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The Fundamentals of Judaism

by Janel Muyesseroglu
June 9, 1999

I am a very spiritual person and am always interested in learning about other religions, especially the three monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I feel I have an adequate knowledge of Christianity and Islam, but I do not know much about Judaism. This paper will focus on the questions I have about Judaism. I have always wanted to know the fundamental beliefs of Judaism. I want to know how many Jews there are in the United States and in the world. I often see Orthodox Jewish men wearing yarmulkes and prayer shawls, and I wonder what is the purpose of wearing these. And finally, I wanted to know what is the role of women in Judaism.

As the oldest living monotheistic religion in the Western world, Judaism teaches that there is only one God. Jews follow the laws from God and other prophets as revealed in the Torah, the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Old Testament by Christians.) The Torah includes the "Five Books of Moses" and includes laws on how Jews should conduct their lives in everything from business and agriculture to family and death. Because the Torah can be interpreted in a number of ways, a supplement to the Torah Law came in the form of the Talmud. This is called the "Oral Law" and was developed over several centuries after the Torah and eventually it was put into writing. It was written by Israel's best minds and religious leaders, and it includes different points of view on several issues. The Torah and the Talmud together dictate the manner in which people should behave and how they face the problems they deal with (Shalev, 1999).

There are several branches of Judaism, but the three most common are the Orthodox, the Conservative, and the Reform parties. Regardless of which branch a person belongs to, there are some beliefs that are common to Judaism as outlined by Beth and Kutv Shalev (1999). These include:

• Belief in one unique, indefinable and indivisible God.
• The belief in free will. Each child is born innocent. God has given people the knowledge of what is right and wrong and the ability to chose which path they want to live. Each person is responsible for his or her own choices and will be rewarded or punished accordingly. A person's actions are much more important than his beliefs as a way to earn God's favor.
• Ethics and Justice. The ethical teachings of the Torah and the Talmud, including the Ten Commandments is ingrained into the Jewish way of life, and has become part of the teachings of Christianity and Islam.
• The Covenant. The Torah states, "For you are a holy people unto the lord your God: The Lord your God has chosen you to be a special people unto Himself." The Torah has made the Jews a chosen people who must follow a life of great spiritual demands that honor and perpetuate God's Laws.
• Salvation and Conversion. You do not have to be a Jew to attain your rewards in the hereafter. Jews are required to fulfill a wide range of commandments (613 in fact) in addition to the first ten. Non-Jews are only required to observe the seven Noahide Laws from Genesis 8. These include avoiding the following:


1. Idolatry
2. Blasphemy
3. Homicide
4. Illicit sexual relations
5. Theft
6. Eating the limb of a living creature
7. Failing to establish courts of justice.

 

Because of the accessibility to salvation, Jews don't actively seek out converts and converts must convince a board of Rabbis that they are sincere and wish to accept the responsibility to fulfill their responsibilities to God.

 

• The Messiah. Belief in the coming Messiah is part of the Jewish faith. The coming Messiah will be a human being and upon his coming the world shall be at peace, join in the worship of one God, and the Jews will be able to lead a peaceful and independent existence in Israel. Reform Judaism rejects this and believes instead of a Messianic Age when all humanity behaves ethically. (Shalev, 1999).

According to Tracey Rich, a man by the name of Maimonides formed the 13 Articles of Faith in the 12th century, and it is this code that is the closest to a universally accepted code of beliefs and is the minimum requirements of Jewish belief. (Rich, 1999).

1. God exists.
2. God is one and unique.
3. God is incorporeal.
4. God is eternal.
5. Prayer is to be directed to God alone and no other.
6. The words of the Prophets are true.
7. Moses' prophecy is better than any other Prophets.
8. The Torah and the Talmud were given to Moses.
9. There will be no other Torah.
10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of men.
11. God will reward the good and punish the wicked.
12. The Messiah will come.
13. The dead will be resurrected.

Regardless if someone believes in the standards previously outlined, Judaism is not about believing in a formal set of beliefs or dogma. Rather, Judaism focuses on the relationship between God and Mankind, and in a person's actions. (Rich, 1999).

Now that I have outlined the basic fundamentals of Judaism; I now would like to focus on the Jewish population. There are an estimated 13-14 million Jews in the world: 5 million live in Israel; 5 million live in the United States; and the other 3 million live elsewhere throughout the world. Of the three branches of Judaism in the United States which are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform, 1.3 million are Reform; 2 million are Conservative; and 1 million are Orthodox (Shalev, 1999).There are also about 600,000 Reconstructionist Jews. Reconstructionists tend to follow Jewish beliefs out of cultural pride rather than out of following God's Law, as the other branches do (Rich, 1999).

I have always wondered why many Orthodox men wear yarmulkes and prayer shawls. The yarmulke is actually Yiddish, and means skullcap. It is an ancient practice for Jews to cover their head during prayer, out of respect for God. According to Tracey Rich, the wearing of the yarmulke actually does not have a major religious significance, but that it is believed that this practice started from the fact that in Eastern cultures, it is a sign of respect to cover the head. So by covering the head during prayer, one showed respect for God. Wearing the yarmulke also reminded the wearer that God was always with them. Wearing the yarmulke is not a commandment (Rich, 1999).

Many Orthodox women also wear head coverings as a sign of feminine modesty. Usually they will wear a hat, scarf, or a wig. Many Conservative men and women will also wear a head covering only in the synagogue for worship. Reform Jews don't wear any type of head covering, believing it is better to follow Western styles of dress. However, some Reform synagogues are reviving the yarmulke for worship (Kertzer, 1993).

I learned that the word for the prayer shawl is called a tallit and the fringes on the tallit is called tzitzit. The Torah also commands Jews to wear tzitzit (fringes) at the corners of their garments as a reminder of the commandments. This commandment only applies to four-cornered garments, which were common in biblical times but are not common anymore. Observant Jewish men commonly wear a special four-cornered garment, similar to a poncho, called a tallit katan so that they will have the opportunity to fulfill this important commandment. The tallit katan is worn under the shirt, with the tzitzit hanging out so they can be seen. Adult men during morning services, along with wearing the tefillin (a small black box) wear the four-cornered tallit (pictured above). There is a complex procedure for tying the knots of the tzitzit, filled with religious and numerological significance. (Rich, 1999).

The one issue I was most interested in was the issue of women. What kinds of roles do Jewish women play in the Judaic world? Based on my own readings of the Torah (Old Testament) I was under the impression that the rights for Jewish women were almost nonexistent. I also know that during morning prayers, the men will thank God for not making him a woman. But upon reading Tracey Rich's homepage, I have come to the conclusion that there is more to it than I thought.

As for women’s rights, I thought that women were not allowed to work. If they did, they had to give all their earnings to their husbands. I though if a woman was given an inheritance, it would actually go to the husband (Kertzer, 1993). In fact, the women are allowed to work, but Judaism believes that the primary roles of the woman are as wife, mother, and keeper of the household. This role is considered very important and respectful. A mother's and wife's job is so important, that she is exempted from some of the commandments that are time related, if she chooses (Rich, 1999). Although the primary role of the Jewish woman is as mother and wife, she is encouraged to pursue other goals. Husbands are encouraged to share parenthood responsibilities so that the mother doesn't become burdened with the children all the time (Kertzer, 1993).

As for the men's Morning Prayer, it does not indicate that women or being a woman is bad, but that a man wouldn't want to be exempted from some of the commandments like women are allowed. Men are not exempted from any commandments and therefore have the privilege to have more responsibilities and obligations. In truth, men and women are considered equal but separate. Women's obligations and responsibilities are different than a man's, but are no less important (Rich, 1999).

The one thing that is not equal between men and women is the issue of divorce. Under Jewish law, only men can initiate a divorce, and all he has to do is draw up a get, or a divorce document, sign it, and give it to his wife. Once she receives the get, they are considered divorced. He may divorce her for whatever reason, even if it is small such as burning his dinner. However, most marriages do not end up in divorce because of the marriage contract that is signed when they get married. Counseling is also encouraged to save the marriage (Keltzer, 1993). A divorce may be avoided when the man thinks about the huge amount of money he will have to pay upon a divorce according to the terms of the marriage contract (Rich, 1999).

In Judaism, women are considered more intuitive, understanding and intelligent than men are are. In fact, some traditional Jewish sources state that women are closer to God's ideal of a perfect human than men are (Rich, 1999). This tells me that a woman's role in Judaism is one of respect and reverence, with the exception of a few issues (like divorce).

Upon completion of my research, I understand a little better about the fundamental beliefs of Judaism. I understand the different types of Jewish populations and their branches. I also now understand better why men wear yarmulkes and tallits. Although I understand a little more about women, I feel I need to know more. For example, can a Jewish woman remarry if she divorces or is widowed? What happens exactly to her finances if she works? As a Muslim, a lot of this information is very similar to Islamic beliefs. I basically wanted to research this because I wanted to compare Judaism to Islam. But now I wonder, what do Jews think of Islam? I'm referring to people who do not let politics influence their thoughts. In all, this research was very interesting and educating, although I am leaving this feeling a bit dissatisfied.

Keltzer, Rabbi Morris. N.   What is a Jew?
        New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1993.

Rich,Tracey.   Judaism 101.   Updated 6 June 1999.
        Available http://www.jewfaq.org/index.htm   (9 June 1999).

Shalev, B. and Shalev, K.   What and Who are Jews?    Updated 1 June 1999.
         Available http://judaism.about.com   (8 June 1999).