# Central Concept in Judaism **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 22, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457 "2015-10-22T14:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/1 "2015-10-22T14:01:08Z")
The central concept in Christianity is Salvation. The central concept in Islam is Submission. The central concept in Buddhism is Enlightenment. What is the central concept in Judaism? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/2 "2015-10-22T14:03:21Z")
Wrestling with God. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/3 "2015-10-22T14:04:59Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > The central concept in Islam is Submission. Is it? Honest question, because I seriously just don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/4 "2015-10-22T14:05:11Z")
Possibly “the Law,” if you insist on breaking it into a single world. But when asked to sum up the Torah in a sound bite, Hillel famously said “What is hateful to yourself, do not do to others. The rest is commentary.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/5 "2015-10-22T14:17:21Z")
The central concept of Judaism is that there is one God. Christianity and Islam copied that and added some more stuff. The concept of the Law in Judaism hinges largely on the idea that there is no other god to appeal to if you don’t like what the Big Guy told you what to do. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/6 "2015-10-22T14:18:51Z")
In one word: [Mitzvah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitzvah) ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/7 "2015-10-22T14:19:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Is it? Honest question, because I seriously just don’t know. As Wikipedia says: > [@](#): > > [Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, safeness and peace.[20] In a religious context it means “voluntary submission to God”.[21][22] Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means “submission” or “surrender.”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam) I don’t know how much more central you can get than the religion being named for the concept. Dr. Mahmoud in _ **Stranger In A Strange Land** _ agreed and if you can’t trust Wikipedia and hippy fiction, who can you trust? ---
**Author:** ![Nelson\_Pike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Nelson\_Pike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nelson_Pike)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/8 "2015-10-22T14:24:03Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > The central concept in Christianity is Salvation. > The central concept in Islam is Submission. > The central concept in Buddhism is Enlightenment. > > What is the central concept in Judaism? What’s wrong with the Ten Commandments? ---
**Author:** ![Nelson\_Pike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Nelson\_Pike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nelson_Pike)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/9 "2015-10-22T14:26:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Is it? Honest question, because I seriously just don’t know. The word “Islam” _means_ “submission.” But I agree there is more to it than that because submission to the will of God is certainly a requirement of Judaism and Christianity as well. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/10 "2015-10-22T14:58:20Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The central concept of Judaism is that there is one God. Christianity and Islam copied that and added some more stuff. The concept of the Law in Judaism hinges largely on the idea that there is no other god to appeal to if you don’t like what the Big Guy told you what to do. Yes. I think this is the best choice. It’s the first commandment of the Ten Commandments - everything else comes later. Judaism arose in a milieu of Canaanite, Egyptian, and Arabian polytheism, and distinguished itself by the assertion that the single god of Judaism was _the_ god of the entire universe. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/11 "2015-10-22T15:02:28Z")
Yes, I know what “Islam” means. That’s not the question I asked. Is “submission” the central concept of that religion? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/12 "2015-10-22T15:15:49Z")
I have always liked, “To make the world a better place”. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/13 "2015-10-22T15:28:32Z")
Sanctification. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/14 "2015-10-22T16:25:13Z")
I’m not a Jew, but my initial thought was “righteousness”. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/15 "2015-10-22T16:27:50Z")
The central concept of Judaism? To apologize to your mother. You know what you did. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/16 "2015-10-22T16:30:28Z")
The central concept is that there is exactly one god (not zero, not hundreds), and that this one god has a special covenant with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/17 "2015-10-22T16:33:23Z")
> [@Nelson\_Pike](#): > > The word “Islam” _means_ “submission.” > > But I agree there is more to it than that because submission to the will of God is certainly a requirement of Judaism and Christianity as well. However the Patriarchs are noted for arguing with God all the time. So plain all submission isn’t it. Look the Sh’ma - Hear oh Israel, the Lord is your God, the Lord is One - is what goes on your doorposts and on you in the Tefillin. (spelling optional.) That is probably as close as you’re going to get. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/18 "2015-10-22T16:41:01Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > The central concept in Christianity is Salvation. > The central concept in Islam is Submission. > The central concept in Buddhism is Enlightenment. > > What is the central concept in Judaism? Covenant? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/19 "2015-10-22T16:42:20Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > The central concept in Christianity is Salvation. > The central concept in Islam is Submission. > The central concept in Buddhism is Enlightenment. Actually, any one of these, while defensible, could be its own GD thread. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457/20 "2015-10-22T18:37:13Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Covenant? I’d second this. In my opinion (as a non-Jew) the central tenet of Judaism is that there is a defined agreement between God and the Jewish people. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/central-concept-in-judaism/735457.md?page=2)