Belief in Ultimate Reality

Belief in Ultimate Reality

1. Fundamental belief of Judaism is in one, supreme being:

   • MONOTHEISM " The LORD, our God, is one LORD" (DEUTERONOMY 6:4)
   • Unity/Oneness of God
   • Cause and power behind the universe in its entirety
   • One universal, indivisible God, who is creator of everything and who maintains a continuing relationship with all creation.
   • Created the world through Beriah ex nihilo (creation out of nothing
   • God created the world through Devine Fiat (according to his will

2. God is transcendent and God is immanent:

   • Transcendent (going beyond ordinary limits), transcending the universe and time
     • One
       • Omnipotent
         • Omnipresent
           • Unique
             • Singular
               • Infinite
                 • Incorporeal
                   • Apartness
                     • King
                       • Redeemer
                         • Implications:
                           • Giving Charity
                             • Expression of Belief:
                               • Sacred Text and other religious writings:
                                 • The first part of the Shema, recited daily, forms the definitive declaration of Judaism "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4
                                 • Kiddush states the belief in one God and that God is creator "Blessed are You, HASHEM, our God" and "God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it"
                                 • The belief that God makes the law - "Who has sanctified us with his commandments" (Blessing over candles)
                               • Rituals:
                                 • Kiddush prayer, performing a ritual
                                 • Brachot - praising God and appreciating what he has done
                                 • Lifting the Torah acknowledges that the Torah contains the laws given from God
                                 • Giving Tzedakah (such as Mishloach Manot) - giving to the needy, expresses the belief that God is just and merciful and to emulate his moral attributes
                               • Social Structure
                                 • Shabbat - God created the world and Shabbat
                                 • Rosh Hashanah - celebration of the beginning of the world
                                 • Yom Kippur - God gives mercy for our sins
                               • Symbols:
                                 • The Mezuzah - expresses the belief in One God, as inside the Mezuzah is a scroll containing the Shema which states (look at sacred text)
                                 • The Ten Commandments symbolises that God is Law Giver and that God is just and mercifuk
                                 • Hamsa - symbolises protection and how God is going to protect us from evil.
                               • Religious Experience and Spirituality:
                                 • Prayer - can connect you to the divine and give you a sense of discovery of a higher presence, which is god
                               • Ethical Principle and Oral or Witten Codes of Behaviour
                                 • The 10 Commandments represent the belief in one God and God as the creator
                               • Myths and Other Stories:
                                 • Story of creation states how God created the world from nothing (book of genesis)
                                 • Exodus narrative - when Jews got taken out of slavery - went back to promised land and got the laws.
                           • Praying
                           • Repenting and learning from mistakes - Yom Kippur
                           • Shabbat
                           • Tahara
   • God is immanent (present in the universe)
     • Personal
       • Benevolent
         • Caring
           • Accessible
             • Involved
               • Father
                 • By using anthropomorphic language we are able to say that God is personal but because He is transcendent, we are able to understand that descriptive phrases of God are to be understood figuratively not literally

3. God is Just and Merciful

   • God is just/merciful/judge. These are considered to be principle attributes because they are ethical qualities. This belief underpins the ideal of an equitable, moral society
   • All of morality emanates from one God.

4. God is commander/law giver

   • For example, in the Shema, an adherent is commanded to love the "Lord, your God" because he imposes his law on humankind

5. Ethical Monotheism

   • Relates to belief that God is just and merciful
     • One morality comes from one God
       • There is ONE code of behaviour that everyone should follow
         • An adherent will emulate some go God's attributes/behave in God's image
           • single standard of behaviour for all humanity