What are the major practice of Judaism?

Answer 1

Judaism is practiced by praying and worshiping God, and keeping the Torah. Praying is practiced quite frequently, in fact.

Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Originating in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, it is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel.

According to traditional Judaism, God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. This was historically challenged by the Karaites, a movement that flourished in the medieval period, retains several thousand followers today and maintains that only the Written Torah was revealed. In modern times, liberal movements such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic.

Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3000 years. It is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, and the oldest to survive into the present day. The Hebrews / Israelites were already referred to as Jews in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title "Children of Israel." Judaism's texts, traditions and values play a major role in later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i Faith. Many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law.

Jews are an ethnoreligious group that includes those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2007, the world Jewish population was estimated at 13 million, of whom about 40% reside in Israel and 40% in the United States.[1 The largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. A major source of difference between these groups is their approach to Jewish law. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more "traditional" interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews.

Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and the many rabbis and scholars who interpret these texts.

Here is a list of major and minor holidays:

1 Rosh Hashanah - The Jewish New Year

2 Aseret Yemei Teshuva - Ten Days of Repentance

3 Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement

4 Sukkot - Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles)

5 Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

6 Hanukkah - Festival of Lights

7 Tenth of Tevet

8 Tu Bishvat - New Year of the Trees

9 Purim - Festival of Lots

10 Pesach - Passover

11 Sefirah - Counting of the Omer

12 Lag Ba'omer

13 Shavuot - Feast of Weeks - Yom HaBikurim

14 Seventeenth of Tammuz

15 The Three Weeks and the Nine Days

16 Tisha B'av - Ninth of Av

17 Rosh Chodesh - the New Month

18 Shabbat - The Sabbath - שבת

19 Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance day

20 Yom Hazikaron - Memorial Day

21 Yom Ha'atzmaut - Israel Independence Day

22 Yom Yerushalaim - Jerusalem Day

Answer 2

Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Originating in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, it is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel.

According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. This was historically challenged by the Karaites, a movement that flourished in the medieval period, retains several thousand followers today and maintains that only the Written Torah was revealed. In modern times, liberal movements such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic.

Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3000 years. It is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, and the oldest to survive into the present day. The Hebrews / Israelites were already referred to as Jews in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title "Children of Israel." Judaism's texts, traditions and values play a major role in later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i Faith. Many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law.

Jews are an ethno-religious group that includes those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2007, the world Jewish population was estimated at 13 million, of whom about 40% reside in Israel and 40% in the United States. The largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. A major source of difference between these groups is their approach to Jewish law. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more "traditional" interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews.

Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and the many rabbis and scholars who interpret these texts.

Judaism has many holidays and Holy Days. The main holy days are:

1 Rosh Hashanah - The Jewish New Year

2 Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement

3 Sukkot - Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles)

4 Pesach - Passover

5 Shavuot - Feast of Weeks - Yom HaBikurim

Here is a list of most of the Major and Minor Holidays:

1 Rosh Hashanah - The Jewish New Year

2 Aseret Yemei Teshuva - Ten Days of Repentance

3 Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement

4 Sukkot - Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles)

5 Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

6 Hanukkah - Festival of Lights

7 Tenth of Tevet

8 Tu Bishvat - New Year of the Trees

9 Purim - Festival of Lots

10 Pesach - Passover

11 Sefirah - Counting of the Omer

12 Lag Ba'omer

13 Shavuot - Feast of Weeks - Yom HaBikurim

14 Seventeenth of Tammuz

15 The Three Weeks and the Nine Days

16 Tisha B'av - Ninth of Av

17 Rosh Chodesh - the New Month

18 Shabbat - The Sabbath - שבת

19 Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance day

20 Yom Hazikaron - Memorial Day

21 Yom Ha'atzmaut - Israel Independence Day

22 Yom Yerushalaim - Jerusalem Day

The holidays are part of Judaism, but not the only part. See the attached Related Link.

Answer 3

Judaism is simply the religion of Jews. They believe in Monotheism, that only one God, created the world. The major holidays they celebrate are Passover, Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashonah. By the way, Hanukkah is not a major holiday, in fact it is considered a minor one. But, Jews had to have an alternative to Christmas (presents and all that) so Hanukkah was chosen because it was close to Christmas.

Answer 4

Here are some of the most basic beliefs of Judaism, as codified by Maimonides:

1. God exists, and is the Creator

2. God is One and unique

3. God is not physical

4. God is eternal

5. Prayer is to be directed only to God

6. The words of the prophets are true

7. The prophecies of Moses are true; he was the greatest prophet

8. The Torah was given to Moses

9. There will be no other Torah

10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of all

11. God rewards the good and punishes the wicked

12. The Messiah will come

13. The dead will be resurrected

For Jewish practices, see the attached Related Link.

Answer 5

Religious Jews live by the Torah, by obeying its commands and beliefs.

Though it may have an associated culture and one or more associated languages, the traditional definition of Judaism is the observance of the Torah, which is why dictionaries define Judaism as "the religion of Moses." In this sense, the word "Torah" is meant in its wider meaning, which includes the Tanakh, the Talmud, and other classical Jewish texts.

The philosophy of Judaism is that this world is a purposeful creation by God, in which all people are tested concerning their use of free-will. We possess a soul which lives on after the body dies and is held responsible for the person's actions.

Answer 6

Religious Jews live by the Torah, by obeying its commands and beliefs.Link: Jewish beliefs
Some examples of the commands:

• Putting on Tefillin (phylacteries) in the morning
  

Link: The Tefillin

• Saying the Shema-prayer

Link: The Shema

• Sitting in the sukkah during Sukkot
  

Link: The Sukkah-booth

• Avoiding leavened products in Passover
  

Link: Passover

• Keeping kosher
  

Link: Kosher-laws

• Not eating on Yom Kippur
  

Link: Yom Kippur

• Not working on the Shabbat
  

Link: The Shabbat

• Paying workers on time
  
• Marital rights for one's wife
• The Ten Commandments

Link: The Ten Commandments

• Helping someone who is in danger
  
• Counting the days of the Omer
  
• Returning lost objects when feasible
  
• Wearing the tzitzith-garment
  

Link: What are Tzitzith

• Affixing a mezuzah to the door
  

Link: What is a mezuzah

• Learning Torah
  

Link: The Torah

• Keeping our rules of ethics

Link: Jewish ethics

• Marrying and having children
  
• Educating one's children in Judaism
  
• Giving tzedakah (charity)
  
• Honoring one's parents
  

And many more.

The laws have various reasons. Some (such as the Passover) serve to reenact or remember events of our history.
Some (such as saying the Shema-prayer) serve to reiterate our belief in God.
Some of the laws (such as those of ritual purity and kosher food) serve to sanctify us.
Some (such as the laws of torts) serve to maintain an orderly and just society.
Some (such as the law against breaking a vow) serve to prevent bad character traits.
Some (such as the command to offer help) serve to engender good character traits.
And all of the commands serve to subjugate us to God's will (especially those commands for which no explanation is easily apparent).

Note that the Torah "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, It's the Torah together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down together with the laws of Moses. Otherwise, the verses of the Torah often lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.

See also the other Related Links.

Link: What are the teachings, practices, principles and beliefs of Judaism?

Link: What is life like for Jews?

Link: More about the Hebrew Bible

Link: More about the Talmud

Answer 7

All the hundreds of mitzvoth (commands), principles and beliefs of the Torah.

The philosophy of Judaism is that this world is a purposeful creation by God, in which all people are tested concerning their use of free-will. We possess a soul which lives on after the body dies and is held responsible for the person's actions. Anyone who is worthy, Jewish or not, can merit reward in the afterlife.
See the highlighted Related Links below, for fuller detail.

The practices of Judaism

The basic beliefs of Judaism

The ethics of Judaism

How Judaism began

Answer 8

Religious Jews live by the Torah, by obeying its commands and beliefs.Link: Jewish beliefs
Some examples of the commands:

• Putting on Tefillin (phylacteries) in the morning
  

Link: The Tefillin

• Saying the Shema-prayer

Link: The Shema

• Sitting in the sukkah during Sukkot
  

Link: The Sukkah-booth

• Avoiding leavened products in Passover
  

Link: Passover

• Keeping kosher
  

Link: Kosher-laws

• Not eating on Yom Kippur
  

Link: Yom Kippur

• Not working on the Shabbat
  

Link: The Shabbat

• Paying workers on time
  
• Marital rights for one's wife
• The Ten Commandments

Link: The Ten Commandments

• Helping someone who is in danger
  
• Counting the days of the Omer
  
• Returning lost objects when feasible
  
• Wearing the tzitzith-garment
  

Link: What are Tzitzith

• Affixing a mezuzah to the door
  

Link: What is a mezuzah

• Learning Torah
  

Link: The Torah

• Keeping our rules of ethics

Link: Jewish ethics

• Marrying and having children
  
• Educating one's children in Judaism
  
• Giving tzedakah (charity)
  
• Honoring one's parents
  

And many more.

The laws have various reasons. Some (such as the Passover) serve to reenact or remember events of our history.
Some (such as saying the Shema-prayer) serve to reiterate our belief in God.
Some of the laws (such as those of ritual purity and kosher food) serve to sanctify us.
Some (such as the laws of torts) serve to maintain an orderly and just society.
Some (such as the law against breaking a vow) serve to prevent bad character traits.
Some (such as the command to offer help) serve to engender good character traits.
And all of the commands serve to subjugate us to God's will (especially those commands for which no explanation is easily apparent).

Note that the Torah "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, It's the Torah together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down together with the laws of Moses. Otherwise, the verses of the Torah often lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.

See also the other Related Links.

Link: What are the teachings, practices, principles and beliefs of Judaism?

Link: What is life like for Jews?

Link: More about the Hebrew Bible

Link: More about the Talmud

Answer 9

Religious Jews live by the Torah, by obeying its commands and beliefs.Link: Jewish beliefs
Some examples of the commands:

• Putting on Tefillin (phylacteries) in the morning
  

Link: The Tefillin

• Saying the Shema-prayer

Link: The Shema

• Sitting in the sukkah during Sukkot
  

Link: The Sukkah-booth

• Avoiding leavened products in Passover
  

Link: Passover

• Keeping kosher
  

Link: Kosher-laws

• Not eating on Yom Kippur
  

Link: Yom Kippur

• Not working on the Shabbat
  

Link: The Shabbat

• Paying workers on time
  
• Marital rights for one's wife
• The Ten Commandments

Link: The Ten Commandments

• Helping someone who is in danger
  
• Counting the days of the Omer
  
• Returning lost objects when feasible
  
• Wearing the tzitzith-garment
  

Link: What are Tzitzith

• Affixing a mezuzah to the door
  

Link: What is a mezuzah

• Learning Torah
  

Link: The Torah

• Keeping our rules of ethics

Link: Jewish ethics

• Marrying and having children
  
• Educating one's children in Judaism
  
• Giving tzedakah (charity)
  
• Honoring one's parents
  

And many more.

The laws have various reasons. Some (such as the Passover) serve to reenact or remember events of our history.
Some (such as saying the Shema-prayer) serve to reiterate our belief in God.
Some of the laws (such as those of ritual purity and kosher food) serve to sanctify us.
Some (such as the laws of torts) serve to maintain an orderly and just society.
Some (such as the law against breaking a vow) serve to prevent bad character traits.
Some (such as the command to offer help) serve to engender good character traits.
And all of the commands serve to subjugate us to God's will (especially those commands for which no explanation is easily apparent).

Note that the Torah "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, It's the Torah together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down together with the laws of Moses. Otherwise, the verses of the Torah often lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.

See also the other Related Links.

Link: What are the teachings, practices, principles and beliefs of Judaism?

Link: What is life like for Jews?

Link: More about the Hebrew Bible

Link: More about the Talmud

Answer 10

Religious Jews live by the Torah, by obeying its commands and beliefs.