What does Judaism believe about the nature of God?

Answer 1

Judaism teaches that God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4), with no body, no beginning or end. God fills the universe, yet hides His presence as a test to us.

God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4).
God is non-physical, indivisible and incomparable.
God is omniscient (He is aware of everything), and infinitely wise.
God is the mover of everything. No molecule can move without the energy and direction with which God imbues it.
God is eternal; and His ways are also eternal. He is not capricious, forgetful or fickle.
God is just. He rewards good and punishes evil - whether in this world or in the afterlife.
God is ethical and moral; and He expects us to imitate His ways.
God is the guide of history, who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
God is the source of law, who gave the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
God is immanent and personal, meaning that he relates to humanity and hears our prayers. This is the basis of the Psalms and our siddur (prayerbook).

Answer 2

Judaism's concept of God has evolved over time and place:

• Scholars tell us that the biblical source associated with the early southern Hebrew kingdom, Judah, saw God as anthropomorphic with human characteristics. He made promises and covenants with his chosen people.
• The source associated with the early northern kingdom, Israel, saw God as more a transcendent being, who required obedience and was feared by his people. According to this source, people could never look at God, so he typically came in dreams or visions, but sometimes in the form of a cloud or a flame.
• The Priestly source associated with later times described a remote and unmerciful God.
• Second Isaiah, during the Babylonian exile, saw God as forgiving and merciful.
• First century Jews of the Diaspora saw God as partnered by Lady Wisdom who, in their belief, took part in the creation.
• The modern Judaic concept of God would be closer to that found in Second Isaiah.

Jewish answer:

In short, these are the main teachings of Judaism about God:

1. God is one.

2. God is almighty - controls all domains.

3. God has no form.

Jews believe that Judaism is the first monotheistic religion in the world. Monotheism means believing there is only one God. This is expressed in the best know Jewish prayer: "שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד" ("Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one." [Deuteronomy 6:4]) which is recited twice a day by every Jew.

Saying that God is one was going against everything that other people believed in because common belief had been that there were many gods, and that each god had its own domain (such as: the sea, the sun, the rain, the earth etc.). In contrast to what others thought, Judaism teaches that God is almighty, which means he created and controls all domains. This is the underpinning of the first chapter of Genesis. As it says: "בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ" ("In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...").

A third teaching of Judaism is that God has no form. Thinking that God has a form was a common mistake in the idolatrous world. This, again, is caused by the reason mentioned above - the belief that each god has its own domain and therefore has a form that is representative of its domain. This is why the second of the Ten Commandments is: לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל פָּנָי. לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה לְךָ פֶסֶל וְכָל תְּמוּנָה אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וַאֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת וַאֲשֶׁר בַּמַּיִם מִתַּחַת לָאָרֶץ ("You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." [Exodos 20:2-3]).

And in more detail it is said in another place: ונשמרתם מאד לנפשתיכם כי לא ראיתם כל תמונה ביום דבר יהוה אליכם בחרב מתוך האש. פן תשחתון ועשיתם לכם פסל תמונת כל סמל תבנית זכר או נקבה, תבנית כל בהמה אשר בארץ תבנית כל צפור כנף אשר תעוף בשמים, תבנית כל רמש באדמה תבנית כל דגה אשר במים מתחת לארץ. ופן תשא עיניך השמימה וראית את השמש ואת הירח ואת הכוכבים כל צבא השמים ונדחת והשתחוית להם ועבדתם אשר חלק יהוה אלהיך אתם לכל העמים תחת כל השמים ("Take therefore good heed unto yourselves -- for you saw no manner of formon the day that the Lord spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire -- lest you corrupt yourselves and make a graven image; the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the sky, the likeness of any thing that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And when you lift up your eyes unto heaven and you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, lest you be drawn astray and worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven" [Deuteronomy 4:15-19]).

Jewish answer 2:

God is One. The concept of a dualism (as in Zoroastrianism), an independent Satan, multiple gods (polytheism; paganism) or a trinity of three in one, are all unimaginable in Judaism. Also, any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God should be used, whether as necessary or even optional, is considered heretical.

God created the universe and all existence, including time and space.

He is non-physical, indivisible and incomparable. Jewish tradition teaches that God is beyond human comprehension; and that it is only God's revealed deeds, as He interacts with mankind and the world, that we can begin to grasp.

The God of Israel is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the guide of history, who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

God is the source of morality and law, who gave the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

God is immanent and personal, meaning that he relates to humanity and hears our prayers. This is the basis of the Psalms and our siddur (prayerbook).

Jews have always worshiped the One God. God wrecked the Egyptian idols (Exodus 12:12) and warned against idolatry (Exodus 22:19). Abraham worshiped "the Lord God of Heaven and Earth" (Genesis 14:22 and 24:3) and complained about the Philistines' lack of fear of God (Genesis 20:11). Jacob confiscated the idolatrous images taken from Shechem (Genesis 35:2) and got rid of them (Genesis 35:4); and refrained from invoking the gods of Nahor (Genesis 31:53). Rachel pilfered Laban's statue-images (Genesis 31:19) in order to prevent him from idolatry (Rashi commentary, ibid.). Joseph placed his hope in the God of the Forefathers (Genesis 50:24). Moses characterized the Golden Calf as "a great sin" (Exodus 32:21, 30) and punished the worshipers (Exodus ch.32). During the rest of his lifetime and that of Joshua (Judges 2:7), no incidents of Jewish idolatry were reported.

Shortly before he died, Moses warned the people that he suspected that they would eventually succumb to the lure of the idols (Deuteronomy 29:17). Joshua gave a similar warning (Joshua ch. 24).

These warnings came true. Many of the Israelites went astray after the foreign gods (Judges 2:11). However, the Jews never invented their own idol. It was always the baneful influence of other peoples. And there were times when the entire Jewish nation repented (Judges 2:1-4) and prayed to God (Judges 3:9, 3:15, 6:6, 10:10).

Because of the idol-worship that did happen, images of idols have been found in Israel too. Images of God aren't found because it is forbidden to represent Him through imagery (Deuteronomy 4:15-16).

It should be noted that idolatry was never universal among the Jews. The tradition of the One God was handed down in every generation, whether by the few or the many; and it is those who handed down the tradition whose beliefs we Jews continue today. Deborah ascribed victory to God (Judges 4:14), Gideon tore down the idolatrous altar (Judges 6:25-27); Samson prayed to God (Judges 16:28), as did Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11) and Samuel (ibid. 12:18); Eli blessed in the name of God (1 Samuel 2:20), Saul built an altar to God (1 Samuel 14:35); Jonathan ascribed victory to God (1 Samuel 14:12), as did David (1 Samuel 17:46); and Solomon built the Temple for God (1 Kings 8:20). A number of the kings "did what was right in God's eyes": Asa (1 Kings 15:11), Yehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:43), Yehoash (2 Kings 12:3), Amatziah (2 Kings 14:3), Azariah (2 Kings 15:3), Yotam (2 Kings 15:34), Hizkiah (2 Kings 18:3), and Josiah (2 Kings 22:2). Even at the height of the unfortunate spread of idolatry among the less-loyal Ten Tribes, there were thousands who remained loyal to God (1 Kings 19:18).

And, of course, the Prophets, who spoke in the name of God and warned against idolatry: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and so on.

The sages of the Talmud, who ridiculed idolatry (Megillah 25b), were simply continuing in the tradition of the Prophets whose verses are quoted in that context (ibid.).

Answer 3

God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4).
God is non-physical, indivisible and incomparable.
God is omniscient (He is aware of everything), and infinitely wise.

God is the mover of everything. No molecule can move without the energy and direction with which God imbues it.

God is eternal; and His ways are also eternal. He is not capricious, forgetful or fickle.
God is just. He rewards good and punishes evil - whether in this world or in the afterlife.
God is ethical and moral; and He expects us to imitate His ways.

God is the guide of history, who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
God is the source of law, who gave the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
God is immanent and personal, meaning that he relates to humanity and hears our prayers. This is the basis of the Psalms and our siddur (prayerbook).

Answer 4

Judaism teaches that God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4), with no body, no beginning or end. God fills the universe, yet hides His presence as a test to us. God is infinitely wise and powerful. God cares about his creations and hears our prayers.

Answer 5

Dictionaries define "Judaism" as The monotheistic religion of the Jews, since the founding principle of Judaism was and is the belief in One God. This was the teaching which was spread by Abraham, and has continued since then. From Judaism, belief in One God has spread through the Western world.

In Judaism:

God is One. The concept of a dualism (as in Zoroastrianism), an independent Satan, multiple gods (polytheism; paganism) or a trinity of three in one, are all unimaginable in Judaism. Also, any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God should be used, whether as necessary or even optional, is considered heretical.God is non-physical, indivisible and incomparable. Jewish tradition teaches that God is beyond human comprehension; and that it is only God's revealed deeds, as He interacts with mankind and the world, that we can begin to grasp. His names indicate His attributes and the ways in which He relates to us.

• Link: Names of God
  

God is omniscient (He is aware of everything), and infinitely wise.
God created the universe and all existence, including time and space, in a deliberate, purposeful act of benevolent Creation.

• Link: The Creation
  

God is the mover of everything. No molecule can move without the energy and direction with which God imbues it.

God is eternal; and His ways are also eternal. He is not capricious, forgetful or fickle.
God is just. He rewards good and punishes evil - whether in this world or in the afterlife.

• Link: Afterlife
  

God is ethical and moral; and He expects us to imitate His ways.

The God of Israel is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the guide of history, who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

• Link: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
  

God is the source of law, who gave the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

• Link: The Torah
  

God is immanent and personal, meaning that he relates to humanity and hears our prayers. This is the basis of the Psalms and our siddur (prayerbook).

Answer 6

Dictionaries define "Judaism" as The monotheistic religion of the Jews, since the founding principle of Judaism was and is the belief in One God. This was the teaching which was spread by Abraham, and has continued since then. From Judaism, belief in One God has spread through the Western world.

In Judaism:

God is One. The concept of a dualism (as in Zoroastrianism), an independent Satan, multiple gods (polytheism; paganism) or a trinity of three in one, are all unimaginable in Judaism. Also, any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God should be used, whether as necessary or even optional, is considered heretical.God is non-physical, indivisible and incomparable. Jewish tradition teaches that God is beyond human comprehension; and that it is only God's revealed deeds, as He interacts with mankind and the world, that we can begin to grasp.

God is omniscient (He is aware of everything), and infinitely wise.
God created the universe and all existence*, including time and space, in a deliberate, purposeful act of benevolent Creation.

God is the mover of everything. No molecule can move without the energy and direction with which God imbues it.

God is eternal; and His ways are also eternal. He is not capricious, forgetful or fickle.
God is just. He rewards good and punishes evil - whether in this world or in the afterlife*.

God is ethical and moral; and He expects us to imitate His ways.

The God of Israel is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob*. He is the guide of history, who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
God is the source of law, who gave the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai*.
God is immanent and personal, meaning that he relates to humanity and hears our prayers. This is the basis of the Psalms and our siddur (prayerbook).

*See also the Related Links

1) The Creation

2) Afterlife

3) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

4) The Torah

5) Names of God