Beliefs
Belief in a single God
God is One, Implications of this belief:
- Only one God
- God is indivisible
- God is unique
- God has always existed and will always exist.
- God is the source of all creation, since God existed before creation.
- God will exist even after creation ceases to exist.
- The ultimate destiny of human beings lies with God in eternity.
- God is everywhere and is intimately involved with human history.
- God's intervention in history is most evident in the account of the Exodus.
- The liberation from slavery in Egypt is regarded as the foundational and defining moment in Jewish history.
- God is all powerful and hence all knowing.
- God can change future events.
- The events of the Exodus demonstrate that no obstacle is too great for God to overcome.
- It is difficult to reconcile the notion that God knows and can control the future with the concept that human beings have free will.
- Maimonides said that we cannot sufficiently answer this question because human knowledge is finite, whereas God's knowledge is infinite.
- The humanlike depictions of God are rationally unsound because the finite limit of human knowledge is unable to comprehend the full nature of God.
- God's spirit is manifested throughout the universe.
- Human beings cannot know God through direct means.
- Human beings come to understand the nature of God as being pure spirit through mediated knowledge such as witnessing His intervention in human history, creation and the sacred texts.
The concept of a moral law prescribed by God
- God gave Jews a code of ethics which is intended to guide them in relation to ethical decision making in keeping with their dignity as God's creation.
- Since theological understanding is secondary to practice in Judaism, the primary responsibility of Jews is to study the Torah, which the principal source of God's revelation, in order to behave appropriately in response to moral questions.
- Orthodox Judaism - The moral code laid down by God is complete and non-evolving in its application to all situations for the past, present and future.
- Reform Judaism - The Written Torah is open to some re-interpretation in light of changing circumstances as the text does not represent the literal word of God.
- Reform Judaism - Place greater emphasis on the broad principles established in the moral to guide ethical decision making in new situations.
- The most basic formulation of the moral law is found in the Ten Commandments.
- The aim of the Ten Commandments is to lay down a path for humans to follow, so that they can relate to another in a way that is in accordance with their creation as God's creatures.
- The theme of liberation from oppression, as drawn from the events of the Exodus supports the moral code provided by God.
The idea of the Covenant
- The Covenant is a series of agreements recorded in the Hebrew Bible between God and the people of Israel.
- Importance of the Covenant - The Covenant lies at the heart of the Jewish religion and is the cornerstone of Judaism.
- There are four main expressions of the Covenant made between God and the people of Israel:
- God's promise - God saves Noah and his family from the flood.
- Obligation's - Noah and his family are called to live in God's image and to walk in God's path by caring for the earth, humankind and all of creation.
- Blessings/curses - God will exact vengeance for wrongful acts. However, if Noah is faithful to his covenantal obligations, then a disaster like the flood will not happen again.
- God's promise - Abraham's will have lots of descendants and he will be the head of a great nation. Abraham's people will be given a land of their own.
- Obligation - Abraham is obliged to walk in God's way, by living in a righteous and just way.
- God's promise - Liberates the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.
- Obligation - Hebrews were obliged to accept the Ten Commandments.
- Importance of this covenant - This covenant is the foundational event in the history of Judaism. This Covenant is essentially a reflection of the Israelites discovering a God who is interested in their welfare and gave them an identity by intervening in their fate.
- God's promise - God chooses the humble shepherd David to become a powerful and victorious king.
- Obligation - David has to walk in God's way by being a just and fair ruler.
The 13 Articles of Faith
The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely-accepted list of Jewish beliefs is
Rabbi Maimonides "13 Articles of Faith," These principles are:
Rabbi Maimonides "13 Articles of Faith," These principles are:
- God exists
- God is one and unique
- God is incorporeal
- God is eternal
- Prayer is to God only.
- The prophets spoke the truth.
- Moses was the greatest of the prophets.
- The Written and Oral Torah were given to Moses.
- There will be no other Torah.
- God knows the thoughts and deeds of men.
- God will reward the good and punish the wicked.
- The Messiah will come.
- The dead will be resurrected
Believers
The Jewish Faith has three subranches these are Orthodox, Conservative and Reform.
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Jews believe that God gave Moses the Torah, and it contains 613 mitzvot (commandments) that are binding upon Jews. There are two types of Orthodox Jews, Modern Orthodox Jews strictly observe halakhah (Jewish Law), but still integrate into modern society. Ultra-Orthodox Jews strictly observe Jewish laws and do not integrate into modern society.
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism affirms the central tenets of Judaism (God, Torah and Israel) and embraces diverse beliefs and practices. Reform Jews accept the Torah as the foundation God's ongoing revelation while learning also from modern exploration of its development. Reform emphasizes Jewish ethics through action to improve the world.
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism maintains that the ideas in the Torah come from God, but were transmitted by humans and contain a human compontent. Conservative Judaism generally accepts the binding nature of halakhah (Jewish Law), but believes that the Law should adapt, absorbing aspects of the predominant culture while remaining true to Judaism's values.