The belief in one God is Judaism's gift to Christianity and Islam. But did it all start with Judaism? In fact, the ancient Near East produced two monotheistic faiths, one from Egypt, and one from Israel. The journey to monotheism in each country is a fascinating story which we'll cover in this course. We'll start with the colorful saga of Egypt's many gods, and the religious revolutionary Akhenaten who changed the face of Egypt's faith overnight. Then we'll move to Canaan, where a panoply of cults (laced with Egyptian influences) ultimately evolved into the birth of God.

This course is recommended and free of charge for all participants in the JCC/Lehrhaus tour of Egypt and Israel, January 7-18, 2011.