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Michelle Horvath

SLA 150 46

Dialogue Essay

Commandments and Community: Judaism

Judaism intrigued me because it is a religion that I haven’t had much opportunity

to truly learn and understand. It is also the framework of Christianity which I feel
understanding the background and social teachings of Judaism will create a bridge to
understanding more about the similarities it shares with Christianity. Judaism can be
described as an ‘ethical monotheism’ meaning that the religion is focused on one single
God who created commandments which govern their beliefs as well as the reason for why
people who follow Judaism do what they do.
Judaism has a strong focus on the commandments as the foundation for their
religious beliefs of moral principles of what is right and wrong. This is outlined in the
Torah, which is thought to have originated 1400 BCE, the Torah is the first five books of
the Bible. The commandments in the Torah revolve around social justice, equality before
law, loving-kindness, social welfare, and the idea of peace and political freedom. With
the commandments having such an importance to the religion, I believe this is how
Judaism has shaped how they respond to the world around them by following their moral
principles of the commandments to please their God and sustain their religion.. An
example of one of the commandments is, “If you see the donkey of him who hates you,
fallen down under his burden, don’t leave him. Help him with it”. This is leaning towards
the loving-kindness while creating peace even with someone who may have not treated
you the same. This speaks volumes about the character of those who follow Judaism
because it really puts an emphasis on still helping out your ‘neighbor’ even if they have
not done the same for you in the past.. Another example is Tikkun Olam, this is about
repairing the world, by making contributions to bettering the world and helping those
around them that are in need.

Tikkun Olam is a good place to start for the search for human meaning, although
it is not the only place to focus on. Tikkun Olam can be seen as God created the world
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and although it is not perfect and there are pieces scattered that his followers in Judaism
are put here to help ‘pick up’ those pieces and create a better world for everyone.Tikkun
Olam is a term used towards social issues which makes people who follow Judaism a part
of trying to help better the world while giving meaning and purpose to the work they are
contributing and their life. This can be presented by charitable giving or just acts of
kindness to make a change. This opens the door for more than just prayer to give them
human meaning and connection but also by doing the physical action to make it objective
and meaningful. Tikkun Olam is so important for the world today and currently in our
society. With current issues going on such as, Black Lives Matter movement, this can
help the Jewish community connect while advocating and uplifting people while looking
for solutions to the current world issues we are faced with.

One of the most surprising themes that I have discovered in Judaism is the
connection they make with their community and the love and support that they offer to
each other. They have consideration for what is going on in the world and take those
world issues seriously while remaining faithful to their religion. Their faith and beliefs
will always come first, but because of those beliefs already having the social welfare
involved it works together very cohesively to make it realistic. Judaism seems to have a
strong connection with their community and threaded through they have their
commandments which will lead them into the absolute path of righteousness.

Works Cited
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“Expressing Our Judaism Through Social Justice in 2019.” Jewish Theological Seminary,
n.d. http://www.jtsa.edu/expressing-our-judaism-through-social-justice. r

“Core Ethical Teachings of Judaism.” Israel & Judaism Studies (IJS).

https://www.ijs.org.au/core-ethical-teachings-of-judaism/.

Mjl. “Tikkun Olam: Repairing the World.” My Jewish

Learning.https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tikkun-olam-repairing-the-world/.