The big idea: The guide opens with a claim worth memorising: Judaism has few formal statements of belief — yet key beliefs are important.
Both halves: Few creeds, because the emphasis of Judaism is on obedience to the Torah rather than subscribing to a set of beliefs.
Quote both halves. Quoting only the first makes Judaism look indifferent to doctrine, which it is not.
The key beliefs the guide lists
- The oneness of God, as expressed in the Shema
- The holiness of God, and the choosing of the children of Israel to be a holy people, keeping the covenant by obeying the Torah obligations
- The love of God and the human response — and that God works in the history of his covenant people
- The justice of God as King and Creator
- And a challenge rather than a belief: the death of six million Jews in the Holocaust
| Key belief | Where a Jew meets it |
|---|---|
| The oneness of God | The Shema, recited daily, worn in tefillin, fixed in the mezuzah |
| The holiness of God, and Israel chosen as a holy people | Kashrut and the ritual mitzvot — the guide says they express being set apart |
| The love of God and the human response | Commanded at Deuteronomy 6: 4, in the Shema's own next line |
| God working in the history of his people | The festivals, which recreate that history — "God brought us out of Egypt" |
| The justice of God as King and Creator | The High Holy Days, and the prayers of penitence |
| Maimonides' 13 principles | Sung as the Yigdal in the synagogue service |
Where the doctrines came from: The guide's answer is short: the Hebrew Bible (the written Torah) and the oral Torah.
It then adds a modern development — Reform Judaism emerged because of cultural influences in 19th-century Germany, where the Jewish enlightenment led some to reject belief in God's giving the entire Torah to Moses on Sinai.
Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it with your first topic free to keep:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
Start Studying Free Full access to Aimnova Pro · cancel anytime
Where it is found: The guide gives the references: Deuteronomy 6: 4–9; 11: 13–21; Numbers 15: 37–41.
The same words, in three places, doing three jobs
- In the siddur
- In the mezuzah on the doorpost
- In the tefillin worn for prayer
The Shema, clause by clause. It begins as a command and ends as an instruction about a doorframe.
Interactive diagram
Explore the labelled diagram, charts and maps for this topic in full study mode.
The Maimonides detail: The guide names the 13 principles of faith as expressed by Maimonides, and adds that they are in the Yigdal in the synagogue service.
So Judaism does have a creed of a kind — sung. Mentioning that a tradition with "few formal statements of belief" nonetheless sings thirteen of them weekly shows the nuance an examiner is looking for.
Never wonder what to study next
Get a personalized daily plan based on your exam date, progress, and weak areas. We'll tell you exactly what to review each day.
Try Free Study PlanYour first topic is free to keep • No credit card required
Cosmogony and cosmology
- Jews hold God is the sole creator
- God gives human beings free will
- And requires their cooperation, struggling between good and bad inclinations
- The goal: a world of peace and justice for all
Eschatology
- Olam Ha-Ba — a fundamentally new age
- Coming after the Messianic Age, of peace and justice for humankind
- Orthodox Jews believe an individual Mashiach, a human being anointed by God, will usher in the Messianic Age
- Judaism emphasizes observance in this life rather than elaborating the hereafter
Tikkun olam: The reparation of the universe.
It is a key concept and it sits under cosmology rather than ethics for a reason: on Jewish teaching the world is unfinished and human cooperation is part of how it is completed. Human action has cosmic work to do.
The Holocaust: how this course treats it: The guide lists it under statements of belief as a challenge: "challenges to this faith posed by the death of six million Jews in the Holocaust".
How to use it in an answer
- Treat it as a question Jewish thinkers put to their own tradition
- The question: how the justice of God, the covenant and the election of a holy people are to be held after it
- Jewish responses differ profoundly, and this course does not adjudicate between them
- Report the question, report that the responses differ, and supply no resolution of your own
How this is tested. Theme 3 asks what statements of belief a religion has and what doctrines are central. For Judaism the honest answer starts by qualifying the question.
IB-style questionExamine[15 marks]
Examine the importance of statements of belief in Judaism.
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.