Judaism - Simple Guides

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Answering Jewish Frequently Asked Questions for more than two decades! Yom Kippur begins at sunset on Tuesday September 18, and continues through nightfall on Wednesday September 19, Welcome to Judaism ! Judaism is an online encyclopedia of Judaism, covering Jewish beliefs, people, places, things, language, scripture, holidays, practices and customs. My goal is to make freely available a wide variety of basic, general information about Judaism, written from a traditional perspective in plain English.

This web site has grown continually for more than 10 years and continues to be updated periodically. Where to Start There are over eighty web pages on this site, comprising over pages of text, a virtual book of information on Judaism. That depends on what you're looking for: If you're not sure what you're looking for, and you just want to see what's available on this site, look through the Table of Contents. Looking for something specific? If you are looking for something specific, I have a Search Engine for this site. Enter a term and it will search the glossary and index, giving you quick definitions and explanations, and pointing you to appropriate pages in this site.

Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced? Judaism was originally created as an introduction to Judaism for people with little or no knowledge. All pages are now labeled appropriately: Things that every Jewish person should know, that require no prior knowledge Intermediate: Beyond the basics Advanced: More sophisticated concepts Gentile: They explain and say more about what is written in the Bible and Talmud. The Torah is the most important of all Jewish writings.

The Torah contains the basic laws of Judaism and describes the history of the Jews until the death of Moses. However, in traditional Judaism, all of the mitzvot in the Torah are equally important. Jews divide the Hebrew Bible into three parts and call it the Tanakh. The three parts are the Torah , which is the first five books; the Nevi'im , which are the books of the prophets ; and the Ketuvim, meaning the Writings, which are other books of history and moral teachings. Rabbinic Jews also believe that there is another part of the Torah besides the 5 books of Moses.

It explains how to follow the laws written in the 5 books. There is a commentary explanation of the Mishnah, called the Gemara. Together, the Mishna and the Gemara make up the Talmud. Karaite Jews however believe that there is no additional Torah besides the 5 books of Moses.

Traditional Jews believe that God gave the written Torah and the oral Torah to Moses and that Moses told it to the Jewish people, and that it is the same today as it was back then. Traditional Jews also believe that all of the commandments must still be followed today. Liberal Jews believe that the Torah was inspired by God but written by human beings. Liberal Jews believe that all of the ethical laws in the Torah must still be followed, but many ritual laws do not need to be followed today.

It is considered good in Judaism to talk about the commandments and to try to understand how to follow them. The Talmud has many stories about Rabbis who argued about the commandments. Over time, some opinions have become the rule for everyone. Some rules are still being argued about. Jews praise logical argument and looking for truth. There is no single leader of Judaism who can decide how to follow the commandments or what to believe. Even though Jews believe different things and they disagree about the rules, they are still one religion and one people.

Jews who follow the religious rules called " kashrut " only eat some types of food that are prepared by special rules. Food that a Jew can eat is called kosher food. Traditional Jews are very careful about kashrut. They usually cannot eat many foods in non-kosher restaurants or in the home of someone who does not keep kosher. Sometimes, this makes it hard to visit people or to do business.

It is important to understand that this is part of their religion. People help avoid this problem by choosing to dine with Traditional Jews in a kosher restaurant or serve them kosher food in their home. One of the commandments is to keep the Jewish Sabbath, or Shabbat.

Shabbat starts every Friday at sunset and ends on Saturday at nightfall. Shabbat is a day of rest to thank God for making the universe. The tradition of resting on Shabbat comes from the Torah. According to the Torah, God created the world in six days and on the seventh day, Shabbat, He rested. Many Jews go to their temple or synagogue to pray on Shabbat.

Religious Jews follow special rules on Shabbat. These rules require Jews not to do creative work on Shabbat. One reason for this is to give people a break from all the things that make them busy during the week. This helps them focus more on appreciating God, their family, and the rest of creation.

Also it reminds people that God is the creator and ruler of the world; and no matter how great a person's creative power is, it cannot compare with God's creation of the universe and everything in it. Many of these categories of creative work include actions that people might not think of as work.

For instance, on Shabbat a Jew cannot:. Traditional Jews are very careful about Shabbat. It is a special day.

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They clean their houses and prepare special food for Shabbat. They dress in their nicest clothes. They sing beautiful songs and say extra prayers in the synagogue. They have dinner and lunch with their families. Many families also invite guests for dinner and for lunch.

Judaism What Do Jews Believe?

They eat special delicious food, and sing together traditional Shabbat songs. On Shabbat afternoon people study Judaism together or just visit friends. Liberal Jews do not follow those rules.

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Some do go to synagogue, visit friends, or have special meals. But they may also talk on the phone, drive cars, and go shopping. For a very long time, most Jews in Europe believed the same basic things about Judaism. Jews in other lands had different beliefs and customs than European Jews. About years ago, a small group of Jews in Germany decided to stop believing in many parts of Judaism and try to become more "modern" and more like Germans.

Those Jews were called Reform Jews. Today there are three main kinds of Judaism: Reform , Conservative , and Orthodox Judaism. There are also kinds with a smaller number of people, such as Reconstructionist Judaism , and Karaite Judaism. Each group has its own practices according to how it understands the Jewish laws. Some do not believe in keeping most of the laws. Reform also called Liberal or Progressive Judaism does not require eating kosher food or keeping the Sabbath at all.

Reform Judaism teaches Jews to focus on the ethical laws of Judaism. Conservative Judaism developed after Reform Judaism.

Jewish beliefs

The leaders of Conservative Judaism felt that Reform Judaism was too radical. They wanted to conserve protect Jewish tradition instead of reforming changing it. Orthodox Jews do not believe that Reform or Conservative Judaism are correct because they believe that the laws given by God are timeless, and can't be changed. In Israel, almost all Jews go to Orthodox synagogues. There are very few Reform or Conservative synagogues, but there has been an steady increase since Names are very important in Judaism.

Many Jews believe that a name not only tells you who someone is, but also tells you something about them. Names of God are very special in Judaism, so Jews do not write them or speak them fully but use other words instead. That is why some Jews write G-d, with a "-" instead of an "o. HaShem Means "The Name". It is the word Jews use most often when not praying to talk about God. Adonai means "My Lord. God is the King of the World, and his name Adonai lets us know that. Elohim means "one who is strong enough to do everything.

This tells us that God is the creator and that God rules the world with just laws.

The two names above are so special that Orthodox Jews use these names only when they pray and read the Torah. God - Some Jews write "God" by replacing the "o" with a dash, like this: They do this because God's name is very holy so they are not allowed to throw away a piece of paper with "God" written on it. However, if by accident "God" is written, then the paper can be disposed of in a special way and buried in a special place.

Others say that "God" is just an English word, not Hebrew, and so it is not holy. No one knows where the name came from, or what exactly it means.

It looks like the Hebrew word "hayah," which is the verb "to be. Instead of trying to say it, most Jews say " haShem ", which means "The Name. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Thirteen Principles of Faith Maimonides was a famous Jewish teacher of the 12th century. There is only one God, and He is the only one who is and will ever be God.

God has no body or physical form and nothing else is like Him. God is eternal — He has always existed and will live forever. The words of the Prophets are true. Moses was the greatest of the Prophets. God gave the whole Torah to Moses. God will not change the Torah and will not give another Torah.

God knows the actions and thoughts of people. God rewards and punishes people for the things they do. The Messiah will come. God will make dead people live again when He chooses to. The Names of God in Judaism. A Book of Jewish Concepts. Retrieved 29 June Encyclopedia of Religious Practices. To Be a Jew:

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