year.

The Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) marks God resting on the seventh day and is considered the holiest of the days of the week. It begins at sundown on Friday and runs until sundown the following day, there are rules for Shabbat although how strictly these rules are followed is dependent on the individual.

The Jewish dietary laws, kashrut, cover which foods can and can't be eaten and the ways in which animals can be slaughtered. Food that is permissible for consumption is called Kosher.

Like many other religions Judaism is made up of a number of movements the strictest of which are the Orthodox who dress in black, wear long sideburns and keep strictly to their own community.

Jewish boys and girls come of age at their Bar mitzvah and Bat mitzvah. Boys are usually 13 and girls 12 and the ceremony is usually followed by a celebratory party for family and friends and members of the community.

Implications for football are observance of Shabbat and the major Jewish Holy days such as Yom Kippor. Participation for Jewish teams during these observances will be difficult but if the dates are known in advance allowances can be made by teams.