Both Judaism and Taoism have become great and accepted religions of the world. Judaism is a religion that is monotheistic that is believes in one God and the belief that the universe was produced by a sole, Supreme Being, who created the entire world with some significance and intention. In accordance with the tradition of Judaism, the ‘will’ of God shapes the behavior of humans and was disclosed to Moses and the people of Israel at Mount Saini. The humans have to lead their lives according to the ‘The Torah’ also called the ‘Commandments’, which is a gift from God that will enable the Judaists to lead their lives keeping in mind His will.
In contrastingly Taoism is not known to be a religion with a belief in a supreme God or divinity and there is a polytheist approach stressing the belief in many gods. The religion did not stem from any divine revelation, unlike Judaism which is believed to have been revealed to Moses who is the prophet of God. The word Tao, which is pronounced as ‘Dow’ does not have a clear interpretation and can be more or less interpreted in English as a pathway, as it is essentially indescribable and necessitates experience of a power which surrounds, encloses, and runs throughout all living as well as non-living things.
The Tao controls the natural environment courses thereby nurturing the equilibrium of the world. Most Taoists and scholars believe that the originator of Taoism is ‘Lao-Tse’ (604-531 BCE), who was known to be subsisting with Confucius while some believe that he is a mythological personality.
Taoism differs from Judaism in its commencement as it has been known to originate as an amalgamation of psychology and philosophy but eventually developed into a spiritual belief in 440 CE when it was implemented as a religion of the state and it was during this time that ‘Lao-Tse’ gained immense popularity and was established as a deity contrasting to Judaism which does not include idol-worship.
Judaism is similar to Taoism in the issues of achievement of salvation as according to the philosophy of Judaism there are no set of values based on which the Jews would be led to salvation. Judaism does comprise of the ‘Maimonides’ which are the thirteen articles of faith, but these serve the purpose of binding the ethics of the Jews. Like Taoism, Judaism lays more importance on the deed ‘miswa’. According to the Taoist beliefs, the ‘Tow’ is the essential force that encompasses all forms of existence and as such, there is a greater emphasis on maintaining the equilibrium between all these forces of nature and the universe.
However Judaism can be distinguished from Taoism by the special prominence Judaism lays on assured beliefs and ethical values which involve the sustenance of the world by ‘law’, ‘Temple service’ and the basic virtues of ‘love and kindness’.
The temple or the synagogue of the Jews is a sacred place where the functions of study or learning, prayer or worship of God, and assembly for community deeds need to be undertaken. The Taoist culture too involves the use of temples for the practice of worship to the many gods they preach who are the manifestations of the single Dao, and as such the temples for worship activities are a point of similarity between the two religions but the distinction lies in the fact that the concept of a God is alien to the Taoists.
Consequently, they do not pray like the Judaists do, as they do not believe that there is a single God to hear their prayers and they search for answers to the problems of life utilizing personal meditation and external observation. Similar to the basic virtues of Judaism, Taoists seek ‘Three Jewels’ of ‘compassion’, ‘moderation’ and ‘humility’.
References
McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart: ‘Handbook of Today’s Religions’. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983. 12th edition, 1992.
Shelley, Fred M. and Audrey E. Clarke, eds. ‘Human and Cultural Geography’. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1994.