What Are The Jewish Beliefs?

Question

i dont think i've ever known. what do Jewish people believe? please, i dont want to offend anyone and i would appreciate it if no one would be offensive towards anyone else's beliefs. just curious. ^_^

just out of curiousity, Tom T, are you related to Tom J?

no i'm not kidding. -_-

Answer 1

http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/
http://www.jewfaq.org/index.htm

There are three major sects of Judaism: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. I will give the Orthodox view on things here. All of them basically accept what we call Rambam's Thirteen Principles which sum up what Jews basically believe in:

1. G-d exists
2. G-d is one and unique
3. G-d is incorporeal (nonmaterial)
4. G-d is eternal
5. G-d alone is to be worshipped and no other
6. G-d's prophets are truthful
7. Moses was the greatest of the prophets
8. The whole Torah was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Written and Oral)
9. There will be no other Torah and the Torah will not be changed or annulled
10. G-d has foreknowledge of men's actions, thoughts, and words
11. G-d will deliver retribution
12. The Messiah will come
13. The dead will be resurrected at the coming of Moshiach (Messiah)

[Please note that Conservative and Reform generally have a differing opinion on #8.]

Messiah (Moshiach):

Judaism does NOT believe that the messiah will be divine. He will be a mortal, normal person like us who knows Jewish law and follows it all. (I think there is a midrash that says that every Jewish child before being born knows all of the Torah and law inside and out--but in being born, s/he forgets all of it and must learn again. The messiah will be the one who does not forget.) He will fulfill all of the prophecies without dying first, and will only come ONCE. He will not die, because in showing himself he will have accomplished world peace and the resurrection of the dead and established the World to Come on this world, etc.

Judaism believes that only you can be responsible for your sins. Nobody else can take them on or ask forgiveness on your behalf. Yes, we used to do animal sacrifices, but not at every sin because sacrifice alone could not atone for sin. We would do it at festivals and holidays. Still, sacrifice alone cannot atone for sin (and human sacrifice is ABHORRED by G-d). To atone for sins, a person must do teshuva, which includes: 1. recognizing the sin [knowing you did wrong] and feeling remorse for it 2. asking forgiveness of the wrong by the person you wronged (example: if you broke a Jewish law, you apologize to G-d, but if you broke your neighbor's favorite flowerpot, you must apologize to your neighbor for no one else can forgive you) 3. try to right the wrong you did--if you broke the flowerpot, either buy a new one or try to repair the old one sufficiently 4. actively resolve and try not to commit the wrong again--if you broke a law, create a reminder for yourself so that next time the opportunity comes up, you will remember.

We do not believe in proselytizing because we believe that nobody has to be Jewish to warrant a place in heaven. A non-Jew has as much right to the World to Come as a Jew does--a Jew just has more rules to follow to get there. We do accept converts (we are NOT a race!!) although it is a hard road because Judaism is a hard life to live. [notice I say life, not religion. Judaism is a way of life, not just a religion.] It takes years of study to convert and the rabbi wants to make sure the convert is sincere because nobody wants to waste at least a year of the rabbi's life (or the convert's life, for that matter). Once you are Jewish you can never be a non-Jew again UNLESS you take on another believe system directly contrary to Judaism's. For example, you can be an atheist but still be Jewish because your believe system does not contradict with Judaism--you do not believe in G-d, but you don't believe in another false god either. But you cannot be a Jewish Xtian because Xtianity is contrary to Judaism. If you are a Jew and suddenly start to believe in Xtianity, you are an apostate and not Jewish unless you repent and come home to Judaism.

We have two books: the Tanakh and the Talmud. The Tanakh contains Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuv'im (Writings)--> TNK--> TaNaKh. The Tanakh contains the Written Torah while the Talmud contains the Oral Torah plus the commentaries on the laws written by our sages and rabbis over history. (Oral Torah written down=Mishna, a part of the Talmud and commentary=Gemara, the other part of the Talmud)

Judaism is a religion of arguing. You hear the phrase "two Jews, three opinions," and it's completely true. One of our texts is a book of arguments on the laws. So the Judaism you get in one Jew is not necessarily the Judaism you get in another Jew, although most will have all I've said here in common.

I hope I've covered as much as possible while keeping it simple. If you need any more information or detail, feel free to IM me or drop me an email. Hope I've been helpful.

Peace,
L.S.

Answer 2

It's a good question, and a big one too! I'll try not to repeat things that others have already said...

One thing about being Jewish that I think is not always widely known: we have several different factions within Judaism!

So for example, I'm a Reform Jew: this means that I'm not very religious, and that the synagogue I go to has the service in both English and Hebrew, and men and women can sit together.

Orthodox Jews are more observant; for example they don't drive on the Jewish Shabbat (from nightfall Friday until nightfall Saturday) and in the Orthodox Synagogues, the men and women sit separately and the service is almost totally in Hebrew.

There are also several other factions, but I'll try and keep it simple for now else it can be a bit bewildering!

Have you heard the old joke, 'If you get three Jews together in a room, you'll get four opinions'?
This refers to the fact that Jewish people LOVE a lively debate and that we probably disagree with one another as much as we agree!

As others have remarked, the Jewish faith is very much about the 'here and now', and about leading an ethical and compassionate life here on earth. We don't focus much on any afterlife. Nor do we have the concept of original sin.

But like most religions, we believe in being kind and considerate to others, even if we don't agree with them.

Just to point out: I've read so many times on this site that Jews think they're the Chosen People. I have to say that I don't feel this way - and I've yet to meet a fellow Jew who feels this way either!

Jews don't believe they are better than anyone, although strangely I've heard many non Jews attribute this belief to us. But it's not the case. We are taught from a young age to respect ALL people of ALL religions.

If you're interested in learning more, than a fun way to do this is to read some good novels; they tend to be more colourful and interesting than purely factual books, I think!

A truly wonderful novel, and a great and moving insight into some aspects of judaism, is 'The Chosen' by Chaim Potok.

Of course a big part of Judaism is the love of Israel - and a great book about this is 'Exodus', by Leon Uris. A very moving and educational read.

Hope this answer has helped a little bit!

Answer 3

I found these books to be a good starting point:
"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism" by Rabbi Benjamin Blech
and "The Book of Jewish Belief" by Louis Jacobs."

They should be read in conjunction with synagogue attendance though so you also get the "feel" of it.

I also became interested in Israel (the State) and decided to start paying attention to what's going on over there. Up until that time I never really understood the background of the country. After reading "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict" by Mitchell Bard, Ph.D., I have a more accurate picture of what's happening.

Answer 4

of course there is a great variety of believe even among jewish people, but in general, and to distinguish judaism from christianity, jewish people believe in one g-d, but they do not believe that jesus was uniquely g-d's son, or that jesus was the messiah. Jews DO believe in the idea of a messiah, although it's not really about the person, but about the time period, the messianic age, when everything will be peaceful and happy.
Jews also don't believe in the christian idea of sin. we believe in right and wrong, of course, and that you should maximize the good and limit the bad, but we don't believe in the devil, sin, or hell. our word for sin translates to "missing the mark:, like with an arrow, and that's how it is. we try to learn and do better next time but there is no such thing as being condemned to hell, or needing salvation for any sin.
we don't think we're perfect, we just don't believe in that kind of existential sin or hell. we do believe we are judged after death, and that there are 7 levels of heaven, each one closer to g-d, but there is no hell. it's also very important to note that we don't focus on the next life, but on this one. our job is to repair the world in which we live, by doing the best we can.

jewish people, in general, place great value and emphasis on family, education, and morality.

we believe in the Old Testament part of the bible, but not the New Testament that Christians believe in.

that's just a start...

Answer 5

Tectonic plate stream. the exterior of the earth is made up of plates. super slabs of the earth, that bypass around. in actuality, Australia, the region i'm sitting perfect now, is shifting north approximately six centimetres a 12 months. Over thousands and thousands of years, countless those plates crash into one yet yet another, some slide decrease than, some slide on genuine. it is how factors of the earth that became ocean beds get raised up extreme, and regulate into factors of mountains. The Himalayas are actual 2 plates sliding collectively, and the earth has to bypass someplace, so it is going up. those mountains are increasing a splash each and every 12 months by way of actuality of tectonic plate stream. Over thousands and thousands of years, earth that became on the backside of the sea rises up, or gets pushed on genuine of yet yet another plate. it is why we've earthquakes and volcanoes in factors of the international on the brink of the joins in those plates, like in Indonesia and Japan.

Answer 6

...Jewish "thought" can be a wide range of thinking... some Jews are Orthodox and do not believe in anything about Yeshua (you know Him as Jesus)...they strictly follow the Law of Moses (over 600 laws...oye !) ...Reform Jews have other less "religious" beliefs, yet still deny Yeshua as Messiah. Then there are Messianic Jews who have accepted Yeshua as Messiah and believe that "He" is exactly as He says He is.

Remember...Yeshua (Jesus while on Earth) was a Jew... He never, ever denied His Hebrewness... He never broke the Hebraic Laws and by His Authority of God fulfilled Prophecy that infuriated His own people...even to this very day... but even so... No one have ever found Him to a lire or a deceiver in anything He said or did... (we still mark our current calender by His life)... No one in the history of the World has ever impacted "us" like this One Man has... believe it or not.

Answer 7

Your kidding right?

They believe the Torah unless the Torah contradicts the Talmud then the Talmud takes precedence.

Hey I'm not making that up that's in the Talmud

If the Rabbi's says a thing is halacha and if God spoke from Heaven and said its not the rabbi's ruling would stand. They use a phrase taken out of context from the middle of a verse to say that since Torah is not in heaven then they have final authority for interpretation even if God were to speak and say no way.

Its volumes of stuff to read do you really expect an answer on this forum?

Answer 8

Read the Old Testament

Answer 9

Satan came into R&S. But I'm definite IT not the Anti Christ. The Anti Christ will have a whole lot of Charisma. This other IT answer's questions here like it got "legion's".

Answer 10

jews believe in one God,and that one day he will send the messiah who will establish an powerful kingdom for jews on earth