Judaism - Jewish beliefs Flashcards
What does Deuteronomy teach about Gods oneness
“There is no God besides me”
In what ways can Gods oneness be shown
- All Jews kiss their fingers and touch a mehzuza in a household
- Jewish men bind tefillin to their arms and foreheads
- Jews think of humans, plants, animals, rock formations and so on as unified as they are all creation of one God
How does Genesis show Gods Creativity
The first words of the Torah are “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis)
How does Genesis show that God gave humans control over the earth
“Rule over the fish…and the birds…and over every living creature”
Why is God the creator important for Jews
- Creation is a gift from God and therefore Jews should look after the creations as God intended
- As God created the universe, life must have a meaning and a purpose
- All of Gods creations are good, so Jews respect Gods creations
What does Deuteronomy say about God as a law giver
“obey carefully all the words of this law”
Why is believing in God the law giver important for Jews
- Gods laws make up the the halakha which is the basis of how Jews should live their lives
- Following Gods laws gives purpose to Jews lives
- Gods laws are part of the covenant with Moses which is the basis of Judaism
What does Isiah say about God the judge
“For the Lord is our judge…He will save us”
Why is belief in God the judge important for Jews
- The good are rewarded and the evil are punished
- Jews know that there will be punishments for those who don’t keep Gods laws
- There will be rewards for those who keep Gods laws
How is the shekhinah shown in the Torah
“My presence will go with you and i will give you rest” Exodus
How do Orthodox Jews understand the shekhinah
Orthodox Jews base themselves on the teachings of Maimonides who describes the shekhinah to be light between God and the world
How do other Jews understand the shekhinah
- Some Jews believe it is just means God
How do Reform Jews understand the shekhinah
Reform Jews believe the shekhinah represents the feminine attributes of God as shekhinah is a feminine word in Hebrew
Why is the shekhinah important for Jews
- The shekhinah tells Jews that Gods presence is so holy that they should always have the largest amount of respect for God
- The Tenakh says that the shekhinah is at the Temple
- The shekhinah teaches that Gods presence is always in the world so Jews may experience the shekhinah at any time
What do Jews believe is the purpose of the Messiah
- To rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem
- Unite all the people of the world
- Establish Gods kingdom
What is the nature of the Messiah
- He will be a human and not a divine being
- He will be a descendant of King David
- He will be a man with great leadership qualities
What does Isaiah say about the Messiah
” The Messiah will rule wisely and justly”
What are three beliefs about the Messianic age
- There will be peace among all nations
- There will be no sin or evil as everyone will obey all the commandments
- There will be justice and prosperity across the world
Why is the Mosaic Covenant important for Jews today
- The covenant has become the basis of Judaism
- The covenant tells Jews that they have a duty to fulfil all the 613 mitzvot
- The Tenakh teaches that by keeping the mitzvot, Jew will have succeeded in making everyone in the world believe in God
What does Genesis say about the Abrahamic Covenant
“I will make you a great nation and i will bless you”
Give a SOWAA about circumcision
“Every male among you shall be circumcised” Genesis
Why is the Abrahamic Covenant important for Jews today
- Most baby boys are circumcised when they are 8 days old
- Liberal and Reform Jews may not circumcise their children but would rather host brit shalmon ceremonies instead
- There is an increasing popularity in the ceremony brit chayim which is used for baby girls in Liberal or Reform Jew families
What does Deuteronomy say about the sanctity of life
“I put to death, and i bring to life”
What does the Talmud say about pikuach nefesh
“for the person who obeys them will live by them”
Give a SOWAA about God creating humans in his image
“So God created man in his own image” Genesis
What is the Orthodox view about the mitzvot
The mitzvot are very important for Orthodox Jews because they cover every part of life, which means that for Orthodox Jews there is a right and wrong way of doing everything
What is the Liberal/Reform view on the mitzvot
The mitzvot are not as important for them as they believe they did not come to Moses directly from God. Therefore they believe it is up to personal choice
What are the different beliefs about resurrection
- Some believe it will come during the Messianic age
- Others believe it will come after the Messianic age
- Some believe only the righteous will be resurrected
What are the differences about the nature of judgment
- Some rabbis have taught that judgement will be based on behaviour alone
- Maimonides taught that all good people will go to heaven
- Others have taught that judgement will be based on belief and behaviour
What are the differences about heaven and hell
- Some rabbis have taught that only the completely righteous will go to heaven while ordinary people will go to hell
- Some rabbis have taught that the Jewish hell is more like purgatory
- Some rabbis have taught that only evil souls will go to hell
Why is belief in live after death important for Jews
- It is the teaching of the Talmud
- It is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith
- Many Jews believe that belief in life after death gives their lives purpose
