What do Jewish people believe in?

Answer 1

www.jewfaq.org

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.

P.S.: carole, we do not believe we are "divine" and we do not believe the words "chosen people" make us any better than anyone else. The Xians elevate us to that level, we do not.

Also, there is NO sect of Judaism called Messianic. Messianic impostors are people who use Jewish symbols to try to fool Jews into converting to Xianity.

Answer 2

"Jewish" is not a race.

"Jewish" is not a religion.

At best, Jewish people are a sort of cultural group.

You can be a Jewish person who follows Judaism. Or you can be a Jewish person who believes in reincarnation.

If you want to know about Judaism, then that's another matter. Check wikipedia for Judaism

Answer 3

This is a good question because we should all respect the beliefs of others. Well, Jewish people believe in God and in doing their best to be a good person in this life. They don't believe in heaven or hell (or they're not required to) but, they keep their dead loved ones alive in their hearts by remembering them at certain observances. There's a really good summary of Jewish beliefs in the book "Jews, God and History."

Answer 4

Are you asking from a religious or general point of view?
In general, we believe in the same thing as most everyone. Raising our children correctly, a good education, making a decent living, being true to our faith and values...

and never paying retail. (Yes, I am joking, but as a Jew, I can make those kinds of jokes)

From a religion standpoint...see for yourself.

www.whatjewsbelieve.org

Answer 5

We believe in many things. We encompass a wide spectrum of beliefs, but the key statement of our faith is the Shema- 'Hear, O Isreal, The Eternal is our God, the Eternal is one!'

There is a world of information out there- a great (but rather conservative) resource for beginners is www.jewfaq.org

Answer 6

They believe in the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

"Here O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One. Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Answer 7

They believe everything that Christians believe in, sans Jesus.

The bible is made up of the old and new testament. The Torah, the Jewish bible, is nothing more than the Christian Bible's Old Testament.

Answer 8

Jews believe in this----------there is no G-d but G-d. And, nothing else needs to be said......this says it all.

Answer 9

The living God of Abraham, YHWH.

Answer 10

It depends on the group they belong to. Orthodox, Reform, or Messianic spring to mind.

Try www.jewfaq.org