Jewish Contributions to Interfaith Harmony and Intellectual Growth

By Dr. Zafar Darik Qasmi, New Age Islam 26 July 2025 This article highlights the contemporary relevance of Jewish religious literature, emphasizing its moral, legal, and environmental guidance, and its role in interfaith harmony, social justice, and intellectual development. Main Points: 1. Jewish scriptures guide moral, legal, and social conduct across history and remain relevant today. 2. The Torah teaches justice, mercy, ethics, and spiritual laws essential to Jewish identity and society. 3. Jewish texts promote education, dialogue, and diverse opinions, fostering intellectual and democratic growth. 4. Jewish environmental ethics emphasize caring for land, water, and nature as divine responsibilities. 5. Shared Abrahamic values support interfaith harmony, peace-building, and respectful coexistence in modern pluralistic societies. ---- The Abrahamic religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three faiths are known for their distinct histories, teachings, and religious texts. The followers of these religions adhere to their spiritual and cultural traditions. It is a fact that these religions not only influence a large portion of the world spiritually and religiously, but they also have a profound impact on civilization, culture, ethics, society, and politics. The Abrahamic faiths emphasize monotheism, justice, mercy, truthfulness, patience, and sacrifice. Historically, they have played a fundamental role in promoting moral values. These three religions have contributed greatly to the development of philosophy, arts, architecture, literature, law, and science. They share several core values, such as belief in one God, the prophethood, divine scriptures, and the Day of Judgment. These similarities are helpful in fostering interfaith harmony, dialogue, and global peace. A majority of the world’s population is connected in some way to these religions. Their cultural and religious influences are clearly visible in global politics, economics, education, media, and society. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all based on divine revelation through prophets, and their scriptures—Torah, Bible, and Qur’an—are considered essential sources of divine guidance. The Abrahamic traditions have laid a strong foundation for the intellectual, ethical, spiritual, and civilizational development of the world. The promotion of mutual respect and dialogue between these religions is essential for peace, tolerance, and social harmony today. Fortunately, societies are increasingly recognizing the shared values among the Abrahamic faiths. Books, essays, and doctoral theses are being written on this subject in universities, signalling a growing interest in interfaith understanding and cooperation. This trend is producing positive and constructive results in society. Religious literature forms the core of any religion, which is why all world religions—whether Abrahamic or non-Abrahamic—possess sacred texts. These texts guide their followers in all aspects of life. Every religious community acknowledges the importance and sanctity of their scriptures. Also, knowledge of religious literature creates space for harmony, understanding, and academic growth. Judaism and Its Religious Literature Judaism, one of the Abrahamic faiths, has a rich religious literary tradition that has played a significant role in shaping society. Devout Jews believe that multiple divine books were revealed by God for guidance. These books are considered the word of God, revealed through various prophets across different eras. All Jewish sects honor these texts, though there are differences in interpretations and meanings, just as in other religions. These differences are also important from a theological and academic perspective. An Introduction to Jewish Religious Literature Jewish religious literature is among the oldest sources of monotheistic teachings in human history. Texts like the Torah, Talmud, Mishnah, and Midrash have guided Jewish societies and contributed to the development of ethics, law, knowledge, and social justice. Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion, based on the Torah revealed to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). Jews consider these sacred texts not only a source of spiritual guidance but a reference for every area of life. Scholars of religious studies note that Jews refer to their collective religious scriptures as the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. The word “Tanakh” is an acronym made from the initials of its three main sections: T for Torah (Law), N for Nevi’im (Prophets), K for Ketuvim (Writings). The Torah: The Torah is the first and most important section of the Tanakh. It is also called the Law, the Five Books of Moses, or the Pentateuch. The word "Torah" means "to teach" or "to guide." It consists of five books: 1. Genesis 2. Exodus 3. Leviticus 4. Numbers 5. Deuteronomy Because of its five parts, it is also called “Chumash,” which is the Hebrew word for five. The Torah begins with the creation of the world and humankind, discusses the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, and ends with the death of Moses. It outlines ethical and legal commandments and presents God as the creator, lawgiver, and savior. It contains family stories and laws concerning marriage, inheritance, social relations, and land distribution—thus making it a vital source of social, political, and legal guidance. According to Morrison and Brown in their book Judaism, the Torah has the following features for a devout Jew: 1. It is a story of justice, love, and compassion. 2. It is a guide to holy days, festivals, and worship. 3. It contains civil and criminal laws for daily life. 4. It includes religious, social, political, and domestic commandments. 5. It explains the sacred role of Israel and describes spiritual leaders who blessed the world. 6. It is a literary masterpiece with beautiful narratives. 7. For a Jew, it is the very foundation of their religious and cultural identity. Jews divide the Torah into 54 portions, one for each week. A portion is read every Sabbath evening and repeated on Monday and Thursday mornings. The complete portion is read on Sabbath morning. Sometimes two portions are combined so the whole Torah can be completed in a year. Portions are also read on religious festivals. Summary of the Five Books: Genesis (Bereishit): This book begins with the story of creation, Adam and Eve, and continues with the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. It discusses the covenant made with Abraham and ends with the Israelites settling in Egypt. Exodus (Shemot): It discusses the Israelites' enslavement in Egypt, liberation under Moses, and the receiving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Leviticus (Vayikra): It outlines religious duties for priests and the people, including ritual purity and dietary laws. Scholars believe it was written between 1450–1410 BCE. Numbers (Bamidbar): The book begins with a census and describes the challenges faced during their journey through the wilderness. Deuteronomy (Devarim): This book is a farewell speech by Moses before the Israelites enter the Promised Land. It warns them not to forget God. It ends with the death of Moses. Contemporary Relevance of Jewish Religious Literature The legal principles found in Jewish religious texts still influence modern legal systems. The Torah and Talmud cover justice, testimony, punishment, and human dignity in detail, aligning with UN human rights charters. Jewish teachings emphasize truth, mercy, honesty, fulfilling promises, and kindness to neighbours—values that can shape modern society’s moral foundations. Jewish religious literature also values dialogue, questions, and differing opinions. The Talmud respects diverse viewpoints, promoting interfaith harmony and democratic ideals. In Jewish tradition, seeking knowledge is considered an act of worship, which aligns well with the modern culture of research, education, and intellectual freedom. Jewish texts also emphasize respect for nature—land, water, trees, and resources. These teachings offer guidance for solving today’s environmental crises. 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