Central Beliefs

The Shema The Hebrew word Shema means hear or listen It sums up the Jewish scriptures (Tanakh) One of the most important Jewish prayers One of the first prayers that Jewish children learn Religious Jews say the Shema three times each day as part of their regular prayers, and it is included in almost every synagogue service The Shema reminds Jews that: There is only one God God is good and loves them and they should love Him God’s rules apply to every part of a person’s life Children should be taught about Torah

The Tanakh Presents the core teachings of Jewish faith in the form of a story Basic story is found in the Torah, the first five books of the scriptures Tells of God making a covenant with the people God and Noah: God would never again flood the Earth God and Abraham: God promised Abraham land and many children and in turn Abraham promises to worship only God God and Moses: God promised all of the Jews (Israelites) land, descendents, and in turn the must keep the 10 commandments God and King David: People will be happy under David’s rule and have Eternal Royal Dynasty

The Torah Word of God Teachings of Judaism in story form First five books of Tanakh Genesis, the first book of the Torah, contains the two stories of creation In the first story, God creates the world in 6 days, creates humans on the 6th day, and rests on the 7th day, making that day holy In the second story, God creates Adam and Eve, then banishes them from the garden of Eden when they eat the fruit of the forbidden tree

The Story of Abraham and Sarah Genesis also tells the story of Abraham and his wife Sarah God asks Abraham (then called Abram) to leave his home and go to a new land, where God will make him the father of a new people Abram’s faith in God is tested many times, but never wavers The rest of Genesis tells the story of God’s faithfulness to his covenant with Abraham

The Story of Moses The second book of the Torah is Exodus Story picks up when Abraham’s descendants, had become slaves to the Egyptians Moses was called by God, through the burning bush, to lead God’s people out of slavery Moses showed Pharaoh the power of the Lord through the 10 plagues, then Pharaoh agreed to let people of Israel go When Pharaoh sent his chariots after them, the Red Sea parted to let the Israelites through, but drowned Pharaoh’s men At Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law

The Story of David The story of David is in the book of Kings David was Israel’s second king and he united all the tribes into one kingdom David’s son Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem

The Talmud Second most important Jewish sacred writing Huge book of civil and religious laws and ethical teachings Contains layer upon layer of interpretations of the Torah made by rabbis between the 1st and 5th centuries

The Halakhah (Oral Torah) Contains prescribed ways to apply the commandments in the Torah to daily life It includes laws about ritual purity, such as what foods cannot be eaten, and other impure things to avoid These laws were first kept by priests in the Temple in Jerusalem Later, the Pharisees also kept them, and these ritual laws of purity became part of Jewish life After the second defeat by the Romans in 135 CE, the rabbis began to write down and interpret the oral Torah, and this written material became the Talmud This process happened in two different places by different rabbis, so there are two versions of the Talmud The more extensive, most commonly used version is called the Babylonian Talmud The other is the Jerusalem Talmud

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