Hinduism and Judaism are among the oldest existing religions in the world. The two share some similarities and interactions throughout both the ancient and modern worlds.
Theological similarities
Scholarly efforts to compare Hinduism and Judaism were popular during the Enlightenment era, in the process of arguing the deistic worldview. Hananya Goodman states that Hinduism and Judaism have played an important role in European discussions of idolatry, spirituality, primitive theories of race, language, mythologies, etc.
Both religions were regarded by some scholars to be ethnic religions, and not promoting conversions. Adherents of both religions, however, are found across the world. Both religions share common elements in regard to a complicated system of laws, purity codes, and dietary restrictions, for defining their communities.
Judaism has been compared with Hinduism by Osho Rajneesh and Steven Rosen in their books. They cite the similarities between Brahmins and Jews who viewed themselves as "God's chosen people". Rosen adds that Brahmins had a "community of priests" while Jews had a "Kingdom of Priests".
David Flusser says that the tale of Abraham has many similarities with a certain story from the Upanishads, stating that "One can easily discover parallels in the Upanishads to the Abraham legend".
American biologist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783–1840) in his book The American Nations discusses linguistic and traditional similarities between the two religions. In one chapter he writes:
Our Noah- is thus NH (pr NOE) which the Jews since pronounced NUH, and even Mnuh! Exactly the same name as given him by the Hindus! And all meaning repose, with many collateral meanings, lawgiver, collecting people, assembly humanity & c. The laws of M'nu are preserved by the Hindus : to him is also ascribed the substance of the Vedas, and the whole Mosaic history till near his own death. But the Hindus have many- M'nus; Adam and Seth were such, by the names of Adimo and Satya.
Scriptures
Barbara Holdrege analyzed the comparative analysis in her writing, about the role of scriptures in Brahmanical, Rabbinic, and Kabbalistic traditions, and noted that cosmological conceptions of sacred scripture in which Veda and Torah are portrayed not merely as restricted corpus of texts, but as a multileveled cosmic reality that encircle both historical and transmundane dimensions. She adds further that sacred status, authority, and function of scripture in these traditions are to a certain extent shaped by these conceptions and thus such a study is essential for understanding the role of Veda and Torah as the paradigmatic signs of their respective traditions.
Judaism, notable for its monotheistic conception of God, has some similarities with those Hindu scriptures that are monotheistic, such as the Vedas.
Different Hindu sects have a variety of beliefs about the nature and identity of god, believing variously in monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, and panentheism. According to the Mahabharata, and some Vaishnavite Puranas, Narayana is the supreme deity. The Vaishnavite sect considers Vishnu or Krishna to be the supreme god, while Shaivites consider Shiva to be the supreme god, keeping in mind the Agamas, certain Upanishads and the Pashupati seal; the latter being discovered amongst the remains of the Indus Valley Civilization.
In Judaism, God is an absolute one, indivisible and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. In Hinduism, gods are considered to have a similar status to another when distinct, but may also be seen as "aspects or manifestations of a single, transcendent god", or an "impersonal absolute".
Bernard Jackson points out the extent to which legal regulations, customs, and royal ordinances in Halakha in the Jewish tradition and Dharmaśāstra among Hindus are binding on members of their respective societies. Jackson adds that both Jewish and Hindu law evidence a great sensitivity to the interplay of local custom and authoritative law. He says that in both religions, the writing down of a collection of norms did not necessarily mean that all or even most norms were intended to be enforced, and that the laws connected with royal authority were not necessarily statutory. Wendy Doniger states that Hinduism and Judaism are alike in their tendency toward orthopraxy rather than orthodoxy.
Relations
Historical
Ancient trade and cultural communication between India and the Levant is documented in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and the accounts surrounding the Queen of Sheba in the Hebrew Bible.