Judaism: Difference between revisions

''This article is about the Jewish religion. For more information about the Jewish people, see [[Jew]].''

'''Judaism''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: יהדות) is the world's oldest [[Abrahamic religion]]. It is almost 4,000 years old. There are about 15 million followers. They are called [[Jew]]s.<ref>[http://www.jewfaq.org/populatn.htm Judaism 101: Jewish population]</ref>  It is the oldest [[monotheism|monotheistic]] religion. The Torah is the most important [[holy]] book of Judaism. The [[law]]s and [[wikt:lesson|teachings]] of Judaism come from the [[Torah]], the first five books of the [[Hebrew Bible]] and [[Oral law|oral]] [[wikt:tradition|tradition]]s. Some of these were first [[Oral law|oral]] [[wikt:tradition|tradition]]s and later written in the [[Mishnah]], the [[Talmud]], and other works.

Both [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]] are similar to Judaism. These religions accept the belief in one [[God]] and the moral teachings of the Hebrew [[Bible]] (Old Testament), which includes the Torah or "תורה."

# There is only one God, and He is the only one who is and will ever be God.

#God has no [[body]] or [[wikt:physical|physical]] [[wikt:form|form]] and nothing else is like Him.

#God is eternal – He has always [[wikt:exist|existed]] and will live forever.

#Only God can answer people’s [[prayer]]s and people must only pray to Him.

#God will make dead people live again when He chooses to.

The three main beliefs at the center of Judaism are Monotheism, Identity, and [[covenant]] (an agreement between God and his people).

The most important teachings of Judaism is that there is one God, who wants people to do what is [[wikt:just#Adjective|just]] and [[wikt:compassion|compassionate]]. Judaism teaches that a person serves God by learning the holy books and doing what they teach. These teachings include both [[ritual]] actions and [[ethics]]. Judaism teaches that all people are made in the [[image]] of God and deserve to be treated with [[wikt:dignity|dignity]] and [[wikt:respect|respect]].  

The main teachings of Judaism are about God, that there is only one God and that god is [[Yahweh]]. Only God [[creating|created]] the [[universe]] and only He [[wikt:control|controls]] it. Judaism also teaches that God is [[wikt:spirit|spiritual]] and not [[wikt:physical|physical]].<ref name=ERP1>{{cite book |last1= Mendes-Flohr|first1= Paul|editor1-first= Thomas|editor1-last= Riggs |title= Encyclopedia of Religious Practices|volume=1: Religions and Denominations|year=2006 |publisher= Gale|location= Detroit |pages=423–453 |chapter= Judaism}}</ref><ref name=Donin18>{{cite book |title= To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life |last= Donin |first= Hayim Halevy |chapter=The Cornerstones of Judaism: Israel–Its God |year= 1991|publisher= HarperCollins |location= New York |isbn=978-0465086320 |pages=18=23}}</ref>  

Jews believe that God is one – a [[wikt: unity|unity]]: He is one [[wikt:whole|whole]], complete being. He cannot be [[wikt: divide|divided]] into parts and people cannot say how He looks in words; they can only say how He is and what He does.<ref name=Birnbaum35>{{cite book |title=A Book of Jewish Concepts |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn |last=Birnbaum |first=Philip |chapter=God (chapter) |year=1975 |publisher=Hebrew Publishing Company |location=New York |isbn=088482876X |page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn/page/35 35]}}</ref>

Jews believe that all [[wikt: goodness|goodness]] and [[morality]] is from God. God is [[wikt: interested|interested]] in what people do and that He [[wikt:watch|watches]] what they do.<ref name=BCJ>{{cite book |title=The Blackwell Companion to Judaism |last=Neuser |first=Jacob |author2=Avery-Peck, Alan |year=2003 |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=9781577180593 |page=3 |url= https://books.google.com/?id=asYoIwz9z2UC&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&dq=The+Blackwell+Companion+to+Judaism++By+Jacob+Neusner,+Alan+Avery-Peck#v=onepage&q&f=false }}</ref><ref name=Wilkinson>{{cite book |title=Religions |last=Wilkinson |first=Philip |year=2008 |publisher=Metro Books|chapter=Judaism |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4351-2132-4 |pages=66–83 }}</ref>

Judaism teaches that all people are made in the [[wikt: image|image]] of God. This is why people must be treated with [[wikt:dignity|dignity]] and [[wikt:respect|respect]]. A person [[wikt: serve|serves]] God by being like God. This means that they must do what is [[wikt: fair|fair]] and [[wikt:justice|just]], show [[mercy]], and [[wikt: behave|behave]] with [[wikt: kindness|kindness]] and [[love]] for people.<ref name=Birnbaum35/><ref name= J10BIp9>{{cite book |title=Judaism’s 10 Best Ideas |last= Green |first= Arthur |year= 2014 |publisher= Jewish Lights Publishing|location= Woodstock, VT |isbn=978-1-58023-803-8 |pages=9–17}}</ref>

Judaism says that God [[wikt:exist|exists]] forever, that He is everywhere, and that He knows everything. He is above [[nature]] (“supernatural”) but He is in the world and He hears those who pray to Him and will answer them. God is the main [[wikt: power|power]] in the universe.<ref name=Birnbaum35/>

Judaism teaches that God [[wikt:allow|allows]] people to choose what to do – this is called “[[free will]].” Free will is the freedom to do whatever a person wants, but that they must be responsible of his/her own actions. People are [[wikt: responsible|responsible]] for their actions. God [[wikt:reward|rewards]] people who do good, and will [[wikt:punish|punishes]] those who do wrong. God gives a person a reward or a punishment in this world, but He gives the final reward or punishment to the [[soul]] of the person after their death.<ref name=Birnbaum600>{{cite book |title=A Book of Jewish Concepts |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn |last= Birnbaum |first=Philip |chapter=Reward and Punishment |year=1975 |publisher= Hebrew Publishing Company |location= New York |isbn= 088482876X |page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn/page/600 600] }}</ref>

Jews believe that God made an [[wikt: agreement|agreement]] called a “covenant” with [[Abraham]], the [[wikt:ancestor|ancestor]] of the Jewish people. The Bible says that God [[wikt:promise|promised]] to [[wikt:bless|bless]] Abraham and his [[wikt:descendant|descendants]] if they [[wikt:worship|worshipped]] God and were [[wikt:faithful|faithful]] to him. God made this covenant with Abraham's son, [[Isaac]], and with Isaac's son, [[Jacob]]. God gave Jacob another name, Israel. This is how Jacob’s descendants got the name the “Children of Israel” or “[[Israelite]]s.” God later gave the [[Torah]] to the Israelites through their leader, [[Moses]]. The Torah told the Israelites how to live and build their [[community]]. God gave the Israelites the [[Ten Commandments]] and other laws in the Torah.<ref name=MJL_C>{{cite web|last1=Greenberg|first1=Irving|title=The Covenant & God|url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Shavuot/Themes_and_Theology/Covenant_Binds_God.shtml|website=My Jewish Learning|access-date=23 June 2014}}</ref>

The Jews are [[wikt:sometimes|sometimes]] called the “[[wikt:choose|Chosen]] People". This is because the Bible says God told them, “You will be to Me a [[wikt:kingdom|kingdom]] of priests and a [[holy]] [[nation]]” (Exodus 19:6) and “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord chose you to be His own [[wikt:special|special]] nation out of all peoples on the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2). Jews understand that this means they have special [[wikt:duty|duties]] and [[wikt:responsibility|responsibilities]] [[wikt:command|commanded]] by God. For example, Jews must [[wikt:build|build]] a [[Justice|just]] [[society]] and [[wikt:serve|serve]] only God. Jews believe that this [[wikt:agreement|covenant]] works in two ways: if they follow God’s laws, He will give them his love and [[protection]], but they are also responsible for their [[sin]]s – bad actions – and disobeying what God told them. Jews believe that they must teach other people that God exists and that God wants all people to do good actions. Jews believe that their [[wikt:job|job]] in the world is to be "a light to the nations" (Isiah 49:6) by [[wikt:show|showing]] the people of the world [[wikt:way|ways]] to make the world a [[wikt:better|better]] place.<ref name=ERP1/><ref name= Birnbaum70>{{cite book |title=A Book of Jewish Concepts |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn |last=Birnbaum |first=Philip |chapter=Attah Behartanu |year=1975 |publisher= Hebrew Publishing Company |location=New York |isbn= 088482876X |pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn/page/70 70]-72}}</ref>

Jews believe that God has given them a [[wikt:special|special]] [[wikt:job|job]] which is to [[wikt:repair|repair]] the world. Their job is to make the world a [[wikt:better|better]] place with more good in it. They must use the things in the world to [[wikt:increase|increase]] good and come closer to God. They call this “''tikkun olam''” – repairing the world. Jews see themselves as God’s [[wikt:partner|partner]] and that they must repair the world in any way they can – to find ways to [[wikt:lessen|lessen]] [[wikt: suffering|suffering]] of people and animals, to make more peace, bring [[wikt: respect|respect]] between people and [[wikt:protect|protect]] the earth’s [[environment]] from [[wikt: destruction|destruction]].<ref name= J10BIp29>{{cite book |title=Judaism’s 10 Best Ideas |last= Green |first= Arthur |year= 2014 |publisher= Jewish Lights Publishing |location= Woodstock, VT |isbn=978-1-58023-803-8 |pages=29–35}}</ref><ref name=MJL_TO>{{cite web|title=Tikkun Olam: Repairing the World |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Caring_For_Others/Tikkun_Olam_Repairing_the_World_.shtml|website=My Jewish Learning|access-date=23 June 2014}}</ref>

Jews believe that God tells them in the [[Torah]] the way of life that they must follow. The Torah says God wants the people of Israel to walk in His ways, to love Him, and to serve Him, and to keep God’s [[wikt:commandment|commandments]] (Deut. 10:12–13). [[wikt:action|Actions]] are more important than [[belief]]s and beliefs must be made into actions.

These actions are called “''mitzvot''” in Hebrew (singular: a ''mitzvah'' מִצְוָה). Sometimes they are called “[[law]]s,” "rules" or “commandments”. Many people think of a mitzvah as "a good act," or "a good thing to do." There are 613 ''mitzvot'' in the Torah. Jews believe that the Torah gives ''mitzvot'' for all people; all people must keep seven laws that were taught to Noah and his children after the flood. The Jews must keep 613 mitzvot, which are listed in the Torah. The rabbis counted 365 ''mitzvot'' that Jews must not do ([[wikt:negative|negative]] ''mitzvot''), and 248 ''mitzvot'' that Jews must do ([[wikt:positive|positive]] ''mitzvot''). Some ''mitzvot'' are for everyday life, and some are only for special times, such as Jewish holidays. Many of the 613 ''mitzvot'' are about the [[Holy Temple]] in Jerusalem and cannot be done now, since the Temple was destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm|title=A List of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments)|access-date=2007-06-29|author=Tracey Rich}}</ref>

Jews see ''mitzvot'' as acts that sanctify – bring [[Holy|holiness]] – to the world and bring people and the world closer to God. Jews do the ''mitzvot'' to sanctify the physical world and the things in it, such as food and [[drink]], clothing, and natural activities such as sex, work, or seeing [[wikt: beautiful|beautiful]] [[wikt:sight|sights]]. Before doing many acts, such as eating, Jews say a blessing – a short [[prayer]] – that God makes and gives a person the things that they need for life. In Judaism, life is most holy and [[wikt: important|important]]. A Jew must stop doing other ''mitzvot'' of the Torah to help [[wikt:save|save]] another person’s life.<ref name=ERP1/>

Jews believe that they must do the ''mitzvot'' with [[happiness]] and [[joy]] because the Bible says “Serve God with joy; come before God with singing” (Psalms 100:2). Doing a ''mitzvah'' helps a person come close to God and that makes the person happy. A group of Jews called the [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidim]] say this is the best way to live. They say that [[worry]]ing takes people away from joy and they will not see the beauty and good in the world.<ref name= J10BIp3>{{cite book |title=Judaism’s 10 Best Ideas |last= Green |first= Arthur |year= 2014 |publisher= Jewish Lights Publishing |location= Woodstock, VT |isbn=978-1-58023-803-8 |pages=3–8}}</ref>

Many ''mitzvot'' in the Torah are about the [[Land of Israel]]. The [[Talmud]] and later books call these ''mitzvot'' “commandments [[wikt:connect|connected]] to the Land” because Jews can only do them in the Land of Israel. For example, Jews give [[gift]]s to the poor or the priests from their [[wikt:field|fields]] every year, take fruit or animals to the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], and must stop working on the land every seven years (the “shmittah” – sabbatical year).<ref name= Birnbaum390/><ref name=J101LOI>{{cite web|last1=Rich|first1=Tracey|title=The Land of Israel|url=http://www.jewfaq.org/israel.htm|website=Judaism 101|access-date=23 June 2014}}</ref>

The [[Land of Israel]] is holy in Judaism. A Jewish belief is that God [[Creating|created]] the [[Earth]] from [[Mount Moriah]] in [[Jerusalem]] in the Land of Israel, and He is always [[wikt:Close|closest]] to this land. Jews believe that this land is where God told the Jewish people to build a [[society]] to [[wikt:serve|serve]] Him, and many ''mitzvot'' ([[wikt:commandment|commandments]]) in the [[Torah]] are about the Land of Israel.<ref name=J101LOI/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Schweid|first1=Eliezer|title=Significance of the Land of Israel in the Bible|url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/israel/Jewish_Thought/Biblical_and_Rabbinic/In_the_Bible.shtml|website=My Jewish Learning}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Blidstein|first1=Gerald Y.|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 6|date=2007|publisher=Thomson Gale|pages=574–575|edition=2nd|chapter=Even Shetiyyah}}</ref>

The Jewish people believe their [[history]] as a [[nation]] begins with [[Abraham]]. The story of Abraham in the Torah begins when God tells Abraham to leave his country. He [[promise]]s Abraham and his [[wikt:descendent|descendants]] a new home in the land of [[Canaan]]. This is now known as the Land of Israel. It is named after Abraham's grandson, Jacob, who was also called Israel and who was the father of the twelve tribes. This is where the name “Land of Israel” comes from. The land is also called “the Promised Land” because in the Torah, God promises to give the land to the children of Abraham ({{Bibleverse||Gen|12:7|HE}}, {{Bibleverse||Gen|13:15|HE}}, {{Bibleverse||Gen|15:18|HE}}, {{Bibleverse||Gen|17:8|HE}}).<ref name=J101LOI/><ref name= Birnbaum62>{{cite book |title=A Book of Jewish Concepts |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn |last=Birnbaum |first=Philip |chapter= Eretz Yisrael |year=1975 |publisher=Hebrew Publishing Company |location= New York Company |isbn= 088482876X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn/page/62 62]-66}}</ref>

The rabbis of the Talmud [[wikt:understand|understood]] from the Torah ({{Bibleverse||Num|33:53|HE}}) that it is a “mitzvah” for Jews to live in the land of Israel. They saw living outside of Israel as not [[wikt:natural|natural]] for a Jew. Jews often called the land outside of Israel "galut." This is usually translated as "[[diaspora]]" (a place where people are [[wikt:scattered|scattered]]), but the word more closely means "[[exile]]".<ref name=J101LOI/><ref name=Donin12>{{cite book |title= To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life |last= Donin |first= Hayim Halevy |chapter=The Cornerstones of Judaism: Israel–Its Land |year= 1972|publisher= Basic Books |location= New York |isbn=0465-08624-1 |pages=12=18}}</ref>

The story of leaving Egypt, called the [[Exodus]], is very [[wikt: important|important]] in the way the Jewish people [[wikt: understand|understand the world.]] The Torah tells how God took a group of [[Slavery|slaves]], the [[Israelites]], from slavery, and tells them how to be His [[partnership|partner]] to build the world. Jews see this story as a [[wikt:model|model]] for the whole [[world]]. In the future, the whole world will change, and all the people of the world will serve the one God. This will be God’s kingdom on Earth. They believe the whole of Jewish history, and world history, is part of this [[wikt:process|process]].<ref name=Birnbaum394>{{cite book |title=A Book of Jewish Concepts |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn |last=Birnbaum |first=Philip |chapter=Messiah |year=1975 |publisher= Hebrew Publishing Company |location= New York |isbn= 088482876X |page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofjewishconc00birn/page/600 600] }}</ref>

The [[prophet]]s taught that God would send a person to the world who would help all the people of the world see that God is the maker, king of the world and has supreme power. This person is called the [[Messiah]]. The word Messiah comes from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word ''mashiah'', which means "the [[wikt:anoint|anointed]] one". The Book of [[Isaiah]] says the Messiah will be a [[wikt:just#Adjective|just]] king who will [[wikt:unite|unite]] the Jewish people and lead them in God's way. The Messiah will also unite all the people of the world to serve God. People will act with [[justice]] and [[wikt: kindness|kindness]], and the whole world will be filled with [[peace]].<ref name=Birnbaum394/>

Traditional Jews are very careful about kashrut.  They usually cannot eat many foods in non-kosher restaurants or in the home of someone who does not keep kosher.  Sometimes, this makes it hard to visit people or to do business.  It is important to understand that this is part of their religion. People help avoid this problem by choosing to dine with Traditional Jews in a kosher restaurant or serve them kosher food in their home.

Traditional Jews are very careful about Shabbat. It is a special day. They clean their houses and prepare special food for Shabbat. They dress in their nicest clothes. They sing beautiful songs and say extra prayers in the synagogue. They have dinner and lunch with their families. Many families also invite guests for dinner and for lunch. They eat special delicious food, and sing together traditional Shabbat songs. On Shabbat afternoon people study Judaism together or just visit friends.

== Important points in a Jewish life ==

== Other websites ==

* [http://www.uscj.org/index1.html The United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism: Official website]