What Do Jews Believe?
Level: Basic |
This is a far more difficult question than you might expect. Judaism has
no dogma, no formal set of beliefs that one must hold to be a Jew. In Judaism,
actions are far more important than beliefs, although there is certainly
a place for belief within Judaism.
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.
Unlike many other religions, Judaism does not focus much on abstract cosmological
concepts. Although Jews have certainly considered the
nature of G-d, man,
the universe, life and the
afterlife at great length (see
Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism),
there is no mandated, official, definitive belief on these subjects, outside
of the very general concepts discussed above. There is substantial room for
personal opinion on all of these matters, because as I said before, Judaism
is more concerned about actions than beliefs.
Judaism focuses on relationships: the relationship between G-d and mankind,
between G-d and the Jewish people, between
the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and
between human beings. Our scriptures tell the story of the development of
these relationships, from the time of creation, through the creation of the
relationship between G-d and Abraham, to the
creation of the relationship between G-d and the
Jewish people, and forward. The scriptures
also specify the mutual obligations created by these relationships, although
various movements of Judaism disagree about the nature of these obligations.
Some say they are absolute, unchanging laws from G-d (Orthodox); some say
they are laws from G-d that change and evolve over time (Conservative); some
say that they are guidelines that you can choose whether or not to follow
(Reform, Reconstructionist). For more on these distinctions, see
Movements of Judaism.
So, what are these actions that Judaism is so concerned about? According
to Orthodox Judaism, these actions include 613
commandments given by G-d in the Torah as
well as laws instituted by the rabbis and
long-standing customs. These actions are discussed in depth on the page regarding
Halakhah: Jewish Law and the pages
following it.
Suggestions for Further Reading
 As I said above, Judaism focuses more on actions than on beliefs,
and books about Judaism tend to do the same. Most books emphasize holidays,
practices and observances. The best summary of Jewish beliefs I've seen is
Milton Steinberg's
Basic
Judaism. This book presents and contrasts the traditional and modern
perspectives, and shows that we have more in common than many of us realize.
© Copyright 5756-5761 (1995-2001), Tracey
R Rich
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