A. Simple Definition:

Judaism covers the Hebrew Biblical narratives from 2000 B.C. to the end of the 6th century B.C.  It begins with the story of Israel as a nation of God that unfolds beginning with Abraham, a man who received a promise from God that his people would become a great nation, a nation that would lead to the birth of Christ and the salvation of humankind. It was God's plan to choose the most righteous one, Abraham, whose family line would lead to the perfect Christ. Jewish people today follow the Old Testament and uphold the Ten Commandments and their own traditions which have been passed down for centuries. While many Jews do not accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah, the Messiah they were promised, more and more are reading the New Testament and accepting Christ, calling themselves Messianic Jews.

B. History:

Judaism is the first monotheistic religion that begins with the covenant between God and Abraham, where God promises Abraham to make his descendants into a great nation, and to give them a land that would overflow with milk and honey, two resources that were much like delicacies then. The history of Judaism mostly begins to build when Moses receives the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets on Mount Sinai. It was common for Israel to lose their perception of God and turn to stone or gold gods; even when Moses was gone for some time on Mount Sinai the Israelites awaiting him made a god, a golden calf that could see with their eyes, as they had trouble believing in God and not seeing Him. Therefore, it was Moses mission to construct the Ark of the Covenant, described in the book of Exodus, which would house the Spirit of God, a symbol of His presence among His people in a sacred tent that was also constructed.

The largest part of Jewish history resides in the Torah, the first five book of the Old Testament which contain the Talmud, or a the list of laws and regulations that were used to manage society. The most notable part in Jewish history is most likely when Moses leads the Israelites out of the slavery in Egypt and brings them to the Promised Land that God had promised Abraham. Unfortunately Moses dies before entering the Promised Land, yet the Israelites live there to this day.

Synagogues and Traditions
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C. Jewish Doctrine:

Today most Orthodox Jews hold that the below doctrine should be accepted by all Jews, lest they considered heretics. These thirteen principles were initially ignored for some time until the Jewish population realized that they had to again turn back to what they believed was the correct way of serving God.

1. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.

2. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.

3. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is not a body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever.

4. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.

5. I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.

6. I believe with perfect faith that all the works of the prophets are true.

7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both of those who preceded him and of those who followed him.

8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him.

9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will never be any other Law from the Creator, blessed be His name.

10. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds of human beings, and all their thoughts, as it is said: “[He] that fashioned the hearts of them all, [He] that comprehends all their actions.

11. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, rewards those that keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them.

12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, with all this I wait every day for his coming.

13. I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, blessed be His name, and exalted be His Name forever and ever (1).

D. Kabbalah:

Kabbalah is a form of ancient Jewish wisdom that has always caught quite a bit of attention, and it recently seems to be coming back into mainstream thought with concepts such as the string theory, a theory which was originally developed in the 12th century by leading Kabbalah scholars who took the numerical value of God's name in Hebrew, 22, and developed the theory that there are 18 other invisible dimensions we cannot see, like the recently developed string theory from scientists (2).

Kabbalah aims at a deeper understanding of God by not judging a book by its cover. Kabbalah scholars have been striving to understand the layers of Genesis, the Torah, and the entire Bible for centuries upon centuries and originally discovered a something interesting in the Bible which seems to allude to evolution, which is also used by theistic evolutionists. Kabbalah scholars found that the Bible is very particular with each word or Hebrew character it uses. Therefore, based on a careful examination of the words, more information can be retrieved. For example, as it is mentioned in the theistic evolution section, the words "make" and "create" are both used in Genesis. Genesis supposedly uses "make," which indicates the formation of something from previously ready material, when evolution is used, and Genesis uses "create," which indicates the formation of something from nothing, when the human soul, the neshama, is created and not made, for it comes from nothing but God Himself. On the other hand, Genesis uses both "make" and "create" with humans only, demonstrating that humans are both formed physically through God's process of evolution and created spiritually by God from nothing.

Kabbalah also aims at helping the individual understand God on a different and more complex level. Kabbalistic knowledge is said to have originally come from Moses on Mt. Sinai after he encountered God and received the Ten Commandments; however, some believe that Kabbalistic knowledge began with Adam. One of the mainly believed concepts in Kabbalah is the idea of the Sephirot, or the ten different attributes of God that are simultaneously at work. Kabbalah continues to be respected as the thorough way of investigating the Bible's message and concepts.

1. Keter - Primary meaning: Crown. Also known as: Upper Crown,Ayin (nothingness), Hokhmah Penimit (internal wisdom), Mahshavah Elohit (divine thought), Spirit of God, root of roots, mysterious wisdom, the (primitive) point, "white head," ancient, Will, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, (I AM THAT I AM) (3).

2. Chokmah - Primary meaning: Wisdom. Also known as: Revelation, the Primordial Torah (the Torah that existed before creation), Father, Yesh me-ayin (being from nothingness), beginning, YAH, YHWH) (3).

3. Binah - Primary meaning: Understanding. Also known as: Intellect, Teshuvah (Repentance), Reason, palace, temple, womb, upper Mother, Jerusalem above, freedom, Jubilee, "YHWH pronounced as ELOHIM"(3).

4. Chesed - Primary meaning: Mercy. Also known as: Grace, Love of God, right arm of God, white, EL, associated with Abraham (3).

5. Gevurah - Also called "Din" - Primary meaning: Judgment. Also known as: Strength, Severity, Fear of God, left arm of God, red, ELOHIM, YAH, associated with Isaac (3).

6. Tipheret - Primary meaning: Beauty. Also known as: Harmony, Rahamim (compassion), the attribute of mercy, the written Torah, Bridegroom, Husband, Son, King, Father, Messiah, Tabernacle/Temple, the Holy Tree, (Tree of Life), heaven, the letter "vav," Creator, Gate of Righteousness, Sun, "the Holy One blessed be He," HA-SHEM, YHWH, YHWH-ELOHIM, the Great Name, the Unique Name, the Lucid Mirror, Open Miracles, lulov [on Succoth], the shofar [as related to the mitzvot of blowing the shofar], green, Tefillin of the Head, associated with Jacob (3).

7. Netzach - Primary meaning: Victory. Also known as: eternity, prophecy, orchestration, initiative, persistence, bitachon (confidence), right leg, "Hosts of YHWH," associated with Moses (3).

8. Hod - Primary meaning: Glory. Also known as: majesty, splendor, reverberation, prophecy, surrender, temimut (sincerity), anchor, steadfastness, left leg, "Hosts of ELOHIM," associated with Aaron (3).

9. Yesod - Primary meaning: Foundation. Also known as: "Almighty God, Living God," the "lower end" of the heavens, El Shaddai, El Hai, Tzaddik (Righteous One), pillar connecting heaven and earth, seal of truth, phallus,  the non-Lucid Mirror, procreative power, Messiah, Covenant, Hidden Miracles, "all things," purity, associated with Joseph (3).

10. Malkut - Primary meaning: Kingdom. Also known as: Atarah (diadem), Kingship, Shekinah (presence), Sabbath, lower Crown, the attribute of justice, Assembly of Israel, Court of God, the oral Torah, Bride, Wife,lower Mother "the Spirit of His holiness," the lesser "hay," ADONAI, the Honorable Name, the non-Lucid Mirror, Hidden Miracles, the etrog [on Succot], earth, moon, queen, Tefillin of the Hand, humility, associated with David (3).

Sephirot
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and borrowed source

E. Conclusion:

Judaism can be considered the foundation of present-day Christianity and Islam and is the first monotheistic religion which also rejected manmade gods, like gods and stone and gold. Though it was very difficult to depart from pagan religions which did worship idols, the Israelites strove to believe in a God that spoke through the people and through Moses, a God who performed miracles but who could not always be physically seen. Judaism brought the world the Ten Commandments, the Old Testament, and illustrated how Christ came to be through the many generations that came before him. Judaism shares much with modern religions, which are now virtually all monotheistic, and Jews continue to provide us with insight to the many levels of the Bible with their experienced scholarship.

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