Beliefs and teachings

• God as One


  • God is a single, whole, indivisible being
  • God is the only being who should be praised and worshipped
  • God is the source of all Jewish morality, beliefs and values
• Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.: 'Deuteronomy 6:4-5'
• God as creator and sustainer


  • God created the universe out of nothing, exactly as he wanted it to be, and sustains the world so all species are able to live on it
  • God gave humans free will, and because of this, evil has to exist
• Jews believe God is the creator and sustainer
• God took six days to create the universe and everything in it
• God then rested and made the seventh day holy
• God provides all the resources needed for life on earth to survive
• God's attributes

  • Omnipotent - all-powerful
  • Omniscient - all knowing
  • Omnipresent - everywhere at all times
• The existence of evil is considered to be a necessary consequence of free will
• I am the LORD and there is none else, I form light and create darkness. I make weal and create woe - I the LORD do all these things.: 'Isaiah 45:6-7'
• God as lawgiver and judge

  • God has given Jews many laws which he expects them to obey
  • God judges how well people follow his laws and rewards or punishes them as a result
• Jewish laws

  • 613 laws in the Torah called mitzvot
  • The Ten Commandments
• Rosh Hashanah


  The Jewish new year when God judges people for their actions over the past year
• Afterlife judgement

  God determines how people will spend the afterlife based on their actions
• Shekhinah

  The divine presence of God on earth
• The Tabernacle was considered to house the divine presence of God
• Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem was the centre of Jewish worship and where several prophets experienced the presence of God
• The Tenakh describes how the Jews were led at times by a pillar of fire or a cloud on their journey to Canaan, which were considered to be appearances from God
• Messiah


  A future leader of the Jews who will rule over humanity with kindness and justice
• Messianic age

  A time when the world is united in peace
• Messiah


  • Will rule during the Messianic age
  • Is expected to be a future king of Israel - a descendent of King David
  • Will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem and gather all Jews back to Israel
  • Will uphold the law in the Torah and be the ultimate teacher of it
  • Will bring in world peace and unite humanity together
• The word 'Messiah' was originally used in the Tenakh to refer to the kings of Israel
• The first king of Israel was Saul, who lived around the eleventh century BCE
• Before Saul was made king, the prophet Samuel anointed him with oil to show he was chosen by God to rule over the Jews
• The word 'Messiah' means 'the anointed one'
• Today, the word 'Messiah' is used to refer to a future leader of the Jews
• Orthodox Jews believe there is a descendent of King David in every generation who has the potential to become the Messiah
• If the Jews are worthy of redemption, this person will be directed by God to become the Messiah
• Many Reform Jews reject the idea of the Messiah
• Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah
• Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah
• Promised Land

  The land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and the Jews
• Covenant


  An agreement between God and an individual person (made on behalf of the rest of the Jews)
• Covenant with Abraham


  1. God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations

  2. Abraham agreed to 'Walk in My [God's] ways and be blameless'

  3. Covenant sealed through circumcision

  4. God made it possible for Abraham's wife Sarah to conceive, despite her old age
• Abraham was born in the city of Ur, probably in the twentieth or nineteenth century BCE
• At that time people worshipped idols (statues) of many different gods
• From an early age, Abraham became convinced there was only one God who had created everything, and that worshipping idols was wrong
• Abraham tried to convince the people in Ur to stop worshipping idols, but had little success
• Before they reached Canaan, Abraham and some of his family (including his wife Sarah) settled on the way at Haran in Northern Mesopotamia
• Many years later, God told Abraham to continue the journey to Canaan, promising to make a great nation through him