Judaism Beliefs Flashcards
What type of religion is judaism
Judaism is a monotheistic religion-Jews only believe in one God
What does the belief in One God mean for jews
The belief in one God means for jews
- God is the source of all jewish morality , belief and values
- God is the creator and the sustainer of everything
- Jews should only believe in one God
- God is single whole being
What is the shema
The shema is a prayer expressing the belief as God as one
Why do Jews believe that God is creator
Jews believe in God as creator because of the creation stories by Genesis in the torah .
The Torah describes how God spent 4 days preparing the world for life , then 2 days implementing life , then spent a day resting
-This day resting is celebrated as shabbat
What are differing views about the creation stories within judaism
- Many ultra orthodox and orthodox Jews take the creation stories literally as they come from the torah and they follow the torah precisely . They reject theories of evolution
- Many other jews,e.g reform jews, believe that God created everything but accept theories of evolution and do not take the creation stories literally
What do Jews believe about God as sustainer
-Jews believe that aswell as creating life God also sustains life . God provides all resources needed for life on earth
What do Jews believe about the nature of God
Jews believe that in order to be creator and sustainer ,God must be
- Omniscient-all knowing
- Omnipotent-All powerful
- Omnipresent-everywhere at once
Why do Jews believe God created evil
Jews believe God created evil as a necessary consequence of free will
- God created free will to make good acts more significant(by giving people choice to do good)
- By having the choice of free will there must be a choice between good and evil
- meaning evil must exist
How should Jews use their free will
Jews should use their free will to help distribute the worlds resources evenly and fulfil Gods plan for creation
What have been created by free will
An uneven distribution of resources
Why does God give Jews laws
God gives Jews laws to guide them in how to use their free will in a way that pleases him
What are the mitzvot
The mitzvot are the 613 laws listed in the torah . They teach Jews how they should behave
What are the first ten mitzvots called
The first three mitzvots are called the ten commandments . They were handed to Moses by God when the Jews were wandering in the wilderness. Jews pay extra attention to them .
What does God judge Jews on
God judges Jews on how well they follow the mitzvots through their actions,behaviours and beliefs
On what two occasions does God judge Jews
- Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year) ~ God judges Jews on their actions over the past year and decides their fate for the year going forward
- God also judges Jews upon their death which decides where they spend afterlife
What is the shekhinah
The shekhinah is the divine presence of God on earth
How was the shekhinah experienced by early Jews
- The tabernacle was believed to hold the divine presence of God . It was a portable temple that Jews carried when they were wondering through the wilderness to canaan
- When the Jews got to canaan the tabernacle was replaced with Solomons temple in Jerusalem . This was the centre of Judaism . Many Prophets claim to feel the presence of God in the temple
- The tenakh describes how God guided the Jews out of wilderness and to Canaan through clouds and pillars of fire. These were believed to be apperances of God that showed his Power and gloru
What do Jews believe about afterlife
- In general Jews are not to concered with the afterlife and are more focussed on the present and living in a way that pleases God
- although, the lack of teachings in the tenakh has led to different theories about the afterlife
What do Jews believe about heaven
- Jews believe that if they follow their faith they will go to heaven (gan eden)
- They believe that heaven is somewhere where they are with God but do not know wether this is God physically,spiritually or in conscience