MODERN JUDAISM

INTRODUCTION:

  1. When attempting to define or understand Modern Judaism we must recognize that the Judaism we will encounter in the 21st century is primarily the evolution of over 2000 years of Jewish development of Second Temple Judaism, that is from the close of Old Testament history ca 167 BC to the modern 21st century era of Judaism.
  2. The character of Judaism is as varied as is the character of 21st century Christianity in all of its more than 2000 forms of Christian denominationalism ranging from what we might call 1st century New Testament Christianity through Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Protestant Reformation and all of its protestant denominations, to forms of “Christian” faith found in the Jehovah’s Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday saints (the Mormons), and other similar Christian cults.  To attempt to define Modern Christianity in one simple study is simply not possible.
  3. Likewise, Modern Judaism is as varied “denominationally” as is Modern Christianity., ranging from various forms of Orthodox Judaism through numerous forms of Reformed Judaism.
  4. In many cases, the form of Judaism encountered will be shaped by national contexts as is found in Ashkenazi (European) Judaism.  The Judaism encountered in Israel ranges form forms of secular Judaism to very conservative Orthodox Judaism, and these forms will differ significantly from many expressions of Judaism in America and other parts of the World.  For instance, an ancient form of Judaism was surfaced in Ethiopia in recent years in which the adherents were distinctly African and dark skinned and whose form of Judaism was significantly removed from Second Temple Judaism and that encountered in Israel today.  It was only after genetic studies that many of these Ethiopian Jews were admitted into Israeli citizenship.  The influx of Ashkenazi and Russian Jews into Israel after 1948 created serious religious problems for Judaism and Israeli politics in the resettlement of Israel.
  5. The comments made below are not intended to be an exhaustive study of Modern Judaism, but are an attempt to give an overview of some of the many facets of Modern Judaism.
  6. The material presented below is drawn from notes  made by Dr. Ian A. Fair of the Center For Church Enrichment drawn from the many sources listed below at the end of this study on modern Judaism.

 

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF BASIC ELEMENTS OF MODERN JUDAISM:

The following is a list of differing elements or movements found in Modern Judaism.

  1. A concise overview of Modern Judaism.
  2. The role of Hallakah (the law) in Modern Judaism.
  3. Orthodox Judaism
  4. Reformed Judaism
  5. Historical Conservative Judaism
  6. Secular or Reconstructionalist Judaism
  7. Jewish Zionism
  8. Sephardic Judaism
  9. Ashkenazi Judaism
  10. Jewish Mysticism

 

A Concise Overview of Modern Judaism:

  1. These notes are from a web page on Judaism which does not specify its origin but is found at http://collections.ic.gc.ca/art_context/judaic.htm.
  2. Throughout Jewish history, differences have existed between Jews in terms of their degree of religiosity and traditionalism. In recent centuries, however, these differences have increased. In contemporary Judaism, three broad categories or movements are normally identified (Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative).
  3. The most traditional Jews are referred to as Orthodox Jews. Orthodox Judaism holds that the Torah (oral and written) was given by God to Moses. Consequently, they hold that the laws of the Torah must be strictly observed.  As a result, Orthodox Jews follow all the dietary laws, observe all the holidays, and enforce the segregation of the sexes in prayer. The term Orthodox Judaism is, in fact, an umbrella term which only really came into being with the development of less traditional movements. A great variety of groups are categorized as being Orthodox Judaism. Among these is the Hasidic movement (Hasidism) which emerged in the eighteenth century Poland and which is heavily based on Jewish mysticism. Hasidic men typically wear black robes, have beards, and ostracize themselves from modern secular life. In contrast, Jews of the Modern Orthodox persuasion embrace modern life while, at the same time, strictly observe Jewish law.
  4. The least traditional movement is Reform Judaism. Reform Judaism began in Germany in the early nineteenth century. In contrast to Orthodox Jews, Reform Jews do not believe that the Torah was given to the Jewish people by God. Rather, they hold that it was written by divinely inspired men.  While the Torah is considered sacred, its laws are not strictly observed by those in the Reform movement.  Reform Jews typically do not observe the dietary laws, which they see as being outdated.  In addition, Reform Judaism does not require its participants to refrain from working on Jewish holidays. In Reform synagogues (often referred to as temples) Jewish men and women sit together and Jewish men are not required to wear either tallit (a prayer shawl worn during morning services) or kippot (Strict observant Orthodox male Jews wear some form of a head covering all the time as commanded by the Torah. Usually a Jewish person will cover their head by wearing the identifiable skull cap (kippah or yalmulke). However one might prefer to wear a cap or hat. While originally the head covering was only worn during prayer, over time the practice of covering one's head has become one of the most observed Jewish rituals.)  Rather than being in Hebrew, most of the Jewish services are conducted in the language of the respective country. Today, Reform Judaism is the most popular movement in the United States and is becoming increasingly popular in Canada.
  5. In terms of traditionalism and degree of religiosity, Conservative Judaism falls in the middle between the Orthodox and Reform Movements. Conservative Judaism emerged in the United States in the late nineteenth century as a result of the dissatisfaction which many Jews felt concerning Reform and Orthodox Judaism. Conservative Judaism holds that while the Torah may have been divinely inspired it was not literally given by God. Conservative Jews believe that Torah is sacred but assert that certain laws and customs can be adapted to the modern world. The synagogue service is conducted in Hebrew and men and women usually (but not always) sit together.
  6. Reconstuctionism is a rather unique religious movement which emerged in the United States during the early twentieth century. According to the Reconstructionists, Judaism is not merely a religion but is a religious civilization. Consequently, the Reconstructionists assert that a Jewish person must be able to identify with all aspects of Jewish life. Among others, these include music, religion, art, literature, and communal organization. Currently, the Reconstructionist movement is much smaller than the other three movements discussed and is currently based primarily in the United States and (to a lesser extent) Canada.
  7. The above discussion is not intended as a comprehension examination of modern Judaism. Rather, it is meant to serve to orient the user to the broad categories of movements. Consequently, many important Jewish groups have not been mentioned.

 

The Role of the Law (Hallakah) in Modern Judaism:

  1. As mentioned above, it is not possible to describe Modern Judaism in one simple statement.
  2. However, Modern Judaism in its Orthodox, Reformed, Conservative and Reconstructuralist  forms adopts differing views regarding one or two basic elements:
    1. The Torah, Tanak, or Written Scriptures otherwise known as The Law of Moses.
    2. The Oral Traditions found mostly in the Talmud or Rabbinic Judaism.
    3. Which Traditional Jewish Practices (festivals, feasts, etc.) are still binding on Modern Judaism which is often far removed from the Israel and Jerusalem.
  3. Some Modern Reconstructionist or Secular forms of Judaism see Judaism as a human centered civilization rather than a God-centered religion.

 

Secular or Reconstructionalist Judaism:

  1. Modern Reconstructionist or Secular forms of Judaism see Judaism as a human centered civilization rather than a God-centered religion
  2. A principal leader in Reconstructionist Judaism was Mordechai Menahem Kaplan, 1881-1983, an American rabbi, educator, and philosopher, who was born in Lithuania.  He came to the United States when he was eight years old.   In 1900 he graduated from College of the City of New York.  In 1902 he received an M.A. from Columbia University.  In 1909 he became principal of the Teachers Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and in 1931 he became the dean of the Seminary.  In 1922 he founded the Society for the Advancement of Judaism. He was the originator and leader of the Reconstructionist movement in Judaism. Among his many books are Judaism as a Civilization (1934, rev. ed. 1957), The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion (1937), Judaism without Supernaturalism (1958), And If Not Now, When? Toward a Reconstitution of the Jewish People (1973).

 

Jewish Zionism:

  1. This article is from Wikipedia Encyclopedia found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism
  2. Zionism is a political movement and an ideology that supports a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel, where the Jewish nation originated and where Jewish kingdoms and self governing states existed at various times in history. While Zionism is based heavily upon religious tradition linking the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, the movement was originally secular, beginning largely as a response to rampant antisemitism in late 19th century Europe. The Zionist movement acquired British and League of Nations sponsorship after World War I, resulting in the creation of the British Mandate of Palestine, which specifically called for “placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home.” After an often tumultuous Mandate period, and after the Holocaust had destroyed Jewish society in Europe, the Zionist movement culminated in the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. 
  3. Since the founding of the State of Israel, “Zionism” has come generally to mean support for Israel. However, a variety of different, and sometimes competing, ideologies that support Israel fit under the general category of Zionism, such as Religious Zionism, Revisionist Zionism and Labour Zionism. Thus, the term is also sometimes used to refer specifically to the programs of these ideologies, such as efforts to encourage Jewish immigration to Israel. The label Zionist is also used improperly as a euphemism for Jews in general by those wishing to white-wash anti-Semitism (as in the Polish anti-Zionist campaign) or for Jews who are alleged by anti-Semites to be part of a conspiracy to dominate the world. 
  4. The word "Zionism" is derived from the word "Zion" one of the names of Jerusalem, as mentioned in the Bible.
  5. This article is intended to be a survey of the history and objectives of the Zionist movement, not as a history of Israel or of the Arab-Israeli conflict. There are various forms of opposition to Zionism identified as Anti-Zionism.

 

Sephardic Judaism:

  1. This information is drawn from http://www.jewfaq.org/ashkseph.htm
  2. Two basic forms of Judaism will be discussed under Sephardic Judaism and Ashkenazic Judaism.
  3.  Ashkenazic Jews are the Jews of France, Germany, and Eastern Europe.
  4. Sephardic Jews are the Jews of Spain, Portugal, North Africa and the Middle East.
  5. Sephardic Jews are often subdivided into Sephardim (from Spain and Portugal) and Mizrachim (from the Northern Africa and the Middle East), though there is much overlap between those groups. Until the 1400s, the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and the Middle East were all controlled by Muslims, who generally allowed Jews to move freely throughout the region. When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, many of them were absorbed into existing Mizrachi communities in Northern Africa and the Middle East.
  6. The word "Ashkenazic" is derived from the Hebrew word for Germany. The word "Sephardic" is derived from the Hebrew word for Spain. The word "Mizrachi" is derived from the Hebrew word for Eastern.
  7. Most American Jews today are Ashkenazic, descended from Jews who emigrated from Germany and Eastern Europe from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s, although most of the early Jewish settlers of this country were Sephardic.
  8. However, the first Jewish congregation in North America, Shearith Israel, founded in what is now New York in 1684, was Sephardic and is still active. The first Jewish congregation in the city of Philadelphia, Congregation Mikveh Israel, founded in 1740, was also a Sephardic one, and is also still active.
  9. In Israel, a little more than half of all Jews are Sephardic Mizrachim, descended from Jews who have been in the land since ancient times or who were forced out of Arab countries after Israel was founded. Most of the rest are Ashkenazic, descended from Jews who came to the Holy Land (then controlled by the Ottoman Turks) instead of the United States in the late 1800s, or from Holocaust survivors, or from other immigrants who came at various times. About 1% of the Israeli population are the black Ethiopian Jews who fled during the brutal Ethiopian famine in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
  10. The beliefs of Sephardic Judaism are basically in accord with those of Orthodox Judaism, though Sephardic interpretations of Hallakah (Jewish Law) are somewhat different than Ashkenazic ones. The best-known of these differences relates to the holiday of Pesach (Passover): Sephardic Jews may eat rice, corn, peanuts and beans during this holiday, while Ashkenazic Jews avoid them. Although some individual Sephardic Jews are less observant than others, and some individuals do not agree with all of the beliefs of traditional Judaism, there is no formal, organized differentiation into movements as there is in Ashkenazic Judaism.
  11. Historically, Sephardic Jews have been more integrated into the local non-Jewish culture than Ashkenazic Jews. In the Christian lands where Ashkenazic Judaism flourished, the tension between Christians and Jews was great, and Jews tended to be isolated from their non-Jewish neighbors, either voluntarily or involuntarily. In the Islamic lands where Sephardic Judaism developed, there was less segregation and oppression. Sephardic Jewish thought and culture was strongly influenced by Arabic and Greek philosophy and science.
  12. Sephardic Jews have a different pronunciation of a few Hebrew vowels and one Hebrew consonant, though most Ashkenazim are adopting Sephardic pronunciation now because it is the pronunciation used in Israel.  Sephardic prayer services are somewhat different from Ashkenazic ones, and they use different melodies in their services. Sephardic Jews also have different holiday customs and different traditional foods.
  13. The Yiddish language, which many people think of as the international language of Judaism, is really the language of Ashkenazic Jews. Sephardic Jews have their own international language: Ladino, which was based on Spanish and Hebrew in the same way that Yiddish was based on German and Hebrew.
  14. There are some Jews who do not fit into this Ashkenazic/Sephardic distinction. These include the Yemenite Jews, Ethiopian Jews (also known as Beta Israel and sometimes called Falashas), and Oriental Jews who also maintain distinct customs and traditions. These groups, however, are relatively small and virtually unknown in America.

 

Ashkenazic Judaism:

  1. This material is drawn from http://i-cias.com/e.o/jud_ashk.htm.
  2. Ashkenazic Judaism developed in the central, northern and eastern part of Europe, contrary to Judaism developing in the Iberian peninsula and North Africa called Sephardic Judaism.
  3. Today, Judaism is often defined into more groups, but the Ashkenazi-Sephardic is relevant in many fields: identity, different synagogues and politics.
    The name "askhenaz" was the name that the Jews themselves used for Germany, a name taken from Genesis 10:3.
  4. The Ashkenazi communities were from the start of organized like small communities within Christian cities. The Jews had their own laws, they had social contact only with each other, and they organized and armed themselves in order to protect their communities against villains and thieves.
  5. In Poland the Jews often formed shtetls, small towns where they represented the majority of the inhabitants.
  6. Already from the 11th century did the Ashkenazi scholars start to develop material that is still in use in Judaism today, like the Mahzor, a work that contained prayers by poets of Germany and France.
  7. For the Ashkenazi Jews the studies of Hebrew, the Torah and the Talmud was more than just a way of understanding their religion, it was also a way of protecting themselves against the influence of the societies around them.
  8. Ashkenazim and Sephardim came to develop different prayer liturgies, Torah services, Hebrew pronunciation and ways of life. The rituals of the Ashkenazi were of the Palestinian traditions.  Ashkenazi and Sephardi music for both prayers and Torah reading are different.  An Ashkenazi Torah lies flat while being read, while a Sephardi Torah stands up.
  9. In order to decide upon Jewish law, there are different authorities. The Ashkenazim go by Rabbi Moses Isserles, who wrote a commentary on the Shulhan Arukh (by Rabbi Joseph Caro) citing Ashkenazi practice. There are differences in many aspects of Jewish law, from which laws women are exempt from to what food one is allowed to eat on Pesach (Passover).
  10. But today, many of the distinctions between Ashkenazim and Sephardim have disappeared. In Israel as well as in other countries like USA, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews live side by side, even if they generally have separate institutions.
    The language of the Ashkenazi Jews was Yiddish, a language close to German. In modern times, Yiddish is in danger of dying out.
  11. Today, about 10 million of the 13 million Jews in the world are Ashkenazi.
  12. A History of Ashkenazic Judaism:
    1. 10th century: Jewish merchants start settling in France and Germany. Their main asset were good connections with Mediterranean and the East, allowing them a wide range of products. As the Jews formed small communities in cities, many of them became craftsmen and artisans. The main centres for Jewish scholarship were Mainz, Worms, Troyes and Sens.
    2. 11th century: Rabbenu Gershom of Mainz stood out as the first major scholar in the Ashkenazi tradition.
    3. 1182: The Jews were expelled from France.
    4. 14th century: Following riots and massacres, many Jews moved from Germany into Poland.
    5. 16th century: Eastern Europe has become the centre of Ashkenazi Judaism.
    6. 19th century: Many Ashkenazi Jews moved to North America.
    7. 1809: In some Ashkenazi communities, Reform Judaism was starting to be defined and developed.
    8. 1845: As a reaction towards Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism was defined.
    9. 20th century: Ashkenazi Jews moved into Palestine, and became the largest Jewish group of what became the State of Israel.

 

Jewish Mysticism: