Origins of Judaism

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, known as the Patriarchs, are both the physical and spiritual ancestors of Judaism. They founded the religion now known as Judaism, and their descendants are the Jewish people.

Abraham

According to Jewish tradition, Abraham was born under the name Abram in the city of Ur in Babylonia in the year 1948 from Creation (circa 1800 BCE). He was the son of Terach, an idol merchant, but from his early childhood, he questioned the faith of his father and sought the truth. He came to believe that the entire universe was the work of a single Creator, and he began to teach this belief to others.

One day, when Abram was left alone to mind the store, he took a hammer and smashed all of the idols except the largest one. He placed the hammer in the hand of the largest idol. When his father returned and asked what happened, Abram said, "The idols got into a fight, and the big one smashed all the other ones." His father said, "Don't be ridiculous. These idols have no life or power. They can't do anything." Abram replied, "Then why do you worship them?"

God spoke to Abram and told him the following - if he would leave his home and his family, then God would make him a great nation and bless him.  “"Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. (Genesis 12:1) Abram accepted this offer, and the brit (covenant) between God and the Jewish people was established. (Genesis 12).

Abram adopted a nomadic lifestyle, travelling through what is now the land of Israel for many years. G-d promised this land to Abram's descendants.

When Abram was 100 and Sarai 90, G-d promised Abram a son by Sarai. G-d changed Abram's name to Abraham (father of many), and Sarai's to Sarah (from "my princess" to "princess"). Sarah bore Abraham a son, Isaac (in Hebrew, Yitzchak), a name derived from the word "laughter," expressing Abraham's joy at having a son in his old age. (Gen 17-18). Isaac was the ancestor of the Jewish people.

Isaac

According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. Isaac was the longest-lived of the patriarchs, living till the age of 180 years.

Several years later, God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his son. Abraham obeyed and took Isaac to the mount Moriah. Without murmuring, Isaac let Abraham bind him and lay him upon the altar as a sacrifice. Abraham took the knife and raised his hand to kill his son. At the last minute, an angel of the Lord prevented him from doing so. Instead of Isaac, Abraham sacrificed a ram that was trapped in a bushes nearby.

When Isaac was forty years of age, Abraham sent Eliezer, his steward, into Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac, from Bethuel, his nephew's family. Eliezer chose Rebekah for Isaac. After twenty years of marriage to Isaac, Rebekah had still not given birth to a child and was believed to be barren. Isaac prayed for her and she conceived. (Genesis 25:20-21) Rebekah gave birth to twin boys, Esau and Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when his two sons were born. (Genesis 25:24-26) Isaac favoured Esau, and Rebekah Jacob.

Isaac was about 76 years old when his father Abraham died.

Isaac grew very old and became completely blind. He called Esau, his eldest son, and directed him to cook some venison for him. Rebecca overheard this conversation and realized prophetically that Isaac's blessings would go to Jacob, since she was told before the twins' birth that the older son would serve the younger. She therefore ordered Jacob to bring her two goats from the flock, which she cooked in the way Isaac loved, and had him bring them to his father in place of Esau.

When Jacob protested that his father would recognize the deception and curse him as soon as he felt him, since Esau was hairy and Jacob smooth-skinned, Rebecca said that the curse would be on her instead. Before she sent Jacob to his father, she dressed him in Esau's garments and laid goatskins on his arms and neck to simulate hairy skin.

Thus disguised, Jacob entered his father's room. Surprised to see that Esau was back so soon, Isaac asked how it could be that the hunt went so quickly. Jacob responded, "Because the LORD your God arranged it for me"; Rashi (on Genesis 27:21) says Isaac's suspicions were aroused because Esau never used the personal name of God. Isaac demanded that Jacob come close so he could feel him, but the goatskins felt just like Esau's hairy skin. Confused, Isaac exclaimed, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau!" (27:22). Still trying to get at the truth, Isaac asked him point-blank, "Are you really my son Esau?" and Jacob answered simply, "I am" (which can be taken as "I am me", not "I am Esau"). Isaac proceeded to eat the food and to drink the wine that Jacob gave him, and then he blessed him with the dew of the heavens, the fatness of the earth, and to rule over many nations as well as his own brother.

Isaac lived some time after this, and sent Jacob into Mesopotamia to take a wife of his own family. He died at the age of 180. (Genesis 35:28-29)

Jacob

At Haran (in Mesopotamia), Jacob saw a well where the shepherds were gathering their flocks to water them, and met his Uncle Laban's younger daughter Rachel, Jacob's cousin once removed; she was working as a shepherdess. He loved her immediately, and after spending a month with his relatives, asked for her hand in marriage in return for working seven years for Laban. Laban agreed to the arrangement. These seven years seemed to Jacob "but a few days, for the love he had for her"; but when they are complete and he asked for his wife, Laban deceived Jacob by switching Rachel's older sister, Leah, as the veiled bride.

In the morning, when the truth became known, Laban justified himself, saying that in his country it was unheard of to give the younger daughter before the older. However, he agreed to give Rachel in marriage as well if Jacob would work another seven years for her. After the week of wedding celebrations with Leah, Jacob married Rachel, and he continued to work for Laban for another seven years.

Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah.  Leah gave birth to four sons rapidly: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Rachel, however, remained childless. Rachel gave Jacob her handmaid, Bilhah, in marriage, so that Rachel could raise children through her. Bilhah gave birth to Dan and Naphtali. Leah then gave her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob in marriage so that Leah could raise more children through her. Zilpah gave birth to Gad and Asher. Afterwards, gave birth to Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah. God remembered Rachel, who gave birth to Joseph.

God told Jacob that he should leave, and he and his wives and children did so.

As Jacob neared the land of Canaan, he sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau. They returned with the news that Esau was coming to meet Jacob with an army of 400 men. With great fear, Jacob prepared for the worst. He engaged in earnest prayer to God, then sent on before him a tribute of flocks and herds to Esau, "a present to my lord Esau from thy servant Jacob".

Jacob then transported his family and flocks across the ford Jabbok by night, then recrossed back to send over his possessions, being left alone in communion with God. There, a mysterious being appeared and the two wrestled until daybreak. When the being saw that he did not overpower Jacob, he touched Jacob on the sinew of his thigh and as a result, Jacob developed a limp (Genesis 32:31). Because of this, "to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket" (Genesis 32:32).

Jacob then demanded a blessing, and the being declared that from then on, Jacob would be called, Israel (meaning "one that struggled with the divine angel"). Afterwards Jacob named the place Penuel meaning "face of God", saying "I have seen God face to face and lived."

In the morning, Jacob assembled his 4 wives and 11 sons, placing the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. Some commentators cite this placement as proof that Jacob continued to favor Joseph over Leah's children, as presumably the rear position would have been safer from a frontal assault by Esau, which Jacob feared. Jacob himself took the foremost position. Esau's spirit of revenge, however, was apparently appeased by Jacob's gifts of camels, goats and flocks. Their reunion was an emotional one.

Esau offered to accompany them on their way back to Israel, but Jacob protested that his children were still young. Jacob suggested eventually catching up with Esau at Mount Seir.  Jacob actually diverted himself to Succoth and was not recorded as rejoining Esau until, at Machpelah, the two bury their father Isaac, who lived to 180 and was 60 years older than them.

Jacob then made a further move while Rachel was pregnant; near Bethlehem, Rachel went into labor and died as she gave birth to her second son, Benjamin (Jacob's twelfth son). Jacob buried her and erected a monument over her grave. Rachel's Tomb.

When Isaac died at the age of 180, Jacob and Esau buried him in the Cave of the Patriarchs, which Abraham had purchased as a family burial plot.

 

MOSES THE EXODUS AND THE GIVING OF THE TORAH

Moses

Moses was the greatest prophet, leader and teacher that Judaism has ever known. He is called "Moshe Rabbeinu," that is, Moses, Our Teacher/Rabbi. He is described as the only person who ever knew God face-to-face (Deut. 34:10) and mouth-to-mouth (Num. 12:8), which means that G-d spoke to Moses directly, in plain language, not through visions and dreams, as G-d communicated with other prophets.

Moses was born in a very difficult time: Pharaoh had ordered that all male children born to the Hebrew slaves should be drowned in the river (Ex. 1:22).  His mother Yocheved hid Moses for three months, and when she could no longer hide him, she put him in a little ark and placed it on the river where Pharaoh's daughter bathed (Ex. 2:2-3). Pharaoh's daughter found the child and had compassion on him (Ex. 2:6). At the suggestion of Moses' sister Miriam, Pharaoh's daughter hired Yocheved to nurse Moses until he was weaned (Ex. 2:7-10). Yocheved instilled in Moses a knowledge of his heritage and a love of his people that could not be erased by the 40 years he spent in the court of Pharaoh.

Although Moses was raised by Egyptians, his compassion for his people was so great that he could not bear to see them beaten by Pharaoh's taskmasters. One day, when Moses was about 40 years old, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, and he was so outraged that he struck and killed the Egyptian (Ex. 2:11-12). But when both his fellow Hebrews and the Pharaoh condemned him for this action, Moses was forced to flee from Egypt (Ex. 2:14-15).

He fled to Midian, where he met and married Zipporah, the daughter of a Midianite priest (Ex. 2:16-21).  God appeared to Moses and chose him to lead the people out of Egyptian slavery and to the Promised Land (Ex. Chs. 3-4).

The Exodus

With the help of his brother Aaron, Moses spoke to Pharaoh and triggered the plagues against Egypt (Ex. Chs. 4-12)

The Jews departed Egypt in haste. They assembled in groups to eat the roasted paschal lamb and the unleavened bread (matza). Then after the sun rose on the 15th day of Hebrew month of Nissan, the Jewish nation rose together to leave the land of Egypt.

After three days, Pharaoh started to regret that he had permitted the Israelites to leave. He mobilised his army in pursuit of his former slaves. He reached them near the banks of the Red Sea.

Moses led the Israelites onwards until they came to the very borders of the Red Sea. Then God spoke to Moshe: "Lift up your rod, stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it; and the children shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground." Moshe did as God ordered. Then a strong east wind blew all night, and the waters of the Red Sea divided. The Israelites marched along a dry path through the Red Sea until they reached the opposite side in safety.

The Egyptians continued their pursuit, but the waters of the Red Sea closed over them and drowned Pharaoh's army.

Moses led the people out of Egypt and across the sea to freedom, and brought them to Mount Sinai, where G-d gave the people the Torah and the people accepted it (Ex. Ch. 12-24).

Giving of the Torah

G-d revealed the entire Torah to Moses. The entire Torah includes the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) that Moses himself wrote as God instructed him. It also includes all of the remaining prophecies and history that would later be written down in the remaining books of scripture, and the entire Oral Torah, the oral tradition for interpreting the Torah, that would later be written down in the Talmud.

The Ten Commandments refers to the words (Exodus 20) that God wrote on the two stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai (Exodus 31:18) and then broken upon seeing the idolatry of the golden calf (Exodus 32:19). In rabbinical texts, the ten Commandments are called Aseret ha-Dibrot (the Ten Sayings or Utterances). Jewish tradition holds that the Ten Commandments are the ideological basis for the 613 commandments (mitzvot) in the Bible.

When the Israelites accepted the Ten Commandments from God at Mount Sinai, they committed themselves to following a moral code of behaviour.

The Ten Commandments
1. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
2. You shall have no other gods but me.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
4. You shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honour your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10. You shall not covet.

The rabbis teach that the first five sayings, on the left side of the tablet, concern man's relationship with God (belief in God, prohibition of improper worship, prohibition of oath, shabbat, respect for parents). The second five sayings, on the right side of the tablet, concern man's relationship with other people (prohibitions of murder, adultery, theft, false witness, coveting). Judaism teaches that our relationship to our parents is akin to our relationship to God because our parents created us. Disrespect of parents is considered an insult to God. Thus, respect for parents is included on the right side of the tablets with the other sayings that concern our relationship with God.

Judaism also teaches that the two tablets are parallel. In other words, our duties to God and our duties to people are equally important. If, however, one must choose between performing a duty to God or performing a duty to a person, one should first perform good deeds for another a person.

Moses died in the year 2488, just before the people crossed over into the Promised Land (Deut. 32:51).

Moses was 120 years old at the time that he died (Deut. 34:7). That lifespan is considered to be ideal, and has become proverbial: one way to wish a person well in Jewish tradition is to say, "May you live to be 120!"

MODERN JUDAISM

conservative Judaism

The name derives from the idea that the movement would be necessary to conserve Jewish traditions.  Conservative Judaism attempts to combine a positive attitude toward modern culture, acceptance of critical secular scholarship regarding Judaism's sacred texts and commitment to Jewish observance. Conservative Judaism believes that scholarly study of Jewish texts indicates that Judaism has constantly been evolving to meet the needs of the Jewish people in varying circumstances, and that a central halachic authority can continue the halachic evolution today.

The central halachic authority of the Conservative movement is the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) and they will often set out more than one acceptable position. In such a case, the rabbi of the congregation (mara d'atra) is free to choose from the range of acceptable positions (or none of them), and his congregation is expected to abide by his choice. The CJLS speaks for the Conservative movement and offers parameters to guide local rabbis who turn to it for assistance. Local rabbis will make use of traditional sources and, when available, answers or responsa written for the CJLS. Although rabbis mostly adhere to the CJLS, they have the ability to make their own halachic decisions when appropriate.

Conservative Judaism holds that the laws of the Torah and Talmud are of divine origin, and thus mandates the following of halacha (Jewish law). At the same time, the Conservative movement recognizes the human element in the Torah and Talmud, and accepts modern scholarship that shows that Jewish writings also show the influence of other cultures, and in general can be treated as historical documents.

The movement believes that God is real and that God's will is made known to humanity through revelation. The revelation at Sinai was the clearest and most public of such divine revelations, but revelation also took place with other people — called prophets.

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is not a unified movement with a single governing body, but many different movements adhering to common principles. All of the Orthodox movements are very similar in their observance and beliefs, differing only in the details that are emphasized. They also differ in their attitudes toward modern culture and the state of Israel. They all share one key feature: a dedication to Torah, both Written and Oral.

Orthodox Judaism views itself as the continuation of the beliefs and practices of normative Judaism, as accepted by the Jewish nation at Mt. Sinai and codified in successive generations in an ongoing process that continues to this day.

Orthodox Judaism believes that both the Written and Oral Torah are of divine origin, and represent the word of G-d. This is similar to the view of the Conservative movement, but the Orthodox movement holds that such information (except for scribal errors) is the exact word of God and does not represent any human creativity or influence.   As practical questions arise, Orthodox authorities apply the Halachic process (the system of legal reasoning and interpretation described in the Oral Torah) using the Torah (both Oral and Written) to determine how best to live in accordance with God's will. In this way, Orthodoxy evolves to meet the demands of the times. An excellent summary of the core beliefs of Orthodox Judaism may be found in the Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith.

One of the hallmarks of Orthodox Jews is an openness (and encouragement) to question what it is that God requires of us, and then to answer those questions within the system that God gave us.

Progressive Judaism

Progressive Judaism is an umbrella term used by strands of Judaism which affiliate to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. They embrace pluralism, modernity, equality and social justice as core values and believe that such values are consistent with a committed Jewish life. The movement includes more than 1.7 million members spread across 42 countries.

Progressive Judaism started its formal existence as a movement in 1926 when leading Liberal, Reform, and Progressive Jews in North America and Europe met in England to discuss common interests. They decided to unite and form the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ). Local movements retained their prior organisational structure and identity but now had a new umbrella organization which they used to support one another and coordinate efforts to support congregations in regions where Progressive Judaism was not yet well established. After World War II, the WUPJ also worked to rebuild the decimated progressive congregations of Europe.

Zionists within the progressive movement are represented by Arzenu, a Brit Olamit (political party) within the World Zionist Organization. A Zionist Youth movement, Netzer Olami has affiliations with both the WUPJ and Arzenu.

Progressive Judaism is characterised by the same core values:

• A God-centred Judaism that combines respect for Jewish law and Jewish tradition with a progressive religious outlook designed to remain relevant and meaningful to contemporary North American Jews
• A commitment to Torah (lifelong Jewish learning), Avodah (worship of God through prayer and observance), and G’milut Hasadim (the pursuit of justice, peace, and deeds of loving kindness) – expressed in lifelong study of the sacred Jewish texts, creativity and spirituality in worship, and social action fulfilling the vision of the Prophets
• A commitment to Klal Yisrael, the entirety of the Jewish people, with special focus on the people and the state of Israel, and on world Jewry, particularly on the needs of Progressive congregations everywhere
• A community-focused religion that honours the personal autonomy of the individual and the institutional autonomy of the congregation, within a framework of egalitarianism and inclusiveness

 

 

Principal Beliefs

God

Judaism's belief in one, all-powerful God made the Jewish People unique in ancient times. And the Jewish concept of God is Judaism's legacy to the Western world.

The basis of the Jewish concept of God can be derived from Maimonides’ thirteen principles of faith. 

  

·

God is one.
Belief in one God is a fundamental Jewish belief. The Shma, a central prayer, states "Hear, Israel: The Lord is God, The Lord is one." The idea of any other God is heretical for Jews. It follows that all prayer and praise can only be directed to God.

·       God is incorporeal.
In Judaism, God has no body, God is non-physical. Any mention of God's body is considered to be metaphorical. Any physical representation of God, such as the Golden Calf, is considered to be idolatry. As God has no body, He has no gender. While God is referred to in masculine terms and the Shechinah (Divine presence that fills the universe) is referred to in feminine terms, God is actually neither male nor female.

·       God is eternal.
God has no beginning and no end. He transcends time.

·       God is omnipresent.
God is everywhere. He has no spatial boundaries. He fills the universe and beyond. And He is always near.

·       God is omniscient.
God is all knowing. He knows all man’s thoughts and deeds, in the past, present and future.

·       God is omnipotent.
God is all-powerful. The only thing outside of God's control is man's free will.

·       God will reward good and punish bad.
God is just and merciful. Thus, people can atone for their sins. Via prayer, repentance and giving (tzedakah), people can find their way back into God's favour.

While Judaism's traditional beliefs about God are clear, Jews today vary greatly in their beliefs about God.

Unlike many other religions, Judaism does not focus much on abstract cosmological concepts. Although Jews have certainly considered the nature of God, man, the universe, life and the afterlife at great length, there is no mandated, official, definitive belief on these subjects, outside of the very general concepts discussed above.

Judaism focuses on relationships: the relationship between God and mankind, between G-d and the Jewish people, between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and between human beings.

 

 

Sacred Texts and Writings

The Torah

At the basis of all Jewish sacred texts is the Torah - the five books of Moses, which tell the story of the Creation of the world, God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants, the Exodus from Egypt, the revelation at Mt. Sinai, the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert, and a recapitulation of that experience shortly before the entrance to the Promised Land.

The principal message of the Torah is the absolute unity of God, His creation of the world and His concern for it, and His everlasting covenant with the people of Israel. The Pentateuch both embodies the heritage of the Jewish people - retelling its history, setting forth its guiding precepts and foretelling its destiny - and carries universal messages of monotheism and social conduct, which have had tremendous impact on western civilization. Thus, the Torah is also the origin of certain non-Jewish traditions, among them the recognition of the Sabbath as a day of rest.

Torah also signifies teaching. The Pentateuch itself uses the word Torah to denote a specific body of statutes; in this sense, Torah means "law," and is often so translated generally.

While Jewish tradition has throughout the centuries ascribed divine authorship to the Torah, many scholars and modern Jewish thinkers hold that the Torah was compiled incrementally by various authors over a long period of time, making it not only the shaper of Jewish history but also its product.

The Tanach

The Jewish Bible is known in Hebrew as the Tanach, an acronym of the three sets of books which comprise it: the Pentateuch (Torah), the Prophets (Nevi'im) and the Writings (Ketuvim).

The books of the Prophets contain historical writings covering the period between the settlement of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and their exile to Babylon, as well as the moral and religious

Although canon texts are never amended or edited within the context of their religious use, Biblical criticism - an academic discipline that takes a historical and critical approach to the canon - has compiled a massive body of scholarship since its coalescence in the nineteenth century.

Commentaries

The Bible has given rise to numerous commentaries, which are included among the Jewish sacred writings. The first known Jewish commentaries date from the second century BCE, when Aramaic replaced Hebrew as the vernacular. Although also known as targumim - translations - they are interpretive and contain fragments of exegesis and legend. There are targumim for all the biblical books except for those written largely in Aramaic.

Rabbinical commentaries have proliferated from the Talmudic era (see below) to the present day. Their purpose, in many cases, was to make the biblical text, as well as the rabbinic traditions concerning it, accessible to medieval and then modern audiences. The approaches of the commentators range from the literal to the mystical, with careful attention being paid even to minute details in the Biblical text: an ellipsis, a grammatical oddity, a "misspelling," or even a letter of a different size may elicit a torrent of commentary. The best-known rabbinical commentator on the Bible is Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, 1040-1105), who tried to strike a balance between literal explication of the text and classical rabbinic homiletics.

The Oral Law

The Mishna
According to tradition, the oral law  was given to Moses at Mt. Sinai and handed down by a succession of lay and clerical elites. By the second century BCE, and especially after the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), the rabbinical leadership, faced with a proliferation of traditions and interpretations, began to arrange and edit the material. The final result was a document redacted and arranged by Rabbi Judah Hanasi (second century CE) and called the Mishna, a word signifying "repetition" and "teaching." Sages whose teachings are mentioned in the Mishna are known as Tanna'im. The Tannaitic period, during which the Mishna was compiled, lasted from the destruction of the Second Temple to the early part of the third century CE.

The Talmud
With the advent of the Mishna, a class of rabbis known as Amora'im (third century CE through the sixth century) discussed this document, elaborated on it, performed emendations and reconciled ostensible contradictions. The totality of their endeavor is the Gemara. The Gemara and the Mishna together form the Talmud (pl. Talmudim) - a word that refers to the act of study.

There are in fact two Talmudim, Jerusalem (compiled in the Land of Israel) and Babylonian. The Babylonian Talmud covers 37 of the 63 standard tractates and includes several later works - 2.5 million words on 4,894 folio pages in all. The Jerusalem Talmud is structured differently - shorter, more succinct, at times cryptic, and more focused on legal matters. The Babylonian Talmud contains more Biblical homiletics and exegesis, and its argumentation is easier to follow. The Gemara generally adheres to the structure of the Mishna, but branches associatively into other matters, creating a free-form admixture of remarks - legalistic, anecdotal and ethical.

Unlike the Mishna, much Talmudic discourse is in Aramaic. Because of the Talmud's special nature and its role as the basis for religious rulings, many of them applying to daily life, the commentaries on this work are especially copious.

The Talmudic style is often either conversational or elliptic, in the manner of "lecture notes." Unlike biblical texts, Talmudic passages have innumerable variant readings and abound with copyists' errors, erroneous insertions, and euphemisms meant to circumvent hostile censors.

Aside from their primary religious purpose, both Talmudim contain important information regarding the events, customs and language of their time. As such, they have been studied at length by modern scholars of history, religion and linguistics.

Commentaries on the Oral Law

Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) wrote the first comprehensive commentary on the entire Mishna - an Arabic work translated into Hebrew in the late thirteenth century.

Commentaries on the Talmud, including the Mishna, are so vast as to account, in nearly microscopic print, for half - if not most - of the pages in a standard Talmudic volume. On a typical page of Talmud, a small quantity of text is bracketed by two commentaries: Rashi's and that of the Tosafot, the work of 12th-14th century rabbis who refer to other locations in the Talmud in order to clarify and resolve perceived inconsistencies. Arrayed around this material, in the margins of the page, are textual emendations, references to biblical verses and miscellaneous specialized remarks.

Responsa

Responsa are a Jewish "common law." Usually originating in laypersons' queries to rabbis, they date to the Talmudic period. By the tenth century, as the Jewish dispersion widened, the number of responsa reached tens of thousands. Although the first collection of responsa appeared in the first half of the eighth century, the arbiters did not generally publish their responsa in book form, as many do today.

Responsa are important not only in their explication of legal and ritual minutiae, but in the light they shed on Jewish history. Whenever a new halakhic code gained wide acceptance, new opportunities and needs for responsa arose. Collections of responsa have been produced for all circumstances, including Nazi ghettos and concentration camps. Some collections are so thoroughly studied that their authors are known by the names of their books only.

Core Ethical Teachings

 

The Torah contains many commandments. The essence of the Torah is its commandments.

There are two types of commandments. In some places the Torah mandates certain action. This is a positive or mandatory commandment (mitzvah aseh). In other places, the Torah prohibits certain action. This is a negative or prohibitive commandment (mitzvah lo saaseh). There is a tradition that God included 613 commandments in the Torah. Of these, 248 are positive, while 365 are negative.

Many of these commandments deal with the laws of purity and sacrifice, and were thus only applicable when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem. Therefore, of all the commandments, only 369 apply today.

Revelation at Sinai

All the commandments, including their interpretations and laws, were given to Moses during the 40 days that he spent on Mount Sinai. God told Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there. I will give you tablets of stone, as well as the Torah and commandments which I have written, so that you may teach them" (Exodus 24:12). Everything was thus given on Sinai.

The final authority for all the commandments was their revelation at Sinai. As soon as the Israelites entered into this covenant with God, they were only bound by the Torah as revealed by Moses.

Tikkun Olam

"Tikkun olam" (literally, "world repair") has come to connote social action and the pursuit of social justice.

In reference to individual acts of repair, the phrase "tikkun olam" figures prominently in the Lurianic account of creation and its implications: God contracted the divine self to make room for creation. Divine light became contained in special vessels, or kelim, some of which shattered and scattered. While most of the light returned to its divine source, some light attached itself to the broken shards. These shards constitute evil and are the basis for the material world; their trapped sparks of light give them power.

The first man, Adam, was intended to restore the divine sparks through mystical exercises, but his sin interfered. As a result, good and evil remained thoroughly mixed in the created world, and human souls (previously contained within Adam's) also became imprisoned within the shards.

The "repair," that is needed, therefore, is two-fold: the gathering of light and of souls, to be achieved by human beings through the contemplative performance of religious acts. The goal of such repair, which can only be effected by humans, is to separate what is holy from the created world, thus depriving the physical world of its very existence—and causing all things return to a world before disaster within the Godhead and before human sin, thus ending history.

While contemporary activists also use the term "tikkun olam" to refer to acts of repair by human beings, they do not necessarily believe in or have a familiarity with the term’s cosmological associations. Their emphasis is on acts of social responsibility, not the larger realm of sacred acts--and on fixing, not undoing, the world as we know it.

The phrase "tikkun olam" was first used to refer to social action work in the 1950s. In subsequent decades, many other organizations and thinkers have used the term to refer to social action programs; tzedakah (charitable giving) and gemilut hasadim (acts of kindness); and progressive Jewish approaches to social issues. It eventually became re-associated with kabbalah, and thus for some with deeper theological meaning.

Contemporary usage of the phrase shares with the rabbinic concept of "mipnei tikkun ha-olam" a concern with public policy and societal change, and with the kabbalistic notion of "tikkun" the idea that the world is profoundly broken and can be fixed only by human activity.

However, except within traditionalist Hasidic communities, the use of "tikkun olam" rarely reflects the belief that acts outside the realm of social responsibility (for example, making a blessing before eating) effect cosmic repair; that tikkun repairs the Divine self; or that the goal of "tikkun" is the complete undoing of the created world itself.

Tikkun olam, once associated with a mystical approach to all mitzvot, now is most often used to refer to a specific category of mitzvot involving work for the improvement of society—a usage perhaps closer to the term’s classical rabbinic origins than to its longstanding mystical connotations.

Observance