Asceticism (Jewish) Rigorous abstention from any form of self-indulgence which is based on the belief that renunciation of the desires of the flesh and self-mortification can bring man to a high spiritual state. Asceticism never occupied an important place in the Jewish religion. Judaism did not believe that the freedom of man’s soul could...
Conversion To Judaism Conversion to Judaism (גיור, giyur) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversions to other religions and. naturalization. The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination...
Judeo-Islamic Philosophies (800–1400) This article covers Judeo-Islamic Philosophies and the influence of Jewish and Islamic philosophy on each other, focusing especially on the period from 800–1400 CE. Early philosophy A century after the Qur’an was revealed, numerous religious schisms arose in Islam. Skeptics sought to investigate the doctrines of the Qur’an, which...
Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־מַיְמוּן, Mōšeh ben-Maymūn; موسى بن ميمون, Mūsā bin Maymūn), commonly known as Maimonides (Maïmōnídēs; Moses Maimonides), and also referred to by the acronym Rambam (רמב״ם, for Rabbeinu Mōšeh bēn Maimun, “Our Rabbi Moses, son of Maimon”), was a medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and...
Asceticism In Judaism This article covers asceticism in Judaism. Asceticism is a term derived from the Greek verb ἀσκέω, meaning “to practise strenuously,” “to exercise.” Athletes were therefore said to go through ascetic training, and to be ascetics. Rigorous abstention from any form of self-indulgence which is based on the belief that renunciation of the...
Tzedakah Tzedakah (צדקה) is a Hebrew word meaning “righteousness“, but commonly used to signify charity. This concept of “charity” differs from the modern Western understanding of “charity.” The latter is typically understood as a spontaneous act of goodwill and a marker of generosity; tzedakah is an ethical obligation. Tzedakah refers to the religious...
Classical Theism Classical theism is a form of theism in which God is characterized as the absolutely metaphysically ultimate being, in contrast to other conceptions such as pantheism, panentheism, polytheism, deism, and process theism. Classical theism is a form of monotheism. Whereas most monotheists agree that God is, at minimum,...
Abstinence In Judaism Abstinence is the refraining from enjoyments which are lawful in themselves. Abstinence (in Judaism) in general can be considered a virtue only when it serves the purpose of consecrating a life to a higher purpose. The saints, or adherents of religious and philosophical systems that teach the...
Judaism’s View Of Jesus Judaism’s view of Jesus is the most influential and, consequently, the most damaging of all false messiahs. However, since the traditional Jewish belief is that the messiah has not yet come and the Messianic Age is not yet present, the total rejection of Jesus as either...
Angels In Judaism In Judaism, angels (מַלְאָךְ mal’akh, plural: מלאכים mal’akhim) are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish liturgy. They are categorized in different hierarchies and act as messengers of God, angelic envoys, or general agents of God. Etymology Hebrew mal’akh (מַלְאָךְ) is the...
What Is Mishneh Torah? The Mishneh Torah (מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, “Repetition of the Torah”), subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (ספר יד החזקה “Book of the Strong Hand”), is a code of Jewish religious law (Halakha) authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, also known as RaMBaM or “Rambam”). The Mishneh Torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE (4930 and 4940 AM), while Maimonides was...
What Is Jewish Philosophy? Jewish philosophy (פילוסופיה יהודית) or Jewish theology includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism, thus organizing...