|
|
Modern Judaism
(18th cent. - current)
European Enlightenment:
emancipation and assimilation leads to reform
Beginning in 18th cent.
Germany with opening of the Ghettos and intermingling of Jews with the larger
society
-
German reform: worship
is modeled after German Protestant worship including use of organ music, men
and women sitting together, use of vernacular language, no head covering,
even worship on Sundays rather than Saturday (since reverted to Saturday)
-
Other Jews felt these
reformed practices had gone too far - a watering down of Judaism. Thus a
Conservative movement began focused on maintaining tradition while yet
adapting to suit the times. Conservative is thus middle-of-the-road
between most traditional, Orthodoxy ("straight thinking",
straight practice) and the "too liberal" Reform movement.
Persecution and Pogroms
grow as does Jewish influence in larger society leading to:
Today, most Jews live in
America (5 - 6 million - over 2 million in the New York Metro area alone), Israel
(5+ million). Half a million each can be found in countries like France,
Argentina, and Canada. Fewer still in Russia and other European and South
American countries. (2005
stats from TheARDA and Adherents.com)
Branches of Judaism:
Called
"movements" rather than "denominations", each has it’s
council of rabbis who work together to create prayer books and decide issues of
common agreement for the movement as a whole (although individual synagogues may
choose to be more restrictive than the movement allows). There is no single,
universal head of Judaism worldwide (other than God and Torah).
Differ primarily in degree
of practice rather than on theological issues. Based on underlying difference of
opinion regarding nature of Torah and Talmud as God’s word or merely
"inspired" human writing. If it’s origin is human in nature then
humans can make changes.
Three main branches:
("straight thinking", "straight practice"): continuous
from Rabbinic times, maintains most
traditional practice, believing Torah and Talmud are from God and cannot be
changed.
Reform :
began in 18th Germany; most liberal in practice but with strong focus on
social justice issues; most assimilated (fully integrated into the larger
society, part of rather than apart from)
Conservative :
response to reforms, desire to conserve more of traditional Judaism
while adapting to needs and desires of contemporary life. Less strict than
Orthodox but more traditional than Reform. Individual synagogues may lean more
toward Orthodox or more toward Reform or any variation in-between.
Here's
a chart highlighting some of the differences between the three groups
The extremes: Hasidism and
Reconstructionalism
began in America, mid 20th cent., grew out of Conservative movement, focus
on Judaism as a culture and "way of life" without an emphasis on
spiritual or religious issues: "Conservatism without religious
affirmations."
Problems between movements:
-
which form is
"true" Judaism?
-
who is a
"good" Jew? (good by practice of Law or by principle of social
justice which underlies the Law - by "letter" or
"spirit" of the Law)
-
who is a Jew? (Reform
now recognize anyone born to a Jewish mother or father; traditional views
accept only someone born to a Jewish mother as Jewish, others must
convert to be considered Jewish - in important issue given the rate of
interfaith marriage these days)
-
issue of non-Orthodox
conversion (those converted by Reform or Conservative standards may not be
recognized by the Orthodox as full Jews. There has been debate over the "right of
return" to Israel for such converts [cannot as easily claim Israeli citizenship
and Jewish identity as
can those born Jewish - of Jewish mothers] see
this site for details)
-
question of
assimilation: is it good or bad (can lead to loss of unique identity)?
return to top
|