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The people of Israel have always aroused envy, hatred and admiration among Europeans. Even having lost their state and forced to wander for almost two thousand years, its representatives did not assimilate among other ethnic groups, but retained both their national identity and culture based on a deep religious tradition. What is the faith of the Jews? After all, thanks to her, they survived many powers, empires and entire nations. They went through everything - power and slavery, periods of peace and discord, social prosperity and genocide. The religion of the Jews is Judaism, and it is because of it that they still play an important role on the historical stage.
The first revelation of Yahweh
The religious tradition of the Jews is monotheistic, that is, it recognizes only one god. His name is Yahweh, which literally means "he who was, is and will be."
Today, the Jews believe that Yahweh is the creator and creator of the world, and they consider all other gods to be false. According to their doctrine, after the fall of the first people, the sons of men forgot the true God and began to serve idols. To remind people of himself, Yahweh called on a prophet named Abraham, whom he predicted to become the father of many nations. Abraham, who came from a pagan family, having received the revelation of the Lord, renounced his former cults and went on a wandering, guided from above.
The Torah - the Holy - Scripture of the Jews tells how God tested the faith of Abraham. When a son was born to him from his beloved wife, the Lord ordered him to be sacrificed, to which Abraham responded with unquestioning obedience. When he had already raised the knife over his child, God stopped him, regarding such humility as deep faith and devotion. So today, when Jews are asked about the faith of the Jews, they answer: "The faith of Abraham."
According to the Torah, God fulfilled his promise and from Abraham through Isaac produced a large Jewish people, also known as Israel.
The birth of Judaism
The veneration of Yahweh by the first descendants of Abraham was not yet, in fact, Judaism and even monotheism in the strict sense of the word. In fact, the gods of the biblical religion of the Jews are numerous. What distinguished the Jews from other pagans was their unwillingness to worship any other gods (but, unlike monotheism, they recognized their existence), as well as the ban on religious images. Much later than the time of Abraham, when his descendants had already multiplied to the scale of an entire nation, and Judaism as such took shape. Briefly about this is narrated in the Torah.
By the will of fate, the people of the Jews fell into slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, most of whom treated them rather badly. To free his chosen ones, God called a new prophet - Moses, who, being a Jew, was brought up at the royal court. After performing a series of miracles, known as the Egyptian Plagues, Moses led the Jews into the desert in order to bring them into the desert. During this wandering, Moses received the first commandments and other instructions regarding the organization and practice of the cult. So there was a formalized faith of the Jews - Judaism.
First Temple
While in Sinai, Moses, among other revelations, received from the Almighty guidance on the arrangement of the tabernacle of the Covenant - a portable temple intended for offering sacrifices and performing other religious rites. When the years of wandering in the desert ended, the Jews entered the promised land and established their statehood in its expanses, set out to replace the tabernacle with a full-fledged stone temple. God, however, did not approve of David's enthusiasm, and entrusted the mission of building a new sanctuary to his son Solomon. Solomon, having become king, began to fulfill the divine command and built an impressive temple on one of the hills of Jerusalem. According to tradition, this temple stood for 410 years until the Babylonians destroyed it in 586.
Second Temple
The temple was for the Jews a national symbol, a banner of unity, fortitude and a physical guarantor of divine protection. When the temple was destroyed and the Jews were taken into captivity for 70 years, the faith of Israel was shaken. Many began to worship pagan idols again, and the people were threatened with dissolution among other tribes. But there were also zealous supporters of the fatherly traditions, who advocated the preservation of the former religious traditions and social structure. When in 516 the Jews were able to return to their native lands and restore the temple, this group of enthusiasts led the process of reviving the Israeli statehood. The temple was restored, divine services and sacrifices began to be held again, and along the way, the religion of the Jews itself acquired a new face: the Holy Scriptures were codified, many customs were streamlined, and the official doctrine took shape. Over time, several denominations arose among the Jews, differing in doctrinal and ethical views. Nevertheless, their spiritual and political unity was ensured by a common temple and worship. The era of the second temple lasted until 70 CE. e.
Judaism after 70 CE e.
In 70 AD e., during the fighting during the Jewish War, the commander Titus began to besiege, and subsequently destroyed Jerusalem. Among the affected buildings was the Jewish temple, which was completely destroyed. Since then, the Jews have been forced, based on historical conditions, to modify Judaism. Briefly, these changes also affected the doctrine, but mainly concerned the subordination: the Jews ceased to obey the priestly authority. After the destruction of the temple, there were no priests left at all, and the role of spiritual leaders was taken over by rabbis, teachers of the law - lay people with a high social status among the Jews. From that time to this day, Judaism is presented only in this rabbinical form. The role of synagogues as local centers of Jewish culture and spirituality came to the fore. Divine services are held in synagogues, scriptures are read, sermons are delivered, and important rites are performed. Yeshivas are organized with them - specialized schools for the study of Judaism, the Jewish language and culture.
It is important to keep in mind that along with the temple in 70 AD. e. The Jews also lost their statehood. They were forbidden to live in Jerusalem, as a result they were dispersed to other cities of the Roman Empire. Since then, Jewish diasporas have been present in almost every country on every continent. Surprisingly, they turned out to be quite resistant to assimilation and were able to carry their identity through the centuries, no matter what. And yet, it must be remembered that over time, Judaism has changed, evolved and developed, therefore, when answering the question “What is the religion of the Jews?”, It is necessary to make an adjustment for the historical period, because Judaism of the 1st century BC. e. and Judaism of the 15th century CE. e.g., they are not the same thing.
Judaism creed
As already mentioned, the creed of Judaism, at least modern Judaism, is classified as monotheism: both religious scholars and the Jews themselves insist on this. The faith of the confession of the Jews consists in the recognition of Yahweh as the only god and creator of all things. At the same time, the Jews see themselves as a special chosen people, the children of Abraham, who have a special mission.
At some point in time, most likely during the era of the Babylonian captivity and the second temple, Judaism adopted the concept of the resurrection of the dead and doomsday. Along with this, ideas about angels and demons appeared - the personified forces of good and evil. Both of these doctrines originate from Zoroastrianism and, most likely, it was through contacts with Babylon that the Jews integrated these teachings into their cult.
Religious values of Judaism
Speaking about Jewish spirituality, it can be argued that Judaism is a religion that is briefly characterized as a cult of traditions. Indeed, traditions, even the most insignificant ones, are of great importance in Judaism, and severe punishment is due for their violation.
The most important of these traditions is the custom of circumcision, without which a Jew cannot be considered a full-fledged representative of his people. Circumcision is done as a sign of the covenant between the chosen people and Yahweh.
Another important feature of the Jewish way of life is strict observance Saturdays. The Sabbath is endowed with extreme holiness: any work, even the simplest, such as cooking, is prohibited. Also on Saturday you can’t just have fun - this day is provided only for peace and spiritual exercises.
Currents of Judaism
Some people think that Judaism is world religion. But actually it is not. Firstly, because for the most part a national cult, the path to which is rather difficult for non-Jews, and secondly, the number of its followers is too small to speak of it as a world religion. However, Judaism is a religion with worldwide influence. From the bosom of Judaism came two world religions - Christianity and Islam. And the numerous communities of Jews scattered all over the world have always had one or another influence on the culture and life of the local population.
However, it is important that Judaism itself today is heterogeneous within itself, and therefore, answering the question of what religion the Jews have, it is also necessary to clarify its course in each specific case. There are several such intra-Jewish groups. The main ones are represented by the Orthodox wing, the Hasidic movement and the Reformed Jews. There is also Progressive Judaism and a small group of Messianic Jews. However, the Jewish community excludes the latter from the Jewish community.
Judaism and Islam
Speaking about the relationship of Islam to Judaism, it should be noted, firstly, that Muslims also consider themselves the children of Abraham, although not from Isaac. Secondly, the Jews are considered the people of the book and the bearers of divine revelation, albeit obsolete, from the point of view of Muslims. Reflecting on what kind of faith the Jews have, adherents of Islam recognize the fact that they worship the same god. Thirdly, the historical relationship between Jews and Muslims has always been ambiguous and requires a separate analysis. It is important that in the field of theory there is much in common between them.
Judaism and Christianity
Jews have always had a difficult relationship with Christians. Both sides did not like each other, which often led to conflicts and even bloodshed. Today, however, relations between these two Abrahamic religions are slowly improving, although they are still far from ideal. Jews have a good historical memory and remember Christians as oppressors and persecutors for a thousand and a half years. For their part, Christians blame the Jews for a fact and link all their historical misfortunes to this sin.
Conclusion
In a short article it is impossible to comprehensively consider the topic of what kind of faith the Jews have in theory, in practice and in relations with adherents of other cults. Therefore, I would like to believe that this short review will encourage further, deeper study of the traditions of Judaism.
Judaism is the national religion of the Jewish people. The followers of this faith call themselves Jews. It is believed that Judaism originated in the city of Palestine. Theologians are sure that the time of its occurrence is calculated from the time of Adam and Eve.
Even schoolchildren know about the existence of this religion. Often history teachers ask their students to prepare a report on Judaism. In it, the student needs to be told briefly about Judaism, paying attention only to the main points. First of all, it should be noted that the main source for the study of Judaism is the Bible and the books of the Old Testament.
This religion recognizes three types of books: books of the law (Torah), historical books and prophetic. The origin of this ancient literature is still not known for certain.
But all Jews honor the scriptures sacred to them. Judaism is known to everyone, including numerous prohibitions that are associated with work on certain days, with the use of certain foods.
Jews are forbidden to eat the meat of certain animals. The list of "unclean foods" is established by the rabbis based on the study of the Torah. This list includes the meat of pigs, camels, hares, horses. Jews are also forbidden to eat shrimp, oysters and many other foods. Proper food is called "kosher" in the Jewish language.
Interestingly, the followers of this religion are forbidden to eat meat products together with dairy products. In Jewish restaurants, canteens, cafes, this rule is observed.
There are even separate windows in the canteens for dairy and meat food. Prohibitions apply not only to food, but also to clothing, as well as many other aspects of life.
Already on the 8th day of life, a newborn boy should be circumcised. certain requirements are also imposed on the appearance of believers. Men should wear long clothes and their heads should be covered at all times, even when they sleep.
Religious Jews grow a beard. During prayer, you need to wear a special cover over your clothes. On Saturday, people are forbidden not only to work, but also to lend and borrow, light a fire, and touch money. Traditions are honored in Israel, so on Saturdays almost all shops are closed, not to mention businesses.
A believing Jew must observe all religious holidays. It is noteworthy that the Israeli people honors all Jewish traditions.
In this country, the whole way of life is designed to in no way offend the feelings of a believer. All this is achieved by a very correct religious education. In Jewish schools, much attention is paid to the study of religion, its history, its basic principles.
On them, students are told about the sacred books, about the prophets, about all existing holidays. And this is very correct. This is one of the differences between this religion and other religions. Unfortunately, in many countries the spiritual education of young people is not developed at all.
Children and teenagers do not know anything about their faith, about sin, about those traditions that they must observe. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why there is so much evil, violence, crime and other human vices in the world.
Some scholars find it difficult to speak briefly about Judaism. This is a great faith with its own characteristics that require a certain approach. To understand it, having learned about it only a number of well-known facts, is impossible.
Federal Agency for Education
Russian State University them. I. Kant
History department
TEST
ON THE COURSE "HISTORY OF RELIGIONS"
JUDAISM: ORIGIN AND FEATURES
2nd year students
OSP "Culturology"
Correspondence form of education
Kataeva T. O.
Kaliningrad
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………3
ORIGIN AND STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT………………………………….4
The Age of the First Temple……………………………………………………........5
Pentateuch (Torah)…………………………………………………………….7
The Age of the Second Temple……………………………………………………………9
FEATURES OF EDUCATION. THE IDEA OF THE ONE GOD………………………………………………………11
HOLIDAYS POSTS……………………………………………………………12
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………14
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………15
INTRODUCTION
Judaism (from other Hebrew. Yahudut - the inhabitants of ancient Judea), the earliest monotheistic religion that arose in the 1st millennium BC. e. in Palestine. A characteristic feature of Judaism, which distinguishes it from the national religions of other peoples, is monotheism - faith in the One God. Based on Judaism, two world religions were born: Christianity and Islam. The Jewish religion is one of the most vibrant cultural traditions. Adherents of Judaism believe in Yahweh (the only God, creator and ruler of the universe), the immortality of the soul, the afterlife, the coming arrival of the messiah, God's chosen people of the Jewish people (the idea of a "covenant", a union, an agreement between the people and God, in which the people act as the bearer of divine revelation) .
Judaism is not just a religion of the Jewish people, but a set of laws that regulates not only religious, ethical and ideological, but also almost all aspects of the life of adherents of this doctrine. In Judaism, 613 mitzvahs are defined (248 commands and 365 prohibitions. Among mitzvot the so-called Ten Commandments containing universal ethical standards human behavior: monotheism, a ban on the image of God, on pronouncing His name in vain (in vain), keeping the holiness of the day of rest on the seventh day (Saturday), honoring parents, prohibiting murder, adultery, theft, false witness and selfish lust. Deviation from the fulfillment of the commandments - as a consequence of the operation of the principle of free will, is considered as a sin, which entails retribution not only in the other world, but already in earthly life. Also, of all the rules, there are seven that are binding on all people: the prohibition of blasphemy, the prohibition of bloodshed, the prohibition of theft, the prohibition of debauchery, the prohibition of cruelty to animals, the command of justice in court and the equality of man before the law. The canon of the holy books of Judaism includes the Torah ("Pentateuch of Moses"), the books of the prophets, etc. Various interpretations and commentaries of the canon are collected in the Talmud. In Judaism, mystical teachings (bondage, Hasidism) became widespread.
Starting to take shape as a religion of Polistina, Judaism develops as a religion not associated with any territory. A characteristic feature of Judaism is isolation along national lines. One state means one religion; people who refused and did not enter this system were considered as a kind of danger.
Judaism belongs to the family of "monotheistic" religions, as do Christianity and Islam. All three religions have much in common, both in terms of geography of origin and in terms of theological system. The Hebrew Bible has become the most influential book in the history of mankind: Jews and Christians rank it among their most important religious texts. It has much in common with the Koran. Some of its central ideas are about the existence of the One God, a single universal moral code that people should take care of the poor, widows, orphans and travelers, that the Jews are the people chosen by God.
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT STAGES
The ideas of the ancient Jews about the One God developed over a long historical period (XIX - II centuries BC), which was called the biblical and included the era patriarchs(forefathers) of the Jewish people. According to legend, the very first Jew was the patriarch Abraham, who concluded with God holy union- "covenant". Abraham made a promise that he and his descendants would remain faithful to God and, as proof of this, keep the commandments ( mitzvot). For this, God promised Abraham to protect and multiply his offspring, from which a whole nation would come. This people will receive from God the possession of Israel - the land on which they will create their own state. The descendants of Abraham formed a union of 12 tribes (tribal groups), connected by blood relationship, which came from the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel).
But before receiving the land promised by God ("the promised land"), the descendants of Abraham ended up in Egypt (about 1700 BC), where they were in slavery for 400 years. The prophet Moses brought them out of this slavery ( Moshe). This was followed by a 40-year wandering in the wilderness, during which all former slaves had to die so that only free people could enter the land of Israel. During this wandering through the desert, the central event of Judaism and its entire history takes place: God calls Moses to Mount Sinai and through him gives the Ten Commandments and the Torah to the entire Jewish people. . The beginning of the existence of the Jews as a single people is marked, and Judaism is the religion that these people profess. The God of the Jews, called by the name of Yahweh ("Jesus", from whose being everything flows), had neither images nor temples.
In the XIII century. BC e., when the Israelite tribes came to Palestine, their religion was a lot of primitive cults, common to nomads. Only gradually did the religion of Israel arise - Judaism, as it is presented in the Old Testament. Trees, springs, stars, stones, and animals were deified in early cults.
Traces of totemism are easy to see in the Bible when it comes to different animals, but above all - about snake and about bull. There were cults of the dead and ancestors. Yahweh was originally the deity of the southern tribes. This ancient Semitic deity was represented with wings, flying between the clouds and appearing in thunderstorms, lightning, whirlwinds, and fire. Yahweh became the patron of the tribal union created for the conquest of Palestine, revered by all twelve tribes and symbolizing the strength that binds them. The former gods were partially rejected, partially merged into the image of Yahweh (Jehovah is a later liturgical rendering of this name). The content side of the religious ideas of the era of the patriarchs can be restored only in the most in general terms. The religion of the patriarchs is based on the idea that the head of the clan has the right to choose any name he likes for the god of his fathers, with whom he establishes a special personal connection, a kind of alliance or covenant.
Age of the First Temple
In the XI century. BC e. Jews create the state of Israel, the capital of which is the city of Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). In 958 BC. e. King Solomon builds a Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Zion in honor of the One God. In the history of Judaism, a new temple period, which lasted about 1500 years. During this period, the Jerusalem Temple became the main spiritual center of Judaism. The servants of the Jerusalem Temple constituted a special category of Jewish society. Their descendants still perform special ritual functions and observe additional prohibitions: marrying a widow or a divorcee, etc.
During the same period, the writing Tanakh- The Holy Scriptures of Judaism (Christian tradition has completely included the Tanakh in the section of the Bible called the Old Testament). The king not only controlled the functioning of the Temple, but also made decisions on issues of a purely cult nature. The possibility of interference in the sphere of worship was rooted in the idea that the king was chosen by God, which turned him into a sacred person. The rise of the Jerusalem temple and its transformation into an official sanctuary undermined the prestige of local sanctuaries and contributed to the centralization of religious power.
In 587 BC. e. Israel was captured by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who destroyed the Jerusalem temple, and most of the Jews were forcibly resettled in Babylonia. The prophet Ezekiel becomes the spiritual leader and mentor of the settlers. He developed the idea of the revival of Israel, but as a theocratic state, the center of which would be the new Jerusalem Temple.
New in religious history, characteristic of Judaism, its distinctive moment is the understanding of the relationship between God and his “chosen people” Israel as a relationship of “union”. The union is a kind of agreement: the people of Israel enjoy the special patronage of the almighty God, they are “the chosen people”, provided that they remain faithful, that they follow the commandments of God and, most importantly, do not deviate from monotheism. The peculiarity of Judaism is that God acts in the history of his people. A kind of constitution of this allied relationship between Israel and its god is the Law in which Yahweh expressed his will. Along with the revelation of God in nature and history, the Law stands above all else, in which the will of the Lord is clearly and clearly formulated in the form of “commandments”. Faith in the Messiah in the predictions of the prophets becomes the basis of Judaism: God will find peace and happiness, and sins will be punished, a terrible judgment will be done. Judaism, as a “religion of the law,” faced a trend that manifested itself in the fact that the Law turned into something self-sufficient, so that even Yahweh retreated into the shadows. The law, as it were, became isolated from man, turned into something with its own logic of development, so that its requirements turned into an intricate set of contradictory prescriptions; serving God became tantamount to fulfilling the letter of the Law, not spiritualized by the participation of the “heart.” Thus, religion in Israel was reduced to a purely external worship, which was based on the confidence in receiving a “fair” reward from God for performing rituals and following the prescribed norms of behavior.
Term "Judaism" comes from the name of the Jewish tribe of Judah, the most numerous among the 12 tribes of Israel, as narrated in Bible. The king came from the tribe of Judah David, in which the Jewish-Israeli kingdom reached its highest power. All this led to the privileged position of the Jews: the term "Jew" is often used as equivalent to the word "Jew". In a narrow sense, Judaism is understood to have arisen among the Jews at the turn of the 1st-2nd millennium BC. AT broad sense Judaism is a complex of legal, moral, ethical, philosophical and religious ideas that determine the way of life of Jews.
Gods in Judaism
The history of the ancient Jews and the process of the formation of religion are known mainly from the materials of the Bible, its most ancient part - Old Testament. At the beginning of the II millennium BC. Jews, like their kindred Semitic tribes in Arabia and Palestine, were polytheists, believed in various gods and spirits, in the existence of a soul that materialized in blood. Each community had its own chief god. In one of the communities such a god was Yahweh. Gradually, the cult of Yahweh comes to the fore.
A new stage in the development of Judaism is associated with the name Moses. it legendary person, but there is no reason to deny the possibility of the real existence of such a reformer. According to the Bible, Moses led the Jews out of Egyptian slavery and gave them the Covenant of God. Some researchers believe that the reform of the Jews is connected with the reform of the pharaoh Akhenaten. Moses, who may have been close to the ruling or priestly circles of Egyptian society, accepted Akhenaten's idea of a single God and began to preach it among the Jews. He made some changes in the ideas of the Jews. Its role is so significant that Judaism is sometimes called mosaicism, for example in England. The first books of the Bible are called Pentateuch of Moses, which also speaks of the significance of the role of Moses in the development of Judaism.
Basic ideas of Judaism
The main idea of Judaism is idea of God's chosen Jews. God is one, and he singled out one people - the Jews, to help them and convey his will through his prophets. The symbol of this chosenness is rite of circumcision performed on all male babies on the eighth day of their life.
Basic commandments of Judaism, according to tradition, were given by God through Moses. They contain both religious prescriptions: not to worship other gods; not mention the name of God in vain; observe the Sabbath day, on which you cannot work, and moral standards: honor your father and mother; don't kill; do not steal; do not commit adultery; do not give false testimony; covet nothing that your neighbor has. Judaism prescribes food restrictions for Jews: food is divided into kosher (permissible) and tref (unlawful).
Jewish holidays
The peculiarity of Jewish holidays is that they are celebrated on lunar calendar. The first place among the holidays is Easter. At first, Easter was associated with agricultural work. Later, it became a holiday in honor of the exodus from Egypt, the liberation of the Jews from slavery. Holiday shebuot or Pentecost Celebrates on the 50th day after the second day of Passover in honor of the Law that Moses received from God on Mount Sinai. Purim- the holiday of the salvation of the Jews from complete annihilation during the Babylonian captivity. There are many other holidays that are revered to this day by Jews living in different countries.
Sacred Literature of Judaism
The Holy Scripture of the Jews is known as Tanakh. It includes Torah(Teaching) or the Pentateuch, the authorship of which is attributed by tradition to the prophet Moses, Naviim(Prophets) - 21 books of a religious-political and historical-chronological nature, Katuvim(Scriptures) - 13 books of various religious genres. The oldest part of the Tanakh dates back to the 10th century. BC. The work of compiling a canonized version of the Holy Scriptures in Hebrew was completed in the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC. After the conquest of Palestine by Alexander the Great, the Jews settled in different countries Eastern Mediterranean. This led to the fact that most of them did not know Hebrew. The clergy undertook the translation of the Tanakh into Greek. The final version of the translation, according to legend, was carried out by seventy Egyptian scientists within 70 days and was called " Septuagint".
The defeat of the Jews in the fight against the Romans leads to the II century. AD to the mass deportation of Jews from Palestine and the expansion of their settlement zone. Period begins diaspora. At this time, an important socio-religious factor becomes synagogue, which has become not only a prayer house, but also a venue for public meetings. The leadership of the Jewish communities passes to the priests, the interpreters of the Law, who in the Babylonian community were called rabbis(great). Soon a hierarchical institution for the leadership of Jewish communities was formed - rabbinate. At the end of II - beginning of III century. based on numerous commentaries on the Torah is compiled Talmud(Teaching), which became the basis of legislation, legal proceedings and a moral and ethical code for believing Jews in the Diaspora. At present, most Jews observe only those sections of Talmudic law that govern religious, family, and civil life.
In the Middle Ages, the idea of a rationalistic interpretation of the Torah ( Moshe Maimonides, Yehuda ha-Leei), as well as mystical. The most prominent teacher of the latter trend is considered to be Rabi Shimon Bar Yochai. He is credited with the authorship of the book Zohar" - the main theoretical guide of followers Kabbalah- a mystical direction in Judaism.
Lecture delivered at an underground seminar in Leningrad in 1980.
The human mind has always sought to comprehend the essence of phenomena. Getting acquainted with any major spiritual system, a person tried to separate the essential from the non-essential, the main from the secondary. Eastern thought especially often turned to a laconic aphorism to express the foundations of a particular religious phenomenon. And the Jews, the true sons of the East, have done this from very early times; The wise men of our people, as if competing with each other, expressed the essence of the Jewish religion with one thought, sometimes even with one phrase. Many people know the answer. Hillel the Elder to a Gentile who asked for an explanation of all Jewish doctrine while he was standing on one leg. “Do not do to another what you do not wish for yourself,” says the famous sage, “this is the essence of the Torah. Everything else is just comments on it. Go and study. R. Akiva saw the essence of the Torah, the Jewish Teaching, in the words “love your neighbor as yourself,” which he commented on often and unexpectedly, brilliantly showing their depth and fundamentality.
This tradition was continued by the sages of the Middle Ages. Many of them attempted to condense the essence of the Jewish faith, but all these experiences, both early and late, were overshadowed by the brief compendium of Judaism compiled by the great 12th-century Jewish sage Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, known to Jews as the Rambam ( abbreviation of the words Rabbi-Moshe-ben-Maimon), and to Europeans - as Maimonides. The 13 principles of faith formulated by the Rambam had a profound effect on many generations of Jews. For about 700 years, everywhere - from Spain to Persia - in the old and new centers of Jewry - they were identified with Judaism in general, entered all Jewish prayer books and were repeated by Jews every morning.
It is quite natural, therefore, to construct a lecture on the foundations of our faith in the form of a presentation of the 13 principles of the Rambam with brief explanations that will help the modern intellectual to better understand what was perfectly clear to any Jew 700 years ago.
1. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, creates and governs all creation. He alone has done, is doing and will do everything that is being done.
Who is the One Who stands at the origins of Judaism, relations with Whom make up the entire history of our people, its most exalted and blackest pages? Who is He, to Whom every day and every hour the whole being of a Jew turns. To whom does he dedicate his most solemn hymns and most tender zmirot - Saturday songs? Who is he, terrible Gd of the Jews who makes the enemies of Israel tremble and excites rejoicing in the camp of friends, our heavenly Father. King of Kings, Holy One, blessed be He?
It is no coincidence that the first name that the Rambam calls him is the name of the Creator. For the first time, the Lord appears to the world as the Creator of all things and continues to show us His creative essence every day. Not a cheerful host of voluptuous Greek gods co-created the world in which we live, it did not appear as a result of a cruel struggle between good and evil, as the followers of Zoroaster imagine. No. The Almighty Himself, alone created the heavens and the earth, and the heavens, and all their host; He created everything that inhabits the earth: animal and vegetable world and a man called to be His junior partner.
Precisely because He is the sole and unique Creator of our entire world. He is also its full-fledged Master and Ruler, managing all creations. The Jews call Him the King of Kings. Everything is subject to Him, and nothing changes without His will. From the movement of stars and galaxies to the movement, emergence and death of the smallest virus, everything is under His control and control. His hidden Presence is felt in every event that occurs. Nearly 4,000 years ago, our forefather Abraham understood and saw this. “Imagine a man,” he said, “who was walking through the forest and saw a palace in flames. Is it possible, such a person would think, that this palace has no owner? Is it possible that no one cares about his fate? Such is our world!”
“A palace engulfed in flames” - this is how our world appeared to the eyes of the great patriarch, and this is how it remains to this day. Abraham not only thought about the existence of the Master, he began to look for Him. And the Owner revealed himself to him, for "The Lord is near to all who call him." And since then, we, the descendants of Abraham, are the eternal evidence of the Presence of the Most High in this world, sometimes the only evidence ...
In the morning prayer we find the following words: “...renewer every day. always the work of the Primal Creation.” The work of Creation is not limited to the first seven days of the existence of the world.
If the Creator did not constantly resume, day after day, the majestic process of creation, our world would return to its original state: everything would turn into Nothing. And what we see every day: sunrise, and snow, and rain, and our work left from the evening, grass, trees and houses are the same as we saw them yesterday - all this is the result of a "small" miracle, which created by the Creator - a constant renewal of Creation.
One pagan asked r. Akiva to prove to him the existence of God. R. Akiva answered this with a question: - Tell me, who sewed your dress for you? Akiva, how are you? You are a sage. Don't you know that clothes are made by tailors?
You see, - answered him R. Akiva, - even a simple costume cannot arise by itself. And no one has a creator. You assert that the whole world can arise from chaos and by itself, and do not notice that the splendor of this world every moment glorifies its Creator and testifies to His Existence.
2. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is one and there is no unity like His unity. And He alone was our God, is and will be.
Every conceivable unity is a composite unity. This concept itself implies the presence of parts connected together. Such is the unity of man and machine, such is the unity of many material numbers, dots that form a pattern, letters that make up words. All elements of Creation are united in our consciousness into a single harmony.
The Creator himself is not like that. Creating all the forces and objects of the world, He remains completely separate, elevated above each of them and above any of their totality. He is the Creator of forces, but He is not the sum of these forces. They do not enter into Him as constituent parts. G-d creates every element of the world from Absolute Nothing. This element arises solely due to His Will and therefore does not add anything to the essence of the Creator, does not make any addition to it. This is the meaning of Rambam's words "simple Oneness", a Oneness that we cannot define or feel. "Simple", not composite. A unity that lies beyond the limits of any conceivable combinations and combinations. This is what the main Jewish prayer, read twice a day, “Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. It proclaims the most important principle of the Jewish faith: the world is not part of G-d, the world is created by Him, but adds nothing to His perfection. The diversity of Creation does not violate the simple Unity of the Creator!
3 . I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is incorporeal, that He cannot be represented in any form, and that He has no likeness at all.
We distinguish one object of Creation from another by the boundary that separates them. It does not matter whether we are talking about a physical or conceptual object. The very process of Creation consisted in the creation of boundaries between phenomena. Accordingly, the concepts of “body”, “image”, “likeness” are the elements of Creation, since they cannot be divorced from the concept of “boundaries” in any way.
When we talk about God as infinite, we don't mean only physical or mathematical infinity. The infinity of the Creator means He has no limitations in all possible meanings. He creates boundaries, but he is not limited by anything. And if so, such concepts as “body”, “appearance”, “form”, “likeness”, “movement” cannot refer to Him.
This is what the Torah says: "For you saw no image" ( Yards, 4:15).
How then can we understand the numerous anthropomorphisms that are often found in Scripture and usually raise many questions: G-d heard, saw ... And the G-d said ... The hand of the G-d was on him ... etc.?
This is the general explanation. The Torah was given to us so that we would act in accordance with the Will of the Creator set forth in it. Therefore, "Torah speaks the language of people", describing the actions of the Creator in creation, that is, His manifestations in those created by Him borders. In this case, the likening of Divine actions to human ones becomes legitimate, giving us the opportunity to follow the Divine Will in Divine Creation. As our sages said: "As He is merciful, so be merciful; as He is long-suffering, so be you long-suffering."
Once the emperor Hadrian entered into a dispute with the river. Yehoshua about whether G-d, who created both the heavens and the earth, and all their hosts, is really invisible to the human eye and incomprehensible to other senses. "I won't believe what you say," said the emperor, until you show him to me.
When noon came. Joshua took Hadrian out into the sun and said to him, "Look well and you will see Him." “But who can look at the sun?” Adrian was surprised. “You said,” replied R. Yehoshua. “If it is impossible to look at the sun, which is one of the many servants of the G-d, is it possible to see the G-d himself, whose Glory fills the Universe?”
4 .I believe with full faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, He is the first and He is the last.
At first glance, this provision seems superfluous: since the G-d is One and, moreover, is the Creator of all things, it is clear that He preceded all creations, and will also exist even if the rest of the world disappears. However, there is another possibility, set forth, in particular, in Greek mythology, where the appearance of the Olympus of the gods, headed by the lord Zeus, was preceded by a long struggle of red-handed supernatural principles, elements, ending, finally, with the creation of the earth, people, space. Similar ideas existed among the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, and Persians. And until now, it is difficult for the human mind to “reconcile” with the idea of Creation from nothing, and even completed in a limited six-day period. Much dearer to his soul and mind are the “primordial chaos”, the “ocean of primordial matter”, the battles of gods and titans and Kronos devouring his children. All this is more understandable and satisfies the aesthetic feeling much more fully than the invisible Creator, who creates such Big world from such a small "nothing".
The 4th principle declares that no entity preceded the Creator, that no cause is required for His existence. But that's not all.
In addition to indicating that only One Almighty preceded Creation, these words also contain another meaning (is there only one?): “God is not only the source of everything, every situation, collision, fact, but also what the whole world aspires to, both as a whole and each of its separate parts. He is the Last in the sense that all situations and relationships are purposeful and find their final resolution in Him.
5 . I believe with full faith that the Creator, may His Name be blessed. He alone should pray and no one else should pray.
The religion of the Jews is very often called strict or pure monotheism. In their severity, in their zeal to protect the purity of monotheism from the temptation of pluralism, they, in the opinion of modern man, much more often than he would like, cross the line that separates solid life principles from fanaticism and obscurantism. Such a humanist does not see anything shameful in being present from time to time, for example, at an Orthodox service, and the fact that this service is celebrated according to some saint killed by the Jews does not in the least cool his ecumenical zeal. Is it possible that he, who considers religion as a dying element of national life, tradition, or, in extreme cases, as a refuge for the weak in spirit, cannot make a grand gesture from the height of his humanistic worldview? Of course, he can and does, and, as a rule, at the end of the road he is convinced (if honesty does not give up) that almost nothing remains of the most solid principles. The Jews are different.
We are a people whose history is made up of encounters with God. Starting from the ancient appearances to the forefathers, from the grandiose Sinai Revelation - these meetings are the essence of the existence of the Jews as a people. The relationship between G-d and His people developed in different ways, but always the people as a whole and its individual representatives drew vitality, firmness of spirit in serving their Creator. The Jews are the people who keep the memory of the Revelation and who since then have been able to discover the Divine Presence in the world. It is understandable, therefore, to keep their ministry pure: if you draw water from a spring, it is in your interest to keep that spring pure. The strict orientation of serving Gd alone is not a question of the breadth of the soul or the flexibility of the mind - this is a condition on the observance of which the whole life of the Jewish people depends.
This service requires a great strain of religious feeling, and it turned out to be beyond the strength of both Christianity and even the religion that is often called monotheistic - Islam. As Christianity spread, pagan gods were fused into its exquisite amalgam in the form of patron saints of cities, remarkable places, and estates. Worship of holy relics, holy objects: pieces of the cross, the shroud, the holy coffin became widespread. Service to the Virgin Mary sometimes crowds out, especially among Catholics, service to the Most High himself. It is no secret that it is to her that the most passionate, most sincere prayers are offered up.
Even in Islam, whose adherents, especially at first, very strictly followed the purity of their faith, the cults of martyrs, saints, the cult of the hidden imam became widespread.
And only the Jews offer their prayers to their heavenly Father alone. Prophets? Well, they were extraordinary people, and the greatest of them, Moshe Rabbeinu, was a giant who did more than a man could do. However, the compilers of the Passover Haggadah specially they did not mention his name, so as not to arouse even the shadow of a desire to pray to him. King David, whose soul was a ringing lyre in the hands of the Creator, was a perfect righteous man, but a Jew worshiping the tomb of David would look at least strange.
It never occurred to anyone to canonize the sages, the righteous, the martyrs, of which there were more than enough. A Jew never bows his head to anyone: in the East, everyone knew this - from the last beggar boy to the Roman emperor, whose person was considered sacred. When the emperor, during a large audience, among dozens of fallen prostrate people, found modestly but upright people, he knew that they were Jews, and he also knew that he would not force them to bend by any force. Any attempt to erect a statue of the emperor in the Temple led to open rebellion, and the proud Roman legions took off their badges when they entered the Holy City. The "absurd persistence" that has preserved us as a people.
6 .I believe with full faith that the words of the prophets are true.
In the era of the First Temple (X - VI centuries BC), the souls of people were much purer than in our time. The most righteous among them reached a special state when Divine wisdom directly revealed to their souls. Those were the prophets.
Prophecy - the message of the Creator, received in such a direct way, could relate to a variety of subjects: from simple everyday to the most grandiose events that decided the fate of peoples and states. In that glorious time, thousands of prophets wandered along the roads and cities of the Land of Israel, prophesied in the bazaars and squares. But only 55 are mentioned in Tanakh. The truth of their prophecies is what the Rambam means.
How are they different from other thousands? The fact that even if the message that they are called upon to convey concerns very specific people, places, peoples, the content of the prophecy is still immeasurably deeper than its surface shell. It is outside of time, it is addressed to all Jews together and to each individually, no matter where he is and in what era he lived.
Not everything is clear to the contemporaries of the prophet in those words that fly from his lips, and almost always they are unpleasant to them. The mission of a prophet is incredibly difficult. she brings numerous troubles to him, often endangering his life; but, “feeling the hand of the Lord on himself,” the prophet nevertheless goes out to people with a prophecy; even if his soul groans under the yoke of the darkest forebodings.
The eight books of the prophets form part of the Written Torah. To understand the true content of the message that the Almighty sends to us, we can, only bringing together the Written and Oral Torah. Both of these parts of the Whole Torah were received by Moshe Rabbeinu at Sinai (More on this below. in explanation 8th principle of faith.)
This fact deserves repeated repetition, because too often the Scriptures in general, and the books of the Prophets in particular, are misunderstood, guided either by "common sense" or the context of "common human culture." But the truth in this world never lies on the surface. Truth is the Torah, the Whole Torah. Penetration inside requires serious work, rethinking of "immutable" concepts. But this work is grateful, and its result is wonderful!
7 . I believe with full faith that the prophecy of Moses, our Teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the father of the prophets who preceded him and came after him.
These few lines contain, in fact, a statement of extraordinary capacity and significance. What is the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu (our Teacher)? This is, in fact, the whole Torah- Written and Oral: everything that is set forth in the Pentateuch, named after Moses, and everything that was orally transmitted by them to Joshua bin Nun. Thus, the prophecy of Moses contains a lot of information about the Creation of the Most High World and His reign in the world, about the life of the patriarchs and the promises given to them, about the life of the sons of Israel in Egypt, slavery and an unprecedented Exodus from this slavery, committed by them under by the hand of the Almighty, about the commandments that show the Jewish people the way to realize their mission: serving the invisible Creator, who so clearly manifested and manifests Himself in the world. So, it will be completely fair to say that the Divine revelations that were made to the Jewish people through Moshe Rabbeinu are the basis, that unconditional foundation of the Jewish faith and way of life, to which the prophecies of such giants as Isaiah and Jeremiah, and books like Coelet(Ecclesiastes) and Job, full of deepest and most secret wisdom, are ns more than additions, explanations, footnotes.
The unprecedented importance, fullness and holiness of what was transmitted to the Jews, to the whole world through Moshe, makes him the head of all past and future prophets, the "father of the prophets", in the words of the Rambam. The Torah itself says that "there was no other prophet like Moses in Israel who knew G-d face to face." And the very way in which the Almighty revealed himself to Moshe corresponded to the significance of this Revelation: Moshe was the only prophet to whom G-d appeared not in a dream, not in vague images and vague hints, but in reality - revealing himself in bright fiery phenomena that left no doubt in their nature, character and content.
8 . I believe with complete faith that the entire Torah, which is now in our hands, was given to Moshe - our Teacher, peace be upon him.
The Rambam emphasizes the word "all" here. At what in two different senses.
First, it means that the entire Torah, the entire Teaching, i.e. both the written and oral parts of it were given to the Jews through Moses. At Sinai, the whole Torah was revealed to him, and he was commanded to write down part of the Torah, and part to transmit in the oral tradition from one person to another. This command Moshe fulfilled. Written Torah, or else Humash, formed the core Tanakh - Jewish Holy Canon. The oral Torah was handed down from teacher to student, from generation to generation, until, in one of the difficult moments of Jewish history, when the very existence of our people was in danger, part of it was first written down in the form Mshpny(2nd century), and then in the form of the Talmud (5th century AD).
The written Torah, sometimes called simply the Torah, consists of five books and contains, in addition to many of the basic laws of Jewish life, clear indications of the existence of an oral addition to it. This addition contains both additional commandments and ways of interpreting the Written Torah, allowing to reveal its infinite content.
The Written and Oral Teachings constitute an inseparable unity, and although Jewish history knows several attempts to break this unity and belittle the significance of the Oral Law, all of them have obviously failed.
According to the sages Mishnah, Israel was shown special love by the fact that he was given a jewel, with the help of which the World - Torah was created. The Torah existed before Creation. She was the very plan according to which the world was created. It is clear that the Talmud does not mean parchment, ink and letters, since they did not exist before Creation, but the spiritual essence of the World, the earthly incarnation of which is the Torah, transmitted to the Jewish people. And so, the second meaning of Rambam's emphasis on the word "all" lies in the assertion of the fact that the entire Torah was transmitted to us without a trace, and not some part of it. Man must become a junior partner of the Creator. Without his efforts, the world will not achieve the desired perfection, so the Almighty gave people the entire Torah - the entire plan of Creation, so that human activity on Earth would gain purpose and meaning.
9. I believe with full faith that this Torah will not be changed and that there will be no other Torah from the Creator, blessed be His Name.
As mentioned above. The Torah is a reflection of the essence of Creation. She is the plan, she is the plan and the way. The plan of the Creation of the world, the purpose and meaning of its existence and the path that a person must follow in order to fulfill the task for which he was created: to serve the Creator. G-d's plan is majestic and complex, and the task entrusted to man is exceedingly difficult. The Jews, whose existence at all times was firmly connected with the Torah, lived with the knowledge that the future of the World depended on their every action. The mystical sense of belonging to the Cause of Creation gave their thoughts a beauty and grandeur that completely eluded the grounded mind. Torah is eternal.
Given to us three and a half thousand years ago, it still remains the source of the spiritual strength of the Jews, the joy of their hearts, a carefully cherished treasure. In the very word TORAH is heard op - light. The sage King Shlomo called it the Light of Israel, illuminating everything around. The famous Rabbi Akiva, in a parable he told, called the Torah the habitat of the Jews, in which they can only live, like fish in water. But in order to keep at the height that the Torah requires from a person, he must make constant efforts. Inclined to compromise, always ready to submit to the “course of events,” the human mind hurries to declare the Creator’s high standards “obsolete, unnecessary, petty prescriptions,” and the entire Torah “a collection of institutions that were needed in primitive times to curb wild the instincts of our ancestors." Such a modern man is not exclusively a product of our days: a great Jewish thinker spoke about him eight centuries ago. In our people at all times there were people who sought to throw off the heavy burden of being chosen, to abandon what made us a unique people, which is expressed in the eternal Torah - to abandon the Covenant with Gd. But truly, there is nothing new under the sun. And today we are faced with the same tasks that faced the generation of the desert, the generation of Da-vida, hundreds of generations of our ancestors - following the path of the Torah, to restore the Temple, to liberate mashiach, approve the Law and sanctify the Name of the Most High among the nations. And today, G-d-pod answers the people of Israel through the mouth of the prophet Micah to the constant dumb question: “Oh, man! It has been told to you what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love works of mercy, and to walk humbly before your God.”
If all Jews spent only two Shabbat as the Almighty asks them, the whole world would be delivered from evil and injustice!
He has done and is doing everything in His power: He brought us out of Egypt, fed us in the wilderness, brought us to Sinai, gave us the Torah, led us to the borders of the Promised Land, and despite all the sins, does not turn away His Face from us.
He has nothing to change in the eternal and perfect Torah. And there is no need to give another Torah. The queue is behind us!
10 . I believe with full faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, knows all the deeds of men and all their thoughts, as it is said: “He who creates all their hearts and penetrates all their works!”
II. I believe with full faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, rewards those who keep His commandments with goodness, and punishes those who transgress His commandments.
I took the liberty of combining the tenth and eleventh principles of the Rambam, as they are closely related.
Among the many names and epithets with which the Jews endowed the Creator, there is one unusual, unlike the way other religions or theological systems imagine G-d. This name - Hai -"Alive". G-d in the Jewish sense is the Living Eternal Essence. He is actively involved in everything that is done on earth. Although He is the Creator of the World, and therefore more than the World, at the same time He is present in the World itself: in every situation, in every process, in every moment of this complex movement.
There is a theology of deism, whose followers (and there are many of them) believe that Gd, having created the World, left it to the mercy of fate, not interfering at all with what happens according to “natural” laws. Gd of deists - Gd of philosophers, Gd, in a sense, “calculated”, involved as a means of resolving logical contradictions that arise in philosophical (theological) worldview systems.
The opposite of deism is pantheism, which also has many supporters. Pantheists deify nature, they identify Nature and G-d and worship nature, that is, they think G-d is completely immersed in the world.
The Jews imagine Gd differently: the Torah begins with a description of the Creation of the Universe by the eternal invisible, having no physical representation of Gd at all. However, the world from the very beginning was not left only to its internal worldly affairs. The Torah describes the constant involvement of the Creator in ongoing events. Everything that happens is the result of the mutual action of man and the Creator. constantly trying to raise His junior partner to the level that he is potentially capable of achieving. The Torah speaks of the flood and the righteous Noah (Noah), the extermination of the sinners of Sodom and Amora (Gomorrah), the efforts of the forefather Abraham to comprehend the paths that a person should follow. A person can establish contact with God, can turn to Him, ask, plead, insist. During the Exodus from Egypt, the entire Jewish people saw the intervention in their fate of the One who Created the World, gave the Promise to the patriarchs; Jews clearly saw also that history. created before their eyes, is the result of both the efforts and the Will of the Creator. That is why the Exodus is the event to which the memory and thought of the Jew returns again and again, which daily nourishes and strengthens his faith, his idea of the One who controls all events, who gives direction and meaning to all actions.
Nothing escapes the "gaze" of the Almighty, everything happens under His control and with His participation. He sees and appreciates all people's affairs. He penetrates even thoughts, and only the wicked or the erring can believe that there is something hidden from His sight.
However, seeing and feeling everything, being the Master, Lord of any situation, G-d limits himself. giving man the freedom to choose his path. It is this freedom given to a person, his ability to do what he was created for or turn away from his mission, his Creator and Friend - makes it possible for the Creator to reward the righteous and punish those who consciously denies its purpose, the os-mentality of Being and the power of the Almighty.
The King of Kings rules the world with Justice and Mercy. He carefully sees to it that none of these qualities gain preponderance, otherwise the world will either be destroyed or drowned in sin. A person is usually more inclined to trust in the Divine Mercy than to remember His Justice and his duty. Therefore, the “honestly” earned punishment often seems to him undeserved, and the countless favors with which, like a Loving Father, the Almighty showers a person, are “natural” and not worth mentioning or gratitude.
According to Judaism, a person's soul continues to exist even after the death of his body. Ideas about the afterlife exist among very many peoples, not only Jews say "in another world." But all oppose each other the earthly world and the other world, as a rule, considering the earthly world only an unworthy temporary refuge of an immortal soul, something that should be overcome.
The Jews, however, consider these two worlds to be the components of the One World, which are now separated only by a thin partition, and at the End of Days they will clearly appear in their Undoubted Unity for all.
Consequently, both reward and punishment can be given to the soul at any moment of its existence.
This question is often asked. “If the Almighty knows the past and the future, then He also knows how a person will act in a given situation. Doesn't this knowledge limit a person's freedom of choice and thus call into question the justice of God's punishment and reward?
Once this question was asked by the Prussian Tsar to Rav Jonathan Eybeshyutz. He replied: “I will show you clearly by an example that knowledge of the future does not in any way limit the freedom of man. You are planning to visit one of the cities you own. There are two gates in the city wall. I know exactly how you will enter the city. So I write it down on a piece of paper and you seal the envelope with your royal seal. When you enter the city, you will open the envelope and make sure that this knowledge of mine did not limit you in any way at the moment of making a decision.
The king went on his way. Having approached the city wall, he saw two gates: one is large, front, and the other is small. The king directed his horse to the main entrance, but suddenly stopped and began to think. “It's too easy. The Jew knows that there are only two entrances to the city, and, of course, he thinks that I will use the front one. You can't just let him win like that." And the king went to the small gates, but, having reached them, he stopped. “Eh, no. The Jew is smart and, besides, he knows me well. He certainly foresaw the course of my thoughts and indicated in his note the small gate. Thinking so, the king again rode up to the main entrance. And again he was seized with doubt. “It's still too easy. The Jew will guess, and everyone will laugh at my simplicity. We must return to the small entrance. So, doubting, the king and his retinue rushed from one gate to another and did not dare to enter the city. And suddenly it dawned on the king. “Yeah, that's it! The Jew could never have foreseen this!” And he ordered his soldiers to break part of the city wall and drove into this gap with his retinue. Then the servant brought him a letter from Rav Jonathan. The triumphant king broke the seal and read what was written in it: “The king breaks through the fence!”
12 .I believe with full faith in the coming of Mashiach. And despite the fact that he is slow, I will wait for him to come every day.
Coming Mashiach - one of those bases Jewish faith which is difficult to describe rationally. Being torn out of the context of everyday life and the history of the people or separated from the mystical sense of suffering Shokhins - The Divine Presence lying in the dust, it seems like a naive dream, a consolation for the eternally persecuted, or, at best, an epic "expression of national ideals." But this is only a small part of the truth. Expectation Mashiach - it is a daily affirmation of the meaning of Being, an expression of a deep faith that Creation had specific goal, the achievement of which primarily depends on the Jews. An important aspect of the goal is universal justice.
Mashiach - The Anointed One is a person from the family of King David, with the advent of which the Kingdom of God will be established on Earth, the Kingdom of Justice, there will be no oppressed and unjustly offended. There will be no unrighteousness and lawlessness. The Torah will shine in all its splendor, and its wisdom will become clear, open to all peoples. The whole world will not only recognize the existence of the Creator and His power, but will also call Him by one Name. As it says in the book of the prophet Zechariah: "On that day the Lord will be One and His Name will be One." Then all the sins of Israel will be atoned for, and the Lord will return all those scattered to the Land, which He gave to our ancestors many thousands of years ago, and from which our people were expelled by Him for grave sins.
With coming mashiach the world will be perfect. But the onset of the day, when the horn sounds, and Eliyahu-Anavi - Elijah the prophet - will pass over the whole Earth, calling us to come out and welcome the so desired appearance of the Anointed One of God, depends on human deeds, on how pure our thoughts and whether our souls are turned to God. As the Jewish sages say: “The keys to the dungeon in which the Messiah languishes are in our hands. Each good deed breaks one chain, each sin imposes new fetters on him.
There is an ancient Jewish parable that old people tell to growing boys: “A beggar sits in the mud at the gates of Rome. It - mashiach. He sits and waits.” “Whom?” the boy asks. And he gets the answer: "You-be."
13 . I believe with full faith that there will be a resurrection from the dead at a time when a command will come from the Creator, blessed be His Name, and His memory will endure forever and ever.
The soul of a person precedes his birth and does not disappear with the death of a person. It was created by the Almighty to revive the material body, so that, having descended from the higher spiritual worlds to our lower world - the one that you and I can feel with our senses - to fulfill the difficult service - the commandments of the Torah, despite the complete concealment in this lower world Divine Presence. The soul is our personality. Her stay in the body is an important but short episode. After the death of a person, the activity of the soul in fulfilling the mission entrusted to it is evaluated by the Supreme Court, and it begins its journey of returning to the Creator. It may happen that her service in the human body will be evaluated so low that, G-d forbid, she will lose the opportunity to return. The Torah speaks of this, that such a soul "will be cut off from his people."
We also know that Creation has a goal, which is called the World to Come, and we achieve this goal through the study of the Torah and the fulfillment of its commandments in this world. Generally speaking, the Coming World is a state of special harmony, justice and purity, in which the previously hidden will be revealed, and each soul will receive the main part of his reward for his labors.
And here Rambam tells us one extraordinary thing here: the World to Come is not a realm of shadows, pure souls who “left their earthly abode”. The coming of the World to Come is preceded by the resurrection of the dead, when the souls of all people who have ever lived will return to their reborn bodies, so that together with them and being in them experience an extraordinary revelation of Divine Truth.
The resurrection of the dead and the advent of the World to Come is a large and complex topic. It is impossible to cover it within the framework of a popular presentation. Deepening requires study. Studying is serious work. However, now it would be time to say the following.
The resurrection from the dead is one of the foundations of Jewish faith. Yes yes exactly faith. Not science - the realm of rational comprehension, not art - the realm of feelings and emotions - faith! Very often it is misunderstood as a support for the human mind, as something temporary, serving us until the mind has fully comprehended certain phenomena. Such an understanding of faith is extremely far from the truth. Faith - is the ability of the human soul to discover and recognize the truth, despite the lack of evidence and evidence. Faith is a mighty force that surpasses reason! Everyone is able to feel its effect, you just need to listen to what is happening in your own soul.
A few words in conclusion. Today's short lecture, if it showed you latitude Jewish teaching, its horizon, then, of course, did not show it depths. And the point here is not only that a simple conversation only about the foundations of a mighty ancient teaching will inevitably be flat, weakly reflecting its full note and spiritual power, but that we are talking today about faith in the narrow sense of the word, i.e. about what believes a Jew with all his soul and with all his heart, as he imagines the Creator, the world, history. And they didn't say anything about Jewish image life.
If you listened to a good lecture on the basics of Christian faith or faith Muslims, it would be fair to say that you have learned about entities there are many of these religions. Of course, they are also characterized by the way of life of people, what is sometimes called with dry words “ritual and rituals”; however, in these religions there is a thin but perceptible barrier between the way of thinking and the way of life. It does not exist in Judaism. In it, faith and action are fused into the Inseparable, it is impossible to understand one without the other. Being a Jew means tread just as the Creator commanded us.
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