beliefs of Judaism?

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism

Answer 2

There are lots of different religious sects that refer to themselves as Judaism, but if you're looking for some sort of normative set of beliefs - that is, Judaism as it has been practiced consistently for the last few thousand years, then the Thirteen Principles, written by Maimonides (one of the most influential thinkers in Jewish history - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambam) in the 12th century, are probably what you're looking for. These beliefs derive from the revelation at Sinai, but Maimonides had the distinction of laying them out in one place. These are all the things that, until very recently in history, the overwhelming majority of Jews simply understood as given. Have a look:

1. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the Creator and Guide of all the created beings, and that He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.

2. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is One and Alone; that there is no oneness in any way like Him; and that He alone is our G-d - was, is and will be.

3. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is incorporeal; that He is free from all anthropomorphic properties; and that He has no likeness at all.

4. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the first and the last.

5. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the only one to whom it is proper to pray, and that it is inappropriate to pray to anyone else.

6. I believe with complete faith that all the words of the Prophets are true.

7. I believe with complete faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace unto him, was true; and that he was the father of the prophets, both of those who preceded and of those who followed him.

8. I believe with complete faith that the whole Torah which we now possess was given to Moses, our teacher, peace unto him.

9. I believe with complete faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will be no other Torah given by the Creator, blessed be His name.

10. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds and thoughts of human beings, as it is said, "It is He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who perceives all their actions." (Psalms 33:15).

11. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, rewards those who observe His commandments, and punishes those who transgress His commandments.

12. I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.

13. I believe with complete faith that there will be resurrection of the dead at the time when it will be the will of the Creator, blessed be His name and exalted be His remembrance forever and ever.

...Now "complete faith" is an oversimplified translation, as "emunah" in Hebrew doesn't translate to "faith" in the western, "blind" sense of the word. Faithfulness is slightly more accurate, but for the simplicity's sake, they render "emunah shleima" as "complete" or "perfect faith". For more on that subject, I would refer you to the works of Akiva Tatz, namely his "Letters to a Buddhist Jew."

In any event, like I said, modern Jewish movements (and there have been movements throughout history that deviate from the Torah's teachings - they simply don't endure, or they branch off and become different religions) don't necessarily hold by the above. But these are the fundamental tenets of Jewish philosophy. Reform Jews may reject the validity of the Oral Torah, or the divine authorship of the Written Torah. Also, some liturgies have been re-written to remove any direct reference to the Messiah (instead referring to a more generic, utopian "messianic age"). But again, the above principles are derived from the Jewish scriptures, so they continue to serve as the basis for traditional, Torah-observant (later dubbed by the Reform Movement as "Orthodox" - as Orthodoxy wasn't an independant movement, but rather the Reform Jews needed to assign a label to Jews who did not join their movement.

For more on the basics of Judaism, including the Jewish canon (i.e. authoritative religious texts), holidays, lifecycle events, symbols, etc. etc., I recommend Judaism 101 at www.jewfaq.org. Also, www.aish.com, www.simpletoremember.com, and www.torah.org might be helpful to you. Also, you can find a more elaborate commentary on the 13 Principles here: http://members.aol.com/LazerA/13yesodos.html . Good luck with your assignment, whatever it is.