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- DictionaryJu·da·ism/ˈjo͞odāˌizəm/
noun
- 1. the monotheistic religion of the Jewish people.
Judaism: Basic Beliefs | URI. Jewish people believe in the Torah, which was the whole of the laws given to the Israelities at Sinai. They believe they must follow God's laws which govern daily life. How did Judaism begin? Judaism began about 4000 years ago with the Hebrew people in the Middle East.
Judaism is a monotheistic religion that emerged with the Israelites in the Eastern Mediterranean (Southern Levant) within the context of the Mesopotamian river valley civilizations. The Israelites were but one nomadic tribe from the area, so named because they considered themselves to be the descendants of Jacob, who changed his name to Israel.
- Judaism Is Based on the Torah. The foundation of all Jewish beliefs, practices and scholarship is the Torah, known as the Five Books of Moses. Next come the Prophets and Writings (Neviim and Ketuvim in Hebrew).
- Jews, Israelites, and Hebrews Are the Same People. Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, was called a Hebrew. His grandson Jacob was renamed Israel by G‑d, and his children were known as the People ("Children") of Israel.
- There Is Just One G‑d. Judaism believes in the one invisible Creator of Heaven and Earth. He has no children and needs no helpers. Nor does anything have independent power (even Satan is just an angel with a unique job description).
- Mitzvahs Are How Jews Live Jewishly. In the Torah, G‑d tells the Jewish people to follow His commandments, all 613 of them. These are known as mitzvahs (“instructions”).
Judaism teaches that all people are made in the image of God and deserve to be treated with respect. One God. The main teachings of Judaism are about God, that there is only one God. According to Judaism, only God created the universe and only God controls it. Jewish people refer to God by many names.
Judaism is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion. It comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people, having originated as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.
What is Judaism? ... More in this section. In his book Basic Judaism, Rabbi Milton Steinberg notes that the word Judaism has two distinct meanings. First, Judaism points to a multifaceted, complete civilization: the total history of the Jewish people that includes both sacred and secular elements.
Basic beliefs and doctrines. Judaism is more than an abstract intellectual system, though there have been many efforts to view it systematically. It affirms divine sovereignty disclosed in creation (nature) and in history, without necessarily insisting upon—but at the same time not rejecting—metaphysical speculation about the divine.