I was going to say it was do what your mother tells you to do, or else. 
Actually, the central concept of Judaism is the same as it is for all religions: be nice to one another.
Be excellent to each other.
I’d say from my secular perspective, *Obedience *sounds good.
Also, the central tenet of Buddhism is, “Every Man for Himself.”
I agree. Especially since the word can mean “commandment” as well as “good deed.” A basic idea in almost every Jewish prayer is that G-d makes us holy by giving us mitzvot to perform. Jews don’t look at all the laws in the Bible and think “look how many ways there are to sin.” Rather they think “look how many ways there are to be closer to G-d.”
Aren’t mitzvah and upholding the covenant basically the same thing? Following the mitzvah (as in commandments) and performing mitzvah (as in good deeds) are the methods by which one can assure that one is upholding the covenant, aren’t they?
I 'm not Jewish, but that’s my understanding from what I’ve read: It’s all about upholding your end of the agreement, and the arguments are all about what, exactly that entails in a given set of circumstances. As life becomes more complicated through the generations, so does the requirement.
I prefer to phrase it as “what a bargain we got with G-d!”
Why pay retail?
I’m a Jew. I’ll vote for “There is exactly one God”. My second choice would be “The Law/Mitzvah”
Nope. God gave extra laws to the Jews because of that covenant, but God is the Lord of all creation, not just of the people He has made covenants with. I think that’s really a Christian idea, that there was a covenant leading up to Jesus’s universal offer of salvation.
I mean, the covenant thing is there in Judaism, of course. But I think it’s more central to Christianity than to Judaism.
Definitely not obediance. Abraham argued with God. The prophets argued with God. The Talmudic sages argued with God. And sometimes God said, “okay, what you want.”
Yes, following the law is a central virtue in Judaism, maybe the central virtue. But obediance sounds blind to me, and Jews are expected to interact with the law.
Mmmm, there are commandments given to the gentiles, as well. (Look up the Noachide code, or the laws of Noah)
I guess that’s sometimes called a covenant with Noah, but it was one sided. God told Noah to build the ark, and he did so. And afterwards, God said, “I promise not to do that again, and by the way, you can eat meat now, but you gotta follow these laws.” It’s not like Noah chose to enter into a covenant with God, the way Abraham did.
Tradition!
(Well, that’s what Tevye would say.)
No, that’s the central tenant of Apple, which is also a religion with only one god.
I though it was “Never pay retail!”
I believeRabbi Telushkin advocates, “Make the world a better place.”
Two Jewish Guys advocate “Why pay retail?” here.
I would nominate “Justice”. Judaism’s break with contemporaneous religions was revolutionary not only in its assertion that there is only one God, but even more so in its assertion that God’s expectations of humanity aren’t limited to the proper performance of ritual mumbo jumbo by priestly elites, but extend to the everyday activities of ordinary people. We are, as someone concisely stated above, called to be excellent to each other.
The Torah constantly repeats the commandment to defend the rights of those who are too weak to defend themselves, “widows, orphans and immigrants” in the Biblical parlance. Although the Torah tolerates the practices of slavery, patriarchy, and warfare, it took the previously unheard of step of asserting that even slaves, women, and prisoners of war have certain rights which nobody is permitted to violate.
It was the value of Justice which Abraham referred to when he argued with God.
In addition, unlike many of the other suggestions in this thread, I think Justice would be identified as a core Jewish value by almost all Jews today, including those who don’t literally believe in the Divine origin of the Torah and its commandments, and even those who reject theism entirely and view Jewishness in ethnic rather than religious terms.
I’m not sure those are really analogous. Submission describes what you are supposed to do, while Salvation and Enlightenment are rewards offered for doing the right stuff.
If we say that Submission must be the central concept of Islam because it’s right there in the name of the religion, shouldn’t we say that the central concept of Christianity is Christ and his status as a Divine being? Isn’t that what really differentiates it from Islam, which also commands obedience to a set of laws and promises eternal bliss as the reward? (Judaism, in general, is much less focused on the afterlife as a central theological concept)
I believe with all my heart that the OP will return to the thread, and, though he tarry, yet I will await him.
I’ve not seen him rebuild any temples.* :dubious:
Isn’t part of Judaism a belief that the Jews are a chosen people? Sure, Jews believe that God created everything but that doesn’t mean everything has an equal status.
“Chosen” in this context doesn’t mean “preferred”. It means (as I understand it) that they were selected to receive a greater obligation than the rest of mankind, which through the fulfillment thereof they might become an example to other nations.
It’s as much a curse as it is a blessing.
Sure, but it’s still an essential facet of the faith.
Not really. Remove it and nothing changes.
It’s something taught by Judaism, sure. It’s important to the implementation of Judaism, sure. But the question is “what is the central teaching”. That’s not it by a long shot. That’s like saying that since Christians believe in the power of baptism, baptism is the central teaching of Chritianity – glossing over the whole “Jesus died to bring salvation to all mankind” thing. Baptism is important, sure, but only in the context of salvation through Jesus. The coventant between God and Israel is important, sure, but only in the context of the fundamental nature of God.
I could be persuaded that “justice” might be the central teaching of Judaism. Or “commandment”. But I’m still lobbying for “There is exactly one God who rules everything.” That was a novel idea, unique to the Jews for a long time, and it still takes center stage in every Jewish service. The central prayer, the prayer that Jews who don’t remember prayers remember, is the Shema.
Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Sure. But it still means that while God created all the universe including all of mankind, he nonetheless has a different relationship with the Jews than he has with non-Jews. According to Judaism, God has a special covenant with the Jews. He doesn’t have an equivalent covenant with the Egyptians or the Chinese or the Brazilians.