Can someone enlighten me about Judaism?

Question

I want to know its beliefs, scriptures, rites, festivals, etc.

Answer 1

You just asked a mouthful there, buddy! I dig your nickname, by the way. It manages to say "I am undecided on the issue of G-d's existence" AND "I enjoy omelettes". Very nice. Okay, to get to your question...

Now, I'm very much a traditionalist when it comes to Judaism, so my views aren't shared by most Jews today, but I'd say they were the norm for the last 4000 or so years until about two generations ago. So now that you know my bias, I'll try to cram as much information into one answer for you as I can.

Normative Judaism is based on one essential premise: That there is a single, indivisible, all-powerful, all-knowing G-d. Everything else follows from this.

As for the core ideas of Judaism, they were best summarized by the philosopher Maimonides in the 12th century in the "Thirteen Principles":

1. I believe with perfect faith that G-d is the Creator and Ruler of all things. He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.

2. I believe with perfect faith that G-d is One. There is no unity that is in any way like His. He alone is our G-d He was, He is, and He will be.

3. I believe with perfect faith that G-d does not have a body. physical concepts do not apply to Him. There is nothing whatsoever that resembles Him at all.

4. I believe with perfect faith that G-d is first and last.

5. I believe with perfect faith that it is only proper to pray to G-d. One may not pray to anyone or anything else.

6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.

7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses is absolutely true. He was the chief of all prophets, both before and after Him.

8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that we now have is that which was given to Moses.

9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will never be another given by G-d.

10. I believe with perfect faith that G-d knows all of man's deeds and thoughts. It is thus written (Psalm 33:15), "He has molded every heart together, He understands what each one does."

11. I believe with perfect faith tha G-d rewards those who keep His commandments, and punishes those who transgress Him.

12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. How long it takes, I will await His coming every day.

13. I believe with perfect faith that the dead will be brought back to life when G-d wills it to happen.

Faith is actually a bad translation, used only for simplicity's sake. The word in Hebrew, "emuna," has a different connotation from the idea of "faith" (i.e. "blind faith") in the West. "Faithfulness" is a bit closer to the intended meaning, but this is too complex a subject to address here. For a fuller explanation of this, I recommend the works of Rabbi Akiva Tatz ("Letters to a Buddhist Jew" contains a brilliant exposition on the subject).

The scriptures of Judaism have also been adopted (often in the form of butchered translations) by Christianity. What Christians call the Old Testament, we call the Bible, or for the sake of clarity, the Hebrew Bible. We don't use the term "Old Testament," because it implies that it has been outdated or replaced with a new version, which of course we don't hold by. The first five books of the Bible are collectively known as The Torah, but "Torah" can also be used to refer to any authentic Jewish teaching. So someone studying a classic text on Jewish ethics could be said also to be "learning Torah". The Torah also includes an oral component that explains the five books. To this day, the Oral Torah is passed from teacher to pupil, and it is the one crucial element of Judaism that no subsequent religion lays claim to. To prevent its being lost in the chaos of diaspora and persecution, a bare framework of the Oral Torah was written in what is now called the Talmud.

Okay, that's a lot of information, and I haven't even scratched the surface. What you ask could (and does) fill a vast number of books.

One really great website that covers a lot of the basics of Judaism (including articles on the rites, holidays, symbols and basically everything you ask about) is Judaism 101, at http://www.jewfaq.org

Aish HaTorah does a lot of really neat articles on a variety of topics of Jewish interest. See them at http://www.aish.com . One last site I would recommend is http://www.simpletoremember.com - again, lots of great articles, including one that explains the differences between the various Jewish denominations - orthodox, Conservative, Reform, etc.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

You will find all the information you want in the Old Testament. Otherwise, try www.religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm or www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/beliefs/index.shtml or one of the numerous websites where you can discover an abundance of information on the subject. Set aside a considerable amount of time to take it all in!

Answer 3

dslant is right--it's huge. Check the recommended book; or, even better, hit your local synagogue and ask some questions. Jews are generally quite happy to answer questions about their religion, plus by talking to people you'll get a lot of the religion as a cultural heritage, which is amazing. (And if any of them offer you food, go for it. Jewish cuisine is some of the best I've ever had!)

Answer 4

There's way too much to describe here. There's a great book called The Jewish Book of Why. Or, just do a Google search.

Answer 5

It's the religion of a bronze age tribe of bedouin, that grew out of the surrounding polytheism. It was a jingoistic and fascist national religion.

It has survived so long because they wrote it down.

Answer 6

Why would you want to waste your time doing that? Religion is one big fraud. Especially Judaism, which is one of the worst religions out there.

Answer 7

CONCLUSION of "Paul The Apostle" To The HEBREWS:
(not Saul the Christian, but Paul: his witness unto all men)

The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ WITH YOU ALL. AMEN.

Answer 8

as another poster said, www.jewfaq.org is pretty intensive, I look it up all the time to answer questions and I am Jewish myself

Answer 9

Look at this website, it is quite detailed
www.jewfaq.org