Nature Of God

Question 1

Describe Jewish beliefs on the nature of God

Answer 1

• 1 - One god
• P - God is perfect
• E - God is eternal
• O - God is omniscient
• P - God has no physical body
• L - God sets laws

Question 2

Describe Jewish beliefs on God as one

Answer 2

• ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one’
• Judaism is a monotheistic religion
• God is single, and cannot be divided
• ‘Worship one God’
• No idolatry
• Jews will not write God’s name

Question 3

Describe Jewish beliefs on God the creator

Answer 3

• ‘Let us make mankind in our image’ Genesis 26
• God created everything from nothing
• God created humans in his own image
• God gave humans responsibility to care for the environment
• There are 7 days of creation

Question 4

Explain Jewish beliefs on God the creator

Answer 4

• ‘In the beginning was the word, and the word was God’
• Jews take this to show the fact that God was the original, and he is the catalyst for everything
• There is only one God, and he is the only creator
• Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one

Question 5

Describe Jewish beliefs of God as a lawgiver

Answer 5

• God gave the Torah to Moses on mount Sinai
• Torah literally means law
• The Torah contains 613 Mitzvot
• In providing the 10 commandments and the 613 Mitzvot, Jews believe that God has set the basis for his relationship with people, and they should learn from him
• God gave laws to help people exercise their free will in the correct way

Question 6

Describe Jewish beliefs of God as a judge

Answer 6

• God is a God of Justice
• ‘You are not a God that has pleasure in wickedness’
• We may not fully understand his judgments, but he does not take pleasure in judging people wrongly or unfairly
• Jews believe that at Rosh Hashanah, God judges everyone on how well they’ve kept his laws and commands
• Since God is a God of mercy, there is a period of 10 days after Rosh Hashanah before Yom Kippur where Jews can make up for any bad deeds and all for forgiveness
• We are ultimately judged after death, when it is too late to repent, so amends must be made now

Question 7

Describe Jewish beliefs on Shekinah

Answer 7

• The place where God’s presence rests and can be felt
• Jews believe that God’s presence can be felt in the synagogue
• They also believe that as God is omnipresent, his presence can be felt in the wider world
• Jews feel that God’s presence rests at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, were many gather to pray and feel connected to God
• Shekinah also refers to God’s female qualities, sustaining the earth and the people within it
  ‘Being in a state of Grace for a moment’

Question 8

Shekinah (Moses)

Answer 8

On Mount Sinai, after the 10 commandments, God told Moses to build a tabernacle a portable dwelling for god, which meant he could dwell amongst his people, and guide them through the wilderness

Question 9

Shekinah (Western Wall)

Answer 9

The Tabernacle became permanent in Jerusalem, however, the Western wall is the only remaining wall of the temple

Question 10

Impacts of Shekinah

Answer 10

• Shekinah commands Jews, and can be experienced through worship
• It allows Jews to experience and be close with God
• Jews know that God will always hear their prayers