Judaism
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From ancient origins to contemporary times, there are many varieties of Orthodox Judaism such as the Hasidism of Poland, the Neo-Orthodoxy of Germany, the Yeshivas of Lithuanian, and the American Centrist or “modern” orthodoxy. So, too, we must include the Anti-Zionist groups, the Sepharadic Orthodoxy, and Messianic Zionism. Perhaps these varieties have evolved over time more than for any other reason than for the description of Judaism of Asher Zvi Ginzburg in the late 1800s presented by Joseph Blau in Modern Varieties of Judaism “Judaism mean[s] the entire spiritual and intellectual life of the Jewish people of which the Jewish religion was but one expression” (160). We see that for Ginzburg, practice was but one component of Judaism and not nearly as significant as nationality “It was impossible for one to be a Jew in the religious sense without acknowledging nationality, yet it was possible to be a Jew in the national sense without accepting many things in which religion requires belief” (Blau 160).We see in this interpretation many of the complexities facing modern Judaism. Gentiles and others who adopt Jewish practices into their experience are not Jews because they practice Jewish religious practices. However, Jews who abandon these practices do not cease being Jewish, they have merely ceased practicing Judaism. Yet, these complexities have been incorporated in Judaism since ancient times which were charac
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e that Jesus is the Messiah and remain a Jew.
(Mohler 21)
Still, there are additional issues that complicate Judaism, belief, and practice. From ancient to modern times, there have been basic underlying beliefs and issues that have tied Jews together into a dominant unified group. One of these is the desire to preserve tradition. Another is the fact that all true Jews share a common heritage as descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Sharing a bloodline cuts across different external events and internal beliefs. The desire to preserve tradition, i.e., to survive, has also united Judaism among Jews since they have been persecuted in every age in history. Nonetheless, major historical events had an impact on the fragmentation of Judaism more so after the late 1700s, because until that time Jews were able to remain unified in closely-knit communities that preserved uniformity and were largely immune to outside influences “Jewish life was lived as a separate kingdom within a kingdom. Jews governed themselves by their own law courts and they lived almost entirely in their own community” (Freehof 10).
The Enlightenment would have a major impact on fragmentation of Judaism. Reforms began to appear in society that recogni
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Approximate Word count = 1880
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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