Differences: Similarities Between Judaism And Hinduism

Judaism and Hinduism have many things in common. Both ancient religions believe in a higher power and both began as being specific to a certain region before later expanding in the late 19th century, with Judaism originating in Egypt and Hinduism taking its roots in India. With that being said, there are also several differences between the two religions. Hindus believe that we are reborn from a previous life until we achieve “oneness”, which is the unity of all beings with the Divine. Jews, on the other hand, believe that we are created in God’s image with the capacity to either be good or evil. Both religions have a rich background and beautiful cultures. It would be impossible to understand the contrast between Judaism and Hinduism without

According to Hinduism, the meaning of life is to achieve Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Dharma means to act virtuously and righteously. It also means to act morally and ethically in your life. However, since Hindus believe that they are born in debt to the Gods and other human beings, dharma calls for Hindus to repay this debt. The five different debts are: debt to the Gods, debt to parents and teachers, debt to guests, debt to other human beings, and debt to all other living things. The second meaning of life is Artha. Artha refers to the pursuit of wealth and prosperity in life. It is greatly stressed that one must stay within the bounds of dharma while pursuing this wealth and prosperity. The third purpose of a Hindu’s life is to seek Kama. Kama can be described as obtaining enjoyment in life. The final meaning of life according to Hinduism is Moksha or enlightenment. Moksha is the most difficult meaning of life to achieve, and rarely it may only take an individual just one lifetime to accomplish but it usually takes several. Although it is one of the most difficult to achieve, it is considered the most important meaning of life and offers many rewards such as liberation from reincarnation, self-realization, enlightenment, or unity with God. (Sivakumar, 2014,

One very large similarity between Hinduism and Judaism is the Caste system. Caste determines whom a person can marry, specifies what kind of work he can do, and even controls what he can eat or touch (Caste System, 2010, para. 1). The castes themselves are very different, but their existence as well as the presence of a distinguished caste of priests makes them similar to each other and dissimilar to some other religions. Some of the legends from the holy scriptures of Judaism and Hinduism are alike and the texts share a few similarities linguistically. Both religions also see their respective sacred texts, as paradigmatic signs of their traditions. The cultural traditions of the two religions are also quite similar. Both religions require modest dress and place a large emphasis on the importance of family. They also have specific dietary laws. For example, Hindus place a high respect on the cow and do not eat beef and in the Jewish faith the Kashrut dictates (among other things) that they Jews are forbidden to consume pork. Both religions have special languages that are restricted to prayers, and both religions have temples or sacred areas where prayer may take