Judaism Beliefs Flashcards
Three caregories of jewish beliefs
Orthodox-strictly follow laws and partices in torah
Refirm-believe in traditional jewish laws but re interepret to suit modern life and tend to follow spirit of law
Three caregories of jewish beliefs
Orthodox-strictly follow laws and partices in torah
Refirm-believe in traditional jewish laws but re interepret to suit modern life and tend to follow spirit of law
Beliefs about God
• God has no body (scripture speaks of God’s body,
hand, wings, God walking… but these are figures of
speech to make God more understandable
• God is neither male nor female - follows from
the belief God has no physical form
• Jews refer to G-d using masculine terms (he)
for convenience
• Jews are forbidden from representing God in a
physical form – it is considered idolatry.
Jews belive god is…
OMNIPOTENT:
God is all powerful
OMNISCIENT:
God is all knowing
OMNIPRESENT:
• Belief in one God is
the most basic
principle in Judaism.
• This makes Judaism
a monotheistic
religion.
God as one
God is single,whole and indivisble
God should only be worshipped and praised
Sustainer and created everything by him
Source of jewish beliefs and values
Infinite and eternal
The shema-deutronomy
Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord
alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all
your might’ (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
-confirmation that there is on God. god is single,whole,indivisble and eternal
-loving God require loyalty
-a spiritual dedication is needed to God
Importance of shema
• Expresses belief in the one God
• Instructs Jews on how they should respond to this
belief in daily life
• It is the word of God
God as creator
Jews believe God created the world in six days
and rested on the seventh (Genesis)
•Orthodox: God literally made the world in six
days - they reject the Big Bang and evolution
•Reform: God created the world using the Big
Bang and evolution
Bible evidence of creator-
The belief in one God who created everything, including the
potential for evil, is reinforced Isaiah 45: 6 - 7.
I am the Lord … I form the light and create
darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster.’
Isaiah 45:6-7
Evil and free will
-god gave people free will as wants people to be able to choose to do Good. Makes the act of doing something more signifcant
-must be a choice between good and bad
-means that evil has to exists
God the sustainer
• God sustains the universe – provides everything needed
for life
• But humans have distributed resources (food, water etc.)
unequally so some people have less than they need.
• Jews who choose to help those in need are therefore
helping fulfil God’s plan for creation.
The mitzvot
• A mitzvah is a Jewish law (commandment)
• In the Torah, God gives Jews 613 mitzvot (plural) to
follow.
• These are the accepted code of conduct for Jewish life
today.
• The first ten mitzvot are the ten commandments – the
most important of all laws.
Mitzvot and free will
• Following the mitzvot makes it impossible to disobey
God
• The mitzvot guide will correctly – to live in a way that pleases God
Jews on how to use their free
• There are consequences for bad actions (Adam &
Eve)
God as judge
• God judges Jews on how well they follow the laws
• God’s judgements are fair and merciful (forgiving)
• Good actions bring Jews closer to God and ensure
favourable judgement
• Bad actions lead people away from God
Jews believe they are judged:
1. Once a year (at new year - Rosh Hashanah)
2. When they die
Life after death
Many different beliefs - not much written about it. Most
believe it is more important to please God in the present
Heaven and sheil
Heaven
Most Jews believe in heaven (paradise or Gan Eden). A place
where you are WITH GOD. Whether it is a physical or
spiritual place is unknown.
Sheol
If you don’t enter heaven you go to Sheol where you are
cleansed. No belief in eternal punishment
Judgement and resurrection
Judgement
Judged by God on death and on annually (Rosh Hashanah)
Resurrection
Some believe in physical or spiritual resurrection but most do
not.
The divine presence-shekinah
-shekinah is the presence of God on earth
The Tabernacle was believed to house the Shekhinah
• While in the desert, Jews were led by a ‘pillar of fire’ or a ‘cloud’ –
thought to be the Shekhinah
• When they reached the ‘promised land’, the Temple in Jerusalem
became home to the Shekhinah
• Several prophets support this belief. For example:
•
‘I beheld my Lord seated on a high and lofty throne’ (Isaiah 6:1)
-Today, Jews believe the Shekhinah is brought to a place by doing
good work…eg. Justice, kindness, healing the world (supporting
charities etc).
Three moral principles
Jews believe that the presence of God is thought to be brought to a place
by doing good work.
Everyone should work together to bring peace to the world. So, in
addition to the laws, Jews follow three key principles:
Justice: bringing about what is right and fair for a just society. Everyone
must follow the Torah and help others
Healing the world: charity work - also obeying the mitzvot and prayer
Kindness to others: the Torah encourages acts of kindness to all
(whether Jew or non Jew)
You shall love your fellow as yourself (Leviticus 19:34)
The messiah-orthodox beliefs
• In every generation a descendent of King David is born
with the potential to be the Messiah (a person).
• Will bring about world peace
• This is called the Messianic age
• He will be the ultimate teacher of the Torah (law).
• He will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem
• These beliefs are outlined in the Torah
Reform jews believe about messiah
• The Messiah will not be a person….
• Instead, there will be a ‘messianic age’
• … a time of global peace and harmony
• Everyone has a duty to work together to
achieve this
• Including by observing religious duties…
‘Nations shall never again go to war.’
Micah 4:3
Sanctity of life
• Life is sacred and holy because it comes from God breathes life into Adam
• As God gives life, only God should end • Jews have a duty to preserve life – particularly those of
innocent, vulnerable people
• Jews should not do anything to quicken a person’s natural
death
Therefore, most Jews would be against
euthanasia, war, abortion, death penalty
etc.
Pikuach nefesh
The Jewish obligation (duty) to save a life even if it
means breaking Jewish laws (e.g. Shabbat)…..
This rule overrides all other rules/laws…it shows the
importance of life
Because of this belief many Jews give blood and/or
donate their organs on death
‘He who destroys one soul of a human is considered as if
he has destroyed a whole world’. (The Talmud)
God covenant with abraham
Covenant: Solemn promise or agreement between two people
or groups of people
God’s covenant
Jews’ covenant
• To protect and favour the
Israelites (Jews/Hebrews)
• To give Abraham and his
descendants a special land
(country) in which to live -
the promised land.
To live a life dedicated to God
‘The Lord chose you to
be his treasured people’
‘I give this land to you and your offspring forever’ (Gen 13:15)
