The Abraham covenant is the basis for Jewish identity (Baleston, 2014). The central belief of Judaism is that Abraham made a covenant with God which outlined that Jews would dutifully follow and worship God, and in return, would be the chosen people of God’s Kingdom.
Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world, dating back to 2000 BCE and consists of over 14,000,000 followers. It is a monotheistic faith, which means that Jews believe in one God, who is everlasting (Pelaia, 2014). In Jewish faith, God is beyond the comprehension of humanity, and is the absolute opposite to that which is human or worldly. Nevertheless, God is present in everyday life. Jews believe that God is not controlled or defined by an image and that they have a special duty to make God’s holy teachings known to all people, which is portrayed in the way they live their lives. A connection with God can be made through prayer, while others see the divine in the majesty of the natural world (Pelaia, 2014). Judaism teaches that each person was created by “b’tzelem Elohim”, which is Hebrew for the image of God (Pelaia, 2014). Due to this belief each person is considered to be equally important, and share a unique and personal relationship with God. People are entitled to freewill to make their own decisions in life and are responsible for the consequences of those decisions. There is also a belief that all Jewish people are uniquely connected with each other as a part of a global Jewish community, no matter where they live in the world (Pelaia, 2014).
Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world, dating back to 2000 BCE and consists of over 14,000,000 followers. It is a monotheistic faith, which means that Jews believe in one God, who is everlasting (Pelaia, 2014). In Jewish faith, God is beyond the comprehension of humanity, and is the absolute opposite to that which is human or worldly. Nevertheless, God is present in everyday life. Jews believe that God is not controlled or defined by an image and that they have a special duty to make God’s holy teachings known to all people, which is portrayed in the way they live their lives. A connection with God can be made through prayer, while others see the divine in the majesty of the natural world (Pelaia, 2014). Judaism teaches that each person was created by “b’tzelem Elohim”, which is Hebrew for the image of God (Pelaia, 2014). Due to this belief each person is considered to be equally important, and share a unique and personal relationship with God. People are entitled to freewill to make their own decisions in life and are responsible for the consequences of those decisions. There is also a belief that all Jewish people are uniquely connected with each other as a part of a global Jewish community, no matter where they live in the world (Pelaia, 2014).
Watch Rabbi Berel Wein give an insight to Judaism and the core beliefs of the religion.