Judaism (part 1 of 2): An Introduction

By Aisha Stacey

The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines Judaism as a religion developed among
the ancient Hebrews and characterized by belief in one transcendent God who has
revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious
life in accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions.[1] It would also be correct to say
that Judaism incorporated the cultural, social, and religious beliefs and
practices of the Jewish people.
According to the Jewish People
Policy Planning Institute, there were around 13.1 million Jewish people in the
world in 2007; most reside in the USA and Israel. Many of these people identify
themselves as Jews but do not believe in, nor follow any Jewish laws or rites.
Judaism 101[2]
claims that more than half of the Jews in Israel today call themselves
“secular,” and do not believe in God and that half of all Jews in the United
States don’t belong to any synagogue.
Jews generally consider anyone
born of a Jewish mother to be a “Jew”. Some groups also accept children of
Jewish fathers however that is not the norm. Furthermore, a Jew does not lose
the technical status of being a Jew by adopting another faith; they do however
choose to lose the religious element of their Jewish identity. It is possible
for a non Jew to “convert” to Judaism but it is not a simple process. Jews do
not try to convert people to Judaism and in fact part of the conversion process
requires a rabbi[3] to make three vigorous attempts
to dissuade a person from converting.
Although many make contrary
claims that Judaism is a religion or a race, a culture, or an ethnic group, none
of these descriptions appear to be entirely adequate. For the purposes of this
article we will discuss Judaism, the religion.
Judaism (an organised religion)
was founded by the Prophet Moses; however Jews trace their ancestry back to
Prophet Abraham; so to do Christians and Muslims. Prophets Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, known in Judaism as the Patriarchs, and known and accepted as Prophets of
God by Islam, are considered both the physical and spiritual ancestors of
Judaism.
According to Jewish tradition
Abraham was the son of an idol merchant, but from his early childhood,
he questioned the faith of his father and sought the truth. He came to believe
that the entire universe was the work of a single Creator, and he began to teach
this belief to others. This belief is generally accepted as the world’s first
monotheistic religion.[4]
Say, “Truly, my Lord has guided me to a Straight Path, a
right religion, the religion of Abraham, hanifa (i-e Monotheism - to believe in
One God). And he was not among those who associated others with God” (Quran
6:161)
Verily, Abraham was the leader of a
nation, obedient to God, hanifa (i.e. to worship none but God), and he was not
of those who associate others with God (polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in
the Oneness of God). (Quran 16:120)
Judaism has no formal
dogma or set of beliefs, actions are considered far more important than
beliefs. Jews believe that there is a one God, the Creator of
the universe, with whom every Jew can have an individual and personal
relationship.
Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, (a.k.a.
Maimonides) put together 13 Principles of Faith that are widely accepted amongst
the different movements of Judaism. More recently they have been called into
question by more liberal schools of thought; however for our purposes here they
summarise the general precepts of Judaism. Personal opinion on all of these
precepts is acceptable, due to, as already pointed out, the focus being more on
actions rather than belief.
God exists.
God is one and unique.
God is incorporeal.
God is eternal.
Prayer is to be directed to
God alone and to no other.
The words of the prophets
are true.
Moses was the greatest of
the prophets, and his prophecies are true.
The Written Torah (first 5
books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and
other writings) were given to Moses.
There will be no other
Torah.
God knows the thoughts and
deeds of men.
God will reward the good and
punish the wicked.
The Messiah will come.
The dead will be
resurrected.
The website Judaism 101 describes
the nature of the relationship between God and humankind and God and Jews as it
is understood by the different Jewish schools of thought. “Our scriptures tell
the story of the development of these relationships”. [5] Jewish scriptures outline mutual
obligations; however the various movements of Jewish thought often disagree
about the nature of these obligations. “Some say they are absolute, unchanging
laws from God (Orthodox); some say they are laws from God that change and evolve
over time (Conservative); some say that they are guidelines that you can choose
whether or not to follow (Reform).”[6]
Judaism has a rich history of
religious text, but the central, most important religious document, is the
Torah. The word Torah, especially for non Jews, or Christians, most commonly
refers to the first five books of the Old Testament (Bible), what the Jews call
the books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. When
Muslims refer to the Torah, they use the word Tawrat and mean the law as it was
revealed to Prophet Moses.
When Jews use the word Torah,
they usually mean the entire body of Jewish scripture, known as the Tanakh.
Tanakh is also an acrostic term for Torah (the Law), Nevi’im (the Prophets), and
Ketuvim (the Writings), the three parts of Jewish scripture, again, what
Christians would call the Old testament. In some circumstances
Tanakh can refer to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.
Next in importance and authority
comes the Talmud; a body of work that explains the scriptures and how to
interpret and apply the laws. This was compiled and written down in a body of
work commonly referred to as the Mishnah. Over the centuries, additional
commentaries elaborating on the Mishnah were written down in Jerusalem and
Babylon. These additional commentaries are known as the Gemara.
The body of work included in the
Gemara is massive. It includes comments from hundreds of Rabbis from 200 - 500
CE, explaining the Mishnah with additional historical, religious, legal, and
social comment. The Gemara and the Mishnah together are known as the Talmud.
This was completed in the 5th century C.E. There are two Talmuds, one compiled
in Jerusalem and another in Babylonia. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled later
and is more comprehensive, it is the one usually meant when someone refers to
“the Talmud”.
In part 2 we will continue to
explore the religion of Judaism, discuss why Jews (or what we will come to learn
are the Children of Israel) are often referred to as the “Chosen people” both in
Jewish and Islamic literature and scripture.
Footnotes:
[1]
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/judaism)
[2]
(http://www.jewfaq.org/judaism.htm)
[3] A Jewish scholar or
teacher.
[4] Not according to Islam, where the
Prophet’s of God, including Adam, the father of human kind practised and taught
pure monotheism.
[5]
(http://www.jewfaq.org/beliefs.htm)
[6] Ibid.