Judaism And The Three Branches

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the Jewish homeland and Jerusalem the most holy city.
There are 13 principals of faith most widely accepted by Jews. Moses Maimonides, a Spanish Jew who lived in the 12th century, tried to condense the basic beliefs of Judaism into the form of a creed (Basic Beliefs of Judaism). It is still followed by the traditional forms of Judaism.
They can be summarized as:
• God exists
• God is one
• God is not in bodily form
• God is eternal
• Jews must worship him alone
• God has communicated through the prophets
• Moses was the greatest of the prophets
• the Torah is of divine origin
• the Torah is eternally valid
• God knows the deeds of human beings
• God punishes the evil and rewards the good
• God will send a Messiah
• God will resurrect the dead
Though much criticized and variously interpreted in different Jewish traditions, this attempt at a summary of the foundations of Jewish belief has found its way into Jewish liturgy (Pilkington, 8).
The Jewish scriptures consist of the Torah (or Pentateuch), the Prophets, and the writings. The Torah tells of the covenants God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Its sets out the Ten Commandments revealed by God to Moses after the covenant at Mount Sinai, laws and practices to guard basic human rights, and the duties of a Jew. The Torah also explained how the Israelites were to be trained to carry out God’s teachings (Domnitz, 10). Jews disregard the New Testament because they believe that it is an addendum to the Old Testament. Jews believe they should try to bring out the best in themselves and others by striving for justice, showing respect and compassion, and helping those who are sick, poor, or in need. It is not considered worthy for people to seek for wealth for its own sake, but to have enough to care for themselves, their families, and the less fortunate (Stoppleman, 16). Traditionally, prayer is done three times a day. However, there a...