God in Judaism

In Judaism, people believe in one God. This God helped Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and guided the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Jews think God gave them special rules to live by, called the Law of Moses, at Mount Sinai.

Jews believe God is all-powerful, everywhere, and knows everything. God made the whole world. God has no body and cannot be shown in pictures. There are special names for God in Jewish tradition, like the Tetragrammaton and Elohim.

A wise Jewish teacher named Moses Maimonides taught that God is the one being who created everything. Some Jews today see God as a powerful force.

Names

Main article: Names of God in Judaism

Further information: Elohim, Yahweh, and Tetragrammaton

In Judaism, the name of God used most often in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton. It is written as יהוה in Hebrew. Jews usually do not say this name aloud. Instead, they use the word HaShem, which means "the Name." When people pray, they often say Adonai, meaning "My Lord." This is shown in a well-known prayer called the Shema: "Hear O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One." The true way to say the Tetragrammaton was lost a long time ago.

Godhead

Main article: Godhead in Judaism

In Judaism, the Godhead is the true nature of God. It is hidden behind what God does and what God is like.

Some Jewish thinkers, like Maimonides, say we can know very little about the Godhead. They believe we can only say that God exists, and even that is hard to describe.

Other Jewish thinkers, using Kabbalah, talk about the Godhead as Ein Sof (אין סוף). This is the part of God that is beyond all of God's powers or ways of showing up in the world. They teach that the Godhead is connected to all people, but we cannot fully understand it. It remains a mystery.

Properties which are attributed to God

In traditional Judaism, God is believed to be the eternal creator of the universe and the source of morality. People believe God knows everything and has great power, although some thinkers have different ideas about this.

Judaism teaches that God is everywhere and has no physical form. Even though some old writings use male words to refer to God, Jewish belief does not give God a gender. Some modern thinkers also say God cannot be described as either male or female. The tradition also says God cannot be imagined or pictured, and making physical representations of God is not allowed.

Conceptions of God

Most Jewish beliefs think of God as a special friend to each person and to the Jewish people. Jewish teachings say God loves and cares for people and listens to them. This idea is shown in Jewish prayers and songs. They talk about God like a close friend.

Some newer Jewish thinkers have different ideas. They think of God not as a person but as a force, like nature or good ideas. These ideas say God is found all around us, in kind actions, or in the way the world works. For many, loving God means trying to live a good and fair life.