What is judaism about?

Answer 1

Jews believe in one God, and a set of instructions called the "Torah".
The entire Torah can be summed up with this statement from Rabbi Hillel, who lived in the 1st Century BCE:
"What is hateful to you, do not do to another. This is the whole Torah. The rest is detail. Now go study!"
Basically, it's about the relationship between the Jewish people and God. We believe that we have a "special assignment" to live exemplary lives, to model the kind of behavior that God wants of humans. (And no, we don't always do that!) We believe that we "accepted" the Torah that forms the basic "rulebook" for our lives -- a rulebook that has been revered, if not always obeyed, by Christians and Moslems, as well as Jews.
We also believe that the most important thing we do is to study God's laws and figure out how they apply in our constantly changing world.

Answer 2

Judaism is a monotheistic religion based on principles and ethics embodied in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), as further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts. According to Jewish tradition, Judaism begins with the Covenant between God and Abraham.

Answer 2

The traditional definition of Judaism is the observance of the Torah, which is why dictionaries define Judaism as "the religion of Moses." In this sense, the word "Torah" is meant in its wider meaning, which includes the Tanakh, the Talmud, and other classical Jewish texts.
Some examples of the commands:
Belief in God
Putting on Tefillin (phylacteries) in the morning
The sukkah-booth during Sukkot
Avoiding leavened products in Passover
Keeping kosher
Not eating on Yom Kippur
Not working on the Shabbat
Paying workers on time
Marital rights for one's wife
The Ten Commandments
Helping someone who is in danger
Counting the days of the Omer
Returning lost objects when feasible
Wearing the tzitzith-garment
Affixing a mezuzah to the door
Learning Torah
Marrying and having children
Educating one's children in Judaism
Giving tzedakah (charity)
Honoring one's parents
And many more.
The laws have various reasons. Some (such as the Passover) serve to reenact or remember events of our history.
Some (such as saying the Shema-prayer) serve to reiterate our belief in God.
Some of the laws (such as those of ritual purity and kosher food) serve to sanctify us.
Some (such as the laws of torts) serve to maintain an orderly and just society.
Some (such as the law against breaking a vow) serve to prevent bad character traits.
Some (such as the command to offer help) serve to engender good character traits.
And all of the commands serve to subjugate us to God's will (especially those commands for which no explanation is easily apparent).
Note that the Torah "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, It's the Torah together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down together with the laws of Moses. Otherwise, the verses of the Torah often lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.

Answer 3

Very simple , people which should live in this world by simple and truthfull ways given to them by God itself on Sinai Mountain in front of everybody (unlike other religious claims) . This btw is a surprisingly non-arguable event agreed by entire world, back then and now.

Those simple and truthfull ways of living and justice should guide the entire human kind to the basic knowledge of the truth existence of one God , by self example.

(Do not judge Judaism by Jews daily "implementation" , this job is 24/7/365 and whenever is not well done , harsh "feedback" comes almost immidiatelly...)

Anywone can become a Jew but you are not advised to... simply because if you have a choice ... , you might want to live your life as you want/feel/think and not getting in trouble for every small mistake... easier for most humans :)

In judaism there are 613 commandements 365 do's and 248 don'ts , covering every second of the Jew life ... meaning every small action must be debated prior execution with direct regard of the truthness of the intention and effect...

Those 613 do's and don'ts are mostly natural to follow by your higher soul side and very contradictive to the "animal" in everyone of us... so the point is to excercise this "higher" part of yourself thus differentiate from the basic living creatures.

The belief and following the knowledge of one Creator as source of everything , that source beign reffered as, and ruling the creation by "using" the truth as main "tool" which aplies to everything everywhere everywhen .

The truth itself is not the creator but "his" reference and in Hebrew means the "name of god" not god itself.

God itself cannot be discussed by humans since it is not in our mind scope or capability.

The Truth, is the only constant in the creation visible to us and unchanged by our actions , but our actions change us so the truth aplies differently to you if you change...

Simplest way ... but usually hard for most humans which need something "solid" to hold on or to pray to ... most religions found one or more "God's servants" to address in order to satisfy this very human need to "see" something ( sculptures , animals , stars , etc...) .

Jews are specifically not allowed to address, build or even draw such "servants" as this is a major "miss" of the entire creation point...

I hope i helped a bit ...

Answer 4

According to tradition, Abraham founded what we call Judaism. Abraham (18th century BCE) came from ancestry that had been God-fearing a couple of centuries earlier but had slipped into idolatry in recent generations (Joshua 24:2). Nimrod, the idolatrous tyrant, had brought Abraham's father (Terah) from the Semitic ancestral seat near the conjunction of the Balikh and the Euphrates, and instated him in a position of power in his army in the royal Babylonian city of Ur. Nimrod persecuted any who would question his idolatrous cult.

The Kuzari (Rabbi Judah HaLevi, 1075-1141) states that Abraham was gifted with high intelligence; and, as Maimonides (1135-1204) describes, Abraham didn't blindly accept the ubiquitous idolatry. The whole populace had been duped, but the young Abraham contemplated the matter relentlessly, finally arriving at the conclusion that there is One God and that this should be taught to others as well. This is what is meant by his "calling out in the name of the Lord" (Genesis ch.12). As a young man, he remonstrated with passersby in public, demonstrating to them the falsehood of their idols; and our tradition tells how he was threatened and endangered by Nimrod. Later in life, God said to Abraham in prophecy to move to the Holy Land, which is where Abraham raised his family.

He continued his contemplations, eventually arriving at the attitudes and forms of behavior which God later incorporated into the Torah given to Moses. Abraham taught disciples (Talmud, Yoma 28b), gave tithes (Genesis ch.14), strove to raise a family (Genesis ch.15, 17, and 24) which would serve God, made a covenant with God (Genesis ch.15 and 17), welcomed guests into his home (Genesis ch.18) unlike the inhospitable Sodomites (Genesis ch.19), prayed for people (Genesis ch.18), rebuked others when necessary (Genesis ch.20), eulogized and buried the deceased (Genesis ch.23), and fulfilled God's will unquestioningly (Genesis ch.22). He became renowned as a prince of God (Genesis 23:6).

It is therefore clear why God expresses His love for Abraham (Isaiah 41:8) and calls Himself the God of Abraham (Genesis 26:24), and says that Abraham obeyed Him fully (Genesis 26:5). And this is why, according to our tradition, Abraham is credited with having founded the religion which became known as Judaism. (However, Abraham and his descendants observed their traditions voluntarily, until the Giving of the Torah to Moses, when God made it obligatory.)

For fuller details of Jewish law and life, see the attached Related Link.

Answer 5

Judaism is is a complex religion and therefore this will be a complex answer.

I the Talmud there is a story about a person who wanted to convert to Judaism. He came to one of the rabbis which was called Hilel and asked to be converted to Judaism in the condition that Hilel will teach him the entire Tora (Jewish laws) while standing on one leg. So Hilel replied: "What is hateful to you, do not do to another. The rest is detail. Now go study".

The studying of Judaism is a lifelong mission. The Torahas 613 Mitzvot (Godly commandments). Each of which has many details. This makes Judaism a way of life. A Jew is required to bring the spiritual world into every detail of his material world. So the main practice of Judaism is combining the spiritual and physical worlds. But this is still not the main teachingof Judaism.

This practice is done by trying to model oneself on Hashem (G-O-D): As he is merciful a Jew should be merciful, as he is compassionate a Jew should be compassionate, as he is just a Jew should be Just, as he is patient a Jew should be patient, etc. Hashem wants the Jewish nation to be a light to the nations by doing so.

To be merciful, compassionate, just or patient one must have a "partner" to be merciful to, compassionate to, just to, patient to. Human beings live in societies that give them the opportunity to model themselves on Hashem, by being kind and loving to one another. This is what Hilel meant when he said that the entire Tora is "What is hateful to you, do not do to another".

The rest is details, now go study.

Answer 6

Judaism is a monotheistic religion.

The base if the religion is the belief in one God who created the world and gave us the 'Torah' - guidelines and commandments, covering all aspects of life.

Answer 7

All the hundreds of mitzvoth (commands), principles and beliefs of the Torah.
See the highlighted Related Links below, for full detail on these.
(Though it's not part of the original question, I've added a link on History as well.)

The basic beliefs of Judaism

The practices of Judaism

The principles of Judaism

The ethics of Judaism

A timeline of Judaism

Answer 8

All the hundreds of mitzvoth (commands), principles and beliefs of the Torah.

Though it may have an associated culture and one or more associated languages, the traditional definition of Judaism is the observance of the Torah, which is why dictionaries define Judaism as "the religion of Moses." In this sense, the word "Torah" is meant in its wider meaning, which includes the Tanakh, the Talmud, and other classical Jewish texts.
The philosophy of Judaism is that this world is a purposeful creation by God, in which all people are tested concerning their use of free-will. We possess a soul which lives on after the body dies and is held responsible for the person's actions. Anyone who is worthy, Jewish or not, can merit reward in the afterlife.
For fuller detail, see the Related Links.Link: The basic beliefs of Judaism

Link: The practices of Judaism

Link: The principles of Judaism

Link: The ethics of Judaism

Link: How Judaism began

Link: The texts of Judaism

Answer 9

Judaism is vast, encompassing the whole Torah, Talmud, prayers, customs, etc. For some details, see the attached Related Link and click on the many underlined words within it.

Answer 10

The Old Testament