Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law (תורה שבעל פה, Torah she-be-`al peh, lit. “Torah that is on the mouth”) represents those laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the “Written Torah” (תורה שבכתב, Torah she-bi-khtav, lit. “Torah that is in writing”), but...
Christianity And Judaism This article covers the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Christianity is rooted in Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions diverged in the first centuries of the Christian Era. Christianity emphasizes correct belief (or orthodoxy), focusing on the New Covenant as mediated through Jesus Christ, as recorded in the...
Conservative Halakha Conservative Judaism views halakha (Jewish law) as normative and binding. The Conservative movement applies Jewish law to the full range of Jewish belief and practice, including thrice-daily prayer, Shabbat and holidays, marital relations and family purity, conversion, dietary laws (kashrut), and Jewish medical ethics. Institutionally, the Conservative movement rules on Jewish law both through centralized...
Interfaith Marriage In Judaism Interfaith marriage in Judaism (also called mixed marriage or intermarriage) was historically looked upon with very strong disfavour by Jewish leaders, and it remains a controversial issue among them today. In the Talmud and all of resulting Jewish law until the advent of new Jewish movements following the Jewish Enlightenment,...
Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism (known as Masorti Judaism outside North America) is a major Jewish denomination which regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people and the community through the generations, more than from divine revelation. It therefore views Jewish law, or Halakha, as both binding and subject to...
Haredim And Zionism The relationship between Haredim and Zionism became more complex after the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. From the start of political Zionism in the 1890s, Haredi leaders voiced objections to its secular orientation, and before the establishment of the State of Israel, the vast majority of Haredi...
Jewish Science Jewish Science is a Judaic spiritual movement comparable with the New Thought Movement. Many of its members also attend services at conventional synagogues. It is an interpretation of Jewish philosophy that was originally conceived by Rabbi Alfred G. Moses in the early 1900s in response to the growing...
Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (יהדות רבנית Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. Growing out of Pharisaic Judaism, Rabbinic Judaism is based on the belief that at Mount Sinai, Moses...
Wisdom/Hokhmah/Sophia: This article covers Wisdom/Hokhmah/Sophia. Feminine Images of the Divine in Second Temple Judaism Rabbinic Source About Wisdom and Proverbs The Canonicity of Proverbs Shabbat 30b The Book of Proverbs too they desired to hide, because its statements are self-contradictory. Yet why did they not hide it? They said, “Did...
Mosaic Authorship Mosaic authorship is the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim tradition that Moses was the author of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The books do not name any author, as authorship was not considered important by the society that produced them, and it was only after Jews...
Tzniut, Modesty in Judaism Tzniut describes both the character trait of modesty and discretion, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct. In modern times, the term has become more frequently used with regard to the rules of dress for women within Judaism. The concept is most important within Orthodox...
What Is Zohar? The Zohar (זֹהַר, “Splendor” or “Radiance”) is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of The Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on...
What Is Neviim? Neviim (נְבִיאִים Nəḇî’îm, “Prophets”) is the second main division of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh), between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (writings). The Nevi’im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets (נביאים ראשונים Nevi’im Rishonim) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; while the Latter Prophets (נביאים אחרונים Nevi’im...
What Is Hasidic Philosophy? Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism (חסידות), alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic rebbes, often in the form of commentary on the Torah (the Five books of Moses) and Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). Hasidism deals with a...
Muhammad In The Bible Almost all the previous Prophets predicted the Messenger Muhammad. We can find indications of his coming in the Torah, Psalms, and the Gospels. We will cover “Muhammad in The Bible” in the following verses. A Prophet from among the brothers of the Israelites who resembles Moses...
Prophet Muhammad: The Awaited Prophet This article covers the Islamic Prophet Muhammad: The Awaited Prophet. The Torah and the Psalms A Companion once asked God’s Messenger to talk about himself. He said: “I am the one for whose coming Abraham prayed and of whom Jesus gave glad tidings.”6 This alludes...
Prophets In Judaism Here is the list of the prophets in Judaism. The 48 prophets and seven prophetesses of Judaism, according to Rashi. The last Jewish prophet is believed to have been Malachi. In Jewish tradition, it is believed that the period of prophecy, called Nevuah, ended with Haggai, Zechariah,...
Son of Man in Christianity Son of man in Christianity is an expression in the sayings of Jesus in Christian writings, including the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. The meaning of the expression is controversial. Interpretation of the use of “the Son of man” in the New Testament has remained...
Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism is Judaism between the construction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, c. 515 BCE, and its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE. The development of the Hebrew Bible canon, the synagogue, Jewish apocalyptic expectations for the future, and the rise of Christianity, can...
Origins Of Judaism The origins of Judaism lie in the Bronze Age amidst polytheistic ancient Semitic religions, specifically Canaanite religion, co-existing with a syncretization with elements of Babylonian religion and of the worship of Yahweh reflected in the early prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible. During the Iron Age I, the...