Download Judaism: Basic Teachings

Judaism: Basic Teachings
Main beliefs
● There is only one God
● God made the world and created Man in his own image
● The Jews are God’s chosen people
● Canaan (Palestine) is the Promised Land that God
pledged to the Jews through Abraham in return for
adherence to His laws, which were delivered through
Moses
● One day a Messiah will come to rebuild the Temple,
gather all Jews back to the land of Israel, and bring
peace to the world
● All people are equal and should be treated with respect
and love
Main laws
● All meat must be kosher (prepared in a particular way
and drained of blood)
● Forbidden foods: meat taken from animals that do not
have cloven hooves and chew the cud, fish that do not
have scales and fins, and particular birds
● Meat and milk should not be used together
● No work or reading of the Torah should be done on
the Shabbat (Sabbath, from Friday evening to Saturday
evening)
Jewish symbols
Star of David (six-pointed star)
● Menorah (seven-branched candlestick)
●
Sacred texts
● The Hebrew Bible, particularly the Torah, or
Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy)
● The Talmud – explanations or amplification and oral
teachings of the Torah – made up of the Mishna and the
Gemara)
Permitted foods
Festivals and holy days
Purim (Feast of Lots) – late February, early March
● Pesach (Passover) – March/April
● Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Day) – April
● Shavuot (Pentecost) – 50 days after Pesach
● Rosh Hashanah (New Year) – September
● Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) – late September/
early October
● Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) – two days after Yom
Kippur, late September/early October
● Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of the Solemn Assembly) –
eighth day of Sukkot, October
● Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication/Festival of Lights) –
December/early January
●
Jewish denominations
● Ashkenazi (European)
● Sephardi (Oriental)
● Orthodox
● Kabbalist or Cabbalist
● Hasidic or Hassidic (Chasidic), Ultra-Orthodox
● Non-Orthodox
● Reform
● Conservative
● Liberal
● Reconstructionist
● Political Zionist
Worship and teaching
● The rabbi is the leader and teacher in a Jewish
community
● The family is the center of Jewish life, and the
synagogue is the place of public worship
● Prayer takes place at the synagogue in the morning,
afternoon, and evening
Prohibited foods