Judaism by Bethani Smith

Beliefs about God

bethanie_smith — 2024-02-21 14:17:03 UTC

- In Judaism, there is only one God who created the universe. Everyone is entitled to a personal and individual relationship with God.

- The Jews keep God's laws and seek holiness in their life because of the great works God has done for them.

- The Jews are believed to be God's chosen people

- God is everywhere, all the time, can do all things and always has/will exist (omnipresent and omnipotent)

Sacred Texts

bethanie_smith — 2024-02-21 14:23:56 UTC

- The Talmud is the full, written version of Jewish law and notes on how to properly follow it

- The Torah is the first part of the Jewish bible and is written in Hebrew. The Torah includes the teachings, instructions and laws of Judaism

Important People in Judaism

bethanie_smith — 2024-02-21 14:31:03 UTC

Moses: Moses is believed to the main connection between God and the Hebrews since he received the Torah from God. Moses also led the Jews out of Egypt, where they slaves under Pharaoh's rule, and brought them to the promise land. Along with the Torah, Moses also received the Ten Commandments which are teachings people should live by.

Abraham: Abraham was promised to be the father of a great people by God if he did what God told him to do. Abraham was the first person to teach that there is only one God

Sections within Judaism

bethanie_smith — 2024-02-21 14:39:10 UTC

Conservative Judaism - Allows gradual change in the law and practices only if the change is still within Judaism traditions

Liberal Judaism - Aims to bring Judaism and modernity unified. They apply Judaism's religious and cultural traditions to modern thinking and morality

Reformed Judaism - Mixture of services in Hebrew and English in order to communicate and reach more people. Women are able to sit with men, actively participate in publish worship and can become rabbis in the synagogues

Orthodox Judaism - Follow the legal precedents and principles that were given to Moses strictly. They follow the practice of not using cellphones all day Friday and Saturday

Practices

bethanie_smith — 2024-02-21 14:44:55 UTC

- Prayers and worship that take place in the synagogue, are led by a rabbi, who can be male or female. The holy week which is called the Sabbath, occurs on Saturdays. During the Sabbath is when most Jews go to the synagogue to pray and worship.

- Jewish men wear a yarmulke as a sign of devoutness when attending the synagogue, praying or celebrating a holiday/festival

- Jews must eat kosher, which means the food has to be seen fit to eat. Cow products, chicken products, fruits and vegetables are accepted but pig and pork products are restricted.

Holy Days / Festivals

bethanie_smith — 2024-02-21 14:56:30 UTC

Passovers: The Feast of Passover is celebrated to commemorate the liberation of the children of Israel who were led by Moses out of slavery in Egypt.

The story of Passover, which is told in Exodus, explains how the children of Israel were slaves for 210 years in Egypt. God promised he would free them from Pharaoh's rule but Pharoah denied to free them. God sent 10 plagues to Egypt to demonstrate his power. The Israelites were not affected by these plagues but Pharaoh, and the people of Egypt were affected.

The Ten plagues are:

Plague of Blood, Plague of Frogs, Plague of Lice, Plague of Flies, Plague of Livestock, Plague of Boils, Plague of Hail, Plague of Locusts, Plague of Darkness and the last plague was Death of the Firstborn. The Jews were instructed by God to kill a lamb and brush the blood on the door so the angel would pass over that home and the firstborn would not be affected.

- After the tenth plague, Pharaoh freed the Israelites and told Moses to take his people out of Egypt

Holy Days/Festivals

bethanie_smith — 2024-02-21 15:00:50 UTC

Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year Festival that commemorates the creation of the world. It is also seen as a judgement day in which Jews believe God judges their good deeds of the past year against their bad deeds and decides what the next year will be for them. All good and bad deeds are recorded in the Book of Life which will determine the outcome of the next year.