Judaism is one of the important
Semitic religions. Its followers are known as Jews and they believe in
the prophetic mission of Prophet Moses (pbuh).
The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines
Judaism as a religion developed among the ancient Hebrews and
characterized by belief in one transcendent God who has revealed himself
to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious life in
accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions. It would also be
correct to say that Judaism incorporated the cultural, social, and
religious beliefs and practices of the Jewish people.
According to the Jewish People Policy Planning
Institute, there were around 13.1 million Jewish people in the world in
2007; most reside in the USA and Israel. Many of these people identify
themselves as Jews but do not believe in, nor follow any Jewish laws or
rites. Judaism 101 claims that more than half of the Jews in Israel
today call themselves "secular," and do not believe in God and that half
of all Jews in the United States don't belong to any synagogue.
Jews generally consider anyone born of a Jewish
mother to be a "Jew". Some groups also accept children of Jewish
fathers however that is not the norm. Furthermore, a Jew does not lose
the technical status of being a Jew by adopting another faith; they do
however choose to lose the religious element of their Jewish identity.
It is possible for a non Jew to "convert" to Judaism but it is not a
simple process. Jews do not try to convert people to Judaism and in
fact part of the conversion process requires a rabbi to make three
vigorous attempts to dissuade a person from converting.
Although many make contrary claims that Judaism
is a religion or a race, a culture, or an ethnic group, none of these
descriptions appear to be entirely adequate. For the purposes of this
article we will discuss Judaism, the religion.
Judaism (an organised religion) was founded by
the Prophet Moses; however Jews trace their ancestry back to Prophet
Abraham; so to do Christians and Muslims. Prophets Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, known in Judaism as the Patriarchs, and known and accepted as
Prophets of God by Islam, are considered both the physical and spiritual
ancestors of Judaism.
According to Jewish tradition Abraham was the son
of an idol merchant, but from his early childhood, he questioned the
faith of his father and sought the truth. He came to believe that the
entire universe was the work of a single Creator, and he began to teach
this belief to others. This belief is generally accepted as the world's
first monotheistic religion.
Say, "Truly, my Lord has guided me to a Straight
Path, a right religion, the religion of Abraham, hanifa (i-e Monotheism -
to believe in One God). And he was not among those who associated
others with God" (Quran 6:161)
Verily, Abraham was the leader of a nation,
obedient to God, hanifa (i.e. to worship none but God), and he was not
of those who associate others with God (polytheists, idolaters,
disbelievers in the Oneness of God). (Quran 16:120)
Judaism has no formal dogma or set of beliefs,
actions are considered far more important than beliefs. Jews believe
that there is a one God, the Creator of the universe, with whom every
Jew can have an individual and personal relationship.
Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, (a.k.a. Maimonides) put
together 13 Principles of Faith that are widely accepted amongst the
different movements of Judaism. More recently they have been called
into question by more liberal schools of thought; however for our
purposes here they summarise the general precepts of Judaism. Personal
opinion on all of these precepts is acceptable, due to, as already
pointed out, the focus being more on actions rather than belief.
God exists.
God is one and unique.
God is incorporeal.
God is eternal.
Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other.
The words of the prophets are true.
Moses was the greatest of the prophets, and his prophecies are true.
The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible)
and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other
writings) were given to Moses.
There will be no other Torah.
God knows the thoughts and deeds of men.
God will reward the good and punish the wicked.
The Messiah will come.
The dead will be resurrected.
The website Judaism 101 describes the nature of
the relationship between God and humankind and God and Jews as it is
understood by the different Jewish schools of thought. "Our scriptures
tell the story of the development of these relationships". Jewish
scriptures outline mutual obligations; however the various movements of
Jewish thought often disagree about the nature of these obligations.
"Some say they are absolute, unchanging laws from God (Orthodox); some
say they are laws from God that change and evolve over time
(Conservative); some say that they are guidelines that you can choose
whether or not to follow (Reform)."
Judaism has a rich history of religious text, but
the central, most important religious document, is the Torah. The word
Torah, especially for non Jews, or Christians, most commonly refers to
the first five books of the Old Testament (Bible), what the Jews call
the books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
When Muslims refer to the Torah, they use the word Tawrat and mean the
law as it was revealed to Prophet Moses.
When Jews use the word Torah, they usually mean
the entire body of Jewish scripture, known as the Tanakh. Tanakh is
also an acrostic term for Torah (the Law), Nevi'im (the Prophets), and
Ketuvim (the Writings), the three parts of Jewish scripture, again, what
Christians would call the Old testament. In some circumstances Tanakh
can refer to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.
Next in importance and authority comes the
Talmud; a body of work that explains the scriptures and how to interpret
and apply the laws. This was compiled and written down in a body of
work commonly referred to as the Mishnah. Over the centuries,
additional commentaries elaborating on the Mishnah were written down in
Jerusalem and Babylon. These additional commentaries are known as the
Gemara.
The body of work included in the Gemara is
massive. It includes comments from hundreds of Rabbis from 200 - 500
CE, explaining the Mishnah with additional historical, religious, legal,
and social comment. The Gemara and the Mishnah together are known as
the Talmud. This was completed in the 5th century C.E. There are two
Talmuds, one compiled in Jerusalem and another in Babylonia. The
Babylonian Talmud was compiled later and is more comprehensive, it is
the one usually meant when someone refers to "the Talmud".
In part 2 we will continue to explore the
religion of Judaism, discuss why Jews (or what we will come to learn are
the Children of Israel) are often referred to as the "Chosen people"
both in Jewish and Islamic literature and scripture.
