Impacts & Beliefs of Judaism

Contemporary Jews still honor customs that are thousands of years old.

Judaism is the culture, religion and philosophy of the Jewish people. It developed over thousands of years from the religion of the ancient Hebrew tribes. Although they only represent about 0.2 percent of the world's population, Jews have had major impacts on the arts, philosophy, science, education and religion.

Monotheism

Judaism is a monotheistic faith. Not only do Jews worship just one God, they believe there is only one God for all people. Although other cultures began worshiping one god around the second millennium B.C, the Hebrew God is unique in several ways. He is an incorporeal spirit, without a body or sex. He is universal, all knowing, all powerful and eternal. He is the creator of the cosmos and everything in it and active in all human history. Both Christianity and Islam adopted Judaism's view of God.

Holy Scriptures

Judaism has two main sacred texts. The Tanakh, or Jewish Bible, and the Talmud. The Tanakh consists of the Torah, the five books of Moses; the Nevi'im, or the Prophets; and the Ketuvim, or the Writings. The Talmud contains discussions of Jewish law, philosophy, customs and history. The Christian Bible contains the Tanakh, called the Old Testament, and the Christian scriptures, or New Testament. Islam's holy text, the Koran, teaches that Jews, Christians and Muslims are all "people of the book," or followers of a religion with a revealed scripture.

Law and Morality

According to the Bible, after the Hebrews escaped slavery in Egypt, God gave their leader, Moses, the Ten Commandments, which laid out the overarching principles of moral behavior and relationships. Although Christians separated from Judaism, they kept the Ten Commandments as part of their faith. The Koran doesn't specifically mention the Ten Commandments, though Islam was influenced by Judaism and the Koran includes many principles from the Commandments. The growth of these religions spread these principles around the world. Judaism also emphasizes honoring God through charity and good works in the community.

The Messiah

Many of the world's religions teach that a future era of peace will occur after a prophesied leader defeats wickedness and rewards the righteous. The Jewish version of this belief is an era called the messianic age that will be ushered in by the arrival of spiritual and military leader descended from King David called the messiah. Christians believe that the messiah was Jesus of Nazareth and that he will come again, while Jews believe he hasn't arrived yet.

Culture

Jews have made many contributions to culture. Examples include scientists such as physicist Albert Einstein, who postulated the theory of relativity; German doctor Oskar Minkowski, who discovered the connection between insulin and diabetes; and American doctor Jonas Salk, who developed the vaccine for polio. Other Jewish intellectuals include artists such as Mark Chagall, Camille Pissarro and Jacob Kramer; writers such as poet Nelly Sachs, novelist Herman Wouk and playwright Arthur Miller; filmmakers such as Samuel Goldwyn, Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen; and philosophers such as Solomon ibn Gabirol, Judah Halevi and Benedict Spinoza.

References

• "World Religions - Judaism"; Martha A. Morrison, Stephen F. Brown; 2009
• "The Koran"; translated Ali Unal; 2008
• Religion Facts: Jewish Belief About God
• Judaism 101: The Nature of G-d
• Religious Tolerance: Description of Judaism
• Religion Facts: The Messiah