Judaism
Judaism
Everything we do, believe or see cannot be defined and complied just in one sentence. If this was possible, than it would have been really easy for everyone to understand and master the universe. All we would have to do would be to just look it up in the dictionary and define it. There would be no conflicts or arguments over the same word. This would also make Experience and history less important to today’s world, but things do not work like that. Even a simple word like Religion is defined in infinite different ways. Though Webster’s dictionary tries to define it by saying it is only a noun. Religion according to Webster’s dictionary is defined as “A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith”. Science takes this one step further and tries to explain every phenomenon. But if you type the word religion in today’s modern online Google mania world, you would find numerous definitions for the word religion. This just shows that there different ways to look and describe the same thing. People tend to believe what they like or what they think is right. Like the movie matrix it’s all about choice. The topic of my paper is Judaism. Just like religion, Judaism can be defined in many ways. We can argue weather Judaism is a religion, race, ethnic group and so on. With all this in mind let us be more flexible and look into more detail to what does Judaism really mean or how can you explain it. According to Webster’s Dictionary Judaism is defined as the “monotheistic religion of the Jews, tracing its origins to Abraham and having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Talmud”. But can this one sentence definition satisfy or explain us everything what Judaism means and stands for.
Clearly Judaism is a religion. In the book Understanding Judaism author Benjamin Blech tries to define Judaism by saying that: Judaism is primarily a religion of actions rather than beliefs. When
Everything we do, believe or see cannot be defined and complied just in one sentence. If this was possible, than it would have been really easy for everyone to understand and master the universe. All we would have to do would be to just look it up in the dictionary and define it. There would be no conflicts or arguments over the same word. This would also make Experience and history less important to today’s world, but things do not work like that. Even a simple word like Religion is defined in infinite different ways. Though Webster’s dictionary tries to define it by saying it is only a noun. Religion according to Webster’s dictionary is defined as “A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith”. Science takes this one step further and tries to explain every phenomenon. But if you type the word religion in today’s modern online Google mania world, you would find numerous definitions for the word religion. This just shows that there different ways to look and describe the same thing. People tend to believe what they like or what they think is right. Like the movie matrix it’s all about choice. The topic of my paper is Judaism. Just like religion, Judaism can be defined in many ways. We can argue weather Judaism is a religion, race, ethnic group and so on. With all this in mind let us be more flexible and look into more detail to what does Judaism really mean or how can you explain it. According to Webster’s Dictionary Judaism is defined as the “monotheistic religion of the Jews, tracing its origins to Abraham and having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Talmud”. But can this one sentence definition satisfy or explain us everything what Judaism means and stands for.
Clearly Judaism is a religion. In the book Understanding Judaism author Benjamin Blech tries to define Judaism by saying that: Judaism is primarily a religion of actions rather than beliefs. When
Bibliography: 1. Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th Ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. 2. Benjamin, Blech (1991). Understanding Judais, Northvale, New Jersey, London: Jason Aronson Inc. 3. Albert M. Shulman, (1971). Gateway to Judaism: Encyclopedia Home Reference Volume II, Cranbury, New Jersey: Thomas Yoseloff Publishers. 4. Perle Epstein, (1978). Kabbalah: The Way of the Jewish Mystic, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. 5. Norman Solomon, (2000). Judaism: A Very Short Introduction, New York: Oxford University Press Inc. 6. Alfred J. Kolatch, (1981). The Jewish Book Of Why, New York: Jonathan David Publishers, Inc. 7. Leon Roth, (1961). Judaism: A Portrait, New York: The Viking Press. 8. Lee A. Bell, (1982). Introduction to Judaism, New York: Frendrich & Company 9. Tracey R Rich, Judaism 101, (2004, May 25). 10. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary online, (2004, May 15).