Jewish theology

She'ol (/ˈʃiːoʊl/ SHEE-ohl or /ˈʃiːəl/ SHEE-əl; Hebrew שְׁאוֹל Šʾôl), in the Hebrew Bible, is a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life, a place of stillness and darkness cut off from life and from the Hebrew God.

Repentance (Hebrew: תשובה‎‎, literally "return", pronounced "tshuva" or "teshuva") is one element of atoning for sin in Judaism.

Biblical cosmology is the biblical writers' conception of the cosmos as an organised, structured entity, including its origin, order, meaning and destiny.

The Jewish tradition describes certain forms of corporal punishment and capital punishment for certain crimes, while cautioning against the use of such punishments.

Devekut, debekuth, deveikuth or deveikus (Heb. דבקות; Mod. Heb. "dedication", traditionally "clinging on" to God) is a Jewish concept referring to closeness to God.

There is no established formulation of principles of faith that are recognized by all branches of Judaism.

Jewish views on slavery are varied both religiously and historically.

The subject of homosexual behavior and Judaism dates back to the Torah.

In many religions, philosophical, and mythological traditions, the soul is the incorporeal and immortal essence of a living being.

Passages in the Old Testament book Leviticus that prohibit "lying with mankind as with womankind" and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah have traditionally been interpreted by Christian churches as condemning and prohibiting homosexual acts, along with several Pauline passages.

Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism (Hebrew: יהדות רבנית Yahadut Rabanit) has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud.

The Sanhedrin (Hebrew: סַנְהֶדְרִין sanhedrîn, Greek: Συνέδριον, synedrion, "sitting together," hence "assembly" or "council") was an assembly of twenty-three to seventy-one men appointed in every city in the Land of Israel.

Kaddish (קדיש, Qaddish Aramaic: "holy"; alternative spellings: qaddish, ḳaddish) is a hymn of praises to God found in the Jewish prayer service.

The Messianic Age is a theological term referring to a future time of universal peace and brotherhood on the earth, without crime, war and poverty.

According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law (Hebrew: תורה שבעל פה, Torah she-be-`al peh, lit "Torah that is spoken") represents those laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the "Written Torah" (Hebrew: תורה שבכתב, Torah she-bi-khtav, lit. "Torah that is written"), but nonetheless are regarded by Orthodox Jews as prescriptive and co-given.

A biblical covenant is a religious covenant that is described in the Bible.

In Judaism, "chosenness" is the belief that the Jews, via descent from the ancient Israelites, are the chosen people, i.

Kabbalah, the central system in Jewish mysticism, uses subtle anthropomorphic analogies and metaphors to describe God in Judaism.

Atzmus/Atzmut (עצמות from the Hebrew Etzem עצם) meaning "essence", is the descriptive term referred to in Kabbalah, and explored in Hasidic thought, for the Divine essence.

Ayin (Hebrew: אַיִן‎‎, meaning "nothingness", related to Ain-"not") is an important concept in Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy.

Divine providence (Hebrew השגחה פרטית Hashgochoh Protis or Hashgaha Peratit, lit. divine supervision of the individual) is discussed throughout Rabbinic literature, by the classical Jewish philosophers, and by the tradition of Jewish mysticism.

Schisms among the Jews are cultural as well as religious.

The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest.

Pre-existence, preexistence, beforelife, or pre-mortal existence refers to the belief that each individual human soul existed before mortal conception, and at some point before birth enters or is placed into the body.

The Mosaic covenant (named after Moses), also known as the Sinaitic Covenant (named after the biblical Mount Sinai), refers to a biblical covenant between God and the biblical Israelites, including their proselytes.

Atonement in Judaism is the process of causing a transgression to be forgiven or pardoned.

God in Judaism is understood to be the absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence.

Hasidic philosophy or Hasidus (Hebrew: חסידות), alternatively transliterated as Hassidism, Chassidism, Chassidut etc.

Jewish ethics are considered to be at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics.

In Judaism and Christianity, the voice of God (Hebrew: בּת קול, bat kol or bath ḳōl, literally daughter of a voice; Latin: vox dei) is a "heavenly or divine voice which proclaims God's will or judgment.

In religion, ensoulment is the moment at which a human being gains a soul.