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Since the 20th century,Buddhism and Judaism have become associated due to the common religious overlap inJewish Buddhists. According to theTen Commandments and classical Jewish law (halacha), it is forbidden forJews to worship anydeity other than theGod of Israel—specifically by bowing or offering incense, sacrifices, or poured libations.^[1] It is likewise forbidden to join or serve in another religion as doing so would render the participatingJew anapostate oridol worshipper.

Since most Buddhists do not consider theBuddha to have been a god in the same sense traditionalJewish theology and theHebrew Bible posit God to be, Jewish Buddhists do not consider Buddhist practice to be worship despite some practices, such asincense andfood offerings made to astatue of the Buddha, as well asprostration and bowing to statues of the Buddha, having an outwardly worship-like appearance. In addition, many Buddhists—particularlyTheravada Buddhists—do not worship the Buddha^{[citation needed]}; instead, they "revere" and "express gratitude" for the Buddha's (and allbuddhas') accomplishment of reachingNirvana andcompassionateteaching, respectively. Buddhists honor the Buddha for discovering and teaching theDharma, enabling others to be freed fromsuffering and thus attain Nirvana.

Historically, Judaism has incorporated the wisdom of alien religions that do not contradict the Torah while rejectingpolytheism and the worship of graven images.^[2]

Many modern schools of Judaism have had a longstanding acknowledgement of a concept similar toreincarnation known asgilgul. This belief is referred to in Jewish post-biblical literature and many folk and traditional stories.^[3]Hasidic Jews and many others who followKabbalah believe that a Jew's soul can be reborn on earth if, in its previous lives, it failed to fulfil all of themitzvot required to enterparadise.^[4][5][6]

Conversion to Judaism is sometimes understood withinOrthodox Judaism in terms of reincarnation. According to this school of thought in Judaism, when non-Jews are drawn to Judaism, it is because they had been Jews in their former life. Such souls may "wander among nations" through multiple lives until they find their way back to Judaism, including through finding themselves born in agentile family with a "lost" Jewish ancestor.^[7]

Many young Israelis are drawn to the appeal of Buddhist meditation as a means to alleviate the violence and conflict witnessed in their everyday lives and explain the Jews' longstanding history of persecution.^[8] Some strains of Orthodox Judaism (e.g.,Breslovers) have embraced meditation since the 18th century as a means to commune with God, butReform Jews have historically opposed it in favor of a more rationalist, intellectual form of worship.^[9] Some children and grandchildren ofHolocaust survivors have purportedly found comfort in Buddhist explanations of the nature of suffering and the path to end suffering.^[10] As Buddhism neither denies nor acknowledges theexistence of God, observant Jews are able to embrace its wisdom while maintaining their normative Judaism.^[11]

Some Jews believe in a concept similar to the Buddhist interpretation of thekarmic balance known asmiddah k’neged middah (measure for measure).^[12] Evil deeds are believed to be repaid with misfortune, while good deeds bring rewards.^[13]

When adverse events occur to individuals regarded as good, some Jews and Buddhists may interpret these situations as tests of faith, indicators of suffering or imbalance within the larger community, or as consequences of the individual unintentionally causing harm through careless communication.^[14] Buddhists hold the perspective that certain events are part of the natural order, while traditionally, Jews have viewed God as the creator and sustainer of the universe, responsible for initiating these events.^[15]

Both Judaism and Buddhism forbid murder, adultery, theft, and bearing false witness. In Buddhism, these comprise four of thefive precepts. In Judaism, they comprise thesixth,seventh,eighth, andninth of theTen Commandments, as well as components of theNoahide laws.^[16]

The fifth Buddhist precept discourages intoxication, which shares elements ofdisapproval with theTanakh. Thedrunkenness of Noah is perhaps the most famous example, but theBook of Proverbs also warns that alcohol abuse leads to misfortune, poverty, and general sinfulness due to the removal of all inhibitions.^[17] Alcohol still plays a critical role in Jewish community and religious life, such as inKiddush andBrit milah, and some communities encourage drinking (and even drunkenness) on the holiday ofPurim.

In Buddhism, abodhisattva is an enlightened person who has put off entry into paradise to help others gainenlightenment.^[18] Jews and Buddhists frequently regard theprophets of the Tanakh as similar beings to the bodhisattvas because they too delay entry to the afterlife until they have completed their mission of saving the children of Israel during times of persecution.^[19][20]

The similarities between bodhisattvas and prophets are particularly appealing forMessianic Jews—who are considered Christians by mainstream Judaism—who respectJesus as a prophet and teacher but reject theChristian doctrine of his divinity. Inspired by the widespread belief thatJohn the Baptist was the reincarnation ofElijah,^[21] some scholars of theChristian Bible have speculated that Jesus of Nazareth lived through several past lives, including as the pre-Israelite kingMelchizedek.^[22]

• Jews and Buddhism
• List of converts to Buddhism
• Jewish Buddhist
• Buddhism in Israel

• Kamenetz, Rodger (1995),The Jew in the Lotus, [San Francisco, Calif.]: HarperSanFrancisco,ISBN 978-0060645748
• Bader, David M. (2002),Zen Judaism: For You a Little Enlightenment, Harmony,ISBN 978-0609610213
• Tatz, Akiva (2005),Letters to a Buddhist Jew, Targum Press,ISBN 978-1568713564
• Boorstein, Sylvia (1998),That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist,HarperOne,ISBN 978-0060609580
• Drescher, Frank (2017),Jewish Converts to Buddhism and the Phenomenon of "Jewish Buddhists" ("JuBus") in the United States, Germany and Israel, Grin Publishing,ISBN 9783668514034
• Lew, Alan (2005),Be Still and Get Going: A Jewish Meditation Practice for Real Life,Little, Brown and Company,ISBN 978-0316739108
• Musch, Sebastian.Jewish Encounters with Buddhism in German Culture. Between Moses and Buddha(1890-1940). Palgrave 2019.ISBN 978-3-030-27468-9.
• Musch, Sebastian. “Judaism and Buddhism.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Jewish Studies. Ed. Naomi Seidman. New York: Oxford University Press.[1]

• The “Oy Vey” School of Buddhism
• AFC News Source – Jews by birth who practice Buddhism
• Story of a Jewish Buddhist
• You don't look Buddhist
• A frank encounter between religious Jews and Tibetan Buddhists
• Excerpt fromLetters to a Buddhist Jew by Akiva Tatz

• Buddhism and Judaism
• Lists of Jews
• Religious syncretism

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• Short description with empty Wikidata description
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• Articles with unsourced statements from December 2024