Notes

While reading through this module, I couldn't help comparing the Jewish traditions to Islamic traditions. Being someone who knew a lot about the Muslim traditions, and not a lot about Jewish traditions, I found quite a bit of similarities in some of the key aspects of these two religions. For starters, the Torah and the Quran were both revelations of God's teachings, received by Prophets - Moses and Muhammed, respectively. Both had nothing to do with the Bible or Old Testament, and I also found it very interesting that both of these revelations were made on mountains. A difference in this revelation, is that in Judaism the Torah was revealed by God, himself. In that, God revealed himself to the Patriarchs as well as to Moses and the Jewish people, hence revealing his commandments. However, in Islamic tradition, it is believed that God never reveals himself. Rather, it is an Angel that comes down to Earth and reveals the first verse of the Quran to the Prophet. The Quran, additionally, was revealed in parts over 23 years, also differing from the "Giving of the Torah". Another religious tradition I found myself comparing the Jewish traditions to, is that of Christian traditions. While reading about the commandments, I realized that they were very similar - if not the same - to the Catholic and Protestant commandments. After researching more about this, I came to know that Christians too believe that the 10 commandments were passed along to Moses after leaving Egypt. This, in particular, was a very surprising fact for me to learn, as I had always associated the Ten Commandments with the Christian faith, and had no knowledge that it stemmed form Moses. Overall, while comparing Judaism to religions I already had previous knowledge about, I drew most of my comparisons to the Islamic and Christian faith and found Jewish traditions to be similar - in some aspects - to both.
There are many things that make Judaism unique, but something that stood out to me, and that I think would help people understand traditional Judaism, is the significance of the Torah and the commandments. Jewish people believe that God assisted Moses in helping the Jewish people flee from the slavery they were facing in Egypt, to Mount Sinai. Once they were on the mountain, God revealed himself to not only Moses but also millions of Jews, and revealed his 10 commandments which was known as the "Giving of the Torah'". However, Jews don't believe in just the Ten Commandments, rather, they believe in 613. Because of this revelation, the Torah and the commandments are a huge part of the Jewish traditions, and are obligated to be followed by all Jewish adults (13+).