Jewish Movement Essay

The Movements of Judaism Over four thousand years ago, a man named Abraham was born. This man would come to be known as the father of many nations. Abraham is the reason why three of the world’s major religions are in existence today - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Judaism has been greatly transformed in these past four thousand years, and continues to evolve as time passes. There are many different categories under which a follower of the Jewish faith may fall, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionists, and Reformers. All four, although very different, still fall under the religion Judaism, and each separate group plays an integral part in discovering how Judaism has become what it is today. Around 10% of American Jews consider themselves

A Conservative Jew believes that the teaching and commandments of God should be followed, but more loosely than the Orthodox Jew. That is, they believe that while the laws should be followed, they are also subject to both change and evolution as years pass. While Conservative Jews still keep the Sabbath, and keep their food kosher, they have changed some of the older Jewish laws. As some of the stricter laws have been changed, this group is often seen as a “middle ground” of sorts, leaving Orthodox towards one end of the spectrum and Reconstructionists and Reformers towards the other. Conservative rabbis, like Orthodox, will not take part in intermarriage, but accept Conversion by any rabbi, so long as the person has truly been converted. The Reconstructionist movement is the smallest of these four, as only around 2% of American Jews identify as Reconstructionists. A Reconstructionist seeks to evolve the Jewish faith while still maintaining a level of seriousness and devotion to God. Reconstructionists follow the rule of keeping food kosher, and they also respect the Sabbath. A Reconstructionist sees the Jewish faith as not just a religion, but also a religious civilization. They are the most liberal of the four presented movements, and reject the idea of the Jewish people being God’s chosen