Then all nations will become one tree, recognizing the common root they had previously scorned. Kuzari IV For Yehudah Halevi, Israel is a chosen people, who transform the world. Other religions share a common root of Judaism; all religions are of the same tree with Judaism as the trunk. Many misread Yehudah Halevi's position as teaching the uniqueness of Judaism and the corollary falseness of other religions; we are true and they are wrong. However, as the above passage shows, the correct reading is that the other religions are only limbs on the trunk of Judaism.
Even Halevi's limiting of prophecy to Judaism does not preclude the availability of some form of revelation for all. The book itself opens with a story of a king getting inspiration from God through a true dream and thereby coming to learn of the higher Mosaic revelation. While I dealt with Yehudah Halevi, some of the same sentiments are found in Maimonides' writings, embedded within a more theologically contradictory halakhic grid. The complexity of Maimonides' position is beyond the scope of this paper.
Yaakov Emden is an exemplar of a traditionalist pulpit rabbi and talmudist in Hamburg responding to the Eighteenth century Enlightenment and ideals of tolerance all around him. He stretches the traditional inclusivist position into universal directions. We should consider Christians and Moslems as instruments for the fulfillment of the prophecy that the knowledge of God will one day spread throughout the earth. Whereas the nations before them worshipped idols, denied God's existence, and thus did not recognize God's power or retribution, the rise of Christianity and Islam served to spread among the nations, to the furthest ends of the earth, the knowledge that there is One God who rules the world, who rewards and punishes and reveals Himself to man.
Indeed, Christian scholars have not only won acceptance among the nations for the revelation of the Written Torah but have also defended God's Oral Law. For when, in their hostility to the Torah, ruthless persons in their own midst sought to abrogate and uproot the Talmud, others from among them arose to defend it and to repulse the attempts. Commentary to Pirkey Avot, Other religions share our God who commands on Sinai and rewards and punishes and acknowledge our scripture; accordingly, they have become our allies in this world.
Emden's abstraction of the concept of Mosaic Torah as the acceptance of Scripture, allows him to view Christians and Moslems as sharing our devotion to Torah even if they do not accept the laws. Emden presents a model of interreligious cooperation premised on a shared premodern world of dogma and belief in God. In contrast, his younger contemporary Mendelssohn contended that respect can only exist in a realm of secular modernity and tolerance based on universal truths.
For Emden, respect is based on our shared commitment to God, His commands, and His providence. Emden can serve as a model of a Rabbinic scholar willing listen and show a deep respect for another faith community and its scripture. Emden also offers a unique model of a Rabbinic Jew reading the New Testament as part of the Jewish mission. Samson Raphael Hirsch was the Frankfort pulpit Rabbi and ideologue behind the Neo-Orthodox philosophy of remaining Torah-true while accepting the cultural, aesthetic, and intellectual mores of the wider culture.
Our example here of this ideology is his acceptance of Western civil society provided that the Jewish religion serves as a light unto the nations. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great; become a blessing. Genesis The people of Abraham, in private and in public, follow one calling: to become a blessing. They dedicate themselves to the Divine purpose of bringing happiness to the world by serving as model for all nations and to restore mankind to the pure spiritual status that Adam had possessed.
God will grant His blessing of the renewal of life and the awakening and enlightenment of the nations, and the name of the People of Abraham shall shine forth. Commentary on Genesis, ad loc. It is not only a tool by which to interpret non-Jewish religions, but serves as a consistent trope in his interpretations of the mitzvoth.
Jews are to be role models, spreading the enlightenment of experienced, non-intellectual knowledge of God to all. Hirsch bases this theology on his direct readings of the words of scripture mediated by the thirteenth-century commentary of Rabbi David Kimkhi, who had already explained the verses as teaching that the goal of Judaism is to be a Light unto the Nations.
There is no talk of roots and branches, but rather of models and influences. These traits make him a useful starting point for contemporary Jewish theologies without metaphysics. His writings embrace modernism by offering a vision of the restored land of Israel, at once evolutionary and Hegelian while at the same time mystical and messianic.
His influence is widespread and influential as a Zionist dream of renewal of religious Judaism. As for other religions, in my opinion, it is not the goal of Israel's light to uproot or destroy them, just as we do not aim for the general destruction of the world and all its nations, but rather their correction and elevation, the removal of dross. Then, of themselves, they shall join the Source of Israel, from whence a dew of light will flow over them.
Iggrot ha-Rayah It is necessary to study all the wisdoms in the world, all ways of life, all different cultures, along with the ethical systems and religions of all nations and languages, so that, with greatness of soul, one will know how to purify them all. Arpelei Tohar Rav Kook acknowledges that other nations have other religions, and that many of them are based on the Torah. He obviously does not mean Torah in the narrow sense, but recognition that religions bring God's presence into the world.
The precise meaning and method of purifying the other religions is left unanswered, shrouded behind the vision of renewal. One can encounter and empirically study them. Yet, it is a Jewish task to purify these other religions. The actual process, however, of study, purification, and unification is left frustratingly vague. The Historical inclusivist approach enables Judaism to respect and appreciate Islam and Christianity on its own terms, if not on theirs.
Like its metaphysical variation, it transforms the millennia of Diaspora into part of the redemptive progress of history, with all that entails for remembering and feeling the pains accumulated along the way.
In this second variation of the inclusive approach, non-Jewish religion finds its place not as part of a historical progression, but in the metaphysical realm. Other religions will be seen not as means of bringing individuals or nations to God the historical approach but as binding themselves to metaphysical realms just as Israel is bound to God. The drama we see here on Earth is just a manifestation or epiphenomenon of the metaphysical situation.
Rabbi Yosef Gikkitila, one of the foremost Kabbalists of the thirteenth century, was the author of the classic introduction to Jewish theosophy, Gates of Light. The ability to differentiate attributes of God into a vertical hierarchy allows him to differentiate religions. When God unites with Israel and one merges with the other, then all the heavenly princes will be made into one group to worship God, may He be Blessed.
They will all serve the community of Israel, because it is from her that they will be sustained. In classical contexts, it enables a distinction between direct Divine providence granted to Jews, and the indirect guidance granted through the ministering angels to the other nations. Here, Gikkitila is adding the notion of the Divine names.
The apparent implication is that the religions of the gentiles provide access to some of the names of God, even if not as directly as does Judaism, which connects Israel to the greatest and most powerful of names, YHVH. All the nations are sustained by the single Divine name, only known in the other religions through a glass darkly.
Therefore there is one single God of creation; currently that unified perspective is veiled but eventually God will reveal Himself fully to all. There are many variants on this approach; all of them accepting metaphysical structures.
See R. Elijah Benamozegh below as an example. These metaphysical constructs indicate a basis for Jewish-Christian respect and encounter not predicated on any of the non-religious principals of modernity.
In this, it might be a particularly useful basis for discussions with metaphysically-inclined churches; I can envision a mutual encounter with the Greek Orthodox Church concerning theories of Divine glory, blessings and energies. However, metaphysical models are limited in their utility in an era where few embrace, or even understand, metaphysical language.
Premising our encounter on a theology of angels and the power of Divine names would not be prudent for a Jewish community which put little stock in either. This position looks neither ahead to the future conclusion of history nor up to the supernal realm.
Rather, it understands other religions by looking around in the present and back to the past: We are all children of Adam, created in the image of God and in relation with God. Lacking eschatology and metaphysics, this position proved particularly popular in the latter part of the 20 th century. Ovadiah Seforno was a rabbi, rabbinic scholar, exegete, and philosopher in Renaissance Italy. He is noted for teaching Torah to gentiles, and dedicating his theological work, Light of the Nations , to King Henry of England.
He suggests that Christians share with Jews this universal relationship with God and all humanity is the chosen people. However, after the Fall of Adam when humanity turned towards materialism, then Jews and the pious of the other nations are more special. He uniquely proffers only a quantitative difference between Judaism and the other faiths.
And you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation unto Me. For Seforno, all humanity is beloved by God and chosen from amongst all creation. As Zephaniah has prophecied, the nations will in messianic times all call upon God.
The universal and the particular; The image of God and our commitment to Bible as understood by Rabbinic literature, Torah study, ritual law, and peoplehood. As we have seen, for the exclusivist thinkers, Judaism is the sole path to God; those who are not Jews are at best bystanders in the Divine scheme, and at worst antagonists. This view can be found in some Talmudic texts and in many later commentators.
Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzhak, the great eleventh-century commentator on the Bible and Talmud is a standard in the Jewish curriculum. Because Rashi is seen as the indispensable commentator, it is difficult to overstate his influence on contemporary discourse. He cites many of the polemical and negative rabbinic statements about gentiles or their typological equivalents in Noah, Esau, and Bilaam. Even his very first comment on the Bible contains his own gloss on the Midrash, viewing the gentiles as armed robbers.
Commentary to Exodus Rashi typified the particularism of many of his successors in Franco-German Jewish culture. I will not delineate these variants, nor will I relate all the negative images of Christianity left in the writings of medieval Ashkenaz Jewry.
Sifthei Hakhamim , by Rabbi Shabbatai Bass, a sixteenth-century commentary on Rashi, consistently reworks Rashi to impose a more ethical reading.
However, the role of these comments of Rashi in the Jewish education system today remains problematic. Rabbi Yehudah ben Betzalel Loewe c. Maharal built his theology more on Midrash with its apocalyptic and typological themes than on Biblical or philosophic universalism. The ancient struggles of Israel with the seven wicked nations and Amalek are ever with us. At the beginning, Israel is connected to the nations like a shell around a fruit.
At the end, the fruit is separated from the shell completely and Israel is separated from them. Gevurat Hashem Maharal embraces separation and particularism. Zevi Yehudah Kook was the son of Rav Kook, he was blessed with a long life and many students. His ideology makes him the father of the settler movement and therefore influential in late twentieth-century Israeli political life.
The ideology itself is noteworthy for a staunch anti-Christianity that culls two millennia of sources without acknowledging any of the countervailing traditions. For Zevi Yehudah Kook, the attack on Christianity is motivated by the conflict with the wider Western culture which both threatens the Jewish purity of Israel from within and opposes his messianic settlement drive from without. Until now, none of his writings on Christianity have been translated into English; because I do not want to be his first translator, I am presenting his views in summary only.
Zevi Yehudah Kook resurrects many of the classic anti-Christian polemics with a vigor not seen for centuries. Christianity is the refuse of Israel, in line with the ancient Talmudic portrayals of Jesus as boiling in excrement.
If asked: What about the many arguments that, despite the falsity of Christian truth claims, the religion still constitutes a path to God? Like Wahabi Fundamentalism within Islam, Zevi Yehudah denies the continuous relevance of the cosmopolitan ages of synthesis, choosing instead to return to the polemical Midrash and Maharal. Why was his position formulated at the end of the twentieth century? His theology shows the change that comes about from living in a non-Diaspora context that enables this rejection of western culture.
The state of Israel can lead to a secure acceptance of the other, especially other religions, or it can also allow for a complete xenophobic rejection.
Here too the real realm of action is not this world, with individual people and nations, but the metaphysical realm of primal and cosmic forces. In this schema, Israel represents cosmic good; the nations represent the primal evil. And while this trend tends to reject philosophy as universal, it should not be considered in accord with the mainstream Kabbalah of Gikkitila or Cordovero. The predominant source for these sentiments is the writings of the Kabbalist rabbi Isaac Luria who stated that gentiles do not have souls.
Israel is locked into a cosmic battle of Kabbalistic redemption and earthly gentile impurity. Its followers, called Christians, often believe Christ is "the Son" of the Holy Trinity and walked the earth as the incarnate form of God "the Father".
Protestants confess straight to God, Catholic confess mortal sins to a Priest, and venial sins straight to God Orthodox have similar practice Anglicans confess to Priests but considered optional. God always forgives sins in Jesus. Ancient times: there was a sin offering for individuals. Today people individually repair their sins. On Yom Kippur, they confess sins, and ask forgiveness from God. But also they must ask forgiveness directly from any people they may have wronged.
To love God and obey his commandments while creating a relationship with Jesus Christ and spreading the Gospel so that others may also be saved. To celebrate LIFE! To fulfill the Covenant with God. Do good deeds. Help repair the world.
Love God with all your heart. Strong social justice ethic. Ancient times: unlimited polygamy with concubinage. In modern times, monogamy officially since AD. Humans cannot save themselves or ascend on their own to a higher level.
Only God is good and therefore only God is able to save a person. Jesus came down from Heaven to save mankind. Divine revelation of God's law and to judge man's actions. Good deeds, and righteousness. Varies among denominations. Has existed among Catholics in the form of canon law.
Rabbinical rulings with minority opinions. Debate very important part of system. Debate is encouraged in schools. Part of Bible addresses specific laws for everyday life. Taking time off from work, once a week, was invented by Judaism. It is more Holy than any other holiday, and is spent in contemplation and prayer.
As the largest religion in the world, Christianity has adherents are all over the world. Jews are dispersed all over the world, at one time present in almost every country.
Around Million, debated. Population varies due to conversion although some types are not recognized by the state of Israel and "marrying out" of the faith. Every word has a 3 letter root word. Sephardic: part Hebrew, part Arabic language. Jewish central belief is that they have chosen to follow the commandments of the One True God and God will look out for them in return.
Every man is equal. Jews believe a Messiah coming and proof will be an end to war and hunger all over the world. A fellow Jew, a respected, learned scholar.
Not mentioned in the Jewish texts. Jews only pray to God. They do not need Rabbis to pray. Each Jew can pray directly to God whenever he or she wants to. Sabbath most important—one day a week no work, just peace, joy and prayer. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are thanked every prayer day. Jacob's 12 sons became the 12 tribes of israel.
Of these, 10 were lost during Assyrian Exile. Mother Of Jesus. Revered in all denominations. Degree of reverence varies from denomination. Not applicable, as Jews do not believe that Jesus is their Messiah, and therefore, his Jewish mother plays no role in the Jewish religion other than history. Hebrew has always been the central language of prayer. Local languages and different extinct and living Jewish languages like Carfati, Yiddish, Ladino, Judesmo. Holidays given by God or historical events, Israeli holidays.
Holocaust remembrance. Varies by denomination. The first patriarch and father of the Jewish religion. His father was an idol-maker but Abraham did not believe in idolatry or polytheism. Traditions: Sephard, Spain, Arab countries, Turkey. Ashkenazi: Europe, Russia. MIzrachi: Iraq, Persia, India. A single, all-powerful god known as God that is typically thought of in "trinity" form: God, the Father; Christ, the Son; and the Holy Spirit or Ghost.
Hebrew always for religious services. Local languages and different extinct and living Jewish languages like Carfati, Yiddish, Ladino, Judesmo etc. Objective reality. Worship of God who created life, the universe, and is eternal. Christianity has its own philosophy, found in the the Bible. To live a proper and Holy Life. To appreciate Life in every way. To do Good Deeds. To live Ethically. To make choice based on Free Will. Universal Education for every Jew; to study, learn.
Seven sacraments: Baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, matrimony Catholic and Orthodox. Anglicans: Baptism and Eucharist. Other denominations: Baptism and communion. Christian Bible includes Old and New Testaments. Death by crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Will return. Saints, the Pope, cardinals, bishops, nuns, church pastors, or deacons.
The Patriarchs, Moses, various rabbis, and Tzaddics, down through the centuries. Conservative Christians dress modestly; women may wear long skirts or dresses; men may wear dress clothes that do not show the chest, legs, and arms. More moderate or liberal Christians generally reject such clothing restrictions. Orthodox men always wear hats; Orthodox women either wear hats or wigs.
Orthodox dress is modest. Jesus said, "' Whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled? Jews are required to eat kosher food.
Pork is forbidden. Requirement for prayer and ritual butchery of meat. Quick and swift slaughter at single point on the throat; blood has to be completely drained.
Yes, since Judaism emphasizes Deed over Creed; Many Jews profess to be atheists, and are committed and proud to be Jews. All races viewed equal in Christianity. However, Bible passages on slavery were used to support the practice in the past in the U.
Traditionally, a person is considered Jewish if his or her mother is Jewish. The Torah—the first five books of the Tanakh—outlines laws for Jews to follow. The origins of Jewish faith are explained throughout the Torah. According to the text, God first revealed himself to a Hebrew man named Abraham, who became known as the founder of Judaism.
Jews believe that God made a special covenant with Abraham and that he and his descendants were chosen people who would create a great nation. Jacob took the name Israel, and his children and future generations became known as Israelites. More than 1, years after Abraham, the prophet Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt after being enslaved for hundreds of years.
Around B. His son Solomon built the first holy Temple in Jerusalem , which became the central place of worship for Jews. The kingdom fell apart around B. Sometime around B.
A second Temple was built in about B. The destruction of the second Temple was significant because Jewish people no longer had a primary place to gather, so they shifted their focus to worshipping in local synagogues. While the Tanakh which includes the Torah is considered the sacred text of Judaism, many other important manuscripts were composed in later years.
These offered insights into how the Tanakh should be interpreted and documented oral laws that were previously not written down. Around A. Later, the Talmud, a collection of teachings and commentaries on Jewish law, was created. The Talmud contains the Mishnah and another text known as the Gemara which examines the Mishnah. It includes the interpretations of thousands of rabbis and outlines the importance of commandments of Jewish law.
The first version of the Talmud was finalized around the 3rd century A. The second form was completed during the 5th century A. Judaism embraces several other written texts and commentaries. One example is the 13 Articles of Faith, which was written by a Jewish philosopher named Maimonides. Shabbat is recognized as a day of rest and prayer for Jews. It typically begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday. Observing Shabbat can take many forms, depending on the type of Judaism that a Jewish family may follow.
Orthodox and Conservative Jews, for example, may refrain from performing any physical labor, using any electrical device or other prohibited activities.
Most observant Jews celebrate Shabbat by reading or discussing the Torah, attending a synagogue or socializing with other Jews at Shabbat meals. Throughout history, Jewish people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. Some well-known events include:. The group also kidnapped and crucified Joseph ibn Naghrela, the Jewish vizier to the Berber king.
The First Crusade: In the first of the Crusades —a series of medieval holy wars involving Christians and Muslims—thousands of Jews were killed, and many were forced to convert to Christianity. Experts estimate about , people were ousted and tens of thousands died while trying to reach safety.
The Holocaust: In the Holocaust , the most infamous of modern-day atrocities, the Nazis murdered more than 6 million Jews.
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