LAW AND PRACTICE IN OUR RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS

SEVEN NOAHIDE LAWS – Shev’ah Mitzvot Bnai Noach / שבע מצוות בני נח

There are seven laws given to the sons of Noach, intended for all of humanity.  Watch this “telling” in a unique way, while we consider how we bring EVERYONE into our communities of faith.

TEN COMMANDMENTS 

This code is of great importance to all monotheistic religions, while the seven laws of the sons of Noach are for all of humanity.  This code, while differentiated among the various monotheistic faith teachings, maintains a great deal of similarity among those faith communities that hold that there is One God to whom we are all accountable.

A fun reciting of the basics of the Ten Commandments according to Jewish belief 

Here is a comparison between the Biblical/Jewish listing and the Catholic listing from a Christian perspective.

Here is the version of the Ten Commandments accepted and taught in Islam.

TARYAG MITZVOT/ 613 Commandments

This is a very short fun video that describes the difference between the Ten Commandments and the 613 commandments that are specifically intended for Jews and their practice.

These commandments form the corpus of Jewish law and practice.  The details of these practices are expounded and indicated through Jewish texts, beginning with the Torah, moving through the Mishneh and then the Talmud, and further codified through the work of many Rabbis and teachers throughout Jewish history.

The Rabbinic tradition and process indicated here became the lifeline of the Jewish community after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.  Through this process, Jews who are observant of Jewish Law continue to seek out authorities and explanations that allow us to apply these laws in ways that make sense in our lives.

JEWISH SOURCES 

Jewish adherents consider study and the texts of our tradition to be pivotal and central to our identity.  Being called the People of the Book is an accurate depiction.  Daily study of our texts, laws and sources continues to be an ongoing practice of many observant and committed Jews through modern times.

The TORAH, or Five Books of Moses is considered to be given by God, with variant beliefs about how it was transcribed, ranging from the notion that Moses received the written Torah directly to theories about different strands of transmission and dissemination.  Nonetheless, the absolute UNITY and ONENESS of God and God’s relationship to the Jewish people is the central and foundational core of the TORAH for Jewish readers.  Its text contains narratives of our ancestors, adventures of the Jewish people and a corpus of law that frames Jewish life on many levels until today. This is called the Written Law or Torah SheBichtav.

The NEVI’IM and KETUVIM, the books of the Prophets and Writings compile literature that is historical, provides important narratives, and teachings that are to sustain the Jewish nation in a variety of situations.  Together these three bodies of literature form what is called the TANACH or Jewish Bible.  It should parenthetically be pointed out that the order of the books of the TANACH is not the same as when this is the Old Testament to the New Testament in the Christian Bible order.  Later books are ordered to lead up to Jesus’ life and centrality in the RSV and King James Bible, whereas this is not a consideration in the TANACH.

The laws and practices indicated in the TORAH are further developed in the MISHNEH, codified about 200ce and the GEMARA, codified about 600ce.  Together this forms the Oral Law or Torah She’Be’al Peh. This continuation of the Rabbinic process of development and explanation of the text given by God was critical after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70ce.  This parallels the development of what will become known as Christianity and continues through the period during which Islam begins.  These books of law and practice are divided into topical categories and cover daily practices, agricultural standards, treatment of animals, civil law, legal procedures and so much else in addition to religious rituals and practice.  In short, this forms a guide for living according to foundational Jewish beliefs and standards.

There are COMMENTARIES on all of the above sources that continue throughout the centuries.  Some of the most well-known are Rashi, who lived in the 11^th – beginning of 12^th centuries ce; Maimonides who lived in the 12^th – beginning of 13^th  centuries ce, Nachmonides who lived a bit after that, and so many others. Many of the discussions of various Commentators revolves around negotiating what is actually law given by God and how the Rabbinic tradition expands upon that law.  There are often many disagreements in all of these texts, and often acknowledgement that there is definitely more than one way to interpret the law given by God, something valuable for all to remember.

While commentaries will continue to abound and codifications of the law updated, for example in Maimonides’ Mishnah Torah and the Shulhan Aruch which will appear later, there is another strand of Jewish thought and practice that develops, that of Jewish Mysticism.  As in other religious traditions, through times of pain and despair, Jewish believers needed something perceived as more soulful and less didactic, more spiritual and less judgmental to hold onto.  These traditions will continue and develop in different times.  One known example in today’s world is that of Hassidut, a form of strict religious adherence that is also invested with a strong spiritual component for most groupings in this category (though not all).

Texts of Jewish History, Prayerbooks or Siddurim, and Jewish philosophy and belief continue to abound and show a continued intentionality in insuring that Jewish traditions and time-honored praxis are relevant and interfaced with ongoing societal and cultural changes and development.  To know where we come from is critical in thinking about our future journeys.  In this process, we are indeed People of the Book.  (SSE)

A Brief Historical Exposition of…

Judaism 101 Explained… (by: Keith Hughes); 17min./51sec.

JEWISH GROUPINGS:

As of around 1815, the Jewish community began to develop the ideological groupings that are used today to define different iterations of levels of Jewish belief and practice.  Until that time, all Jews either observed or did not observe the totality of Jewish law, with all of its details and elements.  Due to Jewish interaction with the world and the impact on Jewish communities by what was occurring in that world, different understandings of how that corpus of practice and living in the world should intersect.

While this was a response to the circumstances of the times, this was NOT the first time there were different defined Jewish Groupings.  Let us take a very brief trip through Jewish History.  We will begin with where we are today and go back to earlier times afterwards:

So, this was not the first time we saw Jewish divisions and movements develop.  In the First Century, there were four identifiable groupings:

• Pharissees were the rank and file of the Jewish community, practicing all of law as they understood it. These were what we might think of as Rabbinic Jews.
• Saduccees were those who rejected the development of Rabbinic Law and only observed the literal word of the Torah, as they understood it.  They were very dedicated to the practice of sacrifices.
• Zeolots were those who were the warriors of the time who believed that they had to fight their way to Jewish survival.
• Essenes  were those who lived in isolation away from the influences and perceived corruptions of society.  These were only men, so quickly died out for obvious reasons.

Later in the 8^th century we have these groupings:

• Karaites are fundamentalist Jews only going by the Torah law literally as they understood it and rejecting any Rabbinic development.  This group eventually died out though small groups keep popping up from time to time.
• Rabbinic Jews observed both the Written and Oral Law holding the authority of the Rabbinic development to be as critical as what was in the Torah.  This group survived.
• Samaritans are difficult to place accurately in an historical sense, but trace their roots all the way back to ancient Samaria and claim to be the original Jews, both in identity and in practice.  They practice sacrifice and other Biblically focused practices that may not be maintained by the general Jewish populous as time goes on.

In the Thirteenth – Fifteenth Centuries or so, we are speaking of cultural differences that determine group identity.  These divisions, as imprecise as they are, continue until today.  Differences will range from food customs to prayer practices to holiday observances and so much more.

• Ashkenazim are those generally from Eastern European backgrounds.
• Sephardim are generally from Spanish and European/Asian backgrounds.
• Mizrachim claim African roots generally.

Due to the ongoing challenge of juxtaposing one’s religious identity and practice with the cultural and ethnic reality of one’s life, these differences can often be profound, there can be lack of understanding amongst the groups, and widely different interpretations of law.

In short, the Jewish community and the practices followed are not monolithic by any stretch of the imagination.  To take one example, the construction and architecture of synagogues will often reflect the land of origin of the community (e.g. Persian, German, Russian, etc.) more than any Jewish contours per se.  Thus, in the Jewish community we are often teasing out cultural influences, lands of origin, and actual Jewish practices as they evolve to better understand each other and ourselves.

What Are The Abrahamic Religions? Why The Divisiveness?

IF JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM ARE FROM THE SAME LINEAGE, WHY IS THERE CONFLICT AMONGST THE THREE FAITHS?

How are Judaism, Christianity and Islam related?

An Abrahamic religion is a religion whose people believe that the Hebrew patriarch Abraham and his descendants hold an important role in human spiritual development. The best known Abrahamic religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. … Abrahamic religions are “monotheistic”, meaningthat they believe in just one God.

• Judaism (7th century BCE),
• Christianity (1st century CE)
• Islam (7th century CE)

How are Judaism Christianity and Islam related?

Besides the obvious… (being able to trace their lineage back to Abraham)…Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic religions. Jews and Muslims greatly stress the oneness and unity of God.

Do Muslims pray to the God of Abraham?

The God that Jacob worshipped; the God that Abraham and Isaac worshipped, is the same God that Muslims worship. Christians, however, believe in a triune God: God the father, God the son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Some may say that this negates monotheism. 

Continue reading What Are The Abrahamic Religions? Why The Divisiveness?→

A Shocking Truth About Religion

I think this documentary will change some of the understandings and/or views that most of us claim to know about the religion we proclaim to follow.  Please note that I don’t think the  narrator is saying that the “man Jesus” didn’t exist.  I simply think he is expounding on the “myth of Jesus” and its relation to previous historical  religious figures in other religions.

HaSatan (The Adversary), Satan & The Jinn

One of the most difficult and challenging aspects of our existence, if not the most troubling dynamic of our understanding is how evil and NOT GOOD comes into our lives.  Each of our religious traditions has to place the evil around us somewhere.  The process of coming to an understanding of this existence of that which would destroy us is critical in our understanding God and our faith in God.

In Judaism, there is an unwavering belief that ALL is created by and comes from God, The Creator of All.  So, theologically speaking, this presents a serious challenge to faith. How can I believe in a God that creates evil as well as good?   For Judaism, this notion of Not-good is a part of the capacity that the human being has, both with potential good outcomes as well as results that are not good.  This is what we refer to as the good inclination – yetzer tov/יצר טוב and the not-good inclination – yetzer hara/ יצר הרע.  We are taught that the yetzer hara is needed because from here comes creativity, necessitated by our acknowledgement that all is not complete, and we have work to do, initiatives to take to improve our world.  

In the Talmud, in Masechet Yoma (the Tractate that addresses repentance among other things) and in many other places, we are taught that everything the human is was created by God EXCEPT FOR how we use our choices – our good inclination and our not-good/creative inclination. This is the human being’s gift back to God.  So here, the Evil in our lives has not source other than God and ourselves.

For Christianity and Islam, this is not as much the case.  Here we have Satan, who has a ream of his own.  For Judaism, HASATAN – or The Adversary is part of God’s company if you will, with a task that is defined to check and test the human being and their will.  This is seen at many points, most poignantly in the narrative of Job/Iyov.

With this as a backdrop, let us look at these videos and their explanation of this troubling aspect of our reality.  Who is HASATAN? Who is SATAN?  Who or what is the JINN?  Are they the same or not?

The Jewish Understanding…

The Christian Understanding…

The Muslim Understanding…

So what do you think?  Do any of these options resonate more with you?  Why?  Feel free to discuss this in the various chat options in the Interfaith Library.

How Jews, Christians & Muslims View Jesus

For Jews, there was a man named Yeshua who was a teacher, a Rabbi if you will, in the first century of the Common Era.  He among many other teachers, was persecuted by the Romans, and is regarded as one who lived a Jewish life, practiced as a Jew and lived in the community as a Jew.  Once he becomes the pivotal and central figure for a new religious entity that develops at that time, known now as Christianity (generally, not specifically), the Jewish connection basically ends.  Jesus goes on to be The Savior in Christianity, strongly identified with God, and then a prophet in Islam.

Jewish Viewpoint…

Most Christians believe that Jesus, as well as being fully human, is also fully God. Most Christians believe that Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity and is the Son of God.

Christian Viewpoint…

Muslims believe that Jesus (called “Isa” in Arabic) was a prophet of God and was born to a virgin (Mary). They also believe he will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment to restore justice and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal, or “the false messiah” — also known as the Antichrist.

Islamic Viewpoint…

PROPHECY IN OUR RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS

LEADERSHIP AND PROPHECY IN JUDAISM – In considering prophecy in the Jewish tradition and history, we need to define leadership and other associated roles in the Tanach. In terms of the trajectory of the Jewish narrative, we begin with people and their very human lives. All B’nai Adam, human beings are limited and finite, while only God is infinite and without limits.  

The entire book of Bereshit/Genesis tells the narrative of the Avot v’Imahot, the Fathers and Mothers of our Monotheistic belief system. These are stories of imperfect people with conflicts, human failings, family dynamics that are less than wonderful, and the challenges that they meet in their lives. It has been posited by many Biblical scholars that in terms of the inclusion of these narratives, their value is in the instruction they hold for how we are to live our lives and the consequences of missteps.

With the Book of Shemot/Exodus, the family of Joseph has multiplied into a national entity that will leave the oppression of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. With Moses begins a new chapter of leadership in the Jewish narrative, that will involve his brother Aaron and sister Miriam, and then include Joshua and continue into the period of Judges, with a succession of different types of leaders who will move the Jewish people from tribal family to nation to kingdom, and with a parallel succession of leader types for each entity. 

The book of VaYikra/Leviticus is filled with laws of purity, defined limits and the responsibility of leaders as well as the ideal set of standards the Jewish nation are to maintain. Their success or lack thereof in doing so comes through in the litany of their adventures and travels as described in BaMidbar/Numbers. The Fifth of the Five Books of Moses is Devarim/Deuteronomy in which there are review lessons of past experiences, repetition of various codes and categories of law, and clear dictates for future generations.

After these Five Books of Moses, we have the books of the Prophets – Neviim – and Writings – Ketuvim. Here we see many generations of experiences and leaders play out. As the Malchut Yisrael – the Kingdom of Israel – grows, we will note a division of power between Kings and Prophets. These prophets will provide the spiritual compass for the nation as it confronts so many challenges.  The very word for PROPHET, Navi, means “we will bring” as in “we will bring the word of God to you. That is the role of the Navi.

At no point in this trajectory does any Patriarch, Matriarch, Judge, Leader, King or Prophet leave or extend beyond the human domain. People are people and God is God. It is that simple.

For Christianity and Islam, Prophecy becomes something so much more developed.

Do All Three Religions Share The Same Line of Prophets?

This posting illustrates how Judaism, Christianity and Islam share in the line of prophets and Divine revelation.

Most of the world’s religions have produced theories as to how the world was created and how people and animals came to be here. Usually these take the form of creation stories in the sacred books of the religion concerned.

The Prophet Seth (pbuh)

Sheth (pbuh) was the third son of the Prophet Adam (pbuh). When Prophet Sheth (pbuh) was born, his father, the Prophet Adam (pbuh), had attained the age of 130 years.

The Almighty conferred upon him the honor of Prophethood after Adam (pbuh). It is said that The Almighty revealed to him fifty small portions of the Scripture.

When Prophet Adam (pbuh) was on death bed, he appointed Sheth (pbuh) as his successor and advised his descendants to follow him and live peacefully in perfect harmony. He tried to guide his followers on the right path, but some of them were strayed by the Satan. They began to worship Satan’s self-made portrait.

Prophet Sheth (pbuh) passed away at the age of 912 years. Anush, his son, won a remarkable position after him. In the fourth century there existed in Egypt a sect of gnostic, calling themselves Sethians. They regarded Sheth as a divine emanation.

Judeo/Christian version…

Islamic version…

The Prophet Noah (pbuh)

Biblical version…

Islamic version…

The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

One of the prophets given the most attention in the Quran is the prophet Abraham.  The Quran tells of him and his unwavering belief in God, first calling him to reject his people and their idolatry, and later to prove true to various tests which God places before him. 

In Islam, Abraham is seen as a strict monotheist who calls his people to the worship of God alone.  For this belief, he bears great hardships, even disassociating himself with his family and people through migration to various lands.  He is one who fulfills various commandments of God through which he is tested, proving true to each one.

Due to this strength of faith, the Quran attributes the one and only true religion to be the “Path of Abraham”, even though prophets before him, such as Noah, called to the same faith.  Because of his tireless act of obedience to God, He gave him the special title of “Khaleel”, or beloved servant, not given to any other Prophet before.  Due to the excellence of Abraham, God made prophets from his progeny, from them Ishmael Isaac, Jacob (Israel) and Moses, guiding people to the truth.

The lofty status of Abraham is one shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike.  The Jews see him to be epitome of virtue as he fulfilled all the commandments although before they were revealed, and was the first to come to the realization of the One True God.  He is seen as the father of the chosen race, the father of prophets due to which God started his series of revelations.  In Christianity, he is seen as the father of all believers (Romans 4:11) and his trust in God and sacrifice is taken as a model for later saints (Hebrews 11).

As Abraham is given such importance, it is worthy that one study his life and investigate those aspects which raised him to the level which God gave him.

Although the Quran and the Sunnah do not given the details of the whole life of Abraham, they do mention certain facts worthy of note.  As with other Quranic and biblical figures, the Quran and Sunnah detail aspects of their lives as a clarification of some misguided beliefs of previous revealed religions, or those aspects which contain certain mottos and morals worthy of note and emphasis.

His Name

In the Quran, the only name given to Abraham is “Ibraheem” and “Ibrahaam”, all sharing the original root, b-r-h-m.  Although in the Bible Abraham is known as Abram at first, and then God is said to change his name to Abraham, the Quran has kept silent on this subject, neither affirming nor negating it.  Modern Judeo-Christian scholars do doubt, however, in story of the changing of his names and their respective meanings, calling it “popular world play”.  Assyriologists suggest that the Hebrew letter Hê (h) in the Minnean dialect is written in stead of a long ‘a’ (ā), and that the difference between Abraham and Abram is merely dialectical. The same can be said for the names Sarai and Sarah, as their meanings are also identical.

His Homeland

Abraham is estimated to have been born 2,166 years before Jesus in or around the Mesopotamian city of Ur, 200 miles southeast of present-day Baghdad. His father was ‘Aazar’, ‘Terah’ or ‘Terakh’ in the Bible, an idol worshipper, who was from the descendants of Shem, the son of Noah.  Some scholars of exegesis suggest that he may have been called Azar after an idol he was devoted to. He is likely to have been Akkadian, a Semitic people from the Arabian Peninsula who settled in Mesopotamia sometime in the third millennium BCE.

It seems as if Azar migrated along with some of his relatives to the city of Haran in the early childhood of Abraham before the confrontation with his people, although some Judeo-Christian traditions tell it to be later in his life after he is rejected in his native city.  In the Bible, Haran, one of the brothers of Abraham is said to have died in Ur, “in the land of his nativity” (Genesis 11:28), but he was much older than Abraham, as his other brother Nahor takes Haran’s daughter as a wife (Genesis 11:29).  The bible also makes no mention of the migration of Abraham to Haran, rather the first command to migrate is that out of Haran, as if they had settled there before (Genesis 12:1-5).  If we take the first command to mean the emigration from Ur to Canaan, there seems to be no reason that Abraham would dwell with his family in Haran, leaving his father there and proceeding to Canaan thereafter, not to mention its geographical improbability [See map].

The Quran does mention the migration of Abraham, but it does so after Abraham disassociates himself from his father and tribesmen due to their disbelief.  If he had been in Ur at that time, it seems unlikely that his father would go with him to Haran after disbelieving and torturing him along with his townspeople.  As to why they chose to migrate, archaeological evidence suggests that Ur was a great city which saw its rise and fall within the lifetime of Abraham, so they may have been forced to leave due to environmental hardships.  They may have chosen Haran due to it sharing the same religion as Ur.

The Religion of Mesopotamia

Archeological discoveries from the time of Abraham paint a vivid picture of the religious life of Mesopotamia.  Its inhabitants were polytheists who believed in a pantheon, in which each god had a sphere of influence.  The large temple dedicated to the Akkadian moon god, Sin, was the main centre of Ur.  Haran also had the moon as the central godhead.  This temple was believed to be the physical home of God.  The chief god of the temple was a wooden idol with additional idols, or ‘gods’, to serve him.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur, the temple of moon god Nanna, also known as Sin.  Shot in 2004, the photograph is courtesy of Lasse Jensen.

Knowledge of God

Although Judeo-Christian scholars have differed as to when Abraham came to know God, at the age of three, ten, or forty-eight, the Quran is silent in mentioning the exact age at which Abraham received his first revelation.  It seems it was, however, when he was young in age, as the Quran calls him a young man when his people try to execute him for rejecting their idols, and Abraham himself said to have knowledge not available to his father when he called him to worship God alone before his call spread to his people (19:43).  The Quran is clear, however, in saying that he was one of the prophets to whom a scripture was revealed:

“Verily!  This is in the former Scriptures.  The Scriptures of Abraham and Moses.” (Quran 87:18-19)

Finally, these last (4) four Prophets are responsible for the deliverance of the revelations that led to the creation of the Torah, the Bible and the Qur’an… (viz. Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad).

Remember, Interfaith Library’s primary intent is to be an objective guide. Our only “value statements” are: (1) religion is interesting; (2) knowledge is good.