Spirituality Guide

According to traditional Jewish Law, a Jew is anyone born of a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism in accord with Jewish Law. Judaism differs from many other religious and cultural groups in that it is a combination of culture, ethnicity, and religion all wrapped up into one.

Origins: “At its core, the Bible is an account of the Israelites’ relationship with God from their earliest history until the building of the Second Temple (c. 350 BCE)… Abraham, hailed as the first Hebrew and the father of the Jewish people, rejected the idolatry that he saw around him and embraced monotheism. As a reward for this act of faith in one God, he was promised many offspring: “Look now toward heaven and count the stars/So shall be your progeny.” (Genesis 15:5)” [Source]

Beliefs: Judaism is interesting and quite different from other religions in that it has no dogma, no formal set of beliefs that one must hold to be a Jew. In Judaism, actions are more important than beliefs, though there is room for belief in Judaism.

The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely-accepted list of Jewish beliefs is Rambam’s thirteen principles of faith. Rambam’s considered his thirteen principles of faith the minimum requirements of Jewish beliefs.

God: Followers of Judaism believe that there is only the one G-d and that the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being is neither male or female. G-d is just, merciful, and the creator of everything who transcends time.

Principles: 1. G-d exists
2. G-d is one and unique
3. G-d is incorporeal
4. G-d is eternal
5. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other
6. The words of the prophets are true
7. Moses’ prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets
8. The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses
9. There will be no other Torah
10. G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men
11. G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked
12. The Messiah will come
13. The dead will be resurrected
[Source]

Other sources of information:
Judaism @ Wikipedia
Judaism @ Religious Tolerance
Judaism @ BBC
Judaism 101