Judaism

Judaism

1. Types of Jews

   • Conservative Jews are Jews that try to stick to the Jewish traditions but understand that times have changed
   • Orthodox Jews are Jews that interpret biblical rules in a strict and traditional way and believe everything in the bible. They also try to stick to the traditions as much as possible
   • Reformed Jews are Jews that are more modern and don't interpret the scriptures at face value, they don't keep all traditions as they understand times are different than before

2. Beliefs about God

   • Jews say God is only one unlike in Christianity how he is 3 but also 1.
   • All Knowing
   • Eternal
   • Spirit not Physical
   • Creator
   • All-Powerful
   • Law-Giver
   • Merciful
   • Doesn't Punish as much as deserved

3. Beliefs about Free Will

   • Jews have Yetzer Ha ra (Wanting to do Evil) and Yetzer Ha Tov (Wanting to do good)
   • Jews don't have a spirit which tempts them to do evil such as a devil
   • Jews believe they are fully in control of their mind and can control their own mind without being tempted

4. Abraham

   • Abraham was originally called Abram
   • Abraham decided to follow and trust in God so he received a son that he always wanted and wasn't biologically possible
   • When God appeared to Abraham he was already very old and God told him to leave his family for "a land that he would show him"
   • Abraham wandered for 25 years trusting God
   • God appeared to Abraham as three men and repeated his promises about having a son with Sarah. Sarah laughed so God said to name the son Isaac which means laughter
   • This was a covenant because Abraham was faithful to God and this was the foundation of the religion
   • The sign of the covenant was circumcision
   • Abraham was promised: many descendants, a land of his own, father of many, God with be faithful to all descendants

5. Pikuach Nefesh

   • Pikuach Nefesh is breaking Mitzvot to save lives
   • 3 Mitzvots can't be broken even if you are saving a life
   • The 3 Mitzvots you can't break to save a life are: Not to worship another God, Not to Kill, Not to commit adultery/incest
   • An Example of Pikuach Nefesh is that there is a Mitzvot which says to not disturb the dead but Pikuach Nefesh says it's okay to disturb that body to use their organs for organ donation to save someone's life

6. Moses

   • Moses was originally born as a slave but his parents put him in a basket on the river to try to save him. Eventually, the Pharaohs daughter found him and took him as her own
   • Moses was working in Sinai and then God spoke to him from a burning bush to help free the slaves
   • Moses had to strike Egypt with 10 plagues before Pharaoh let the slaves free. The last plague was the death of the firstborn which killed Pharaoh's own son
   • A while after they were let go the Hebrews were chased up to the Red Sea and then God parted the sea for them to let them through but then the Sea closed when Pharaoh's men tried to cross
   • Whilst the Hebrews were walking God called Moses up to Mount Sinai and God gave him the Ten Commandments and the 603 Mitzvots and told to tell the people to follow these.
   • Moses sacrificed a bull and sprinkled it's blood on all people as a sign that they were part of the covenant where they will obey the laws

7. Ten Commandments

   • The Ten commandments are the moral laws.
   • These commandments protect Values that are held in the greatest importance in Judaism
   • Most Civilised societies: family, truth, justice, saving life, being content and respect of God
   • These are the most important laws for Jews and are the basis of civilized life
   • They were brought from Moses' covenant along with the 603 Mitzvot for all Jews to follow

8. Mitzvots

   • The Torah contains all the mitzvots that Jews have to follow to be as close to God as possible
   • Following Mitzvots is a sign of belonging to God's chosen people
   • A lot of these are outdated and you cannot follow in this day and age but some Jews still try to keep them as much as possible
   • Jews have a Mitzvah Day where it is a day of doing Good Deeds and expecting nothing in return. Some of these are: Care for others, Care for the poor, care for the environment
   • Mitzvots have an explanation which is the Oral Torah or the Mishnah where Moses explains how to follow these Mitzvots

9. Jewish Scriptures and Texts

   • There are quite a few Jewish Scriptures and these are: The Torah, The Mishnah, Talmud, The Tanak
   • The Torah contains all the 613 Mitzvtos
   • The Mishnah is the Oral Law of Moses or the Oral Torah which explains the 613 Mitzvots and how to follow them by Moses because the Mitzvots were kind of unclear
   • The Talmund is the Rabbinic Commentary of the Mishnah where all the Rabbi's commented their own teachings and opinions for others to follow in the future generations
   • The Tanak is all the Hebrew Scriptures into one

10. Jewish Beliefs about the Messiah

    • Jews believe the Messiah hasn't came yet
    • Orthodox Jews expect the coming of a Messiah who will be a political ruler who will bring world peace and be a descendant of King David
    • Orthodox Jews also believe he will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem and judge humanity brining the world to an end
    • Reform Jews have a lot of beliefs about the Messiah. Some believe that he will come but as a normal person who will be an inspiration. Other Reform Jews do not believe that a Messiah will come at all and making the world peaceful is our responsibility. They say there has been to many fake Messiahs so believing in one is too dangerous and unhelpful

11. Jewish Belief about the Afterlife

    • Jews call the afterlife the Olam Ha ba
    • Jews don't focus too much about the afterlife but on living good in this life and living good here will prepare for the next life
    • Orthodox Jews believe in the resurrection and some think it includes the body so they don't cremate the body or donate organs. Other Orthodox Jews think it is just the soul that resurrects
    • Reform Jews do not believe in the resurrection and some do not believe there is a soul that lives on. References to the resurrection have been removed from Reform Jewish prayer books. Some think that what lives on is just the memory of the good deeds they have done. Some Reform Jews believe in reincarnation that God gives some souls a second chance at life
    • Doing Good deeds is more important than thinking about the afterlife