What religion do Jews believe in?

Judaism is the earliest and oldest religion among the three monotheistic faiths in the world, and it is also the way of life and belief of the Jewish people. The main precepts and teachings of Judaism come from the Torah, the first five volumes of the Bible.

The most important teaching of Judaism is that there is only one God, the invisible eternal God. He wants all people to be just and kind. Because God created man in his own image, everyone deserves dignity and respect.

Jews serve God through study and prayer, and at the same time abide by the commandments guided by the Pentecostal Book of Moses. Jews believe that this is God's call to them, their testimony to the world and their mission. But Judaism does not advocate that other nations must accept her religious beliefs and worship methods in order to be redeemed; People will judge the world according to what it does, not according to its beliefs; All just countries share the coming peaceful world. Therefore, Judaism is not an active missionary religion. The converts accepted by the synagogue must abide by the regulations of the Jewish authorities, because a person's conversion to Judaism is not just a simple question of self-identity.

The important Jewish classic is the Bible, which consists of laws, prophets and works.

In 70 AD, the temple in Jerusalem was burned by the Roman Empire, and the Jews were driven out of the land of Judah. At that time, Jewish scholars in Israel began to edit six volumes of classics called Messina, in which a series of scriptures such as Jewish laws, commandments and customs were preserved. Later, Gemara made some supplements in the 5th century, including notes and discussions in Israel and Babylon, and debates among Jewish teachers. These two parts constitute Talumd (Jewish oral scripture), which establishes the guidelines that Jews should follow when learning beliefs, ideas, laws and living standards.

In the Middle Ages, Jews in European countries were regarded as inferior peoples, persecuted in religion, deprived of any political rights and freedoms in politics, and subjected to various restrictions in economy. Consistent with their physical limitations within the high walls of the "capital", their spirit and soul can only be immersed in the traditional framework of the Talmud. At that time, Jews lived in a "state within a state", while Jews became "foreigners" in the eyes of the people in the host country. However, with the victory of the French Revolution in 1789, the situation of the Jews changed fundamentally. Jews in European countries have successively obtained civil rights and enjoyed equal status with other nationalities, which gave them freedom and dignity to be human beings. The dream that they have dreamed of for centuries has finally come true at this time. This is their most exciting and proud moment. This is the so-called liberation in Jewish history. Liberation put Jews in an unprecedented new background. So the Jews began a brand-new era. It is in this sense that the famous Jewish scholar Enzi said that the end of the Jewish Middle Ages was marked by the French Revolution.

18? Europe in the 9th century is an era dominated by reason, and all ideologies, including religion, have to decide what to do according to the judgment of a rational court. Of course, Judaism cannot avoid such a fate. At the same time, after liberation, Jews are faced with the problem of how to adapt to the social and cultural environment of the suzerain country. In this context, a Jewish Enlightenment (Haskella) finally happened later than Europe. German moses mendelssohn acted as the pioneer of the Enlightenment. Mendelssohn's Enlightenment pursued two goals. One is to "break through the imprisonment of the capital and transform Jews into real Europeans;" On the other hand, he hopes that Jews will continue to maintain their national characteristics. " However, this is a difficult dilemma. It was in order to meet the needs of the Enlightenment that German Judaism took the lead in implementing the religious reform.

The direct consequence of the reform is the division of Judaism. The original unified traditional Judaism gradually divided into reformists, conservatives and orthodoxy; In the 20th century, the United States also separated the reconstructionists from the conservatives. These different religious factions divided Jews into different camps, which led to the division of Jews. This situation has continued until now.

Most Jewish religious activities are mainly carried out at home. It includes praying three times a day, in the morning, afternoon and after sunset. Congregation prayers are usually held in synagogues. The synagogue is a place where Jews pray and study. Worship in synagogues on Mondays, Thursdays, Sabbaths, festivals and holidays, including reading the Torah and the Prophet in Hebrew. Worship in a synagogue can be presided over by a knowledgeable congregation. In most synagogues, it is presided over by the master of ceremonies or the teacher in charge of the church. They are full-time faith educators, all of whom have received training from seminaries. The teacher's professional duty is to guide the congregation's weekly and daily study units, and the teacher also provides the congregation with suggestions and regulations on how to apply Jewish commandments and traditions in daily life. These include disputes between people, but more serious matters, such as breaking away from Judaism, must be submitted to the local religious court for handling.

The traditional Jews followed the dietary precepts, which are recorded in Leviticus. These commandments include that milk and meat should not be eaten together, that animals should be slaughtered humanely, and that eating blood, pork, scaly fish and other prohibited foods is forbidden. Although these dietary commandments are beneficial to health, the main motivation is to expect self-control, temperance and moral training in personal life. Even in the worst case, people want to abide by these laws and regulations. Like other Jewish laws and customs, there are still some differences among the three major factions of Judaism (Orthodox, conservative and reformist) in the degree and methods of observing dietary commandments.

orthodox party

The most prominent feature of the orthodox school is that it adheres to the principle of "the sky remains unchanged and the Tao remains unchanged" and rejects the reform of Judaism.

They believe that God is eternal, and Torah is God's revelation from the West. Therefore, none of the laws in it can be changed, otherwise it will be heresy. They also believe that the coming of the Messiah will restore the Jewish state, rebuild the temple and restore worship in the future. Generally speaking, orthodoxy can be divided into ultra-orthodoxy, neo-orthodoxy and Hasidism.

(1) Ultra-orthodoxy still stays in the Middle Ages, sticking to traditional Jewish beliefs, strictly observing canon and customs, opposing modern science and culture and anything modern, refusing to recognize the State of Israel (some of which live there) and not cooperating with other factions.

(2) Neo-orthodoxy or modern orthodoxy recognizes the authority of the Bible and Talmud, and abides by the holy days, festivals, customs and traditional morality of Judaism, but it has certain flexibility. When praying in the synagogue, pray in Hebrew, without organ accompaniment, and men and women sit separately. They believe in and participate in scientific and cultural activities, seek peaceful coexistence and cooperation with other factions, support the State of Israel and join Zionist organizations.

(3) Hasidic school (religious school) is a mysticism school that was born in Eastern Europe in the middle of18th century. They belittle reason and knowledge and emphasize human feelings in order to reach spiritual communication with God through sincere prayer. Its prayer form directly points to God, which is simple, anytime and anywhere, and does not need a hall. They also advocate singing and dancing in prayer and other actions that can stimulate people's feelings.

At present, orthodoxy is a minority in the United States, accounting for about 6% of the 6 million Jewish population, but it still has considerable influence in many European countries such as France and Britain.

reformer

The leading idea of reformist Judaism is the development view with obvious rationalism factors, that is, Judaism, like all ideologies, must keep pace with the times and abandon those outdated and unreasonable elements in the process of development to meet the needs of modern life.

Reformists define Judaism as an ethical monotheism that completely coexists with science and reason, and pursue the principle of achieving peace, justice and harmony and unity among all ethnic groups in the world. They abandoned many medieval customs in the reform.

For example, when worshipping in a synagogue, men and women sit together, not in Hebrew, but in the language of the host country (Hebrew and local languages are mostly used now), with chorus and organ accompaniment. At the same time, the principle of equality between men and women is implemented, and women have the right to become rabbis (female rabbis have been appointed since 1972).

The classical reformists before 1960 opposed Datong, the restoration of the country and strongly opposed the restoration of the country. Post-classical reformists changed their positions and became an important force supporting Zionism and the construction of the state of Israel. Before the Second World War, the center of the reformists was in Germany, and it moved to North America after the war.

At present, reformists account for about 42% of Jews in North America, and they are the fastest growing and most powerful Jewish sects.

old guard

Conservative Judaism is a moderate between orthodoxy and reformism. Its predecessor was the German Jewish History School.

During the Reformation in the19th century, some German Jews thought that orthodoxy overemphasized tradition and neglected the needs of real life. Reformists pay too much attention to reality and fail to give tradition its due status; Therefore, they went to extremes. So they adopted a compromise attitude and advocated establishing a living connection between the past and the present.

According to the historical school, the Jewish written work Torah originated from the Revelation of Sinai, while the Torah handed down orally is an extension of the previous revelation by Jews and the crystallization of human reason and experience. Statutory law is eternal and sacred, while oral law is in the process of time change and can be modified and changed according to the needs of the times. However, the right to change lies not in individual teachers, but in the unanimous consent of scholars and the general acceptance of all members of the Jewish community. They approve and support Zionism. This school developed into American conservative Judaism at the turn of the 20th century, and once became the largest sect.

Now, conservatives account for 40% of the total Jewish population in the United States. As far as the conservatives insist on the importance of Jewish laws and rituals, they are close to orthodoxy, but as far as they agree with the variability and flexibility of the law, it is difficult for them to draw a clear line with the reformists. The language of the conservative synagogue is Hebrew, and men and women sit separately during worship. Women have gradually achieved equal status with men, and 1985 appointed female teachers.

Rebuild the school

Rebuilding School is a young Jewish sect split from American conservatives.

Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of this sect, believes that the orthodoxy, reformists and conservatives of the paranormal sect can no longer meet the needs of modernity and contemporary Jewish life, so it must be rebuilt and transformed into a naturalistic and democratic religion. Judaism in his mind is an evolutionary civilization, and God, law and Jews are its three equal elements. However, God is not a supernatural personality god, but a "power that leads to redemption" in all things in the universe. Torah is a record of Jewish experience, and its laws are Jewish customs. And "redemption" is not eternal life in the afterlife, but moral satisfaction in this life.

Rebuilders are close to conservatives in etiquette, but even more radical than reformers in theory. This school advocates free interpretation of tradition, takes synagogue as the center of Jewish life, advocates democratization of religious life, and encourages and supports the construction of the state of Israel.

Reconstruction is the smallest faction in Judaism, accounting for about 2% of Jews in North America, and its influence on Jews is mainly ideological.

Jewish festival

There are a series of unique holy days, festivals, ceremonies and religious customs in Jewish tradition. They restrict and stipulate the daily behavior of Jews and create a unique and unique lifestyle of this nation.

The Sabbath is a sacred day with special significance for Jews. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, and it is a rest day. But it is not an ordinary rest day, but the most important symbol of Judaism. The Sabbath originated from God's teaching in the Bible: "You should keep the Sabbath and make it holy. For six days, you have to work for a living, but on the seventh day, you do nothing but keep the Sabbath to God. As for your relatives, slaves, maidservants, livestock and all foreigners living among you, you must do the same. Keep the Sabbath, for the Lord created the heavens, the earth, the sea and everything in them in six days and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed this day and made them the Sabbath. " Sabbath is not only a physical rest after work, but also a spiritual purification and cultivation. The Jewish Sabbath is not Sunday, but starts at sunset every Friday and ends at the same time the next day. On this day, Jews are not allowed to do any work, concentrate on rest and study scriptures. Generally speaking, on Friday night, housewives light candles and recite the prayer of burning lamps, which marks the beginning of the Sabbath. Then the whole family sat around and enjoyed a hearty dinner happily. On Saturday morning, most Christians go to their synagogues to worship. This day is also the day for boys aged 13 or girls aged 12 to hold their bar mitzvah. Keeping the Sabbath is an important part of Judaism, and it is also an important symbol that Jews, as a sacred nation, are different from other nations. It is for this reason that Achard Hamm, a famous Jewish thinker, said, "The Sabbath supports the Jews rather than observing it."

The other two main festivals in Judaism are RoshHashanah and YomKippur. The Jewish New Year refers to the first and second days of July in the Jewish calendar (July 1st in ancient times). In the Bible, it is stipulated as the beginning of a new year. This day is not a happy day, people just rest silently and blow the horn to commemorate it. Later, the rabbi also called it "judgment day" and "memorial day" in Mishna, thinking that on this day, all people would pass by God and be judged in the holy land. Talmud divided this kind of trial into three situations: the best person was sentenced immediately and recorded in the life book, and the worst person was recorded in the death book. The rest of the ordinary people are uncertain, and they will have to wait until Yom Kippur to make a judgment. In this way, the New Year has become a day for Jews to reflect on themselves according to Jewish standards.

YomKippur is the most important holy day of the Jewish year. On the 10 day after the New Year, Jews completely fasted and stopped all work, and gathered in the synagogue to pray that God would forgive them for the crimes they committed in the past year. In biblical times, Jews held a sacrificial ceremony in the temple on this day, killing one goat to pay tribute to God and banishing another goat to the wilderness to take away all the sins of the Jews. This is the origin of the so-called "scapegoat".

Passover (Pesach) is a festival for Jews to commemorate the successful escape of Jews from Egypt under the leadership of Moses in history, so it is also called Freedom Day. According to the Bible (Exodus 12), on the eve of the Israelites' flight from Egypt, God ordered them to kill sheep and eat meat on the night of the first month of 14, and painted sheep blood on the doorframe as a symbol of the Israeli family. In the evening, God crossed the house of Israel and killed all the firstborn children and livestock of the Egyptian family. God ordered the Jews: "Today is your anniversary, and you should celebrate it as a festival of the Lord;" You shall observe this day from generation to generation as an eternal statute. "Passover night is a time for Jewish families to light a feast. At the banquet, the Jews told the story of freedom in Egypt, and the children asked some questions about the reason of Passover. There are tender parsley on the banquet, which symbolizes the hope of the growth of all things in spring; Roasted chicken eggs represent sacrifices in ancient temples, hard eggs remind people of life after death, salty water symbolizes the tears of Jews when they were slaves, bitter vegetables represent the suffering of slavery, and unleavened cakes are the food for Jews to move towards freedom. Now, the orthodoxy has spent two nights, while the reformists only celebrated one night, and the next day they went to the hall to participate in the collective celebration.

Shvuot was named because it was seven weeks after Passover (two days after Orthodox Church). At first, it was an agricultural harvest festival. On this day, the Israelites presented their newly harvested wheat to God. Later, it became a day for Jews to commemorate the Ten Commandments granted by God on Mount Sinai. People usually read Exodus, which contains the Ten Commandments, and hold a rite of passage or graduation ceremony on this day.

The festival of tabernacles began on the fifth day after atonement, that is, the 15th day of the Jewish rite of passage, and the whole festival lasted for 7 days (8 days in the Orthodox Church). Its original significance was to commemorate the farmers who lived in wild tents in autumn harvest season, so as to harvest mature crops in time, and later it was used to commemorate the tents where Israelis lived when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. This is a festive festival. During the festival, some Jews eat and live in tents in the suburbs, and some just stay there symbolically for a period of time every day to recite relevant scriptures and prayers. Tents were also set up in the synagogue for the use of the congregation. Today, this festival has the significance of relying on nature, returning to nature and protecting nature.

There are other festivals in Judaism, such as Tishab, Purim and Chanuka.