beliefs and teachings

• Torah - Books of Moses
• Nevi'im - The books of the prophets
• Ketuvim - The books of the writings
• Tenakh - The Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament, is the sacred text of Judaism.
• Main tenakh teachings about God:

  • God is One, there is only one God
  • God is the Creator, everything belongs to him and depends on God because the universe comes from God
  • God the law-giver, he gave laws to help people look after the earth in the way he wanted
  • God the judge, ensures that the good are rewarded and the evil are punished
• God is judge is important because:

  • ensures good are rewarded and bad are punished
  • world is protected from chaos that would come if there was no way of making sure that people keep God's laws
  • people know there will be punishments from God for those who dont follow it
  • people know there will be rewards from God for those who do follow it
• God's oneness is demonstrated through:

  • Jewish men bind tefillin to their forehead and arm during prayer every morning
  • Judaism teaches unity of creation and the need for people to try bring unity to society
  • jewish people have a mezuzah holding the shema on their gates and doorframes
• shema - most important prayer stating the belief in one god
• shekhinah - God's presence
• The torah talks about:

  • God's presence (shekhinah) going to Moses to guide him to the promised land
  • shekhinah as a cloud or smoke on mount sinai when God gave the commandments
  • God choosing the tabernacle as a place for his presence
• Shekhinah is important for Jews because:

  • however close jews may feel towards God, God's presence is so holy it must be respected - only use God's complete name in worship, sign of his power and glory
  • the temple, mount zion and jerusalem is where the shekhinah is, making it special
  • Moses was surrounded by the shekhinah when he recieved the torah so they are directly Gods words - ‘Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire.’
• Shekhinah

  • shows God is far beyond human thought so there is many ways to understand his presence
  • makes it easier for Jews and christians to come together in their search for God
  • dwelt in the Tabernacle
  • It is seen as a cloud when the Almighty gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai
• "i saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple" Isaiah 6:1
• Messiah - anointed one
• Olam ha ba - the world yet to come, messianic age
• Messiah:

  The Messiah will restore the Promised Land by bringing political and spiritual restoration so that jews can return to their homeland

  He will be the leader of the Jews

  He will be a descendant of King David

  He will unite the world

  He will rebuild the Temple and peace will subsequently reign over the earth
• importance of Moses's covenant with God

  It was the beginning of Judaism as it united the people under the one Almighty

  The Almighty gave Moses the Ten Commandments which is the basis of their relationship with him

  Jews were made the Chosen People in return for keeping the mitzvot
• Sancity of life

  • some Jews do not accept abortion
  • Most Jews would not accept euthanasia
  • One of the Ten Commandments is not to kill
  • Jews believe life comes above the mitzvot (Pikuach Nefesh)
• importance of Abraham's covenant with God

  It marked the beginning of Judaism as it united the people under one Almighty

  The Almighty made Abraham the father of a great nation and promised to look after them 'For I make you the father of a multitude of nations’ (Genesis 17:5)

  It marked the start of the Jewish homeland as Abraham was given the land of Canaan

  It was a covenant between the Almighty and the Jews and made the Jews his chosen people

  The Almighty promised to look after his people

  it marks the point where the Almighty asked Jewish men to be circumcised
• Importance of the Decalogue

  • The Decalogue forms the basis of the Covenant between the Almighty and Moses when the Almighty gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai and said: ‘I am the Lord your God’ (Exodus 20)
  • The Almighty promises loving kindness to those who keep the Ten Commandments such as remaining faithful only to him : ‘You shall not have the gods of others in my presence’ (Exodus 20:3)
  • The Decalogue established a society for the Jews with a strict set of rules to live by, for example he said to keep the Sabbath day holy.
• Pikuach nefesh

  • used by someone having transplant surgery to save a life even though it goes against beliefs about how bodies should be buried
  • Pikuach Nefesh allows medical treatment to happen during Shabbat even though this breaks the Jewish law
  • Abortion is mandatory if it is to save the life of the mother as her life takes priority
• Mount sinai

  The Jews travelled from Egypt to Mount Sinai Moses ascended the mountain

  The Almighty spoke to Moses

  The Almighty gave Moses the Ten Commandments

  The Jews saw the mountain covered in cloud
• Life after death

  • important because it is part of the Almighty’s plan and therefore it is important for all Jews to follow the mitzvot so that they will please him and be with him in the afterlife
  • Most Jews believe that if they follow their faith correctly then they will be rewarded after death in paradise, where they will spend eternity with the Almighty
  • Life after death is linked for many Jews with the coming of the Messiah, when the Almighty will judge all people and those who have been faithful will be resurrected in the Messianic age.
• mitzvot - jewish rules or commandments
• mitzvot


  gods direct words to moses and cover the whole of life

  for the orthodox there is a right and wrong way of doing everything

  mitzvot covers the whole of life and also the way to eternal life as they will be the basis of the final judgement

  deutronomy says choosing to obey the mizvot is a life and death decision

  not as important for reform jews because they do not believe the mitzvot came to moses directly from god so observing the mitzvot is a choice
• sanctity of life


  judaism teaches life is sacred since it is a gift from God

  life was created by god so only god has the right to end life

  deuteronomy says there is no god but me, i put to death and i bring life
• life after death 


  it is a teaching of the torah which orthodox jews believe is a direct communication from God which must be believed - abraham breathed his last and was gathered to his people which means that he lived on after death

  teaching of the talmud which most jews try to follow