Judaism
9 Since it's such a well-known religion, it may come as a surprise that Judaism is actually a very small faith. 2There are only about 13 million Jews around the world, with the largest communities living in the United States and Israel.
30f all the mainstream monotheistic religions, Judaism is the oldest, and forms the foundation upon which Christianity and Islam are built, and makes up the original part of the Abrahamic triad. 4The prophets of Jesus and Muhammad are not recognised by Jews, who still hold the original faith laid down by Moses.
General Beliefs
5Like its cousins, Christianity and Islam, Judaism is a staunchly monotheistic religion that worships a single God and holds that theirs is the one true faith.
6A great deal of Jewish practice involves following the various laws in the Torah and Talmud. 7Together, these laws are known as halakhah. 8You can see more about some of the laws in the Sins section below.
9Jews believe that God will send a saviour to Earth in order to bring peace and harmony to mankind. 1OUnlike Christians, Jews do not accept Jesus as the son of God, and continue to wait for this Messiah.
11There are 13 Principles of Faith, which were written by Maimonides, a rabbinical scholar. 12These points illustrate some of the more spiritual beliefs in Judaism that are not tied to the various laws of the Torah:
1. Belief in God as the perfect Creator
2. Belief in the unity and indivisible nature of God
3. Belief in the non-physical state of God
4. Belief in God s eternity
5. Belief that God alone should be worshipped
6. Belief in divine prophecy
7. Belief in the revelations to Moses
8. Belief in the divine and revealed nature of the Torah
9. Belief in the immutability of the Torah
1O. Belief that God is omniscient
11. Belief in spiritual reward and punishment
12. Belief in the coming arrival of the Messiah
13. Belief in the resurrection of the dead
13This sums up their beliefs fairly well, though the majority of Jewish life revolves around the laws of God.
Holy Texts
14The central text in Judaism is the Torah, which is believed to have been revealed directly from God to Moses at Mount Sinai. 15This is very close to the same text that makes up the first five books of the Christian Bible (the 0ld Testament), which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. 16In Hebrew, the books are known as Bereshit, Shemot, Vayikra, Bemidbar and Devarim.
17The Torah is often read with other texts, which are also considered important but are not revered as being directly from God. 18These are the Nevi im (eight books of the Prophets) and the Ketuvim (11 books of writings ). 19When these three texts are grouped together, they are known as the Hebrew Bible or the Tanakh. 20Many books from the Christian Bible are found in the Tanakh, such as the books of Psalms, Chronicles, Ecclesiastes and others.
21Like the Muslims, the Jews have a secondary book that complements their scriptures and offers further insight and understanding into the meaning of the Torah. 22It is known as the Talmud.
Proselytising
23Different schools have different ideas towards converts, with Reform Judaism being the most open to accepting non-Jews into the faith. 24Even so, it is not a common practice to directly proselytise or attempt to draw people to the religion.
25Converting to Judaism involves a lot more ritual and effort than most other religions, and the specifics will vary depending on which school you are looking to join. 26A certain level of instruction into Jewish law is usually required, as well as an immersion in a ritual bath and circumcision for males.
27The most likely avenue to convert people to Judaism is when there is a mixed marriage between a gentile (non-Jew) and a Jew. 28Some schools will insist that the other person convert before they will allow the marriage to take place.
The Concept of Sin
29The breaking of God s laws is the typical definition of a sin in Judaism, but with 613 commandments (known as mitzvot) throughout the Torah, there are many variations on which rules must be followed and to what degree. 30This is where the different branches of Judaism come into play.
310rthodox Jews will follow a greater number of laws, with the Haradi following them all. 32Regardless, Jews consider the Ten Commandments to be beyond question.
330ne interesting and unusual result of the third commandment ( You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain ) is that many Jews will use the term G-d to refer to God in order not to take the name too casually or frivolously.
34As mentioned above, there are many other laws that are followed to varying degrees by each school of Judaism:
i. Not mixing dairy with meat (part of the kosher diet laws)
ii. Head coverings for married women and for men iii. Resting on the Shabbat (Saturdays)
iv. Males must be circumcised
The Afterlife
35Concepts of the afterlife in Judaism are considerably different from Christianity and Islam. 36The belief in resurrection after death is a fundamental one (it's one of the 13 principles of faith listed above) but there are not a lot of specifics on what comes after you die. 37Jews focus more on this life rather than the one beyond.
38The term Olam Ha-Ba means the world to come and it covers the general idea of a Jewish afterlife. 39It is also used to describe a period on Earth after the coming of the Messiah.
40There is also no concrete view of a punishment in the afterlife (i.e. Hell), which always strikes non- Jews as being a little odd. 41People often assume that the large number of rules that Jews follow in their religion will lead to punishment if they are not followed. 42That is actually not the case. 43The laws are followed as a way of honouring God rather than as a way to avoid punishment (or gain a reward).
44An entry in the Mishnah states:
“Be not like servants who serve a master for the sake of receiving a reward; instead, be like servants who serve their masters not for the reward and let the awe of God be upon you. (Pirkei Avot 1:3)