Judaism is the sixth most followed world religion, with over 14 million devout followers, all falling under one of a few major Jewish “movements” (also referred to as groups or denominations). These denominations are most commonly listed as Orthodox, Progressive and Conservative, with varying extents of strictness surrounding the following of the sacred texts by word.
Beliefs:
Judaism holds a firm belief in a single God who is the creator and ruler of the universe. They believe this God is supreme, immanent and transcendent; although anthropomorphic language has been used to refer to this God throughout history, the incorporeal nature of God remains as he is without form. This is why there are never images or depictions of God in synagogues or on any other holy Jewish ground. This belief is stated in the Torah “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other.” (Deuteronomy 4:39) and this is one belief believed by all sects. Jews also believe that the name of God is unutterable (ie. can not be spoken) and therefore use terms such as Adonai, meaning ‘Lord’, or Ha-Shem, meaning “the Name” and write the name as “G-d” often.
Another belief of Judaism is that of a moral law that was handed down to them by their God. In the Torah there are 613 commandments, or ‘mitzvot’. These are regarded differently in different sects of Judaism. For example, Orthodox Jews believe this to be the direct word of God and that they should be followed word for word in every part of life (unless one must be broken to preserve a life), but Progressive and Conservative Jews both believe that these rules can be bent slightly more and Conservative Jews believe the Torah to be paraphrased and Progressive Jews believe it is actually an account written by humans who were merely inspired by God in their writings. As you move from Ultra-Orthodox Judaism towards Progressive Judaism, there is an increasing rejection of Halachah/law.
Jews also believe that the covenant or contract between them and their God will cover them throughout their lives. The original covenant made was between Abraham and God, which was then added onto with Moses, in which it was stipulated that the Jews would follow the way of life that God dictated for them. The covenant involves a lot of things that could be described as questionable in modern society, such as the social mechanism that requires all boys to be circumcised at the age of 8 days, “Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” (Genesis 17:9)
Ethics:
The ethics of Judaism originate from the concept of ethical monotheism, in that God is the source for one standard of morality, who guides humanity through ethical principles. The common belief is that the 613 moral and ritual mitzvot as stated in the Torah are a guideline on how to live a good Jewish life, whether they were directly dictated by God, paraphrased or simply inspired by Him. As aforementioned, different sects of Judaism follow these mitzvot to differing degrees, but all believe that they should be followed in some part. With 248 positive and 365 negative commandments, devout Jews that follow all of them correctly will very rarely be unsure of how to act in ways that please God. Many of these laws in the Torah are further explained in the oral teachings known as the Talmud.
The prophetic vision is also at the heart of ethical Judaism, as prophets were used by God as a way to warn the people of the consequences of failing to follow the law of God on his behalf. Prophets were seen as a gateway to God, and they were clear in their attempts to convey God’s message of social justice, emphasised in their need to protect and care for the poor and disadvantaged. This is a task that all Jews are called to take part in, as seen in their belief of a system of “Tikkun Olam” (repair of the world), a teaching from Jewish mysticism that encourages human beings to bring God’s work of creation to full completion, seeing as they were brought into fruition by God. The concept is that the world is in the process of forming into union with the divinity of it’s Creator and the people need to help this to happen. The prophetic vision of Judaism is often used to summarise the Torah, as there are so many commandments and it becomes difficult to remember them all without the consultation of a Rabbi every day. The furthest that the mitzvot have been summarised to is the statement of ethics presented by Amos, “Seek me and live,” which encourages Jews to do all things in the hope of finding and pleasing God.
Rituals:
The rituals of Judaism mostly originate from the sacred texts, including the explanatory texts such as the oral law. Judaism places a great deal of emphasis on the importance of observing ritualistic days and traditions. Many of the practices of Jewish ritual date back from over 3000 years ago onward and hold a strong bearing among the faith of it’s following. As a result of this strictness in the unchanging nature of traditions, Jews from all over the world and in all different eras are united by common actions and practices in their traditions.
Observance of Jewish law results in Orthodox Jews still only ever performing their worship in the traditional language of Hebrew, whereas Conservative Jews use a combination of Hebrew and the local language of the country or are and Progressive Jews use only English so that any new members or Jews who don’t want to learn Hebrew can also take part in the mass. Similarly, Orthodox Jews also do not allow women to be rabbis or for the genders to mix during worship, due to a strict following of the traditional rituals.
One important ritualistic day in Jewish culture is the Sabbath, or Shabbat. Beginning on Friday evening and concluding on Saturday evening, Shabbat honours God’s own creative, sustaining and fulfilling activity. This ritual is specified in the Torah, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.” (Exodus 20:8-10). Included in the labour, Jews are also not allowed to operate machinery on the Sabbath, meaning that Orthodox Jews are also not allowed to drive a car. Opposed to this, Conservative Jews allow for a car to be driven to a synagogue and Progressive Jews just outright allow the use of motor vehicle on Shabbat.