by Karen » June 10th, 2008, 2:00 pm
Hi Jesse,
If I may leap in here, there's a pretty big divide on this between Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. While you can certainly find some Conservative Jews who are atheists or agnostics (I know a few of the latter myself), I imagine that number is vanishingly small among the Orthodox. Their entire way of life is built around the belief that God exists and is to be worshipped and glorified through prayer and the mitzvot, extending, in detail, to every single facet of one's life. Hence their strict adherence to Torah and Talmudic law. (And of course there are different 'flavors' of Orthodoxy, ranging from Modern Orthodox such as Joe Lieberman, to the haredi, or ultra-Orthodox. Each group has its own take on how to live one's life towards God.)
The best website I've found for understanding the basics of Judaism, written from the Orthodox point of view, is this one: . As for Conservative beliefs, this page may be of help: . I'm sure Rose will have others.
I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library. -- Jorge Luis Borges