Analyse how the principal beliefs of Judaism underpin the life of Jewish

adherents. Provide examples to support your response.

Judaism underpins the lives of the Jewish adherents through its core principle beliefs.
Judaism is a practised religion with its heritage being drawn from the covenants
made by God to his chosen people such as Abraham and Noah who made key pacts
with God that changed the path the Jewish faith took. Their belief in having only one
omnipresent God who was with them in their daily life through the scriptures
changed the way they prayed and lived. Finally the core ethics of divinely inspired
moral law impacts the ways Jews made ethical decisions on a regular basis.

Gods Covenant with the Israelites lies at the heart of the Jewish faith affecting
numerous aspects of their life. A Covenant is an agreement recorded in the
Hebrew Bible between God and the people of Israel. Gods Covenant with
Abraham illustrated he wanted to have a real and interment relationship with
humanity. God promised Abraham he would bless him with as many descendants
as there are stars and give the Jewish people a land of their own which is
Canaan. In return Abraham was to live a righteous and just way; this is captured
in the Brit milah also called the "Covenant of circumcision" seen in Genesis 17:10-14,
which occurs on the 8th day after birth for males and is a special ceremony
where the child is entered into the faith through circumcision. Abrahams
covenant underpinned the life of the Jewish adherents through the process of
circumcision. Gods Covenant with Noah and his family saved him from the flood
depicted in Genesis 5:32-10 and for this Noahs family were given the
responsibility to care for the earth and all its creations. By following these rules
Judaism believes another catastrophic flood will be prevented from occurring
signified by the appearance of the rainbow as the flood ended. It is therefore the
duty of the Jewish adherents to maintain the sanctity of the earth and care for its
animals. Through the Covenants made by God to his people many rules were
created to be followed by the Jewish adherents such as Abrahams Covenant of
circumcision were all boys need to be circumcised within 8 days and the Covent
made to Noah to nurture and care for the earth.
Judaisms principle belief teaches of only one God that in omnipresent. Jews
believe that God is separate from the world but he is constantly involved in
earthly activities through his interaction with people and the clear ideologies set
in the Holy Scriptures, particularly the Torah. Having only one God is a central
focus in Judaism as this belief is reflected in the prayer, Shema. The prayer is
also considered to be Israel's declaration of faith; "Hear O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is One". This reflects Judaism's monotheistic nature. God is
conveyed as being all-powerful and the source of all creation therefore it is
believed that there can be no other Gods. At Mt. Sinai, God gave Moses the Law,
which would guide the Israelites. These laws were called the Ten Commandments
and form the basis of the Torah, the book of Jewish law. Jews practise and live the
teachings of the Torah in their daily life by following its guidelines such as
Honour thy father and thy mother Thou shalt not kill and Thou shalt not
steal conveying the rules they would need to live by to live a prosperous and
holy life. Judaisms belief in one God is evident through the daily prayer of the

Shema along with their persistent study of the Torah teaching them the pathway
to a prosperous and holy life.
A code of ethics was given to the Jewish Adherents in the Torah and Talmud to
keep their dignity as Gods creation. Jews believe that God created a set of laws
which is applicable to an infinite number of situations in the present and future. It
is used to answer ethical questions that can occur in a believers life by looking
in the Torah or Talmud for the appropriate answer. The code of ethics is to allow
people to live in freedom as seen in Exodus 14 when Moses liberated the Hebrew
people from slavery at the crossing of the Red Sea. This indicates Gods will to
help those that are vulnerable in the community. From this it is clear that the
code of ethics is a fundamental commitment from the Jewish adherents to help
the marginalised in the community.
For the aforementioned reasons these three major principle beliefs create the
foundation for Jews. The Covenants made by Abraham and Noah drastically
underpin the life of the Jewish adherents through the Convents of circumcision
were all male babies at the age of eight need to be circumcised likewise Noahs
Covenant with God insured that people would nurture and care for the earth to
prevent any other catastrophic flood. Through their worship in one omnipresent
God that actively interacts with them through the Torah, they learned the ways
to live a holy and prosperous life. Finally through the Divinely inspired Moral Law
they became committed to helping those most venerable in the community. It is
therefore evident that these three principle beliefs underpin the life of the Jewish
adherents.