Judaism Beliefs

Question 1

Concept and Nature:

Answer 1

Judaism is a monotheistic religion. Jews believe that God is one, he is the lawgiver, judge, sustainer and creator

Question 2

God or G-d?:

Answer 2

Many jews prefer not to say
the word “God” out loud and
prefer not to write it, so they
use “G-d”. Jewish God is also
know as YHWH (Yahweh)

Question 3

God as One

Answer 3

“God as one” means that God is infinite and eternal, Only God should be praised and worshiped. All values and beliefs come from God.

Question 4

Shema:

Answer 4

The Shema is a prayer that
affirms belief in the One God,
it is found in the Torah. The
opening line is recited twice a
day and reminds Jews of their
monotheistic belief: “Hear, O
Israel, the lord our God, the
lord is one”. It also implies that
God requires total loyalty.

Question 5

God as Lawgiver:

Answer 5

God gives laws on how people should behave. God gave the Jews 613 Mitzvot to follow and they are accepted as the code of conduct for Jewish Life, the first 10 mitzvot are the 10 commandments. By following the mitzvot it is impossible to disobey God.

Question 6

God as Judge:

Answer 6

-God judges the Jews on how well they follow his laws.

-His judgments are fair and merciful, all good

-Jews are judged once a year at Rosh Hashanah and once they die

Question 7

Shekhinah—The Divine Presence:

Answer 7

Jews believe that God can focus his presence in certain places, this is the shekinah. The shekinah
does not mean God is physically present or split into certain parts. The word “shekinah” is not appear
anywhere in the Tenakh but it is reffered to. The Tenakh describes how the Jews where lead by a pillar
of cloud at day and a cloud with fire at night, these are acts of the Shekinah

“I beheld my Lord seated on a high and lofty throne…” - Isaiah 6: 1-2

Question 8

Beliefs about creation:

Answer 8

-Orthodox Jews believe in the creation story (Genesis1:1)

-Reform Jews believe God
created the world using the big bang theory
and created humans through evolution

Question 9

Sustainer:

Answer 9

God sustains the universe and everything needed for life. However as a result of free will humans have distributed resources unequally.

Jews who choose to help those in need are
helping fufill God’s plan for creation.

Question 10

What is a quote about creation?

Answer 10

“When God began to create heaven
and earth…” Genesis 1:1

Question 11

Evil and Free Will:

Answer 11

-God created evil BECAUSE he gave humans total free will

-The fact he gave humans free will signifies that good actions are more significant to god.

Question 12

-blank-

Question 13

Commandments between man and God:

Answer 13

1) Worship no God but me
2) Do not worship idols
3) Do not use my name for evil purposes
4) Keep the sabbath holy

Question 14

Between man and man:

Answer 14

5) Respect your Father and Mother
6) Do not murder
7) Do not commit adultery
8) Do not steal
9) Do not lie
10) Do not be jealous

Question 15

Heaven

Answer 15

Those who are good will enter heaven
(Gan Eden). It is believed heaven will be
with God, howeber it is unkown if in a
state of contiousness or and actual
physical or spiritual place

Question 16

Sheol

Answer 16

If you do not go to heaven you go to
Sheol. Sheol is a place of waiting, in
sheol your soul is cleaned for heaven

Question 17

When does judgement hap-
pen?

Answer 17

Some jews believe that judgement
happens as soon as you die, others
believe God will judge everyone on
judgement day

Question 18

Beliefs about resurrection

Answer 18

-Ressurection is the idea of life after
death.

-Jews believe the present is more
important

Question 19

Abraham and the Promised
Land:

Answer 19

Abraham was a nomad who lived around the city of Ur
(now Baghdad) around 4000+ years ago when most
people believed in and worshipped statues of many
different God’s. However, Abraham became convinced
there was one God who created everything and that it
was wrong to worship idols. However, at the time this
was a radical belief and most refused to believe it.

Question 20

The Covenant with Abraham:

Answer 20

God’s covenant to the Jews was to
protect and favour the Israelites. God
also promised to give Abraham the
promised land - Canaan for his
people. The Jews covenant to God
was to live a life dedicated to God. As
a sign of this covenant God
commanded that all Jewish boys be
circumsised.

Question 21

The Escape from Eqypt

Answer 21

Moses helped the Jews escape
egypt into the desert. God
unleashed 10 plagues on egypt
allowing the Jews to escape. As
they escaped Moses parted the red
sea so that they could escape

Question 22

The Covenant at Sinai—the
Ten Commandments:

Answer 22

God’s covenant to the Jews is that they
are God’s chosen people and that God
will always protect and bless them. The
Jews covenant to God was to listen to
him and obey his laws. Moses represents
all Jews - Jews today believe this
covenant to be still binding. It is a major
reason Jews believe they are God’s
“chosen people”. God also promised to
lead the jews to the promised land

Question 23

Sanctity of Life:

Answer 23

Life is precious and holy because it
came from God, this belief came from
the story of Adam and Eve. The
sanctity of life encourages jews to
help social issues wheere it would save
a life. For example, it encourages
Jews to give blood and donate organs
as doing so could save a life

Question 24

Saving a life (pikuach nefesh):

Answer 24

Pikuach nefesh allows jews to
break mitzvot in order to save a
life. This is important as some
mitzvot could prevent someone
saving a life. For example, on
shabbat Jews are prohibited
from doing any work, this could
prevent them saving a life.

Question 25

Belief on the Messiah

Answer 25

The Messiah is the future leader of the Jews, he is expected to live on earth
and bring peace to the world during the messianic age. The messiah was
promised by God

Question 26

Orthodox
beliefs on the messiah:

Answer 26

In every generation there a descendent of King David is born - with the
potential to be the Messiah. The messiah will bring about world peace and
rule over all humans with kindness and justice. This period of time is called
the “Messianic Age”. He will be the ultimate teacher of the Torah. He will
rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. This is outlined in the Torah

Question 27

Reform
beliefs on the messiah.

Answer 27

The messiah will not be a person. Instead, there will be a “Messianic Age”, a time of global
peace and harmony. Everyone has a duty to work together to achieve this by following the
3 moral principles ans observing religious duties

Question 28

Justice:

Answer 28

Bringing about what is right
and fair, according to the law,
or making up for a wrong that
has been commited. For Jews,
pursuing justice is a sacred
duty that can only be achieved
when accompanied by truth
and peace. Jews believe that
the Torah and the prophets
where sent by God to help
people understand and bring
about justice in a way that
demonstrated mercy

Question 29

Healing the world:

Answer 29

Being involved in God’s work
to sustain the world. Healing
the world is brought about by
an action that brings you
closer to God. For many Jews
it motivates them to increase
social justice. For example
they may volunteer for charity
that helps the poor or protect
the environment

Question 30

Kindness:

Answer 30

Positive caring
actions that
should be
shown to all
living things

Question 31

What are the three key moral primciples of Judaism?

Answer 31

Justice, Healing the World, Kindness.