Similarities Between Judaism and the Hindu Way of Life

Last updated on: April 17, 2019 at 3:09 am by Sunil Daman

Similarities Between Judaism and the Hindu Way of Life 2019-04-17T03:09:17+05:30 Sunil Daman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There are various branches of Judaism. One branch related to mysticism is Kabbalah, which is thought to have been around as an oral tradition since 1000BC, and it bears many striking similarities with the Hindu way of life. In this post, we look at a few of these amazing parallels.

Similarities between Judaism and Indian culture
The idea of emptiness or nothingness is important in certain traditions of Judaism, especially Kaballah. It is called Ayin in Hebrew, and literally means nothingness. When existence came into being, there was only nothingness, it is said. The kabbalistic term for God is “Ein Sof” or without end.

Union: In Jewish mysticism it is maintained that there is no such thing as isolated existence. Everything is linked with everything else, and nothing exists outside God.

Reincarnation: Certain schools of Jewish mysticism believe in reincarnation.

Diet rules: Kosher is about adhering to certain dietary laws in the context of tradition. It is a way of turning ordinary food into sacred food through ritual transformation.

Vegetables and fruit can be eaten without any ritual. With respect to animal meat there are several categories of prohibition. Most fish with fins and scales are permitted, and there is no special preparation needed for eating fish.

There is a certain list of birds that one may eat but they have to be slaughtered in a special way, with the recitation of certain prayers and with the least possible amount of pain and suffering.

Even more severe are the rules concerning the eating of the higher animals. The slaughtering process and the preparation before cooking are described in detail in Jewish tradition.

Magic spells: The Kabbalah tradition has books of magic spells with instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, deities and demons.
Sutra on the Wrist: The tradition also has the concept of a scarlet or crimson string of woollen thread that is worn around the left wrist, to ward off evil eye. The string should be knotted seven times.

Lunisolar Calendar: Jewish calendar is lunisolar. The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. The ten days following Rosh Hashanah are called the ten days of repentance. These ten days end with the day called Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It is the Day of Atonement and Repentance. This ten day period coincides with Dussehra and Yom Kippur coincides with Vijayadashami. Jewish people observe this holy day with a total fast and prayer.

The Jewish holiday of Purim is also celebrated on the same day as Holi. Purim is said to be the day when ancient Jews in Persia were saved from being put to death by one of the Persian rulers. Purim celebrations include the burning of an effigy of this ruler, a similar custom to the burning of an effigy of Holika in Holi. In fact, in the story of Holi, Holika is a demoness who is burnt to death. Purim celebrations also include a lot of gaiety, carnivals and celebration.

Jewish culture is also attuned to the solstices and equinoxes. Astronomy and mathematics is a strong feature of the culture.

Jews in India: The Bene Israel (meaning “Sons of Israel”), were a group of Jews living in India for centuries. They believed that they travelled centuries ago from Israel to India and assimilated there. After the 1948 establishment of Israel, most of this community moved there.

Death Ritual: Judaism has something known as Shiva (which means “seven”). It is the week-long mourning period in Judaism for first-degree relatives. The ritual is referred to as “sitting shiva.”

India

sanatana dharma

judaism

Previous Post

February 23, 2019

UPA or NDA: Which is Better? Factual Comparison

Next Post

April 30, 2019 The Kashmiri Pandit Exodus

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books Devi worship India jk videos Master's Talks quotes Sadhguru Videos sanatana dharma travel Uncategorized Videos Yoga and meditation

Select a Month June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 November 2019 October 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 March 2016 February 2016 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am an animal that chews the cud and has split hooves. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A clean animal An unclean animal A protected animal A sacrifical animal