Galilean Jew who lived in the beginning of the common era, during the Roman rule of Judea. Contemporary Jewish sources do not provide any information about his life, which is described in the New Testament, written after his death. Some of the teachings of Jesus concerning kindness and tolerance are reminiscent of the Jewish sage Hillel, who preceded him. While Jesus himself did not found a religion, but rather lived and died a Jew, the stories about him and the sayings and parables attributed to him were compelling enough to give rise to a worldwide religion called Christianity (Christ means messiah or savior). Jesus lived at a time when there was great turmoil and messianic fervor in Judea, and the stories about him can be understood against the background of an entire people yearning for salvation or redemption.