Jews traditionally believe in one, unique, indivisible God who created everything, sustains the world, and enters into a relationship with the Jewish people and with humanity.

Core idea: One God

  • Judaism is strictly monotheistic: “God is one,” not many, not a trinity, and with no partners or equals.
  • God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who brought Israel out of Egypt and gave the Torah at Sinai.
  • Jews are commanded to worship God alone and not pray to any other being.

A classic summary is the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one,” which religious Jews recite daily.

What God is like (attributes)

Traditional Jewish sources describe God with several key qualities:

  • Creator of everything that exists.
  • Eternal: no beginning and no end.
  • Omnipotent (all-powerful), though some modern theologians question how this works with human freedom and suffering.
  • Omniscient (all-knowing).
  • Omnipresent (present everywhere).
  • Perfectly just and merciful, the source of morality and commandments.

Many Jews also emphasize that human language is limited: when we say “God is powerful” or “God is merciful,” we are using our best approximations, not fully defining God.

How God is not like humans

Judaism strongly rejects the idea that God is a big, powerful person somewhere in the sky.

  • God has no body, no physical form, and no gender in a literal sense, even though texts often say “He.”
  • Any human‑like descriptions (God’s “hand,” “anger,” “remembering,” “coming down”) are understood as metaphors that help people relate to God, not literal anatomy.
  • Images or statues of God are forbidden; God is never to be represented visually.

Because of this, many Jews write “G‑d” in English as a sign of reverence and avoid pronouncing the four‑letter name of God (YHWH), saying “Adonai” (“Lord”) instead.

Relationship with people

A central Jewish belief is that God is both beyond the universe and also personally involved in it.

  • God makes a covenant (binding relationship) with the Jewish people, starting with Abraham and renewed at Sinai.
  • God cares about human behavior, giving commandments (mitzvot) that cover ethics, ritual, and community life.
  • Many Jews believe God hears prayer and may intervene in history, even if how and why is mysterious.
  • Judaism generally rejects the idea of humans becoming divine; God remains utterly distinct from creation.

An everyday example: blessing food (“Blessed are You, Lord our God…”) expresses that God gives life and that eating is part of serving God.

Different streams, different emphases

While these core ideas are widely shared, different Jewish movements talk about God in somewhat different ways:

  • Orthodox Judaism
    • Stresses a personal, commanding God who literally gave the Torah.
    • Strong emphasis on God’s providence, reward and punishment, and traditional prayer language.
  • Conservative / Masorti Judaism
    • Affirms one God and the covenant but may read some biblical stories more historically or symbolically.
    • Open to philosophical questions about how God’s power and human freedom fit together.
  • Reform and Liberal Judaism
    • Some see God as a personal being; others speak of God more as a moral or creative force , an ideal of justice and love.
* Emphasize ethical monotheism: serving God mainly by improving the world and respecting human dignity.
  • Secular or cultural Jews
    • Some do not believe in a supernatural God at all but still identify strongly as Jews through peoplehood, culture, ethics, or tradition.
    • Others may say they are “agnostic” but resonate with the Jewish moral vision or sense of the sacred.

Across these differences, most mainstream positions still keep certain basics: one God, no physical form, and a call to live ethically.

Classic formulations (Maimonides)

The medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides summarized key beliefs about God in his “Thirteen Principles of Faith.”

Relevant points about God include:

  1. God is the Creator and Guide of everything.
  2. God is One and unique, unlike any other unity.
  3. God has no body and no physical properties.
  4. God is first and last.
  5. Only God may be prayed to.

These ideas deeply shaped what many Jews today are taught about God. TL;DR:
Most Jews believe there is one, unique, non‑physical God who created and sustains everything, makes moral demands through the Torah, and relates to people in a covenant of responsibility—though different Jewish groups picture God’s nature and involvement in more personal or more abstract ways.