Movements of Judaism
Level: Basic |
The different sects or denominations of Judaism are generally referred to
as movements. The differences between Jewish movements are not nearly as
great as the differences between Christian denominations. The differences
between Orthodoxy and Reform Judaism are not much greater than the differences
between the liberal and fundamentalist wings of the Baptist denomination
of Christianity.
In general, when I speak of "movements" in this site, I am referring to movements
in the United States in the 20th century.
Perhaps the oldest records we have of a formal difference of opinion among
Jews dates back to the time of the Maccabean revolt, which is the basis for
the story of Chanukkah. At that time, the
land of Israel was under the relatively benevolent
control of Greece, and was deeply influenced by Greek culture. Hellenizing
Jews were opposed by a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasideans
(no direct relation to the modern movement known as Chasidism). As the Seleucid
Greeks began to oppress the Jews, war broke out and the
Jewish people united in their opposition to
the Greeks.
The war continued for 25 years, and the Jewish people remained united in
purpose. But after the war ended, the Jewish people became divided into three
groups: the Essenes, the Sadducees (Tzedukim in Hebrew) and the Pharisees.
The Essenes were an ascetic and mystical group devoted to strict discipline.
They lived in isolation from the world. The Dead Sea Scrolls are believed
to be the product of an Essene sect. Some scholars believe that early
Christianity was influenced by the mystical and hermetical teachings of the
Essenes.
The Sadducees evolved out of the Hellenistic elements of Judaism. The movement
was made up of the priests and the aristocrats
of Jewish society. They were religiously conservative but socially liberal.
The Sadducees believed in a strict, narrow and unchanging interpretation
of the written Torah, and they did not believe
in oral Torah. The
Temple and its
sacrificial services were at the center
of their worship. Socially, they adopted the ways of the neighboring Greek
culture.
The Pharisees believed that G-d gave the Jews
both a written Torah and an oral Torah, both of which were equally binding
and both of which were open to reinterpretation by the
rabbis, people with sufficient education to
make such decisions. The Pharisees were devoted to study of the
Torah and education for all.
After Judea was conquered by Rome and tensions with Rome began to mount,
a fourth group appeared: the Zealots. The Zealots were basically a nationalistic
movement, not a religious one. They favored war against Rome, and believed
that death was preferable to being under Roman control. They would commit
suicide rather than be taken prisoner. The most famous example of the Zealots
was the defenders of Masada, who held the mountain fortress against the Roman
Tenth Legion for months and ultimately committed suicide rather than surrender.
The Pharisaic school of thought is the only one that survived the destruction
of the Temple. The Zealots were killed off
during the war with Rome. The Sadducees could not survive without the Temple,
which was the center of their religion. The Essenes, who were never very
numerous, were apparently killed off by the Romans (they were easily recognizable
in their isolated communities).
For many centuries after the destruction of the Temple, there was no large-scale,
organized difference of opinion within Judaism. Judaism was Judaism, and
it was basically the same as what we now know as Orthodox Judaism. There
were some differences in practices and customs
between the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe and the Sephardic Jews of Spain
and the Middle East, but these differences were not significant. See
Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews.
During the 9th century C.E., a number of sects arose that denied the existence
of oral Torah. These sects came to be known as
Karaites (literally, People of the Scripture), and they were distinguished
from the Rabbanites or Rabbinical Judaism.
The Karaites believed in strict interpretation of the literal text of the
scripture, without rabbinical interpretation. They believed that rabbinical
law was not part of an oral tradition that had been handed down from G-d,
nor was it inspired by G-d, but was an original work of the sages. As such,
rabbinical teachings are subject to the flaws of any document written by
mere mortals.
The difference between Rabbanites and Karaites that is most commonly noted
is in regard to Shabbat: the Karaites noted
that the Bible specifically prohibits lighting a flame on Shabbat, so they
kept their houses dark on Shabbat. The Rabbanites, on the other hand, relied
upon rabbinical interpretation that allowed us to leave burning a flame that
was ignited before Shabbat. Karaites also prohibited sexual intercourse on
Shabbat, while Rabbanites considered Shabbat to be the best time for sexual
intercourse. The Karaites also follow a slightly different calendar than
the Rabbanites.
According to the Karaites, this movement at one time attracted as much as
40% of the Jewish people. Today, Karaites are
a very small minority, and most Rabbinical Jews do not even know that they
exist. For more information about the Karaites, see
The Karaite Jews of America.
In the 1700s, the first of the modern movements developed in Eastern Europe.
This movement, known as Chasidism, was founded by
Israel ben Eliezer, more commonly known as the
Baal Shem Tov or the Besht. Before Chasidism, Judaism emphasized education
as the way to get closer to G-d. Chasidism emphasized other, more personal
experiences and mysticism as alternative
routes to G-d.
Chasidism was considered a radical movement at the time it was founded. There
was strong opposition from those who held to the pre-existing view of Judaism.
Those who opposed Chasidism became known as mitnagdim (opponents), and disputes
between the Chasidim and the mitnagdim were often brutal. Today, the Chasidim
and the mitnagdim are relatively unified in their opposition to the liberal
modern movements. Orthodoxy and even the liberal movements of Judaism today
have been strongly influenced by Chasidic teachings.
Chasidic sects are organized around a spiritual leader called a Rebbe or
a tzaddik, a person who is considered to be more enlightened than other Jews.
A Chasid consults his Rebbe about all major life decisions.
Chasidism continues to be a vital movement throughout the world. The Lubavitcher
Chasidim are very vocal with a high media presence (see their website,
Chabad-Lubavitch in Cyberspace), but
there are many other active Chasidic sects today. For a simple, plain English
introduction to Chasidism written by a modern Breslover Chasid, check out
this FAQ on Hasidic
Culture and Customs.
Approximately 5 million of the world's 13 million Jews live in the United
States. There are basically three major movements in the U.S. today: Reform,
Conservative and Orthodox. Some people also include a fourth movement, the
Reconstructionist movement, although that movement is substantially smaller
than the other three. Orthodox and sometimes Conservative are described as
"traditional" movements. Reform, Reconstructionist, and sometimes Conservative
are described as "liberal" or "modern" movements.
Orthodoxy is actually made up of several different groups. It includes the
modern Orthodox, who have largely integrated into modern society while
maintaining observance of halakhah (Jewish
Law), the Chasidim, who live separately and
dress distinctively (commonly, but erroneously, referred to in the media
as the "ultra-Orthodox"), and the Yeshivish Orthodox, who are neither Chasidic
nor modern. The Orthodox movements are all very similar in belief, and the
differences are difficult for anyone who is not Orthodox to understand. They
all believe that G-d gave
Moses the whole
Torah at Mount Sinai. The "whole Torah" includes
both the Written Torah (the first five books
of the Bible) and the Oral Torah, an oral tradition
interpreting and explaining the Written Torah. They believe that the Torah
is true, that it has come down to us intact and unchanged. They believe that
the Torah contains 613 mitzvot binding upon Jews
but not upon non-Jews. This web site is written primarily from the modern
Orthodox point of view. The
2000 National
Jewish Population Survey (NJPS) performed by the Council of Jewish
Federations found that 10% of American Jews identify themselves as Orthodox,
including 22% of those who belong to a synagogue.
Reform Judaism does not believe that the Torah
was written by G-d. The movement accepts the critical
theory of Biblical authorship: that the Bible was written by separate sources
and redacted together. Reform Jews do not believe in observance of commandments
as such, but they retain much of the values and ethics of Judaism, along
with some of the practices and the culture. The original, basic tenets of
American Reform Judaism were set down in the Pittsburgh Platform. Many
non-observant, nominal, and/or agnostic Jews identify themselves as Reform
simply because Reform is the most liberal movement, but that is not really
a fair reflection on the movement as a whole. The NJPS found that 35% of
American Jews identify themselves as Reform, including 39% of those who belong
to a synagogue. There are approximately 900 Reform
synagogues in the United States and
Canada. For more information about Reform Judaism, see
The Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
Conservative Judaism grew out of the tension between Orthodoxy and Reform.
It was formally organized as the United Synagogue
of Conservative Judaism in by Dr. Solomon Schechter in 1913, although
its roots in the Jewish Theological Seminary
of America stretch back into the 1880s. Conservative Judaism maintains
that the truths found in Jewish scriptures
and other Jewish writings come from G-d, but were transmitted by humans and
contain a human component. Conservative Judaism generally accepts the binding
nature of halakhah, but believes that the
Law should change and adapt, absorbing aspects of the predominant culture
while remaining true to Judaism's values. In my experience, there is a great
deal of variation among Conservative
synagogues. Some are indistinguishable from
Reform, except that they use more Hebrew; others are practically Orthodox,
except that men and women sit together. Most are very traditional in substance,
if not always in form. This flexibility is deeply rooted in Conservative
Judaism, and can be found within their own Statement of Principles, Emet
ve-Emunah. The NJPS found that 26% of American Jews identify themselves as
Conservative, including 33% of those who belong to a synagogue. There are
approximately 750 Conservative synagogues
in the world today.
Reconstructionist Judaism is theoretically an outgrowth of
Conservative, but it doesn't fit neatly into the traditional/liberal,
observant/non-observant continuum that most people use to classify movements
of Judaism. Reconstructionists believe that Judaism is an "evolving religious
civilization." They do not believe in a personified deity that is active
in history, and they do not believe that G-d chose
the Jewish people. From this, you might assume
that Reconstructionism is to the left of Reform; yet Reconstructionism lays
a much greater stress on Jewish observance than Reform Judaism.
Reconstructionists observe the halakhah if
they choose to, not because it is a binding Law from G-d, but because it
is a valuable cultural remnant. Reconstructionism is a very small movement
but seems to get a disproportionate amount of attention, probably because
there are a disproportionate number of Reconstructionists serving as rabbis
to Jewish college student organizations and Jewish Community Centers. Everyone
I know seems to have had a Reconstructionist rabbi at college or in a community
center, yet according to the NJPS, only about 2% of the Jews in America
identify themselves as Reconstructionist. Reconstructionist numbers are,
in fact, so small that the NJPS advises caution in interpreting the statistics.
There are less than 100 Reconstructionist synagogues world-wide. See the
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation home
page.
Though most Jews do not have any theological objections to praying in the
synagogues of other movements, liberal services
are not "religious" enough or "Jewish" enough for traditional Jews, and
traditional services are too long, too conservative, and often basically
incomprehensible to liberal Jews (because traditional services are primarily,
if not exclusively, in Hebrew). Some Orthodox will not attend liberal services
because of the mixed seating arrangements and because the liberal prayer
book cuts many required prayers.
I have been to services in Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox
synagogues, and I have found that while
there are substantial differences in length, language, and choice of reading
materials, the overall structure is surprisingly similar. See
Jewish Liturgy for more information
about prayer services.
Approximately 5 million Jews live in Israel.
Orthodoxy is the only movement that is formally and legally recognized in
Israel. Until very recently, only Orthodox Jews could serve on religious
councils. The Orthodox rabbinate in Israel controls matters of personal status,
such as marriage,
conversion and
divorce.
The other American movements have some degree of presence in Israel, but
for the most part, Israelis do not formally identify themselves with a movement.
Most Israelis describe themselves more generally in terms of their degree
of observance, rather than in terms of membership in an organized movement.
More than half of all Israelis describe themselves as hiloni (secular). About
15-20 percent describe themselves as haredi (ultra-Orthodox) or dati (Orthodox).
The rest describe themselves as masorti (traditionally observant, but not
as dogmatic as the Orthodox). It is important to remember, however, that
the masorti and hiloni of Israel tend to be more observant than their
counterparts in America. For example, the hiloni of Israel often observe
some traditional practices in a limited way, such as lighting
Shabbat candles, limiting their activities
on Shabbat, or keeping kosher to some extent,
all of which are rare among American Reform Jews, and unheard of among American
Jews who describe themselves as secular.
There are an estimated 350,000 Jews in the UK. Of those, approximately 20%
are Reform or Liberal, which are two separate movements. There is also a
small but active Conservative movement called the Masorti, which uses the
same prayer book as the Conservative movement in the United States. The
Lubavitcher Chasidim are also active and growing in the UK.
The liberal movements in the UK are generally more traditional than the Reform
movement in the United States. For example, the British Reform movement does
not accept patrilineal descent (although the Liberal movement does). See
Who Is a Jew.
© Copyright 5756-5766 (1995-2006), Tracey
R Rich
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