Answer Booklet Judaism

The religion I decided to do this interview on is Judaism. I have always been interested in this religion and was ready to learn more.

The dynamic nature of Judaism offers a successful living religion as a result of its strongly withheld characteristics. Through essential characteristics such as central beliefs, sacred texts, writings, ethical teachings and rituals and ceremonies, Judaism offers a dynamic nature and liveable religion that connects an individual and society with its roots. The way this living religion advances and grows is because of its dynamic characteristics as a whole. Importantly, these characteristics combined form the true nature of the religion rather than separately.

The first thing that was necessary to having a successful religion was figures to lead the way. For Jews, these began as “Judges”, or leaders that took charge during difficult times. These judges eventually became kings, and for 3 generations, King Saul, David, and Solomon were the top figures of Judaism. For

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have similar origins, development, beliefs, and sacred texts. Contrary to popular belief all three of these religions share more common ground than one would think. The differences are present of course, but the similarities help one understand where all three were derived from and why. All of the religions share the common ground as to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the belief of monotheism, and “ethical standards required social justice for individuals and for the community” (144). Judaism is the oldest religion out of the three, then falls Christianity, and lastly Islam.

The major similarities that all three religions share are that they are all monotheistic. This all means that they believe in one god and that he is the supreme ruler of all things. They also believe that all things are created equal under one god. They all have books of what they believe to be God's word. The Jews have their book known as the Torah. The Christian's have their book known as the Bible. Lastly the Islamic people have their book

The Tanakh, the Talmud, and the Mishnah are three very vital pieces in Judaism. They are very important collections of Scriptures that are central to the Jewish way of life and practices. The Tankakh includes the teachings and stories of Judaism; the Torah, the Book of Ruth, Ecclesiastes, et cetera. The Talmud and the Mishnah are collections of interpretations of the teachings given in the Torah and other teachings. Various rabbis give their input on what Yawheh truly meant in his commandments and try to teach other Jews how they should follow them. The Tanakh, Talmud, and Mishnah are all central pieces to what makes Judaism what it is.

Early modern Jewish history is filled with depth and knowledge that captivated and cultivated the religion into what it would become. An important part of the history were the ideologies and philosophies of Moses Mendelssohn. Considered the first modern Jewish philosopher and a shaper of Judaism, Mendelssohn was the start of what would become the Jewish Enlightenment. Being the first person to translate the Bible from Hebrew to German, he opened up the door for Jews to rediscover and enhance their knowledge. A writer and philosopher, several of Mendelssohn's writings were highly successful and considered a herald to a new way of thinking. While many of his writings received praise from people of different parts, critiques arose, including

“Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights. But we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so a personal redemption; of collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the

Judaism is different from Islam and Christianity in surprisingly different ways considering that this was the starting religion and all other religions branched off from here. Jews believe that the Torah is the most important part of the holy book, which is called Tenakh and is written in Hebrew. The holy book has three distinct parts called Neviim, Ketuvim, and torah. They believe that about 3,000 years ago, God gave the torah to Moses, Judaism’s most important prophet. Judaism’s rituals involve breaking of Shabbat bread, and sharing wine. They worship on Friday evening and Saturday morning. They come together at a Holy building called a synagogue to pray. Jews are orthodox, conservative and reformed.

From these early mystic teachings arose Hasidic Judaism, brought into the spotlight by its leader Israel Ben Elizier, who sought to rid Judaism of strict punishment and reward in accordance to Halakha . As the figurehead and clear leader of the Hasidic movement, Ben Elizer became known as the Baal Shem Tov. With his reputation as a healer, the Baal Shem Tov was able to shape later Hasidic belief in divine leaders, or Rebbes, who served not only as religious leaders but also as communal leaders with charismatic qualities. Despite never writing down his own beliefs , the Baal Shem Tov’s ideas had a lasting effect on Judaism. Eliezer’s followers were able to spread his ideas after his death and caused a large scale Jewish spiritual movement. Focused on selflessness and

The context of this will be showing how Judaism and Christianity more similar than most people think. Three ways these two religions are the same are, both are monotheistic, how both share same holy city, and their beliefs to the “Good Life.”

Ever thought to yourself, “Why do people practice the Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic faith?” or, “What are the similarities and differences between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism?” Well Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all similar religions in some ways but are also very different from each other in other ways as well. Some things that are similar and different are the holy books, the symbol of faith, and the house of worship.

Religion plays a huge role in today’s day and age. In fact, religion has been of huge importance since cavemen were, well, cavemen. Religion is the factor that keeps many people going in life but at the same time, the same reason our world has so many problems and has been torn apart. Through studying the main tenets in call, Judaism, Christianity and Islam were analyzed for weeks. Christianity and Islam take the cake for the two biggest religions in today’s population however, Judaism plays the smallest role. These three religions, although different, are easily able to be compared and contrasted because of all of the history and information we have attained towards these separate beliefs. I think it is crucial that these religions be studied by people all around the world so that we can be understanding towards other religions, not just our own. Through religious beliefs, things we can learn through teachings and comparing and contrasting we can learn more about Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Judaism is practiced by almost half of the country and is one of the oldest and biggest monistic religions. The laws they follow come from the Torah which comes straight from the Hebrew bible. This paper will consist of Jewish traditions regarding food preferences and avoidances, death/dying, communication, and grieving.

Over thousands of years, the religion of Judaism has evolved. With years of suffering, persecution, and dispersion the Jews’ religion stays constant. When researching the religion, the history is extremely strong, and the doctrine of the religion dates back thousands of years. With such a vast history, one might want to examine the change into modern society.