A Gift of the Jews

Thomas Cahill (3) states in the first page of The Gifts of the Jews that "the Jews started it all û and by 'it' I mean so many of the things we care about, the underlying values that make all of us, Jew and Gentile, believer and atheist, tick." Throughout his text Cahill (3) identifies a number of "gifts" given to Western civilization by the Jews, including the very idea of "vocation, of a personal destiny" as well as what may well be the most important "gift" of all û monotheism. This essay will identify the importance of monotheism, Cahill's linkage of that concept to the Bible, the benefits to Western civilization of monotheism, and the impact of monotheism on my own life.

Cahill (71) identifies the God of Abram as a single God distinct from all other gods that existed or were believed in at the time. This God is "God Shaddai" which Cahill (71) says may have originally referred to "Mountain God" or "God of the High Place." Thus, early in the Book of Genesis, this singular God made a covenant with the Jewish peo

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Approximate Word count = 720
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page)