Editing Jewish principles of faith (section)

==Humanity and the world==

===Human nature===
{{See also|Jewish views on sin|Yetzer hara|Free will in theology #Judaism}}
Jewish tradition mostly [[Free_will_in_theology#Judaism|emphasizes free will]], and most Jewish thinkers reject [[determinism]], on the basis that free will and the exercise of free choice have been considered a precondition of moral life.<ref name="Determinism">Determinism, in ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion'' (ed. Adele Berlin, Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 210.</ref> "Moral indeterminacy seems to be assumed both by the Bible, which bids man to choose between good and evil, and by the rabbis, who hold the decision for following the good inclination, rather than the evil, rests with every individual."<ref name="Determinism"/> Maimonides asserted the compatibility of free will with foreknowledge of God.<ref>Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Teshuvah 5</ref><ref name="Determinism"/> Only a handful of Jewish thinkers have expressed deterministic views. This group includes the medieval Jewish philosopher [[Hasdai Crescas]] and the 19th-century Hasidic rabbi [[Mordechai Yosef Leiner|Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica]].<ref>Louis Jacobs, ''A Jewish Theology'' (Behrman House, 1973), p. 79.</ref><ref>Alan Brill, ''Thinking God: The Mysticism of Rabbi Zadok of Lublin'' (KTAV Publishing, 2002), p. 134.</ref>

All is necessary for God because He is perfect but for mankind all is possible by virtue of choice; the two types of view are true with knowing about the prophet who is in [[Devekut]] with God to be wise and to perform [[miracle]] for Him.<ref>”[[Or Adonai]]” by [[Hasdai Crescas]]</ref>

Judaism affirms that people are born with both a ''yetzer ha-tov'' (יצר הטוב), an inclination or impulse to do good, and with a ''[[yetzer hara]]'' (יצר הרע), an inclination or impulse to do evil. These phrases reflect the concept that "within each person, there are opposing natures continually in conflict" and are referenced many times in the rabbinic tradition.<ref>Ronald L. Eisenberg, ''What the Rabbis Said: 250 Topics from the Talmud'' (2010). ABC-CLIO: pp. 311-313.</ref> The rabbis even recognize a positive value to the ''yetzer ha-ra'': without the ''yetzer ha-ra'' there would be no civilization or other fruits of human labor. [[Midrash]] states: "Without the evil inclination, no one would father a child, build a house, or make a career."<ref>[[Bereshit Rabbah]] 9:7</ref> The implication is that ''yetzer ha-tov'' and ''yetzer ha-ra'' are best understood not only as moral categories of good and evil, but as the inherent conflict within man between selfless and selfish orientations.

Judaism recognizes two classes of "[[sin]]": offenses against other people, and offenses against God. Offenses against God may be understood as violation of a contract (the [[Covenant (biblical)|covenant]] between God and the [[Children of Israel]]). Once a person has sinned, there are various means by which they may obtain atonement (see [[Atonement in Judaism]]).

Judaism rejects the belief in "[[original sin]]". Both ancient and modern Judaism teaches that every person is responsible for his own actions. The existence of some "innate sinfulness on each human being was discussed" in both biblical ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 8:21, [[Psalms]] 51.5) and post-biblical sources;<ref name="OriginalSin">Edward Kessler, "Original Sin" in ''A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations'' (eds. Edward Kessler & Neil Wenborn, [[Cambridge University Press]], 2005) pp. 323-324.</ref> however, in the biblical verses this is brought as an argument for divine mercy, as humans cannot be blamed for the nature they were created with. Some [[apocrypha]] and [[pseudepigraph]]ic sources express pessimism about human nature ("A grain of evil seed was sown in Adam's heart from the beginning"), and the Talmud (b. [[Avodah Zarah]] 22b) has an unusual passage which [[Edward Kessler]] describes as "the [[Serpent (Bible)|serpent]] seduced [[Eve]] in [[paradise]] and impregnated her with spiritual-physical 'dirt' which was inherited through the generations", but the revelation at [[Mount Sinai|Sinai]] and the reception of the Torah cleansed Israel.<ref name="OriginalSin"/> Kessler states that "although it is clear that belief in some form of original sin did exist in Judaism, it did not become mainstream teaching, nor dogmatically fixed", but remained at the margins of Judaism.<ref name="OriginalSin" />

===Reward and punishment===
{{See also|Divine providence in Judaism}}
The mainstream Jewish view is that [[God]] will reward those who observe His commandments and punish those who intentionally transgress them. Examples of rewards and punishments are described throughout the Bible, and throughout classical rabbinic literature. The common understanding of this principle is accepted by most Orthodox and Conservative and many Reform Jews; it is generally rejected by the Reconstructionists.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Rebecca Alpert |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture |chapter=Judaism, Reconstructionist |page=346 |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref>

The rewards and punishments described by Jewish texts occur both in this life (e.g. health, wealth, offspring as rewards; suffering, poverty, death as punishments) and in the afterlife. According to the [[Talmud]], after death Jewish sinners go to a purifying place (sometimes referred to as ''Gehinnom'', i. e., Hell, but more analogous to the Christian [[Purgatory]]) to "learn their lesson". There is, however, for the most part, no eternal damnation. The vast majority of souls only go to that reforming place for a limited amount of time (less than one year). Certain categories of sinners are spoken of as having "no part in the [[world to come]]", but this appears to mean annihilation rather than an eternity of torment. In the rationalist conception of [[Maimonides]], if one perfected his intellect through Torah study, then the part of his intellect that connected to God &ndash; the [[active intellect]] &ndash; would be immortalized and enjoy the "Glory of the Presence" for all eternity. Punishment in the afterlife would simply be that this would not happen; no part of one's intellect would be immortalized with God. 

The [[Kabbalah]] (mystical tradition in Judaism) contains further elaborations, though some Jews do not consider these authoritative. For example, it admits the possibility of [[reincarnation]], which is generally rejected by non-mystical Jewish theologians and philosophers. It also believes in a triple soul, of which the lowest level (''nefesh'' or animal life) dissolves into the elements, the middle layer (''ruach'' or intellect) goes to ''Gan Eden'' (Paradise) while the highest level (''neshamah'' or spirit) seeks union with God.

===Israel chosen for a purpose===
{{Main|Jews as a chosen people}}
{{see also|Jewish views on religious pluralism}}
[[God]] chose the Jewish people to be in a unique covenant with God; the description of this covenant is the [[Torah]] itself.<ref>E.g. {{Bibleverse|Exodus|19:5-6|HE}}; {{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|7:6|HE}}</ref> [[God]] further declared in the [[Torah]] through prophecy to [[Moses]] that his "firstborn" is the Israelites. However, closeness and being chosen does not imply exclusivity, as anyone can join and [[Conversion to Judaism|convert]]. Included in the idea of being chosen is that [[Jews]] were chosen for a specific mission, a duty: to be a light unto the nations, and to have a covenant with God as described in the [[Torah]].

[[Rabbi]] Lord [[Immanuel Jakobovits]], former Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogue of [[Great Britain]], describes the mainstream Jewish view on this issue: "Yes, I do believe that the [[chosen people]] concept as affirmed by Judaism in its holy writ, its prayers, and its millennial tradition. In fact, I believe that every people&mdash;and indeed, in a more limited way, every individual&mdash;is 'chosen' or destined for some distinct purpose in advancing the designs of Providence. Only, some fulfill their mission and others do not. Maybe the Greeks were chosen for their unique contributions to art and philosophy, the Romans for their pioneering services in law and government, the British for bringing parliamentary rule into the world, and the Americans for piloting democracy in a pluralistic society. The Jews were chosen by God to be 'peculiar unto Me' as the pioneers of religion and morality; that was and is their national purpose."

===The messiah===
{{Main|Jewish messianism|Jewish eschatology|Messianic Age|World to Come}}
Judaism acknowledges an [[afterlife]], but does not have a single or systemic way of thinking about the afterlife. Judaism places its overwhelming stress on ''Olam HaZeh'' (this world) rather than ''Olam haba'' (the [[World to Come]]), and "speculations about the World to Come are peripheral to mainstream Judaism".<ref name="MarcAngel">Marc Angel, "Afterlife" in ''A Dictionary of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue'' (1995). Eds. Leon Klenicki and Geoffrey Wigoder. Paulist Press: pp. 3-5.</ref> In [[Pirkei Avot]], it is said that "One hour of penitence and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the world to come; but one hour of spiritual repose in the world to come is better than all the life of this world", reflecting both a view of the significance of life on Earth and the spiritual repose granted to the righteous in the next world.<ref name="MarcAngel" />

Jews reject the [[Judaism's view of Jesus|idea that Jesus of Nazareth]] was the messiah and agree that the [[messiah]] has not yet come. Throughout Jewish history there have been a number of [[Jewish Messiah claimants]] considered false by Jews, including most notably [[Simon bar Kokhba]] and [[Sabbatai Zevi]]; followers of the latter were known as [[Sabbateans]].<ref name="Eugene">Eugene B. Borowitz, Naomi Patz, "Chapter 19: Our Hope for a Messianic Age" in ''Explaining Reform Judaism'' (1985). [[Behrman House]].</ref>

The twelfth of [[Maimonides]]' 13 principles of faith was: "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the messiah (''mashiach''), and though he may tarry, still I await him every day." Orthodox Jews believes that a future Jewish messiah (the ''Mashiach'', "anointed one") will be a king who will rule the Jewish people independently and according to Jewish law. In a traditional view, the Messiah was understood to be a human descendant of [[King David]] (that is, of the [[Davidic line]]).<ref name="Eugene" />

[[Reform Judaism|Liberal, or Reform Judaism]] does not believe in the arrival of a personal Messiah who will ingather the exiles in the [[Land of Israel]] and cause the physical [[resurrection of the dead]]. Rather, Reform Jews focus on a future age in which there is a perfected world of justice and mercy.<ref name="Eugene" />