Meaning in God:

1. Resisted the prosaic by personifying the ‘Other’
• “in the final analysis ultimate reality is more like a person than a thing”
2. Resisted chaos by emphasizing divine unity, or the ‘oneness’ of God
• “the basic contribution of Judaism to religious thought was monotheism.”
• “If God is that to which one gives oneself unreservedly, to have more than one God is to live a life of divided loyalties.”
3. Resisted amorality by proclaiming the righteousness of God
• Supreme achievement of Jewish thought was not in monotheism as such, but in the character of God
4. Resisted hostility by portraying God as a loving God
• Jewish God is not indifferent, but actively involved in the life of creation

Meaning in Creation:

1. To affirm that existence is God-created is to affirm its value and worth  (e.g., Genesis account of creation:  “It is very good”)
2. Problem of Evil:
• How to reconcile notion of good, loving, powerful God with experience of suffering?
• Jewish thought emphasizes human free will and responsibility for suffering
• Confidence in God’s righteousness as giving hope in spite of one’s circumstances
3. Positive regard for the material world
1. material aspects of life are important
2. material can participate in salvation
3. nature can host the Divine

Meaning in Human Existence:

1. Humanity created in the image of God
2. Acutely aware of human limitation
3. Sinfulness of humanity  (sin = ‘to miss the mark’)
4. Affirm human freedom and responsibility

Meaning in History:
History is the arena of God’s purposive activity

1. Context/Arena of Human life
2. Tells story of Social Action
3. Purposeful field of opportunity
4. Record of Decisive Events - includes God’s intervention in human history, and special calling of family of Abraham as God’s chosen people

Meaning in Morality/Justice:

• Expression of the divine/human covenant through faithfulness to the Law
• 10 Commandments as providing a foundation for morality
• Hebrew Prophets as making demand for social justice