A New Look Into Judaism

Values, Beliefs, & Traditions

by
Amanda Bohn

My paper consists of talking about Judaism. I interviewed two people to get a

real life perspective on how they feel about Judaism. Judaism can make a person who

they are in their life. Jews believe in following their books. The books talk about the
beliefs they follow. The Jews believe in following Gods laws and they do not do any
different. They have laws that set them apart from everyone else. They also have
different holidays that no other religions celebrate. The Star of David is the symbol
for Judaism meaning their symbol of faith. I learned that Judaism and Christianity
arent much different from each other.

Judaism is the way of life. It is following the traditionsbyparents and

grandparents(Stewart). Jews follow and take on certain norms that they learn
from what their parents growing up. Judaism does not just become a way of
life, it becomes their life. The Jews become so involved in following and
keeping up with traditions that they do not know anything different. They

even have different Holidays and headwear from other religions. Judaism has
special norms and beliefs that set them apart from every other religion.
Judaism follows their norms through their books. The first book is the
Talmud, it holds seven basic categories, which shares what is prohibited for
the Jews. The seven categories include growing or preparing food, making
[clothes], leather working or writing, providing shelter, creating or
extinguishing fire, completing work, and transporting goods (Beaver). The
Jews must follow these laws. If there is a sickness or death, the prohibitions
for the rules can be voided to save a life. There are 613 commandments in the
Talmud.

Figure 1 The Torah

Another book in the Jewish religion is the Torah, represented in Figure 1.

The Torah, or Jewish Written Law, consists of the five books of the Hebrew
Bible - known more commonly to non-Jews as the "Old Testament" - that
were given by G-d to Moses on Mount Sinai and include within them all of
the biblical laws of Judaism (Jewish Virtual Library). The Torah is also
known as the Torah of Moses. In the Torah, there are dietary or kosher food
laws. One specific Jewish group, the Hasidic Jews, is a closed society that

follows every aspect of their life from the Torah. The main principle of the
Torah is to Love thy neighbor as Thyself. The saying explains to treat others
how you would want to be treated. The Torah has many commandments that
the Jews follow.
The Tanakh is also known as the bible. Israel is an acronym for the texts
of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings (Judaism). The prophets and writings tell
about the Jews traditions. The Siddur is the Jews Prayer book. Judaism
believes that their beliefs, laws, and traditions come from their holy books.
The Tanakh, or bible, contains a diversity of voices and messages. The Israeli
people did not only write this holy book but it is also for the Israeli people.
The book is written by about 24 different authors and is known to be very
complex. It took about 850 years to completely finish the Tanakh. This book
includes narratives, law codes, short stories, etiological tales, prophecies,
exhortations, poetry, and wisdom writing(Jewish Learning). Every author has
a different perception on what they are writing. The Tanakh is the Jewish
bible.
As I said above, their laws come from their books. Jewish people have
certain laws setting them apart from everyone else. Some of the laws include
. The existence of God, that God is one, that God is eternal and does not exist
in bodily form, that God is to be worshipped alone, that He has communicated
through the Prophets and Moses is the chief of them all (Beaver). Another
law that sets them apart from everyone else is the Ten Commandments. The
Ten Commandments have such beliefs as, love no other God, honor your

father and mother, and do not do crimes, such as murder and theft. Most
Jewish people will follow this closely because it is what they believe and was
taught to them by their parents. Similar to Christianity, Jews tried to prove
God's existence were concerned more with displaying the rationality of
religion than demonstrating the existence of a deity (Septimus). They believe
there is no reason to pray to any other God but the one and only. To them,
there is only one God to love and only one God that loves them. This religion
follows closely to their beliefs and traditions carried on from past generations.
Jews may have strong beliefs but not every Jew follows them the same.
How his or her parents teach a child determines how the child will follow the
norms or traditions. Even at a young age, children know about Hanukkah and
those they get eight days of presents. They assume every year that this same
occasion will happen and that Judaism is just about getting gifts and [t] he
child looks forward to such celebrations but knows next to nothing is expected
of him(Falk). Some children do not know that there is a bigger meaning
behind Hanukkah because the gifts they get. The main meaning about
Hanukkah is found here. The children figure they do nothing and just get
handed gifts. Parents do not teach their child the true meaning of Judaism.
They do not get that there are certain norms and beliefs that follows. Parents
are suppose to inform their child at a young age of these norms and beliefs so
that they pursue them throughout their lifetime and keep the traditions alive to
the next generation some day. To keep on the traditions as a Jew, the parents
should guide their child into following along with the traditions.

Even though some children will take advantage of them, Judaism has
special holidays. The Judaism community celebrates holidays that no other
religion celebrates. There are some main ones that most people have heard
about before. The main ones are: Rosh
Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish New
Year; Yom Kippur, the last 10 days of
penitence before the New Year; Hanukkah,
located in Figure 2, the eight-day festival
of light that begins on the eve of the 25th of
Figure 2 The Hanukkah Menorah

the Jewish month of Kislev -- celebrates the

triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over
materiality (Chabad). Passover is a celebration of their liberation; and a Bat
or Bar Mitzvah is a coming of a girl or boys age. A Bar Mitzvah is for a guy
and a Bat Mitzvah is for a girl. There are more special meanings as to why
the holidays are special to the Jews. The Jewish people use these holidays to
celebrate their religion.
Jewish holidays will fall the evening before the specified date on
calendars. Jewish holidays always start on sunset rather than most holidays
starting at midnight. The holidays will end on the night of the specified date.
Work on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the first, second, seventh and
eighth days of Passover are permitted for Jews to work on. Rosh Hashanah is
known to be celebrated for two days and not just one. It occurs on the first of
the month and [m]essengers were not dispatched on the holiday, so even

people in Israel did not know whether a new moon had been observed, and
everybody celebrated two days (Rich). Even though Rosh Hashanah is two
days, Yom Kippur is only one day, even in Israel. Extending this holiday
would be an undue hardship (Rich). Jews have different rules and theories
for different holidays. It is not right for Yom Kippur to be an extended holiday
but Hanukkah is eight days. Holidays may even fall on different days each
year. These significances of these holidays show the differences that set
Judaism apart from the other religions.
Although Jews stand alone in their holidays; Christianity and Judaism
have some similarities. Comparing the two, depending on the point of view, it
can either be labeled as offense or flattery. Christianity grew from the root of
Judaism and is centered on the belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the hoped for
Messiah of Israel who came to redeem mankind from their sin and offense
before God almighty (Beaver). Christianity came to be because of Judaism.
They may believe in two different ideas of God but most of their beliefs are
the same. It is to be known, that Christianity and Judaism both believe in one
loving God. They both worship God in everyday life as a creator and father.
They believe that they all belong to him as a family. Christianity and Judaism
have some differences making them different from each other but some
similarities that make them the same.
There are some differences between the two. Jews believe that Christians
are wrong that Jesus is a Messiah. Jewish people celebrate Hanukah and
Christians celebrate Christmas. Christians believe their goal is to love God

and obey all his commandments for us and Jews goals is to celebrate life to
its fullest. I made the hypothesis that the Jews love God just as much as the
Christians. Although Christianity and Judaism are not completely the same,
they are very similar in the way they look at God.
Christianity and Judaism both have symbols to symbolize their religions.
Christianity has the cross but the symbols for Judaism are the Star of David
and the Menorah. The Star of David, represented in Figure 1,
represent[s] the shape of King David's shield (or perhaps the emblem on
it), but there is really no support for that claim in any early rabbinic
literature. (Virtual Library). The King Davids shields supports and protects
the Jewish people. The dimension of g-d, The Torah and Israel, is symbolized
by the Star Of David (Silberberg). The Menorah is a nine-candle holder that
symbolizes the eight nights of Hanukkah. There also is a seven-candle holder,
Figure 3 Star of David

which would usually place in a temple. The Star of

David and the Menorah represent Judaism as a religion.

Judaism may have the Star of David and the Menorah to symbolize their
religion but Judaism also has a language of their own. The language of
Judaism is Hebrew. Young children will go to Sunday school to learn about
their religion and to learn the language of Hebrew. Hebrew started around 500
BC. It is known as a local language and used for religious services
(Charlesworth). During Sunday school the children learn from the Hebrew
bible. Parents send their child to Sunday school to have them learn more about
the religion and have them learn the language.

Judaism is known to be one of the oldest religions but its the oldest
monotheistic religion. The foundation of the religion lies in the original
covenant made between Abraham and God, [around] 1900 BCE, when
Abraham was called to leave his home in Ur and travel to Cannana land
which God promised to give to his descendants (ABC net). Abraham is the
reason Judaism is here today. There was a second covenant and Moses led the
Jews out of Slavery in Egypt. He took them back to lands of Canaan. These
two events are why Judaism is here thousands of years later.
Another old tradition of the Jews is the Yarmulkes or better known as the
Kippah. The Kippah is the Jewish word in Hebrew for skullcap. It is normally
worn at the top-back of ones head. Typically, only Jewish men would wear a
Kippah but some women might wear wear one to show off their religious
expression. The Orthodox Jewish men will normally wear the Kippah all the
time, even when they are not in religious services. More conservative
communities will wear them only usually during religious services or even
during a formal occasions, like a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Wearing a Kippot is a
personal choice by the male. It also depends on the customs that their
community follows and wearing kippot is not obligatory and there are many
Jewish men who do not wear them at all (Pelaia). There is no law in any of
the books that says the Jewish men have to wear a Kippot. A Kippot is to
show off their religion that they follow. Jewish men will typically wear their
Kippots if they feel they want or their community usually wears it.

Originally, all Kippots looked the same but now they come in all different
colors. The size now depends on the size of ones head. Some may prefer the
smaller ones, and others may prefer the larger one covering the head like a
cap. There are all different types of Kippots and
you will see everything from knitted kippot in all
the colors of the rainbow to kippot sporting baseball
team logos (Pelaia). There is not a traditional look

Figure 4 Kippots

for a Kippot anymore. Kippots are a Jewish males

preference. Any Kippot that a Jewish man wears is their personal preference
on what size or even the color they want it.
Jewish children learn a lot about their origins and beliefs by their
grandparents or parents. One of the people I interviewed, Hope Stewart,
learned about her Jewish culture by her grandparents. Hope is my neighbor in
my dorm and she informed me that her great grandparents were holocaust
survivors. Because of this, Hope feels that Judaism is very important to her
and her family. She also feels that it is important to follow the traditions that
her parents and grandparents have taught her. She plans to follow them her
whole life and she even also wants to take these beliefs and traditions and
share them with her children someday. Judaism is very important to Hope
because it has made her the person she is today.
Another person I interviewed, Rachel Pagano, has similar beliefs to Hope.
Like Hope, Rachel feels that following the traditions that her parents have
taught her is important. Her parents are very big believers in the Jewish

traditions and they always make sure that her siblings and her always are big
believers as well. Rachel follows the Ten Commandments very closely.
Although, she has not been perfect in keeping up with them her whole life, she
does try to do her best in following them. She was taught to follow Gods laws
with no questions asked. Rachel follows what her parents taught her and
would not imagine doing anything different than what she has learned.
The Jewish norms are very important to a Jewish person. They follow
them carefully. Different concepts make a Jew who they are. It could be the
language they speak, the lessons they learn, or even the parents they have.
Sometimes, what they wear and where they come from can determine what
type of person they become to be. Each Jewish person follows the laws and
norms to make them to person they are today.

Works Cited
Beaver, R. Pierce. (1994).Judaism and Christianity.Trail Christian fellowship.
What is Hanukkah. Chabad.
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-isHanukkah.htm
Charlesworth, James H. Christianity vs. Judaism. Jews and Christians: Exploring the past,
present and Future.

Falk, Ursula A. (2006). Unforeseen Expectations / Unanticipated Consequences. Jewish Norms.

Bible 101. My Jewish Learning. http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/
Judasim: The Written Law-Torah. Jewish Virtual Library.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/
Judaism. 2014. Religion Library. Retrieved from http://www.patheos.com/Library/Judaism.html
Judaism. 6, Oct 2014. ABC Net. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/stories/s796551.htm
Silberberg, Naftali. What Is the Mystical Significance of the Star of David?. Chabad.