1. Judaism: Basic Beliefs
HRT 3M1
St. Edmund Campion C.S.S.

2. JUDAISM ~ BELIEFS: One God
There is only One God
God created the world; sees and knows everything
God watches over the world
God cares for the people in it

3. JUDAISM ~ BELIEFS: The Messiah
Messiah means the “anointed one”
Jews do not agree that Jesus was the Messiah
They are still waiting for the Messiah
Some Jews are waiting for a person sent from God; others are waiting for a new age of love and peace

4. JUDAISM ~ BELIEFS: Afterlife?
Jews Believe in Life After Death
End of life on earth does not mean the end of everything
There will be another kind of life that lasts forever

5. The Nature of Humanity Adam: First Man
Hebrew word for “man” comes from…
ADAMAH the earth
ADAMEHI shall resemble God

6. The Nature of Humanity ADAMAH - the earth
ADAMEH I shall resemble God
Man is made of matter mortal body “Dust you were…”
Man is created in God’s image (immortal soul)
Give us instinct for evil
Gives us instinct for good

7. As a result… Humans have 2 distinct natures
The TORAH tells us how to do good
The torah is written in stone which means permanence NEVER CHANGING

8. The Torah Means “Teaching or Instruction”
When humans are expelled from the garden of Eden the paths of good and evil become entangled
We need a road map to guide us… THE TORAH IS THIS GUIDE

9. The Torah Continued Torah: Given to Moses on Mt. Sinai
Given in 2 ways: Written Torah and Oral Torah
Moses was an important intermediary between people and God

10. The Written Torah Torah is the first 5 books of the Christian bible
Contain more than 600 laws for conduct, behavior, diet justice and worship

11. The Written Torah
Jewish scribes write out the Torah by hand on sacred scrolls
Every synagogue must have at least one

12. The Written Torah
The handle of the Torah is known as “The Tree of Life”
2 Meanings in Hebrew:
Life on earth
Emotional Life
The Torah is the tree that links heaven and earth

13. Intermediary or Bridge
The Tree of Life
Striving for Heaven
Intermediary or Bridge
Rooted in Earth

14. The Oral Torah
Oral Torah: Practical Laws which clarify the obscure laws in the written Torah
It used to be prohibited to write down any of the laws in the Oral Torah

15. The Oral Torah Continued
Ex: Written: You shall not cook a kid in the milk of his mother
Oral: No meat may be eaten at the same time as any dairy product

16. The MISHNAH
In the 3rd century there was concern that Oral Tradition would be corrupt or lost so they wrote it down “
Oral Tradition written down =“MISHNAH”

17. The MISHNAH to the GEMARA
The Rabbis then commented on the MISHNAH which became known as the GEMARA
Collectively they are known as the TALMUD (Huge volume of work)

18. MISHNAH
(Commentary)
1 Page of Talmud
GEMARA
(Rabbi commentary
on the
commentary)

19. Conclusion
The creation of the TALMUD made Judaism a portable religion because the TORAH AND TALMUD COULD BE TAKEN ANYWHERE!