Judaism

What is a Jew?

The term Jew is actually far broader than those who follow the religious tradition. Some Jews are active members practicing the tradition, some are descendants/Jewish by blood, some may be both, and yet others identify with the culture and neither practice nor have ancestry. For the purpose of this post, I will focus on those who share the religious beliefs of the Jewish people and who follow the rabbis of the Talmud.

Brief History

Judaism is an Abrahamic religion, which means its origins stem from the biblical figure Abraham, who made a covenant (sacred promise) with God to obey Him, and Abraham would become the father of a great nation: God would protect both him and his people, and he and his descendants would be given Israel.

You can read the biblical account from either the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in any Christian bible, or in the 1st five books of the TaNaK, the Jewish bible) yourself to learn more about the accounts of Jews in the bible, regarding their fleeing from Israel to go to Egypt, which is where they experienced great famine, the story of Moses and the Exodus (migration out of Egypt), the division of the 12 tribes of Israel, how there only came to be 2 tribes in Jerusalem (Benjamin and Judah), and all of the various power struggles that followed with multiple groups trying to control their land all the way up to the destruction of the temple in 70 CE.

Here are the main Historical Periods:

  • before Babylonian Captivity (emergence of monotheism)
  • Destruction of the Temple (2x)
  • Medieval Period (Talmud completed, Muslims take Holy Land, “Golden Age” in Spain)
  • Reformation
  • Present (Including Pogroms, the Holocaust, Zionism, and modern day Israel)

All and all, the Jews have had a very rough history, constantly being kicked out of different lands, or even forced to convert to Christianity during multiple eras of persecution.

Beliefs

Worldview

  • The ancient Hebrew texts use very animating words to describe God’s creation of the world; Jews believe words themselves have power, which is why it is forbidden to say the Holy name of God aloud unless in a state of moral purity. Words themselves are things, which means they can have the power to change things based upon the intention of person using them.
  • Judaism focuses on the purpose an object serves, not its physical appearance, which is why early writings rarely describe faces or appearances of character, only their actions.
  • Morality: there are many laws Jews must abide by (613 to be precise, with laws from the 10 commandments and additional ones in the Talmud), and morality is a focus in everyday life; everything God creates is good, and there is a moral-focus of everything in the universe
  • If a concept cannot grasp God, it is because He is infinite and beyond what our minds can wrap around.

Scriptures

  • TaNaK: Hebrew Scriptures; includes Torah (the written law), Nebi’im (Prophets), & Ketubim (Holy/Miscellaneous writings) – finished in 90-135 CE
  • Mishnah: expansions of the law portions of Torah; includes oral law from Moses on Sinai & 6 additional categories of orders (Seeds, Holidays, Women, Damages, Holy Things, Purity) – finished in 200 CE
  • Talmud: it is the commentary of the Mishnah and the Mishnah text itself (For beginners: the Talmud)

Hierology (Theology)

Note: Theology, as in the academic disciplines has Christian origins, with the defense of their doctrines and teachings

  • Not believing in God is the root of immorality, and idolatry (or placing any material thing or person above God, is one of the gravest and most common sins, of which many sins stem from)
  • God exists, and this can be shown by the natural spiritual insight/conscience that human beings share (there is a spectrum, and those who choose not to believe experience spiritual darkness and poor moral centers); Jews argue that morally, one cannot deny the existence of God (although, they can argue intellectually all they want)
  • God is supreme, and He is beyond space and time; He is eternal, incorruptible, moral perfection, all-knowing and powerful, indivisible, and fatherly

Cosmology: View of the Universe

  • God created the universe out of nothing
  • The universe reflects what is in Torah, as well as God’s own goodness
  • Existing is better than not existing, which is why everything God creates is good
  • The universe is divided into the Heavens (7 levels), the Earth, and the Hellish regions, and there are many different philosophical models of the universe (See models throughout history).

Anthropology: The Role of Humans in the Universe

Human Beings = Body + Soul
  • God created human being because He wanted to and freely chose to, not because He needed them for any reason
  • Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, which means they are physical and spiritual beings (body + soul) with intelligence, will, and freedom
  • Ancient Jews believed there is a pre-existence of the soul, and souls before conception are stored in “The Guff”; they also teach that the soul enters at conception, which is why abortion is impermissible and gravely immoral in Judaism (the only exception is when every possible measure has been taken to save the baby, and the mother’s life is in jeopardy)
  • Fun fact: Some forms of ancient Judaism believed that unborn children knew their fate and Torah before being born, which is how Jews would explain deja-vu

Sotierology & Eschatology – Salvation and End of Times

  • Many disputes exist among Jews about the resurrection, but some who believe in it believe that one’s soul returns to God after death, and the righteous remain with Him until the end of time, where they will rejoin their bodies and be judged
  • Human beings have 2 impulses: Yetzer Ha-Ra (mankind’s animal nature) and Yetzer Ha-Tov (rational governor of Yetzer Ha-Ra). For those familiar with Freud, I like to compare these two to the id and ego, except these two impulses are neutral and both necessary for survival. (Also Fun Fact: Freud was Jewish, so did his religious insight lead to his famous theories?)
  • Original sin does not come with inherited culpability in Judaism; rather, they believe that the original sin that Adam and Eve committed resulted in the imbalance of Yetzer Ha-Ra and Yetzer Ha-Tov. In righteous people, the latter is dominant, whereas in evil people, the first is. The good impulse (Yetzer Ha-Tov) is believed to arise at the age of 13, which is when a child is believed to develop a moral conscience, and the age at which young Jewish boys celebrate their bar mitzva.
  • Gentiles (non-Jews) can still be righteous, and the laws they must follow are much more limited

Major Sects/Branches

Orthodox: Submit to strict interpretation of law, following the 613 precepts of the rabbis; it is the oldest form of Judaism. These Jews believe in heaven, hell, purgation in the afterlife, and the resurrection of the body. They believe the TaNaK was inspired, and the entirety of the Torah was revealed to Moses on Sinai. Their liturgy occurs in Hebrew, and they worship in the Synagogue. Men and women are separated during services and encouraged to wear conservative clothing. They reject Zionism and believe in the coming of the Messiah. (See Hasidism, Orthodox Judaism)

Conservative: Focus on preservation the of the people. They believe in the inspiration of the TaNaK, and that only part of Torah was delivered to Moses on Sinai. They allow for some modifications of halakhah, such as mixed seating during services, and a mixture of Hebrew and the native language. It finds itself somewhere in between Reform and Orthodox, although like Reform is does not have a Messianic theology. However, unlike Reform, it does not claim that the Talmud has no authority over modern Jews, rather it emphasizes taking the Talmud in the context of its time and re-interpreting it for the modern era. These Jews still worship in Synagogue, and they believe in some sort of survival after death, but there is a wide-spectrum of opinion. They support Zionism, the belief in a physical land for the Jews. (See Conservatism)

Reform: Formulated in 18th century Germany, and was inspired by Enlightenment ideas, they contest the divine origin of the TaNaK, but they believe it to be very important for Judaism regardless. They allow for exceptions to the 10 commandments, as well as rational adaptations to tradition, such as women rabbis. They reject reward/punishment after death and do not believe that studying Hebrew is necessary. Kosher practices and Shabbat (Shabbat) are not strictly kept. They worship in the Temple, reject the idea of a coming Messiah, as well as Zionism. (See Reform Judaism)

Where to Learn More

Enjoy Languages?

Jewish Languages: From Aramaic to Yiddish
Most factual information from the blog is accredited to Dr. Thomas Ryba, whose new book can be found for exploration: (Ryba, T. Religions of the West. Cognella. 2019)

My personal recommendations for further exploration:

Maimonides

  • Super insightful Jewish philosopher
  • Wrote The Guide of the Perplexed, which explains a lot of popular Jewish ideas and addresses questions/misconceptions in a way that an everyday person can understand

Jewish Kabbalah

  • Jewish mysticism, or a really intense study of the Hebrew language in the Torah in order to find hidden meanings in other passages
  • Some scholars dedicate their entire lives to this, which is really cool
Introduction to Kabbalah

Jewish Ethics

  • Jews view human life as sacred, in fact, all Jewish laws are suspended when a human life is at stake (except for Murder/Idolatry/and forbidden sexual relations)
  • Basic Ethical Concepts

Jewish Holidays

  • No, Hanukkah is not a major holiday
  • There are both major and minor Jewish Holidays
  • Purim is really fun to learn about; it’s like a mix of Halloween and Thanksgiving in a way celebrating Queen Esther saving the Jewish people

Jewish Humor

  • View this for some cultural appreciation of authentic (not anti-Semitic) Jewish humor

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