December 18, 1995
Web posted at: 4:25 p.m. EST
(CNN) -- Judaism is a religion that places a heavy emphasis on ritual as a way of getting closer to God. For a 13-year-old boy, his bar mitzvah is a ritual in which he becomes a man, in the eyes of Jewish tradition, and becomes responsible for observing Jewish law like an adult. The term "bar mitzvah" literally means "son of the commandments."
The scroll a boy holds during the ceremony is called the Torah, which contains ancient writings known as the five books of Moses. They are the first and most important part of the Hebrew Bible and serve as the basis of Jewish law -- Halachah in Hebrew - a word that means "the way."
Judaism is a way of life that covers all aspects of life. One part of Halachah that's especially noticeable, are the dietary laws. These rules regulate what food religious Jews can eat, and how it must be prepared. When they are followed, the food is labeled as "kosher."
The rules have kept Jewish communities together, and they have a spiritual purpose, too. "The meaning is basically holiness," explained Rabbi David Rosen of the Anti-Defamation League. "Even in matters of eating, you don't just do it automatically. There's an investing of a religious dimension."
The most important Jewish observances are in the home. Candles are lit in observant Jewish homes every Friday night, at the start of the sabbath. "This day is to be a special day devoted to family, to community, to prayer, to study, to recharging spiritual batteries," Rosen said. It's a day when Jewish law says people shouldn't do any work -- which includes many everyday activities such as driving a car.
Not all Jews observe all the laws, developed and passed down through the centuries. Over time, three distinct groups have emerged with different attitudes toward tradition. Orthodox Jews are the most strict. They follow the laws exactly as they have for centuries. Conservative, or traditional, Jews believe the laws are still valid, but continue to evolve. Reform Jews, also known as progressive Jews, believe that Jewish law needs to be adjusted to accommodate life in the modern world.
Rosen said that most of their differences have to do with attitudes toward the modern world. "Whether I am completely part of the modern world and don't worry about tradition, or whether completely part of tradition and don't want anything to do with the modern, or trying to find a balance," he said.
Wherever the balance lies, Judaism is a religion that's very concerned with daily life. "It's not a religion off in a corner as opposed to other parts of life," Rosen said. "It's a whole of life."
There aren't just 10 commandments. Rabbi Micha Odenheimer of the Elul Institute said the Bible has 613 commandments -- 613 kinds of advice. "For how to fix the world, also how to raise our consciousness, because each and every commandment works on a number of different levels," he said.
They work by making Jews think about their actions. By making every little act -- eating or dressing or working -- an act that has a spiritual link to God. "You don't do things automatically. There is meaning and value and ennoblement in every part of life," Rosen explained.
"What it does is educate the human being to live in a more refined and sensitive way, within the body, within time, within space," added Bible teacher Aviva Zornberg.
The central belief of Judaism is the belief in one god. But in Judaism, actions speak louder than beliefs. Jews believe they are put in the world to make it a better place. (119K AIFF sound or 119K WAV sound) That, they believe, will bring the messiah -- a human who will rule in God's name.
But the point is not to worry about the messiah, or about going to hell or getting to heaven. Jews believe they fulfill the law, and do good, for the sake of doing good.
The Jewish god is not a god of vengeance. "There are no thunderbolts from heaven," Zornberg said. "We don't believe that. One gets away with whatever one wants to do in life."
Instead, the consequences of a person's action are at the same time more subtle and more far-reaching. A Jewish maxim says, "the world's existence depends on three things equally: law, work, and deeds of kindness.
"There's a very important word to know in Judaism, and that's the term 'mensch,'" said Rabbi Daniel Hartman of the Shalom Hartman Institute. "The term 'mensch' literally means human being, but it means a decent kind of human being. If you're not a decent kind human being, not a mensch, then you're not an adequate Jew."
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