Albert Einstein once said that he was sorry to be born a Jew because he was thus denied the opportunity and personal satisfaction of independently choosing Judaism. Today, in our free and open society, Judaism is in a sense a matter of choice for everyone–both those who have been born Jews as well as those individuals who have not been raised in the Jewish tradition. Each year thousands enter the Jewish community through study and a formal ceremony known as conversion.

No booklet–indeed, no book–can fully explain all that Judaism offers to help individuals reach their full potential and become happier and more fulfilled human beings. But for those who desire a brief glimpse into the wonders of Judaism–born Jews, Jews by choice, non-Jews who are interdating or have married Jews, children of intermarried families, and people who have no direct contact with the Jewish community but seek to explore it–this booklet gives a brief introduction to Judaism from a modern contemporary perspective. If what you read appeals to you, hopefully you will want to enlarge your understanding and learn more about how special, how unique, Judaism is; how Judaism can help people best fulfill their hopes, dreams and aspirations; how being part of the wonderful heritage, culture, and religious philosophy of Judaism can make life more meaningful for you and for those you love.

Judaism originated and represents the purest form of belief in one God–with no other divinity to be worshiped. Its origins go back 4,000 years when Abraham and Sarah chose to become the first Jews. In a remarkable chain of continuity, for forty centuries Judaism has remained steadfast in its central theological belief that only God is God, that God is one.

That theme is so powerful, so compelling, that it has enabled Judaism to do what no other people in the history of the world have been able to do–survive as a creative people, faithful to their beliefs, despite the absence of a national homeland for more than two thousand years. That survival is all the more remarkable because it has occurred in the face of some of the cruelest oppression in recorded history–much of it, ironically, in the name of religion.

Judaism gave birth to two other major monotheistic religions: Christianity and Islam. Christianity added to the supreme divinity of a single God the divinity of a man–Jesus. This is in sharp contrast to the pure monotheism of Judaism where no individual in Jewish history–not even Moses–was thought of as someone to be worshiped.

Within the Jewish religion, there are three major branches: Orthodox, which is the most traditional; Reform, which is the most progressive (and in other continents is sometimes called Progressive Judaism); and Conservative, whose theological foundation includes both traditional and progressive elements. There is a smaller fourth branch known as Reconstructionist, which includes aspects of both Conservative and Reform Judaism. Some people think of Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform Judaism as movements that are relatively new–an outgrowth of the emancipation of Jews in Europe in the 19th Century. But in fact, the roots of these Movements go back more than 2,000 years to the greatest revision of theology in Jewish history–the dramatic change of Judaism from a priest-dominated religion of written law into a religion of both written and oral law where the priest was replaced by a scholarly teacher called the rabbi. That change was a forerunner of other major changes that have enabled Judaism to survive until the present day.

All branches of Judaism are the product and the beneficiary of change, and within each there are variations. However, there are also many constants, the most important being the belief, as Jews have proclaimed for four thousand years, that only God is God and there is none else.

Today, there is a broad spectrum of ways in which Jews perceive God, ranging from the belief of some who look upon God in very personal terms to those who think of God as an infinite force of creation or an infinite force for good. Some non-Orthodox Jews even question the existence of God. Yet, all feel a part of a culture and a tradition that goes back for thousands of years–a tradition that speaks of God’s Biblical covenant with the Jewish people and the mission of the Jewish people, in the words of Isaiah, to be a "light to the nations that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."

Inherent in this tradition is the optimistic belief that people and society are perfectible–the concept of "Tikkum Ha-Olam." This belief is an integral part of the wonderful heritage of Judaism and is a central element of Jewish theology that emphasizes the link between belief and action. It has never been more important to humanity than it is today, when the problems of our society are becoming increasingly complex, that this tradition continue.

Judaism is not only a religion, but also a culture and a community of people bonded together by shared values and a feeling of Jewish identity–what some call a "peoplehood." Its gates are open to all, including those not born Jewish. Here’s a brief glimpse of what can be in store for you–how Judaism can enrich your life and the lives of every woman, man and child.

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