G-d wanted to put a sign of His existance into the world. He set up a nation that would be that sign. They and their children would, by the fact of their existance, let the world know that there is someone upstairs who cares. That is the definition of a Jew.
Many great thinkers have pointed out that the very fact that the Jewish people have survived all of these years despite the intense persecution and hatred is the best proof that there is a hand orchestrating history. There is no other explanation for how we have survived it all, when many of the powerfull nations that tried to wipe us out are long gone.
Many of the notions that modern religions have of G-d come from Judaism. Before the advent of Judaism, Paganism was the norm. They believed in powerful and corrupt supermen who run the world. Now most of the world follows Christianity and Islam, which have both taken their more enlightened view of G-d from Judaism.
The various mitzvot and Jewish customs also serve to promote the awareness of G-d. Our holidays comemorate different miraculous events in history that occured to us as a sign of G-d's power over nature. The ten plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea that we commemorate on Passover. Women light candles every Friday night, ushering in the Holy Shabbat, which commemorates the creation of the world, in order to spread that light of our creator into the world. Men put on tefillin on weekdays to recommit themselves to the principles of the Almighty which are written inside those little boxes.
Education is valued in Judaism more than anywhere else. Our holy men are called not saints, but wise men. The highest title in Judaism is Talmud Chacham, which means 'wise student'.Our holy book is called the Torah which means 'teaching'. Our places of worship are called in Yiddish shools, which comes from the German word for school. Our most important endeavor is passing on our message to the next generation, so that they too may act as a living sign of G-d and morality. There is a G-d watching over you and urging you to do the right thing, cheering you on when you help others, disapointed when you act selfishly. It is the transmission of this message, more than anything else, that defines us as a people.
Many great thinkers have pointed out that the very fact that the Jewish people have survived all of these years despite the intense persecution and hatred is the best proof that there is a hand orchestrating history. There is no other explanation for how we have survived it all, when many of the powerfull nations that tried to wipe us out are long gone.Many of the notions that modern religions have of G-d come from Judaism. Before the advent of Judaism, Paganism was the norm. They believed in powerful and corrupt supermen who run the world. Now most of the world follows Christianity and Islam, which have both taken their more enlightened view of G-d from Judaism.
The various mitzvot and Jewish customs also serve to promote the awareness of G-d. Our holidays comemorate different miraculous events in history that occured to us as a sign of G-d's power over nature. The ten plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea that we commemorate on Passover. Women light candles every Friday night, ushering in the Holy Shabbat, which commemorates the creation of the world, in order to spread that light of our creator into the world. Men put on tefillin on weekdays to recommit themselves to the principles of the Almighty which are written inside those little boxes.
Education is valued in Judaism more than anywhere else. Our holy men are called not saints, but wise men. The highest title in Judaism is Talmud Chacham, which means 'wise student'.Our holy book is called the Torah which means 'teaching'. Our places of worship are called in Yiddish shools, which comes from the German word for school. Our most important endeavor is passing on our message to the next generation, so that they too may act as a living sign of G-d and morality. There is a G-d watching over you and urging you to do the right thing, cheering you on when you help others, disapointed when you act selfishly. It is the transmission of this message, more than anything else, that defines us as a people.
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