World Religions: What Is Judaism?

At the core of Judaism is the story of the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people, and their relationship with the Creator of the Universe.God gave to the Jewish people a set of laws and commandments at Mount Sinai that are to be followed for all time. Adhering to God's law is the way by which Jews come closer to their Creator.

Practitioners of Judaism hold the entire Tanach (Torah, Prophets and Writings - also known as the Hebrew Bible) to be sacred, with the first five books (the Torah, as it is called in Hebrew) being the most important.The Torah establishes God's covenant with the Jews and the laws and morality by which Jews are expected to live.

In addition to the Hebrew Bible, the Jews have an oral tradition that has been handed down since the time of the giving of the Torah itself.The contents of this oral tradition mostly concern the proper interpretation of Biblical law as well as some of the finer points of Jewish theology.The basic texts of the oral tradition are the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the Midrash.

Judaism, in contrast to the other monotheistic religions, is basically positive concerning the ability of man to better himself and achieve righteousness through following God's law. Mankind is given free will and expected to choose the right way in life.When one fails in his task, he is able to return to his Creator and is forgiven as long as the penitent feels genuine contrition and takes upon himself to try to improve.Nobody is perfect, and it is sometimes our failures that are the impetus to our becoming better people.

Even though Judaism does have a belief in the afterlife, it does not focus on it at the detriment of this life.This life is to be focused on now, and if the individual tries his or her best to lead a righteous life according to the mandates of the Torah, they are guaranteed a portion in the afterlife.

Although Judaism is often thought of as a "tribal" religion, there are wide cultural and racial differences between Jews from different parts of the world.For example, Ashkenazi Jews are white and European; Sephardi Jews are more Middle Eastern in appearance; and some races of Jews are very dark-skinned, almost black.Foods and customs that are traditional to one group may be completely foreign to another group.

Also, Judaism as a religion is open to sincere converts - in fact, the Torah commands Jews to love the "stranger" ("ger" in Hebrew, meaning the convert).Conversion to Judaism involves a certain period of study in which the potential convert learns the Jewish laws of the Sabbath and everyday life under the supervision and guidance of a rabbi.Upon the approval of a Beit Din (a rabbinic court consisting of three rabbis), the convert immerses in a ritual bath ("mikvah" in Hebrew) and becomes a part of the Jewish People.

With Judaism's history spanning over five thousand years (and also spanning the globe), learning the nuances of Jewish law and customs could be the task of a lifetime.