JudaismBy Dane Warren and Johnathan Clark

Core Beliefs in Judaism

There is only one G-d. G-d isn’t composed of a trinity or duality either.

Rabbi says: Why G-d? The Jewish faith has restrictions against saying or writing the name of G-d in full, hence the dash.

G-d is all powerful and created the entire universe all by himself.G-d interacts with everyone personally.

G-d is incorporeal, and is completely incomparable with mankind.

Worshipers may only pray to G-d, not to other religious figures. All Jewish religious texts are not only holy, but unquestionably true.

Origins and Spread of JudaismThe beginnings of Judaism can be traced to the beliefs of Abraham who was the first man to preach monotheism. He lived between 1812-1637 BCE.

Rabbi says: Why the nearly two hundred year life span? Religious figures in Judaism tended to live for a very long time. Abraham died at age 175, Moses at 120, and Isaac at the ripe old age of 180.

Modern Judaism was formally organized by several rabbis between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE.

Judaism was founded in the Middle Eastern region known as Palestine.

Judaism was spread throughout Europe, North America, and the former Soviet Republic by a series of migrations, both forced and voluntary.

G-d spoke directly to Moses. He didn’t use some sort of medium like He did when He spoke to the other prophets.

Rabbi says: Who were the prophets? They were the people who G-d chose to essentially be his spokesmen. They conveyed the teachings and words of G-d to the people on His behalf.

Everyone’s soul is pure at birth. Their actions define their character.

Judaism features a system of divine reward and punishment, a little like karma. If you are faithful to G-d, you will be rewarded, but if you don’t obey His teachings, then you won’t be as lucky.G-d chose the Jews for a purpose. They are to spread their teachings and illuminate the world.

Important Religious FiguresAbraham: He was the first man to preach a belief in monotheism. He left the city of Ur to practice his beliefs. Credited with laying the foundations for the three major modern monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.Moses: Greatest of the prophets. Received the 613 Mitzvot directly from G-d and led his people out of slavery in Egypt and into the desert.

Rabbi says: What is the Mitzvot? The Mitzvot is the Jewish equivalent of the Christian commandments. A single Mitzvot is called a Mitzvah.

Isaac: Son of Abraham who was set to be sacrificed as a test of Abraham’s faith. G-d halts the sacrifice, and Isaac goes on to become a patriarch, or embodiment of the Jewish faith.

Religious TextsTanakh: Most important Jewish text. Composed of the Torah, the Nevi’im and the Ketuvim. Contains the stories that the faith is based around.

Talmud: Interprets the religious scriptures and tells how to apply their laws to daily life.

Midrash: Elaborates on the stories found in the scriptures to make them clearer, more detailed, or easier to interpret.

Siddur: Compilation of various prayers and rites for daily use and reading.

Women in JudaismWomen and men have specific duties that are expected of them.However, women are considered to be equal to men at the same time.

G-d is not specifically male or female. However, He is referred to as “He” or “Him” in modern translations of the scriptures.Both genders were created in G-d’s image. However, men are said to have “formed” while women were “built”.As a result, women are said to have greater intuition, understanding, and intelligence.

Respect for both parents is key in Judaism.

The Talmud, which criticizes most things somewhere, has equally negative criticism towards both men and women

Jewish Art and ArchitectureEarly Jewish life was very hard (they lived in the desert), so dedicating large amounts of time to art was discouraged.

In ancient times, synagogues were required to be the tallest buildings in their towns. They also were required to have windows.

Rabbi says: What is a synagogue? A synagogue is a Jewish place of worship. The name is actually Greek in origin and roughly means “place of assembly”.

The interior (and exterior) décor of a synagogue is almost always more modest than that of a church or mosque. You won’t find religious artifacts on the walls or enormous stained glass windows, but some religious symbolism is usually present.

Judaism vs. Christianity

Category Judaism Christianity

Date Founded c. 1700 BCE c. 30 CE

Location Founded Palestine Palestine

Original Language Aramaic, Greek Hebrew

Location Today Israel, North America, Europe

Worldwide (esp. the Americas and

Europe)

Population (World) 15 million 2 billion

Population (USA) 5.6 million 159 million

Branches Orthodox, Conservative,

Reform

Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant

Impact on World History

Jews as a people have been present in many center of western culture at key points in history (Greece, Rome, France, Germany, and the United States).Feelings of Anti-Semitism have been observed in many cultures, and Jews have been persecuted for their beliefs by numerous groups (the Nazi party, Ku Klux Klan). This is due to the fact that despite its wide distribution, the world Jewish population is small and is often thought of as a minority group.Judaism was the first organized religion to be monotheistic, as it is almost 1500 years older than Christianity.

Judaism was the first religion in world history to formally protect the rights of women.

In modern times, many Nobel Prize recipients have been Jewish (including Albert Einstein), and the Jewish community has been credited with numerous advances in technology, including cell phones, microprocessors, and several advances in medicine.

Fin!...(No Pun Intended)