Philo
on Apr 26, 2009 in philo jewish philosophers Philo was an observant Jew. He kept the commandments as they are described in the Bible. He lived in Alexandria in the 1st century C.E. Philo was one of the few Jews of the Hellenistic and Roman world whose works survive relatively intact, although t...

Great Jewish Philosophers
on Apr 26, 2009 in jewish philosophers Throughout history, Jews addressed the nature of their religion. Frequently, this search was the result of a perceived need to confront other intellectual or religious groups. At other times, it was inspired by attempts to reconzile between the surr...

Saadia Gaon: Revelation and Reason Reconciled
on Apr 26, 2009 in revelation saadia gaon reason jewish philosophers faith oral torah Saadia Gaon lived from 882 to 942. He was born in Egypt, but he moved to Babylonia and he became a very prominent leader of the Rabbinic movement. Saadia encountered a number of challenges that confronted Judaism in the 10th century. One of them was...

Maimonides
on Apr 26, 2009 in mishneh torah maimonies guide for the perplexed jewish philosophers Greek philosophy spread throughout the world and Jews became very well-versed in scholarship. They felt a need to reply. The greatest of these presenters of Jewish philosophy, and maybe the greatest thinker in all of Jewish history, was Moses Maimoni...

Jewish Mysticism: Kabbalah
on Apr 26, 2009 in kabbalah jewish mysicism By the middle ages, different techniques were employed to achieve superior knowledge deemed unattainable for natural processes. For instance, some people resorted to meditating on divine names as a means of achieving some contact with the deity. The...

The Afterlife in Judaism
on Apr 24, 2009 in resurrection heaven death afterlife in judaism nature of the soul hell soul afterlife By the Middle Ages, Jewish philosophers, such as Maimonides, claimed that there is reward and punishment after death. They considered belief in reward and punishment to be a major article of faith. They, too, had no doubts that these rewards are prim...

Beliefs of Judaism
on Apr 24, 2009 in beliefs of judaism judaism beliefs basic beliefs of judaism A 15th century Jewish philosopher said: “if I knew God, I would be God”. As with so many aspects of Judaism, even the basic perception of the deity, as well as the nature of God’s relationship to man, cannot be reduced to one all-embracing mand...

Fate and Free Will in Judaism: Pharisee, Sadducees and Essenes
on Apr 24, 2009 in sadducees determinism fate free will essenes predestination pharisees During the last centuries B.C.E., Judaism seems to have experienced a certain diversification. Different groups with widely varied beliefs regarding the essence of God and God’s role in this world appeared on the scene. Our sources describe at leas...

Messianic Judaism
on Apr 24, 2009 in jewish messianism messianic judaism The idea of the Messiah has wielded an enormous influence in Jewish history, but the nature of the belief always was in constant flux. There seems to be a tension between varying perceptions of the Messianic phenomenon.The word Messiah comes from the...

Death and Burial Ceremonies in Judaism
on Apr 23, 2009 in death burial cremation burial ceremony in judaism burial ceremony bones cemetery Ideally, a dying person should recite the Shema and confess his or her sins before death. That cannot always be the case. After a person dies, the corpse is cleansed and dressed in plain white shrouds. The idea being that we are all equal in death.Me...