Judaism: Beliefs & Teachings Flashcards
What is monotheism?
a religion that believes there is only one God
Give three religions that are monotheistic.
Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Judaism, Hinduism
What do Jews believe about ‘God as One’?
That there is only one God, who does not have any other forms.
How do jews express the idea of ‘God as one’
Through the Shema
What is the Shema?
a Jewish prayer affirming belief in one God found in the torah
How do some jews choose to refer to God as?
G-d or YHWH (taking out the vowels) or refer to God as ‘Adonai’
What does Adonai mean
Adonai means ‘my Lord’
What does the Shema State?
“Hear O’ Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one; And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
What is ‘love’ in the Shema mean?
That God requires total loyalty
What does ‘soul’ in the Shema mean?
That Jews need to have spiritual dedication to One God.
What is an Orthodox Jew?
Jews who emphasise the importance of following the laws and guidance of the Torah; they believe the Torah was given directly by God to Moses, SO should be followed as closely as possible
What is an Ultra-Orthodox Jew?
Jews that are more committed to following the laws and guidance of the torah than the orthodox jews.
What do jews believe about ‘God the creator’?
They believe that God created the universe out of nothing, how he wanted it to be.
How is the belief of ‘God as creator’ be expressed
The torah begins with “When God began to create Heaven and Earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
What does God do on the First day?
separate light and darkness
What does God do on the second day?
make the clouds and the oceans
What does God do on the third day?
make the sun, moon & stars
What does God do on the Fourth day?
Make the land, plants and trees
What does Go do on the Fifth day?
Make the fish and Birds
What does God do on the Sixth day?
Make humans and animals
What does God do on the seventh Day?
He rested
How do orthodox jews take the creation story?
They believe it is the literal truth and believe it happened around 6000 years ago
How do Reform Jews take the creation story?
They accept that an evolutionary theory may be correct but that God cause it to happen.
Why is the order in the creation story important to Jews?
Because it reminds jews of God’s omnipotence. As he created everything in a way where everything would fit into each other without causing any problems
