First- turn in your
notes from last
night!
Judaism Basic Beliefs
Belief in God
It’s All One: Judaism and God
Judaism essentially believes that there is a Godand only One God- but not only leave what God
IS completely up in the air, but allows for Jews
who don’t believe in God at all.
Judaism encourages people to wrestle with their
idea of who or what God is.
First Monotheism
Judaism was the FIRST tradition to teach
monotheism.
However, Jews tend to focus more on the way
that you practice your faith through living in the
world than it does on analyzing the nature of
God. In fact biblical monotheism is usually called
ethical monotheism because of the very strong
linkage of rights acts to the belief of one Good.
Question Everything
Jews are encouraged to “wrestle with God”
rather than have complete surrender to faith,
surrender to God such as in Christianity and
Islam. Instead they are taught to question their
faith in order to learn more deeply.
What’s in a name?
In Jewish thought, a name is not merely an arbitrary
designation, a random combination of sounds. The name
conveys the nature and essence of the thing named. It
represents the history and reputation of the being named.
This is not as strange or unfamiliar a concept as it may
seem at first glance. In English, we often refer to a person's
reputation as his "good name." When a company is sold,
one thing that may be sold is the company's "good will,"
that is, the right to use the company's name. The Hebrew
concept of a name is very similar to these ideas.
What’s in a name?
An example of this usage occurs in Ex. 3:13-22: Moses asks
God what His "name" is. Moses is not asking "what should I
call you;" rather, he is asking "who are you; what are you like;
what have you done." That is clear from God's response. God
replies that He is eternal, that He is the God of our ancestors,
that He has seen our affliction and will redeem us from
bondage.
Because a name represents the reputation of the thing named,
a name should be treated with the same respect as the thing's
reputation. For this reason, God's Names, in all of their forms,
are treated with enormous respect and reverence in Judaism.
What’s in a name?
The most important of God's Names is the four-letter Name
represented by the Hebrew letters Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei (YHVH). It is often
referred to as the Ineffable Name, the Unutterable Name or the
Distinctive Name. Linguistically, it is related to the Hebrew root HeiYod-Hei (to be), and reflects the fact that God's existence is eternal. In
scripture, this Name is used when discussing God's relation with
human beings, and when emphasizing his qualities of loving kindness
and mercy. It is frequently shortened to Yah (Yod-Hei), Yahu or Yeho
(Yod-Hei-Vav), especially when used in combination with names or
phrases, as in Yehoshua (Joshua, meaning "the Lord is my
Salvation"), Eliyahu (Elijah, meaning "my God is the Lord"), and
Halleluyah ("praise the Lord").
What’s in a name?
The first Name used for God in scripture is Elohim. In form, the
word is a masculine plural of a word that looks feminine in the
singular (Eloha). The same word is used to refer to princes,
judges, other gods, and other powerful beings. This Name is
used in scripture when emphasizing God's might, His creative
power, and His attributes of justice and rulership. Variations on
this Name include El, Eloha, Elohai (my God) and Elohaynu
(our God).
What’s in a name?
God is also known as El Shaddai. This Name is usually
translated as "God Almighty," According to some views, it is
derived from the root meaning "to heap benefits."
What’s in a name?
Another significant Name of God is YHVH Tzva'ot. This Name
is normally translated as "Lord of Hosts." The Name refers to
God's leadership and sovereignty.
Writing the name of God
Jews do not casually write any Name of God.
This practice does not come from the
commandment not to take the Lord's Name in
vain, as many suppose. In Jewish thought, that
commandment refers solely to oath-taking, and
is a prohibition against swearing by God's Name
falsely or frivolously (the word normally
translated as "in vain" literally means "for
falsehood").
Writing the name of God
Normally, we avoid writing the Name by
substituting letters or syllables, for example,
writing "G-d" instead of "God." In addition, the
number 15, which would ordinarily be written in
Hebrew as Yod-Hei (10-5), is normally written as
Teit-Vav (9-6), because Yod-Hei is a Name.
See Hebrew Alphabet for more information
about using letters as numerals.
God Creates
Jews have different view points of God’s
involvement of the creation of the earth. Some
say He started the Big Bang and walked away,
others say he was more involved. In any case
they give him credit in one poetic manner or
another.
God Reveals
Jews believe in revelation, which is the channel
through which a human being “hears” the Divine word.
For some Jews, God doesn’t communicate through
words, but through relationship. In the experience of
love, compassion, and creativity, realizations of God
unfold. And for still others, revelation is contained in
the beauty of the natural world, so that by relating to
the greater world, people can realize the
communication.
God Redeems
The theme of redemption is common throughout
the Biblical stories of the Hebrew people.
It becomes clear that the people have responsibility
for following divinely inspired paths and living in
accord with principles of justice and compassion, in
service to the One God. When they fail in this
responsibility, there is punishment, including exile.
But even from the midst of such exile, redemption
awaits if they reform.
God Redeems
In some ways, redemption is another word for
self-actualization, enlightenment, or Godconsciousness.
For traditional Judaism, this promise of
redemption translates to a future Messianic Age,
including the resurrection of the dead.
But not Jesus…
Now, we will evaluate why Jesus is not
considered a God within Judaism….
Each group will read one of the reasons, and
prepare to teach out to your classmates.