Religion and Theology

A prophet, as believed by Jews, is a spokesperson elected by God to convey his message to the Israelites. Someone who has not spoken the message of God, like those who merely write histories, is not considered a prophet. The word prophet came from the Hebrew word navi which has a literal translation of fruit of the lips (Rich, 1999). Thus, a prophet is inevitably a speaker. In contrast, a Messiah is not a prophet. A Messiah is a prophesized king, written in the sacred Jewish scriptures, who will be coming from the bloodline of King David. Etymologically, the Hebrew word Messiah has a literal denotation of the anointed one, which means that a Messiah is a mortal king. Thus, equating Messiah with savior is not approved. Jews believe that just like any king, the Messiah is an immense military man  not a god or a son of god  who will pilot Israel to triumphs in battles. Thus, Jews have not acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah.
    Nevertheless, the prophets and the beliefs in them are central dogmas of Judaism. The Jews have high regard to prophets for they have become channels for God to communicate. They were the representatives of God  His lips and His voice. Thus, all beliefs of Jews are mostly anchored in the writings of the prophets. They considered Moses as their utmost prophet. Thus, the Torah, which was his writing of Gods commandment, has been venerated well.  Nonetheless, the concept of Messiah is very vital in the Jewish faith. Though the Jews have waited so long for the Messiahs coming, they never grow annoyed. Rambans 13 Principles of Faith state that every Jew should be prepared everyday for the imminent coming of the Messiah. Thus, until today, Jews still wait for their King. According to Jewish scholars, circumstances will determine the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah is a wise King who will redeem Israelites from oppression, restructure the temple of Jerusalem and reign over the people of God.
Jewish Leaderships Then and Now
    Abraham has been considered the father of all the Jews. Though some who profess the Jewish faith are Jewish converts, they have claimed that Abraham was their spiritual father. Judaism is basically a monotheistic religion. Thus, it also upholds theocracy or the rule of God. God is the leader of Israel and his commandments, which were written in the Torah, should be absolutely followed. Though the ruler, God has chosen human leaders to represent him in the community. The system has been patriarchal, Abraham being the first till Jacob and his twelve sons. Then the next leader has been the prophet Moses, who is both a spiritual and communal leader. When the priesthood had been vested to Aaron and his sons, the demarcation between spiritual and political leadership has been drawn. The priests and the Levites should consecrate themselves to the service of God and to the spiritual needs of the people. Then, the political leaders have been the judges and the kings, who were constantly guided by prophets.
    On the other hand, the Jewish leadership has now been only restricted to the community. Jews, who live outside Israel, could not expect a Jewish political leader who will uphold orthodox theocracy. However, a certain area with a large Jewish population commonly has a synagogue where a rabbi, a Jewish scholar, officiates service. Though some areas have no rabbi, members of synagogue has been assigned prayer leaders and master readers of the Torah. However, some communities have priests who claimed to be descendants of Aaron. Their duty has been but ceremonial yet they are widely cherished and respected. Furthermore, a synagogue also assigns ceremonial duty to members such as circumcisers, scribes and ritual slaughterers. Yet, these leadership structures have been still based from the Torah.
    Nevertheless, one of the most important dogmas of Judaism is its eschatological expectation, which is linked to leadership. Jews believe that a Messiah will come to save them from the evils of the world. They believe that he will be a great military leader of Israel who will defeat the enemies of their faith.