Most Jews do not read the Bible literally. There is no dogma in Judaism.

Judaism is a religion of action and proper behavior, not belief. In Judaism, beliefs flow from behavior, while in Christianity, behavior flows fr om beliefs. The Jewish tradition doesn't ask us to believe in doing good, or eve n to feel good, before actually doing good. We're supposed to do it anyway. While Jews and Christians might agree on the essentials of a golden rule of love of God and neighbor, Judaism, unlike Christianity, is less a religion of correc t doctrine and belief and more a religion of communal practices and behavior. Th at does not mean that anything goes in Judaism when it comes to matters of belie f or that there are no behavioral (ritual and ethical) expectations in Christian ity. And that is where being an educated member of one's religious community bec omes relevant. The Book of Proverbs reminds us: "Zeal without knowledge is not g ood." When Nobel Prize winner Isaac Rabi was asked to what he attributed his success, he said he always remembered that every day when he came home from school his mo ther would ask him, "Did you ask any good questions today?" What he imbibed was that we ultimately gain more from questions than answers. Answers bring a subjec t to a close; questions open us up to ever more profound and deeper understandin g. That perhaps more than anything else may explain Jewish genius. From youth we explore the Torah, Talmud and commentaries with inquisitive minds encouraged to ask even when no clear response is in sight. To do otherwise would be to imply that our faith cannot withstand scrutiny, that our commitment to God is so tenuo us that it is afraid of critical analysis. In Judaism, we are taught to think, to ask questions, and to be skeptical; we ar e encouraged not to accept things on faith, but to look for proof. This constitu tes one of the biggest differences between Judaism and Christianity. While faith plays a vital role, Judaism places great emphasis on learning and education. ----------------------http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exodus#Numbers_and_logistics Numbers and logistics[edit source | editbeta] According to Exodus 12:37-38, the Israelites numbered "about six hundred thousan d men on foot, besides women and children," plus many non-Israelites and livesto ck.[15] Numbers 1:46 gives a more precise total of 603,550 men aged 20 and up.[1 6] The 600,000, plus wives, children, the elderly, and the "mixed multitude" of non-Israelites would have numbered some 2 million people,[17] compared with an e ntire Egyptian population in 1250 BCE of around 3 to 3.5 million.[18] Marching t en abreast, and without accounting for livestock, they would have formed a line 150 miles long.[19] No evidence has been found that indicates Egypt ever suffered such a demographic and economic catastrophe or that the Sinai desert ever hosted (or could have ho sted) these millions of people and their herds.[20] Some scholars have rationali sed these numbers into smaller figures, for example reading the Hebrew as "600 f amilies" rather than 600,000 men, but all such solutions raise more problems tha n they solve.[21] The view of mainstream modern biblical scholarship is that the improbability of the Exodus story originates because it was written not as hist ory, but to demonstrate God's purpose and deeds with his Chosen People, Israel.[ 3] Some have suggested that the 603,550 people delivered from Egypt (according t o Numbers 1:46) is not a number, but a gematria (a code in which numbers represe nt letters or words) for bnei yisra'el kol rosh, "the children of Israel, every individual;"[22] while the number 600,000 symbolises the total destruction of th e generation of Israel which left Egypt, none of whom lived to see the Promised Land.[23]

-------------------Archaeology[edit source | editbeta] A century of research by archaeologists and Egyptologists has found no evidence which can be directly related to the Exodus captivity and the escape and travels through the wilderness,[3] and most archaeologists have abandoned the archaeolo gical investigation of Moses and the Exodus as "a fruitless pursuit".[4] A numbe r of theories have been put forward to account for the origins of the Israelites , and despite differing details they agree on Israel's Canaanite origins.[24] Th e culture of the earliest Israelite settlements is Canaanite, their cult-objects are those of the Canaanite god El, the pottery remains in the local Canaanite t radition, and the alphabet used is early Canaanite, and almost the sole marker d istinguishing the "Israelite" villages from Canaanite sites is an absence of pig bones, although whether even this is an ethnic marker or is due to other factor s remains a matter of dispute.[25] ------------------Science says "I don't know, but here is the proven method for discovering the an swers." Religion says, "Here are the answers. Trust me." ---------------------http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/essays/let-the-stones-speak-part-2/ #conclusion Consider the narrative of the Exodus. At every step of the way, evidence is lack ing: no evidence for Israelite presence in Egypt, no evidence for the long trek across the Sinai, no evidence for the encampment at Kadesh-barnea, no evidence f or opposition from Edom, no evidence for battles at Arad or Heshbon. In fact, no t a single event from the Book of Exodus has been corroborated by archaeology, a nd as this section has argued, this cannot be considered a problem with archaeol ogy --------------Despite extensive searching by Israeli archaeologists, there is not a single pie ce of historical or archaeological evidence for any of the events or characters recorded in Exodus and there is no record in Egyptian history of a large foreign slave population, the destruction of the army or any of the plagues. -----------------http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/essays/let-the-stones-speak-part-2/ #whopharaoh http://rosarubicondior.blogspot.com/2011/09/beyond-belief-ten-plagues-of-egypt.h tml http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/2007/09/do-you-really-believe-thatiii/ http://christianthinktank.com/killheir.html

Judaism was the first tradition to teach monotheism, the belief that there's onl

y one God. As Judaism evolved, the idea of God evolved, too, focusing on One unk nowable, universal, image-less Being, Who, because the universe is framed in Lov e, requires justice of human beings. Judaism tends to focus more on the way in which you practice and live in the wor ld than it does on analyzing the nature of God. In fact, biblical monotheism is usually called "ethical monotheism" because of the very strong linkage of right acts to the belief in one God. While some religious traditions consider belief a lone to be adequate, Judaism isn't one of them; to Jews, belief is most signific ant in light of the actions motivated by that belief. What is unique, perhaps, to Judaism is the notion of arguing with God. For examp le, in the Bible, Abraham argued with God for the sake of the righteous citizens in Sodom and Gomorrah. He didn't just say, "Whatever you say, God" he bargained! It's like the whole stage was set for a particular kind of exchange with the Div ine. Jews are even called the "Children of Israel" because of the Biblical story of Jacob who wrestled with an angel and got his name changed to Israel, which m eans "one who wrestles with God." While the idea of a complete surrender to faith, a surrender to God, is harmonio us with many Christian and Muslim faiths, it's much less comfortable for most Je ws, who are traditionally taught to question in order to learn more deeply. Juda ism tends to encourage individuals to explore their own personal relationship wi th God. For those people who are comfortable with the idea of surrender, God-wre stling is not an easy concept.