JUDAISM

Judaism has been influencing the lives of its adherents through aspects of their
principal beliefs and core ethical teachings. The principal beliefs of monotheism, the
Covenant and the divine moral law affect the nature of the religion and influence
commandments and rules, abided by their believers. Embodied in the Torah, the 613
mitzvot inclusive of the 10 Commandments, the Prophetic Vision and the Book of
Proverbs outline the correct way of living for the variants of Judaism, Conservative,
Reform and Orthodox. Tikkun Olam, Gemilut Chasidim, Shabbat and Kashrut are
ways of living, branched from the principal beliefs and core ethical teachings, which
heavily affect the followers of Judaism.

Tikkun Olam is a core ethical teaching in which the Jewish personal devotion is to
repair the world through Tzedakah in aspects such as social justice and the
environment all through human actions to achieve haMascheach, the perfect world.
The importance of this core ethical teaching in the lives of the adherents is that to
repay God for his promise in the Covenant, as stated in the Mishnah,
"It is not upon you to finish the work, but you are not free to ignore it." (Mishnah,
Ethics, 2:21)
This implies force in which the Jews must be responsible for the ownership of the
Earth. Every mitzvah performed is the repair of creation and as the Tikkun Olam is to
repair the world; the core ethical teaching affects the adherents of Judaism. The
Aleinu state,
"...to repair the world, Your Holy Empire," (Aleinu)
as the obligation to improve the Earth is placed of importance through daily prayer.
Due to the teaching, variants of the religion worldwide have founded organisations
such as the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, who act against social
environmental injustices such as climate change. The Canfei Nesharim, an Orthodox
organisation that focuses on the sustainability of the environment. The youth of the
Conservative Jewish Community also founded a community named the 'United
Synagogue Youth' in which they're summer program evangelizes the power of
Tzedakah. Hence, Tikkun Olam enforces the devotion of all the variants to be aware
and take action of the poverties in the world, being a core ethical teaching to repair
the Earth.

Gemilut Chasidim is a core ethical teaching that is a mitzvah in which the adherent
completes acts of kindness without anticipating something in return. As seen the
Talmud,
"Gemilut Chasidim is greater than charity," (Talmud, Suk. 49b)
in which acts of kindness affect the world and is needed to invest an individual's time
and energy, more than Tzedakah. Both the rich and the poor are expected to follow
this teaching as all mitzvot that regard relationships of humans are connected to
Gemilut Chasidim, sourced from the Bible,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18)
Hence, the highest action of the mitzvah is to attend a funeral service as the dead can
no longer repay their kindness, stated by God in Deuteronomy 34:6. Thus, the
importance of the ethical teaching affects the adherent through living out Gemilut
Chasidim daily. Organ donation is a topical issue in Judaism regarding Gemilut
Chasidim. Both Conservative and Reform Judaism permit organ donation due to the
significance of the Commandment,
 "You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor" (Lev. 19:16)
and thus it is a violation if an individual has the ability to save a life but does not do
so (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah). However, Orthodox Judaism object organ
donations and transplant, as it is a violation of the positive mitzvah of ki kavor
tikberenu, the burying of all parts of the body. Thus, Gemilut Chasidim affects the
actions of the adherents of Judaism as it is the personal devotion to do acts of
kindness daily.

The Shabbat/Sabbath is integral in the faith as it is encompassed from principal

beliefs. The Shabbat is the most important and sacred day in the Jewish week due to it
being blessed by Yahweh,
"And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy..." (Genesis 2:3)
in which it is God's day of rest. Furthermore it also being a mitzvah in the 10
Commandments,
"Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy...but the seventh day is a Sabbath for
Yahweh your God." (Exodus 20: 8-10)
further supports the sacredness of the Shabbat, dedicating and celebrating the day for
God. This principal belief of the divine moral law and the covenantal commitment not
only prioritises the sacred day, but also is the reminder of God's love to the world, as
through halachah, ordinary work is forbidden and the personal devotion must be kept
weekly. Originally, driving was prohibited on the Sabbath as it violates the 321st
mitzvah, prohibiting any travel on the Sabbath, source being from Exodus 16:29.
Driving on the Sabbath also rejects Ba'al Taschit in which driving wastefully uses
much more fuel than walking, stated in the Babylon Talmud, Shabbat 67b. However,
the Progressive and Conservative variants have re-interpreted this to fit into their
modern lifestyle and thus, are able to drive to the Synagogue on the Shabbat.
Orthodox do not drive on the Shabbat but the Conservatives has been discussing the
Driving Teshuva, proposed in 1950, that allowed Conservative Jews to drive to the
Synagogue on the Sabbath. On the contrary, many rabbis such as Rabbi David
Golinkin object such as the Shabbat should not appear as any other weekday due to its
holiness. Therefore, the Shabbat has been heavily affecting the adherents of Judaism.

Kashrut is a divine moral law, branching off the principal beliefs and is the dietary
laws set by the Jewish, sourced through their sacred writings and texts. Kosher is the
act of following halachah's laws concerning the consumption of certain types of food
and is to be followed daily, and thus this personal devotion occurs. The Torah states
that the Jews are forbidden to eat certain foods and for it to be Kosher, they must
prepare food and utensils a certain way, affecting them heavily. For example, there
are certain meats that are not to be eaten,
"You may not eat: the camel, because although it chews the cud, it does not have
divided hoofs," (Leviticus 11: 4)
The Reform Jewish variant are lenient with Kashrut, not believing it is compulsory
but rather, an old ritual that does not fit into today's society and thus, most adherents
ignore it completely. Conservative and Orthodox both keep kosher daily with
Orthodox maintaining a strict belief that it is a divine moral law at all times whilst
Conservative while keeping kosher, their rules are slightly less strict as they believe in
the appreciation of the modern and traditional ways. This is seen in their approach to
ethical issues as Magen Tzedek, a kosher foods company, has been created to tend to
meat in both halachah and not abusive to labor force or to animals. According to the
National Jewish Population survey in 2000, 21% of American Jews adhered to
Kashrut with the majority identified as Orthodox. Therefore, although Kashrut is a
divine moral law stated in the Torah, it is on the decrease due to the dynamic world
and religion.

Through the principal beliefs and core ethical teachings, Tikkun Olam, Gemilut
Chasidim, Shabbat and Kashrut all influence the daily lifestyles of the Jewish
adherents. This is achieved through personal devotion and readings of Sacred Texts.
Although Conservative, Orthodox and Reform Judaism have differing views on
certain topics, all believe in the one God, which binds them to the one religion by
abiding to the commandments set by God and working to eradicate social injustices
and attain world peace throughout the land given to them by God.