Jewish Beliefs & Texts

Belief in One God Judaism is one of the oldest monotheist religions (belief of one god) The Hebrew name of God is YHWH, which is never pronounced by Jews because it is considered too holy a word. In ancient times most people worshipped several gods, so Judaism separated themselves from other religions. The Jews believed they were God’s chosen people.

Belief in Education Education and study is extremely important in Judaism. In ancient times, boys were taught about their religion by teachers. Today, all Jewish children are taught about their beliefs and the history of Judaism.

Belief in Justice & Righteousness Justice: – Kindness and fairness to everyone – Give aid to those who need it – Be fair in business dealings Righteousness - doing what is right, even if no one else is

Belief in Obedience & Law Moral and religious laws The Ten Commandments The Mosaic Laws (named after Moses) – Do not eat shellfish or pork (considered unclean) – Eat meat in which the animal hasn’t suffered when slaughtered (Kosher) – Do not eat milk and meat together, and do not eat fish and meat together – Not work on the Sabbath Belief that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh (Saturday for Judaism)

Torah The most sacred text of Judaism Includes laws and the history of the Jews until the death of Moses. The Torah is the central part of religious services at the synagogue (Jewish place of worship) Readers of the Torah do not touch it to show respect of text. They use pointers to keep their spot.

The Hebrew Bible There are three parts of the Hebrew Bible (Tanach) – 1st- The Torah – 2nd- Hebrew prophets. Prophets are people who are said to receive messages from god to be taught to others. – 3rd- Eleven books of poetry, song, stories, lessons, and history. – 4th- Proverbs, short expression of Hebrew wisdom.

Commentaries Many of the commentaries are found in Talmud. Talmud is a set of commentaries, stories, and folklore. Talmud was produced between 200 and 600AD.

Dead Sea Scrolls Dead sea scrolls, writing by Jews who lived about 2,000 year ago. No one knew about the scrolls until Most of the Dead Sea Scrolls were written between 100BC and 50AD. The scrolls included prayers, commentaries, letters, and passages from the Hebrew bible.

Judaism & Other Cultures Jewish ideas have greatly influenced other cultures, especially Europe and America. The ideas of Judaism helped shape Christianity also influenced another major religions including Islam. Many people still look to the Ten Commandments as a guide on how they should live.