Hatikvah
Favorite Answer
No answers from *us* yet I see.
Jessy, you won't hear anything from the *Old Testament* in a synagogue. We Jews WROTE the Tanakh ABOUT Jews and FOR Jews. You are certainly welcome to borrow it, but it in no way supersedes our eternal Testament (Covenant).
For Jews, the belief that God would become human is the ultimate heresy. Unlike both Christianity and Islam, Jews do not sanctify martyrdom!
“…In many ways Amitz Koah is reminiscent of Milton's Paradise Lost - but with a difference. Milton writes: "Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste brought death into the world, and all our woe..." It may be that all of this is Judaism's way of countering the Christian concept of original sin and of making sure that we do not consider marriage and sexual relations as somehow connected to sin. It is not accidental then that Adam and Eve are mentioned in the marriage ceremony and the birkat hamazon recited at wedding feasts in such a positive way. It is another indication that as far as Judaism is concerned there is no "original sin." Adam and Eve did not bring about "all our woe." Their union was not connected to sin. They are merely symbolic of all human beings who begin as innocents but soon fall into disobedience and sin.” Reuven Hammer http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c...
God gave us the law out of love and our observance is a reciprocal expression of love. If you love someone, nothing gives you more pleasure than doing that which you know will please him or her. The concept of Ahavat haShem, love of God, is of paramount importance in our tradition. To separate love and observance of the law is a misleading distortion.
http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/200...
When Nobel Prize winner Isaac Rabi was asked to what he attributed his success, he said he always remembered that every day when he came home from school his mother would ask him, "Did you ask any good questions today?" What he imbibed was that we ultimately gain more from questions than answers. Answers bring a subject to a close; questions open us up to ever more profound and deeper understanding. That perhaps more than anything else may explain Jewish genius. From youth we explore the Torah, Talmud and commentaries with inquisitive minds encouraged to ask even when no clear response is in sight. To do otherwise would be to imply that our faith cannot withstand scrutiny, that our commitment to God is so tenuous that it is afraid of critical analysis.
In Judaism, we are taught to think, to ask questions, and to be skeptical; we are encouraged not to accept things on faith, but to look for proof. This constitutes one of the biggest differences between Judaism and Christianity. While faith plays a vital role, Judaism places great emphasis on learning and education.
Bertrand Russell, British philosopher says “Many people would sooner die than think. In fact, they do.” For Russell, faith is definitely not a virtue because it silences questioning.
According to Christian doctrine, man cannot merit salvation through his own repentance. Atonement comes only through the shedding of innocent blood. Throughout the seventh chapter of Jeremiah, however, the prophet proclaims the very opposite message on atonement. Over and over again, Jeremiah loudly declares that God does not want blood sacrifices but rather repentance alone for man's grievous sins.
http://www.outreachjudaism.org/jeremiah3...
In the 18th chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet was teaching his people a fundamental biblical principle: A righteous person cannot die vicariously for the sins of the wicked. This notion was identified as thoroughly pagan and was to be avoided by the Jewish people at all costs, and is taught emphatically throughout the 18th chapter of Ezekiel. In verses 20-23 the prophet declares that repentance alone provides full forgiveness of sin. Never are blood-sacrifices or the veneration of a crucified messiah mentioned throughout Ezekiel's thorough and inspiring discourse on sin and atonement.
Ezekiel's teaching was not new. The Jewish people were warned throughout the Torah never to offer human sacrifices. When Moses offered to have his name removed from the Torah in exchange for the sin that the Jewish people had committed with the golden calf, the Almighty abruptly refused Moses' offer. Moses, who was righteous with regard to the golden calf, could not suffer vicariously for the sin of the nation. Rather, only the soul that sinned would endure judgment.
http://www.outreachjudaism.org/sin.html
Unlike many other religions Judaism is not out to convert the world. We believe strongly in our path as the best way to be in communion with God and to bring about a perfect world. For Judaism, salvation is really a goal that is ultimately to be realized in this world rather than in a heavenly realm. Our prayers and teachings do speak of the aspiration that all peoples will come to recognize Judaism and our God as the one true God and religion. To some degree that's been achieved through the success of Christianity and Islam, religions built on the basic foundations of Judaism. Nevertheless, it is our hope and belief that one person at a time, all will come to realize that Judaism is the best and most direct path to relationship with God and the establishment of heaven on earth. Rabbi Ari Vernon http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/page.html...
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The task of bringing holiness into the world, which is the main obligation of the Jew, has always been seen in the Hebrew Bible as a partnership, a combined project of humans and God. The Holy, or the Godly, can be manifested in the three dimensions of the real: in space, time and the person (depicted in an ancient Jewish mystical book as olam-space, shana-time and nefesh-person). God desires to encounter human beings by meeting them half-way as partners. In time: the Sabbath, which He sanctified (Genesis 2:3) and commanded them to sanctify (Exodus 20:8); in space: the sanctuary, about which we are told here; and in person: through the mitzvah, the sacred deed, which brings us into His presence every time we perform it.
The in-dwelling of God among the people cannot take place as long as the people are passive and do nothing to help bring the sacred into the world. “And let them make me a sanctuary – that I may dwell among them” (25:8). My dwelling among them is on condition that they make my sanctuary. The same expression used here in the sanctification of space is used elsewhere (Exodus 31:16) in the sanctification of time: “And the children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath to make the Sabbath unto their generations.” Man must start out on the path towards God, both in time and in space, in order to God to meet him half-way as his partner in the act of sanctification. “Torah Today/Exodus” Pinchas Peli
The Christian idea of the messiah also assumes that God wants, and will accept, a human sacrifice. After all, it was either Jesus-the-god who died on the cross, or Jesus-the-human. Jews believe that God cannot die, and so all that Christians are left with in the death of Jesus on the cross, is a human sacrifice. However, in Deuteronomy 12:30-31, God calls human sacrifice an abomination, and something He hates: "for every abomination to the Eternal, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods." All human beings are sons or daughters, and any sacrifice to God of any human being would be something that God would hate. The Christian idea of the messiah consists of ideas that are heretical in Judaism.
* God is One, not three.
* The messiah will be human, not divine.
* We pray for the entire community more than for ourselves.
* We don't believe that blood is always required for "atonement of sin."
* There's no "original sin" in Judaism, therefore, "personal salvation" is irrelevant.
* For Jews, the belief that God would become human is the ultimate heresy.
* Jews believe that everyone has a share in the afterlife whereas the Christian heaven is exclusive to Christians.
* Jews believe that we are accountable for our own sins, that no one can relieve us of that accountability.
* Jews communicate directly with God, never through an intermediary.
* Jews believe that everyone has access to the afterlife without going "through" any other entity.
* Jews read and study the Hebrew Bible and Talmud in the original language and always with others (together with commentary from sages throughout the ages) so no one can claim to have THE truth.
* Jews believe that there will be a short period of cleansing after death. Christians believe in eternal torment for non-believers.
* Some Jews believe the law remains applicable in today's world. For Christians, Paul abrogated the law.
* Human sacrifice and the sanctification of martyrdom is forbidden to Jews.
* Satan is not the devil and has no powers other than those given to him by God.
In Judaism, beliefs flow from behavior, while in Christianity, behavior flows from beliefs. The Jewish tradition doesn't ask us to believe in doing good, or even to feel good, before actually doing good. We're supposed to do it anyway.
As far as Judaism is concerned there is no "original sin." Adam and Eve did not bring about "all our woe." Their union was not connected to sin. They are merely symbolic of all human beings who begin as innocents but soon fall into disobedience and sin.” Reuven Hammer, Jerusalem Post
God gave us the law out of love and our observance is a reciprocal expression of love. If you love someone, nothing gives you more pleasure than doing that which you know will please him or her. The concept of Ahavat haShem, love of God, is of pa
Anonymous
The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely-accepted list of Jewish beliefs is Rambam's thirteen principles of faith. Rambam's thirteen principles of faith, which he thought were the minimum requirements of Jewish belief, are:
G-d exists
G-d is one and unique
G-d is incorporeal
G-d is eternal
Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other
The words of the prophets are true
Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets
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
G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men
G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked
The Messiah will come
The dead will be resurrected
As you can see, these are very basic and general principles. Yet as basic as these principles are, the necessity of believing each one of these has been disputed at one time or another, and the liberal movements of Judaism dispute many of these principles.
This answer has been given again and again and doesn't change much from one Jewish person to another. It is fact. It is what we believe.
There are so many other things I could type. Or to answer from the Jewish websites that have all the answers - and then some.
Along with the above 13 principles are the 613 mitzvos or commandments that we as Jews all try to live by. We learned them growing up - we studied them, and we try to instill them in our day-to-day lives.
For those ignorant souls who answered with bigotry and racist remarks...unless you know the truth - better to keep your mouths shut and not answer at all - because of course, all you are doing is "opening mouth and inserting foot into it"!
Anonymous
Many answers given here by Christians are totally irrelevant. I wouldn't add anything to the correct Jewish answers but a Midrash I found in the book of Lamentations, which sums up perfectly the very spirit and essence of Jewish faith : it tells that a king married once a woman and wrote her a very generous marriage contract. Then he went on a long trip abroad and she was left alone. Her neighbors would mock her saying that he had abandoned her. She wept and sighed, but whenever she went into her room she read the marriage contract and was consoled. After many years her husband came back and told her: "I'm astonished that you waited for me all these years." She replied: "My lord, if it had not been for the generous contract you wrote me, then surely my neighbors would have won me over."
So is Israel, God's "wife", so to say. The neighboring nations taunt her saying: "Give up, your God has deserted you,[turn to Jesus or Mahomet or Buddha, so to say], become like one of us." Then Israel sighs and weeps and withdraws into her houses of study and synagogues and reads in the Tora: "I will look with favor upon you ... I will establish my abode in your midst and I will not spurn you" (Leviticus 26-9), and is consoled. When God will be back he'll be astonished at Israel's patience and faith in the written contract he gave her on Mount Sinai. Israel will reply: "If it had not been for the Tora which you gave us, the nations of the world would have led us astray." As it is written: "If the Torah had not been my delight, I should have perished in my affliction (Psalm 119-92). And: "This do I recall in mind and therefore I have hope" (Lamentations 3-20).
Anonymous
Er, why not just ASK US?
There's no 'consider' about it. We're Jewish, we can tell you what we believe.
We believe:
- there is only one true G-d
- He does not take human form
- He considers ALL humans his 'children', equally
- He condemns NOBODY to ' hell'
- He does not exist as part of a 'trinity'
- He rejects any man dying for others' sins
- He values actions over beliefs
- He does not expect us to be perfect
- The Jewish messiah is a normal, mortal man
- He must fulfill all the Jewish prophecies BEFORE he dies
http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/
http://www.askmoses.com
http://www.ajewwithaview.com
Anonymous
It doesn't matter what anyone else considers us to believe. Unlike xianity, Judaism- from reform to orthodox and everything in between- is very well defined as to what we believe, and that is not up for debate. HOW we act upon it is debated internally, (thus the various sects) but a for the tenets of Judaism...
defined already, thanks. And L'chaim gave a lovely answer already.
ETA- and xians can get on here all day long and add their input, but it doesn't affect us at all. Considering xianity is still incredibly fractured and undefined after 2000 years, why don't they worry about defining their own?