Jewish Values And Beliefs
Jewish values and beliefs are based on the teachings of Torah. Torah is the main book that gives guidance on teachings and rules to be followed by every Jew. In short it teaches a Jew how to conduct his life, how to act in society how to experience life and even death. The Torah contains 613 'mitzvoth' or Commandments. Though Ten Commandments are the most important, there are other commandments by which each Jew must live and abide.
The Torah is divided into two parts - the written Torah and the oral Torah. Written Torah is called Tanakh and contains books of Moses, profits and writings. The various stories, anecdotes and incidents that occurred nearly 3500 years ago are beautifully illustrated in these books and form the very foundation of Judaism. These five books are referred to as the Old Testament.
Oral Torah is an explanation of these first five books of the Holy Bible. The teachings needed to be put into writing so as to the passed down from generation to generation so that Jews did not forget their roots and these books act as a constant reminder of Jewish antecedents. It was in the 2nd century that these books were actually written by Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi along with a group of scholars and hence the Mishnah or Oral Torah came into being. It is every Jew's mission to make our world a better place. These values have been instilled in the minds of every Jewish child. God has put forth various rules by which each Jew is expected to live and since Jews are His chosen people. Jews have taken it upon themselves to bring this message to rest of the world. It is a natural series of events that if you strive to make people better, the world will become a better place. This is what prophet Isaiah said.
How we act towards others is the very mirror of what values we possess. If you are brought up with wrong values and give an eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth it will not get you too far. People will start avoiding you and shun your company. Treating others with respect or doing unto others as you would have them do unto you is a value that needs to be fostered. Judaism teaches compassion, charity, truth, and above all paying your taxes on time without any concealment. Besides paying taxes, the Jewish law expects a certain percentage of your income to be given to God. Jews are encouraged to donate a percentage of their savings or income to the Synagogue to be used in charity towards less fortunate and downtrodden.
Jewish tradition teaches that kindness, concern and compassion are necessary to be good human beings. Spontaneous kindness to people who you are acquainted with or even strangers is sometimes difficult. These values need to be developed so that acts of kindness become second nature. You should not have to think twice about sharing a meal with homeless, visit sick in hospitals, lend a patient ear to the lonely, help the maimed or offer financial help to those less fortunate.