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This is a far more difficult question than you might expect. In
Judaism, actions are far more important than beliefs, although there is
certainly a place for belief within Judaism.
The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely-accepted
list of Jewish beliefs is Maimonides' (Rambam's) thirteen principles of faith.
The principles of faith which he thought were the minimum
requirements of Jewish belief, are:
1. G-d exists
2. G-d is one and unique
3. G-d is incorporeal
4. G-d is eternal
5. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other
6. The words of the prophets are true
7. Moses's prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the
prophets
8. The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah
(teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given
to Moses
9. There will be no other Torah
10. G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men
11. G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked
12. The Messiah will come
13. The dead will be resurrected
As you can see, these are very basic and general principles. Yet as
basic as these principles are, the necessity of believing each one of
these has been disputed at one time or another, and the liberal movements
of Judaism dispute many of these principles.
Unlike many other religions, Judaism does not focus much on abstract
cosmological concepts. Although Jews have certainly considered the nature
of G-d, man, the universe, life and the afterlife at great length, there
is no mandated, official, definitive belief on these subjects, outside of
the very general concepts discussed above. There is substantial room for
personal opinion on all of these matters, because as I said before,
Judaism is more concerned about actions than beliefs.
Judaism focuses on relationships: the relationship between G-d and
mankind, between G-d and the Jewish nation, between the Jewish nation and
the land of Israel, and between human beings. Our scriptures tell the
story of the development of these relationships, from the time of
creation, through the creation of the relationship between G-d and
Abraham, to the creation of the relationship between G-d and the Jewish
people, and forward. The scriptures also specify the mutual obligations
created by these relationships, although various movements of Judaism
disagree about the nature of these obligations. Some say they are
absolute, unchanging laws from G-d (Orthodox); some say they are laws from
G-d that change and evolve over time (Conservative); some say that they
are guidelines that you can choose whether or not to follow (Reform,
Reconstructionist).
So, what are these actions that Judaism is so concerned about?
According to Orthodox Judaism, these actions include 613 commandments
given by G-d in the Torah as well as laws instituted by the rabbis and
long-standing customs.
©
Copyright
5756-5761 (1995-2001), Tracey R Rich
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