The Religion of Judaism
By Christopher Jerabek, for Mr. Hill's geography class.
Jewish Beliefs
The Jewish believe that actions, not deeds, are the most important part of a Jewish Person's faith. Due to this belief, the rules of Judaism are varied widely. However, a twelfth-century rabbi named Maimonides (pictured to the right) wrote the Thirteen Articles of Faith, which are a sort of guidelines that he believed all Jewish people should follow. They believe in a Messiah, and that he will come and rescue the righteous, judge the wicked, and restore peace to the world. Christianity believes that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, but the Jewish disagree. Unlike Christians, they do not believe that the Messiah is divine. They believe that God is so essentially different from mankind that he can never become a human. The Jewish believe in a single, all-powerful god, and they have similar beliefs to Christianity. The Jewish texts and literature have little mention of the afterlife, unlike Christianity and Islam which have very elaborated afterlives. The Torah and Talmud (two holy Jewish books) focus on the importance of Earthly life, and following God's orders.
Thirteen Articles of Faith
- God exists
- God is one and unique
- God is incorporeal
- God is eternal
- Prayer is to God only.
- The prophets spoke truth.
- Moses was the greatest of the prophets.
- The Written and Oral Torah were given to Moses.
- There will be no other Torah.
- God knows the thoughts and deeds of men.
- God will reward the good and punish the wicked.
- The Messiah will come.
- The dead will be resurrected.
Facts about Judaism
- Judaism is also considered a culture, not just a religion. People can be Jewish, even if they don't necessarily belong to the Jewish Faith.
- Christianity and Islam are both derived from Judaism.
- It is the 7th biggest religion in the world.
- The Jewish God's name in Hebrew is YHWH. which translates to 'I Am.'
Bibliography
Religionfacts (My main resource)
Americanlivewire (Where I got the statistics for top religions of the world)
Picture for Maimonides
Picture for Thirteen Articles of faith
Americanlivewire (Where I got the statistics for top religions of the world)
Picture for Maimonides
Picture for Thirteen Articles of faith