Judaism

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Please see response attached (also below). I hope this helps and take care.

RESPONSE:

Hi,

Have you read your chapter on Judaism yet, and lecture notes? That is a good place to start. Each topic is important to the Jewish faith. Let's take a closer look. I provided numerous points from you to choose from, so please keep what fits.
I am a teacher of Judaism. My students range from ages 9 to 14. My job is to teach Judaism to these children on the following topics:

1. Relationship with God/Torah

? A Personal God, so special they will not say his name (sometimes written G-d)
? YHWH: (Hebrew, "I am" or "I will be"). Sacred name of God as revealed to Moses. It is considered too holy to be pronounced, and is usually replaced by Adonai in Torah readings.
? The truth is that Jews and Judaism consider YHWH loving and kind.
? E.g. "the fact that God judges us shows His personal love and concern for us. He is not indifferent to our actions. The worst type of treatment in a relationship is indifference. Marital therapists know that as long as a couple is still fighting it is possible to save the marriage. If a husband is bothered by things his wife does, or vice versa, love is still present. They still care about each other, which is why they make each other angry. If they become indifferent to each other and disappointments no longer matter to them, divorce is almost inevitable because all love in the relationship is gone. So too, the fact that God personally cares about all of our actions, for good and for bad, means He loves us" (Torah)
? With the many historical forms of Judaism, they all share similar characteristics. The most essential characteristic is the belief in one G-d who created the universe and continues to rule it. The G-d who created the world revealed himself to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. The content of that revelation makes up the Torah, G-d's will for humankind stated in his commandments. A second major concept in Judaism is that of the covenant, or agreement, between G-d and the Jewish people. The Jews would acknowledge G-d, agreeing to obey his laws. G-d, in turn, would acknowledge Israel as his chosen people.
? The Torah is the foundation of Jewish religion and law and refers to the Five Books of Moses, the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But the word "torah" can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible. The body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament is considered the Jewish Torah. The text of the Torah is more or less the same in Jewish translations as the text in the Christian Bible. The differences in the translations are very minimal. Also, there are some occasional, slight differences in the numbering of verses between the two.
? But the word "torah" can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible (the body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament and to Jews as the Tanakh or Written Torah), or in its broadest sense, to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.
http://www.aish.com/torahportion/kolyaakov/A_Personal_God.asp

2. Old Testament History

? To Jews, there is no "Old Testament." The books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The so-called Old Testament is known to us (Jews), as Written Torah or the Tanakh.
? The Torah (old testament history) is the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.
? The Hebrew names of the first five books are derived from the first few words of the book. The text of each book is more or less the same in Jewish translations as what you see in Christian bibles, although there are some occasional, slight differences in the numbering of verses and there are a few significant differences in the translations. http://www.jewfaq.org/torah.htm
? Judaism refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (we don't use the term Old Testament) as the Torah. There are three sections to the Hebrew Bible or as it is called in Hebrew "TaNaKH:" Torah, Prophets, Writings.

? The Talmud generally refers to the Mishnah - the first codification of law by Rabbi Judah the Prince in 200 CE - and the Gemara, which is a commentary and discussion of the Mishnah. There are two Talmuds; the Yerushalmi or Jerusalem Talmud that developed in what were ancient Palestine/Israel and the Babylonian Talmud, both edited and concluded approximately by 600 CE.

? Jewish law and history begins with the Torah (Old Testament history) and I believe that most would agree that it is the most sacred source in Judaism, although we practice today Rabbinic Judaism based upon the Torah and subsequently the Talmud. http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_c/bl_torah.htm

3. Ten Commandments

- YHWH (Yahweh) delivered them to Moses on Mount Sinai

- Ten Commandments
Worship no other gods.
Do not worship idols.
Do not misuse the name of the Lord.
Keep the Sabbath holy.
Honor your father and mother.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not give false testimony
Do not covet. {2}

- Articles of Faith

God exists
God is one and unique
God is incorporeal
God is eternal
Prayer is to God only.
The prophets spoke truth.
Moses was the greatest of the prophets.
The Written and Oral Torah were given to Moses.
There will be no other Torah.
God knows the thoughts and deeds of men.
God will reward the good and punish the wicked.
The Messiah will come.
The dead will be resurrected. {4}

http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/fastfacts.htm

4. Jerusalem

? Jerusalem is the capital and largest city of ...